So sorry for the delay, i've been super busy lately, but alas i have returned to enlighten the minds of my fans. I mean readers. So last week nothing super exciting happened, I've been going to class intensely and planning my Italy trip with my friends. So far we're starting in Milan, taking a train straight to Venice, staying in Venice for a day or 2, then training it to Florence, staying there for a couple days and then going to a town about an hour from Milan and finishing up our trip there. The exact plans will be solidified this weekend. All i'm concerned about is finding the best gelato places in town. This planning is stressing me out a little bit. My mom and dad are arriving in Pau on March 2nd so me and Christine are brainstorming things to do to keep them occupied while i'm in class and she's at work. I'll strategically plan to be "in class" on the exact day and times that every cathedrale in the surrounding area is open for tours, but miraculously i'll be wide open during every wine tasting event. 
So last week I got to have lunch with Christine and her mother and brother, we had a huge spread of food it was great. Roast chicken, these things called dauphins, they're not actual dolphin, they're similar to hush puppies. Regardless, THEY ARE AMAZING. We had wine and desserts and it was just perfect. The day before I went skiing so my whole body hurt. Muscles that I didn't even know I had hurt. Ok time to talk about the skiing. Pardon my french, but it scared la merde out of me. To put this to scale for you Wilmot Mountain would be like a baby jump on this mountain. We arrived at about 11, after having to wake up at 6 in the morning to get to the bus by 7:15. I was a little tired to say the least. We get off the bus, get our gear on and just went. I was with a couple of my british friends and some USAC people, and me being me, I decided to go down the bunny hill one time and then immediately move to the intermediate. Did I mention it had been about 3-4 years since I skied last. Needless to say I fell alot, but in my defense, if I didn't make myself crash I would have fallen about 8,000 ft off the mountain, so it was merely a strategic method. Weather conditions were very interesting. At least i think they were, I couldn't see anything. Visibility was about 5 inches, i'm suprised I could see my hand infront of my face. This had its upsides and downhills. Upside: I didn't know what was in front of me so I was less nervous because a bump could be right ahead of me and I wouldn't know until it was too late. Downside: I didn't know what was in front of me so a bump could be right ahead of me and I wouldn't know until it was too late. Thankfully I managed to stay on the mountain for the most part, and my previous skiing ability came back to me. By the end of the day I successfully went down red "pistes" which are the hard ones, right before black diamonds, and I went all the way to the top of the mountain. 9,000ft up! The trek required 2 separate ski lifts, I got off one, then skied for about 3 minutes to another lift that took you higher. All the while not being able to see. Claustraphobia most certainly set in, especially because it takes longer than 4 minutes to get down a real mountain. This I was not aware about, due to my past experiences with skiing. These trails took anywhere from 15-30 minutes to get down. I did where a helmet which is good because I slammed my head on the ground while attempting to stop. Once the day was over, we piled back into the bus soaking wet and cold and journeyed for 2 hours back to Pau-land. I was exhausted, but I didn't sleep because being the hypocondriac that I am, and having friends who are instigators, i prefered not to slip into a coma due to a possible concussion. I'm writing this so good news, I did not have a concussion. I came home, Christine made me hot soup and I took a hot shower and woke up the next day nearly unable to walk. En lieu of my sore muscle situation Christine decided we should go to the spa!! I of course did not hesitate to jump into my suit and head over to Caliceo, the local watering hole. Literally, it has over 3 different pools all equipt with jets and 75 degree water. After swimming and being massaged by the jets, we went into the sauna and the hammam and ended our morning. We actually went back to the spa this past weekend as well, it's a new addiction. It was nearly 70 degrees this weekend and so I took advantage of it and even wore shorts! It might have been out of spite just because I was quite jealous of the Chicago blizzard of 2011 and the 20+ inches of snow that they recieved. OPRF closed. It never closed. In over 35 years the damn school never closed, and less than 4 years after I graduate the impossible happens. Oh well, Loyola ended up closing too, so I got to see everyones facebook status' about the snowpocalypse. But hey, I'm in France, so nothing can get me down!
I'm very excited because I get to see my friend Eric in exactly 1 month! He's coming to Europe for Spring break and it'll be nice to have a bit of my old home here in my new home. Lots of good things to look forwards to. Planning a trip to Ireland, hopefully going to Berlin at some point, definitely going to london for a weekend, and just taking in this wonderful opportunity. Speaking of home, i've hit a bit of a plateau. I'm a little homesick. Its more that I miss the people, but also a little bit of the Chicago atmosphere as well. Don't get me wrong, I love it here, and given the chance I would stay here for 6 more months, but theres a little part of me that's still stuck in Chicago. I'll get over it. Tomorrow is friday and all the french kids go on vacation so this weekend the bars will be jam packed with college aged frenchies, which is perfect because I have a goal of making as many french friends as I can so i'll always have a place to stay for free when I come visit in the future.
The other night I had this stuff called "Gü" pronounced "goo." It's hard to explain but it's basically ganosch(sp?) in a little pudding cup, pure chocolate that you eat a spoonful of then drink english cream. Definitely gained about 5 pounds in one sitting but boy was it worth it. I highly suggest gügleing it.
Well i've just been informed that it's time for an apparatif so I must go, but more blogs to come, and plus souvent je promise!
love love love
Mariel
