Grenoble Paris Amsterdam Paris Grenoble

Whew. This strike that's going on is really making things difficult! My train to Paris was canceled so I had to go to the train station, get on any train headed in the right direction and find a seat that wasn't already taken. Successfully managed to do it. 
Danielle vs. SNCF 1-0 

Arrived at Ygael's ( for those reading who do not know Ygael, he was one of my couchsurfers in New Orleans and became a good friend of ours) he lives in a suburb of Paris called Charenton-le-Pont, but you can see the 12 th arrondisement from his window. Soon after I arrived I was reunited with my Bff, Rebecca! The three of us had went to an awesome falafel restaurant, L'as du Falafel. As we ate we walked almost the entire length of Paris. We saw many of the main monuments, and we actually went into the Arcs de Triumph. Inside, there are old pictures of it, close ups of all the carvings, miniature models, etc. And then you can walk around on top of it and have a terrific view of the city. Paris is more beautiful than I expected it to be. All the lights and huge, beautiful, old buildings. Wow.

Monday I met Rebecca at her apartment and we went to the Eiffel Tower. 

cartwheels in front of the TE

We had planned on going to the top, but when we got there the line was far too long, and we really weren't in the mood for lines that day. Then we got gelato at Amorino. I got strawberry, raspberry, mango Rebecca got chocolate, coffee, vanilla. They were all amazing. 

After gelato we were going to go to the modern arts museum but that line was really long as well, so instead we went to the bookstore and got postcards. We went back to Rebecca's where she pretended to do school work for a little while. When Ygael got out of class we met him and two of his friends at a bar on the west side of Paris. 

Tuesday: met Rebecca at her place so we could go to the bus station together. I am writing this on the bus and I am a bit nervous about leaving France. I was told by a few people that if I leave France I won't be able to come back because I don't have my carte de sejour which is like having residency. But then I talked to some other people and they said I shouldn't have a problem. So here I am. On my way to Amsterdam! By the end of this post you will know whether or not I had trouble getting back into the country. Fingers crossed. Knock on wood. Wish upon a star.
Rub Buddha's belly.

Got into Amsterdam and headed to our hostel to meet up with Rebecca's other friends and put our things away. The hostel is 4 stories with an 18 bed dorm and an 8 bed dorm on each floor. We all stayed in 18 bed dorms but I got split up from the group since I reserved my bed later. The hostel is located right around the action. It is about 3 blocks from the red- light district. Which, for what it is, is interesting and a must see for the city. The first night we just wondered around a lot. 
Wednesday our main goal was to go to the Van Gogh museum. Even though it is pretty far from our hostel and slightly raining, we decided to walk so we could see the city; which is awesome!! I hadn't realized how many canals are In the city! There are old house boats lining every canal and there are definitely more bikes than there are cars. I am beyond jealous of their amazing bike lanes! 

Van Gogh was really interesting. We saw lots of pieces that I would have never pegged as his. His style is far more broad that I thought. 


Thursday Rebecca and the three other girls took a boat tour and one of her other friends (Ross ) and I rented bikes and took the ferry to north Amsterdam where we rode for a few miles through the country. It was mostly fields with sheep, cows, goats, and ponies. Every house we passed had a small mote around it.

sheep sheep sheep

bike path

morning commute

 We saw a windmill and a man checking his mail who was seriously wearing wooden clogs! That night we went to a fair and rode the ferris wheel and had a great view of the city. 


Friday: I am currently sitting in the hostel waiting to leave for the bus station. Everyone else had buses leaving earlier. In the day so I have been wondering the streets and eating French fries with ketchup, mayonnaise, and onions... Apparently that's how they do it here.

Made it safely back to France! All the warnings I had about leaving France were wrong. Not one person checked my passport, and even if someone had, I still don't think I would have had any trouble  
I arrived in Paris at the ungodly hour of 6am and immediately fell asleep in Rebecca's bed. That day we had a lovely picnic in a park.

 And that night I went out with Ygael and his two friends from Tennessee who are also studying abroad in Copenhagen and Aix-en-Provence. 

Now I am on my way back to Grenoble after a bit of confusion with time. What I mean is I forgot about/ didn't know about day lit savings time. I was far too early for my train. 
Danielle vs. TGV 2-0