January 11, 2009 by samantha.

First and most importantly, the parents are gone and far away in Florida. They left Saturday morning, very early, and I have been enjoying my solitude since then. Still, I have them to thank for a fantastic trip to France, a great Christmas, and my new couches, coffee table, end tables, and lamps!

Since I can never remember which is the family room and which is the living room, I call the two rooms the TV room and Val’s room.

Here is how Val’s room used to look.

Here is how it looks now.

Here is how the TV room used to look.

Here is how it looks now.

Here is the lamp I instantly fell in love with.

And I am sure you are worried about what happened to Val’s old, ugly couch. Here it is waiting to go to the city dump. It did a great job of serving Val’s needs and she will miss it. I am so happy to get rid of it.

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December 5, 2008 by samantha.

I am not ready to go home. I have had such a wonderful time here and leaving will be very hard. It was great to see my family and know that my grandmother is doing okay. I am already making plans to return this summer. When I get back to the States, I will start researching little summer jobs that I might be able to do here. I want a little job so I can meet some people and supplement my stay here. Lord knows that a rental car will cost an arm and a leg! And I am keeping my fingers crossed that when I come back I will have a washer and a dryer! If I have those two things, along with dependable Internet access, I could be very happy here for a month or so.

I am anxious to get home and see my doggie. This trip would have been perfect if Val could have joined us. She would love France. There are not many places that she cannot go… she could even ride the bus! I know that she was in good hands while I was here, but not having her around has been hard. It is amazing how lonely I am without her! I like the little routine that we have and I look forward to getting to it.

Then again, I could have her put on a plane and sent to me here. Living in Perpignan could be very easy!

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December 2, 2008 by samantha.

I am in love with Barcelona. Our visit there was very short, but long enough for me to be anxious to return. The drive from Perpignan was an easy two hours, all on the autoroute or autopista.

We started with the crown jewel of Barcelona- the Temple of the Sagrada Familia. Words cannot describe how truly breathtaking it is. It is has been under construction for over 100 years and it is said it will be completed in the next 30 to 80 years. I have heard that temple is amazing, but I was in awe when I saw it. It is spectacular. It is a shame that Antoni Gaudi never got to see his creation completed.

We then hopped on a tour bus and got off at Parc Guell. I had seen the park on a television show and had a little idea of what to expect. Again, I was in awe. The park was very unique and I felt like I was in a fairy tale. Everywhere you turned there were twisting trails and unique sculptures. Even the bridges and canopies were one of a kind. Gaudi’s good friend Eusebi Guell designed the park and it is only fitting that the park is named after him.

When then continued our tour through Barcelona. There was so much to take in and see. Since we planned poorly and went on a Monday, most of the cities museums were closed. That did not matter. We still had a lot to see. We saw the site of the 1992 Olympics, the outside of the National Museum of Art of Catalonia, downtown Barcelona, and its busy seaport. I cannot say it enough, but the city is absolutely spectacular.

I think my favorite building in the city is Casa Batllo. It is gorgeous. The house belonged to a friend of Gaudi’s. Gaudi was in charge of the remodeling and he did not disappoint! I wish that he had been a friend of mine!

I took at least a million pictures and as soon as I am home, I will be posting them. I am sure that you are just as anxious to see them, as you are to hear the million stories I have to tell. I am very sad that my trip is coming to an end, but I will be coming back soon, maybe this summer. I am sure that Barcelona will be at the top of my to-do list!

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November 30, 2008 by samantha.

We had a slow and relaxing day today. Not like we needed to relax, but it was nice to stay in the apartment and do nothing. The big adventure of the day was taking my grandmother out for a fancy lunch. She was so excited that she called twice to make sure that we were coming and even asked us to arrive early. Lunch was fun. I tried monkfish for the first time. It was not too bad. I would try it again. Tomorrow we are heading toward Barcelona. I am so excited! My Aunt Vivi is coming with us and I am sure that it will be an adventure. We have tried our best to research the city on the computer, but our Internet connection is slow and moody. We know that we have to visit the Cathedral and Parc Guell. Maybe we will take a tour. Who knows! Who cares! It will be a much more exciting way to spend a Monday than if I was at work!

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November 29, 2008 by samantha.

We have a serious problem. Do not get me wrong. Being back in France is very relaxing and familiar. I am having a fantastic time and I think it will be very hard to leave. It has been enjoyable to visit with my grandmother and catch up on the family gossip. The food is beyond delicious. Even shopping is more fun here. I cannot think of why I need to return to the States. My most important possessions can be sent to me and Val would love France. Maybe I should seriously think about moving here.

Okay, back to my problem. My mom and I are having a hard time leaving the apartment. The apartment is nothing to rant and rave about. It is in desperate need of some remodeling and updated furniture. Still, we are so comfy and relaxed here. We read, play games, and watch TV all day long. There is even a little super market downstairs were can buy all of our groceries. We have to force ourselves to leave and stretch our legs. I know that we should be out and about, but it is hard to get moving when you are so comfortable!

That being said, we went to downtown Perpignan today. The city looks pretty much the same and the bus ride down is always fun. We hit a couple of the local stores and had a nice lunch. It was a lot of fun. I think we are planning on going back again on Wednesday and explore some more. Tomorrow we are having lunch at a restaurant that is a family favorite and on Monday we are venturing to Barcelona. It should be interesting. I have not been to Barcelona in over ten years and I am anxious to get back.

It is sad to say that I will be leaving in less than a week. It will be hard. I am tempted to throw a temper tantrum and make a scene so I do not have to leave, but I do not think it will work. Does anyone have any ideas?

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November 27, 2008 by samantha.

Well, my mom and I had great plans for Thanksgiving. We thought we had everything worked out. To bad things did not happen as we had hoped.

Our plan was to go to Canet Plage (a local beach town) and feast on fresh, delicious seafood. We had talked about it when we were back in the States. We dreamed of plates of wonderful seafood last night. We quickly got ready so we could head toward the beach today. We typed the address into the GPS and got on our way. In no time we were in Canet Plage. Immediately we noticed how dead the place was, but it made sense to us. Canet Plage is a popular summer destination, but is very dead in the winter. Still, a few of the restaurants stay open for tourists like us. In our rush to get to our Thanksgiving feast, we forgot that most restaurants in France do not open until noon or later for lunch. We arrived in Canet Plage at 11:15. There was nothing to keep us entertained until the restaurants opened, so we left. We have vowed to try again at a later date and arrive at a later time!

So, our Thanksgiving seafood feast became a little lunch at a local pizza joint. I think both my mom and I were both disappointed. To make ourselves feel better, we sent shopping for some “necessities”.

We had my Aunt Rose and Aunt Vivi over this afternoon to catch up on the gossip. It was fun to listen to them talk and laugh. They are always exciting to have over. I do not think that either of them knows how to be boring!

I do not know what are plans for tonight. I think we will stay in and watch some French TV. The television shows here are… interesting. Maybe we’ll make ourseveles a little dinner and play some cards.

Even though our Thanksgiving plans did not work out, we still had a great time. And we were happy to be away from the family and all the chaos!

Posted in Europe, Holidays, Travels, Family | No Comments »

November 26, 2008 by samantha.

I may be in France, but I have nothing exciting to report. We went to visit my grandmother twice. It has been so long since I last saw her and it was shocking to see how much she aged. She seems to be doing well. Her room is cute, but could use some sprucing up. We have the task of getting her a desk while we are here. It sounds easy, but I think it will be a difficult job. It can only be so wide by so long and my grandmother must approve it. At least it will keep my mom and I out of trouble.

I think my mom and I are making quite an impression in Perpignan. We have misplaced the apartment keys, gotten in trouble for not spending enough money to use a credit card, and struggled to bag our own groceries. Needless to say, we are entertainment. Every time we go out now, we know we will come back with some story and we will have left our mark.

On to the important stuff, the food! I had my first bite of saucisson and it was delicious. For those of you not in the know, saucisson is the most delicious French country salami. That definition does not do it justice. The Camembert was not so good. It was not ripe yet, so we have to wait a few days. The rest of the meals have a good. For Thanksgiving, my mom and I have special plans. Let’s just say that we are not having anything close to Turkey!

By the way, pictures will be coming. My Internet connection is slow and I use it sparingly! I will do my best to get pictures up. Bare with me!

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November 25, 2008 by samantha.

We woke up to our first morning in France and it is a cold one. It is only supposed to get up to 46 degrees today and the winds (the Tramontane) are blowing. It is just as a fall day should be in Southern France. The apartment needs some airing out (it has been neglected since last October!) and the beds have to be made.

The trip was a good one. The flight from LAX was boring… there is not much to do when stuck on a plane for ten hours and crammed in like sardines! I cat napped and watched movies. We arrived in Paris, made it through customs, and waited for our connecting flight to Montpellier. The flight was short and half empty! Our luggage made it no problem and after we got our rental car, we were good to go!

Our little car is awesome. It is a Peugeot 308. It is a standard and I am so happy to be driving a stick shift again. The car has GPS and pretty much anything we need, including AC! We are living the high life! We had one snag with the car. We stopped to get some necessities on our way to Perpignan. We got back in the car and could not get it into reverse! I tried and my mom tried. No luck! I even tried to put the car in neutral and roll back, but that did not work! Finally, some guy offered to help. He showed us how to put it in reverse and I am so happy he did. We never would have figured it out. It is different than in the States. After that we were back on the road. We found the apartment with little trouble.

The apartment is not at all as I remember it. Still, it feels homey and somewhat familiar. We opened all the shutters and peeked in every room. The water had been shut off and then began our second adventure. We had no problem getting the water back on, but getting hot water was another story. My Aunt Vivi came down to help and between my mom and her they could not figure it out. Then I came to rescue! I read the instructions and lo and behold I got it to work. I even took hot shower last night.

Than our second day in France started. We have already headed downstairs to the local market to get some things. We are going to take it easy today. Go out for lunch and see my grandmother. Maybe tomorrow will go on a day trip. Who knows and who cares! I am back on France!!!!

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