California Day 3 & 4

DAY 3

Disneyland seriously took it out of us. We decided to walk a few blocks to Target because I wanted a pair of flip flops and they didn't have any. WTH is with stores in Cali not selling summer clothes? I get it's Fall and everything, but it was still SO WARM! Target had all of their beanies, scarves & mittens out. WEIRD!

After trudging through the neighborhood of abandoned buildings and used pregnancy tests on the ground, I finally found a pair of shoes and we walked back to the Hotel just to decide we were hungry and had to walk somewhere else. This was my verge of breaking. I'm 8 months shy of being able to get a rental car and I called my dad for help. He's always been able to get me a rental car but he didn't call me back. Spencer tried as well and it was a complete no-go. (There's ONE reason I'm looking forward to 25.)

We had paid for the Medieval Dinner already and the girl at the front desk of the hotel/motel made it clear the place was just a 5 minute walk down the street. I asked if we could take the shuttle and she said we already used our ONE TIME Shuttle use going to Disneyland. ONE TIME USE. 

We went to our room to shower and get ready for dinner. Nat was in the shower while I was putting my makeup on at the mirror when I saw something out of the corner of my eye. I yelled for Natalie to look from the shower and she totally didn't buy it. I look up and see "ALICE" written on the bathroom mirror. I had to swear on my life I didn't write it.

We were super creeped out and laughed about how Alice was the one making all of the weird noises the night before. ew.

We started walking to dinner which took us 25 minutes in the blazing sun with, again, cars honking and yelling things in languages I don't understand. Maybe that's a good thing. Complain complain.

We got to dinner and we were SO EXCITED again that we were around civilization. You guys, if you haven't ever been to a Medieval Dinner place.. you are SERIOUSLY missing out. We loved it so much and the food was great! We had soup, 1/2 chicken, garlic bread, potatoes, BBQ Rib & a drink, all with NO utensils. We had a blast!

 

For the record, we took a cab home.

DAY 4

We decided we really wanted to go to the beach so we had to figure out bus routes through Orange County. We originally wanted to Santa Monica Pier but our bus route literally drove right through Inglewood & Compton. So we decided on an hour and a half bus ride to Huntington Beach instead!

 Huntington Beach was one of my favorite things. There's something so majestic about the ocean & breathing in salty air. Plus I saw a huge seal and it pretty much made my whole day. It was the PERFECT temperature & Nat was dying to get back into the water. She rented a surf board and wetsuit and rocked it on the only waves coming in. We found some AWESOME local shops & I really didn't want to leave Huntington Beach.

We headed back to the hotel/motel on the bus & got off on our stop. Which ended up not being the correct bus stop. We were totally stranded with all of our shopping bags in the middle of ghetto-ville. The next bus didn't come for another hour and a half, and the closest bus stop we needed was 2 miles away. We tried calling 3 different cab companies none of which could send a cab right away. We called the hotel for a ride, but again, we already used our ONE SHUTTLE ride to Disneyland. We walked to a burger place down the street and waited for what seemed like an eternity for a cab to finally pick up our location.
We got back safely & it was just another adventure...


XOXO

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Queen of the eyesores

Annnnnnnnd we're back from blogging hiatus. I would apologize for my absence, but that's bad for morale, so instead I'll solemnly swear I've been up to no good.

The last three weeks have found me on the State side of the moon forgetting everything I knew about French and remembering little American tricks like eggnog and cheddar cheese.
We spent the first few days of our trip with Sebastien's parents in Columbus, Ohio--I tried the strangest ice creams there: Banana and bacon, rosemary, olive oil and chocolate chip, raspberry and goat cheese and marshmallow and yams. We also met up with a friend from university and caught up on the who-and-the-what.

Next stop was Saint Louis to rendezvous with all of the Torrini Clan--ie Sebastien's extended family on his mother's side. It's cool because a lot of his cousins are right around our age and they've asking interesting questions, dating cool people and have maintained good taste in music.

From the Lou we caught a flight to Boston and met up with another college friend- whom my best friend from High school coincidentally learned about on Goodreads. If you like Zombie books, you should check her out too.
After that I spent more time than I should have at Chez ma mere. My mother for her part doesn't really like me, stoutly refuses to offer me validation but is at least willing to miss me sincerely whenever I leave--so that's something, I suppose.
Seb and I rang in the New Year with my younger sister and my best friends along the shore of Oyster Pond watching the fireworks from water's edge. While it certainly lacked the splendor of the 14th of July in Paris, we were most definitely entertained.
It's always fun being on the Cape, looking over my old bookshelfs and boxes now relegated to the cellar. I can see me and remember what was feeling that first read through whenever I touch the spine of an old book. Just on a lark I reread the Great Gatsby and decided by page six that this text is utterly wasted on High school Students:

 "Her husband, among various physical accomplishments, had been one of the most powerful ends that ever played football at New Haven-a national figure in a way, one of those men who reach such an acute limited excellence at twenty-one that everything afterward savors of anti-climax."

If your not impressed, you will be if only you reread the book for yourself. And why not? It will fit so cleverly into your pocket.
Atanyrate, I shared this notion of wastefulness and teenagers with my former English teacher, whom I had the good fortune to encounter at my younger brother's basketball game and was pleased to find that she whole heartedly agreed. It very much made me feel like I was in a secret club...

Having wrapped things up on Cape Cod about as well as could be hoped, Sebastien and I have been back in Boston for a day or two trying to squeeze in all the last minute visits and shopping trips we can. They don't, for instance, sell dryer sheets in France...dafuq?
On to cultural notes:
Sweatpants...they're a thing in Boston.
You can honestly pay a lot of money for a pair of sweats in the US. This would never, ever, I repeat ever happen in Europe.
Heading to the corner store for some milk?
Get on some real pants.

Seriously Boston, Jake gets it--why don't you?
I'm not trying to be uppity or put on airs--it's the T not the metro. I may speak a second language but haven't forgotten my roots. It's just that  uggs and a juicy suit have never been my thing. And I would never date a guy in ecco complex anything. I'm not a judgy face--I don't even like Downton Abbey.

Other cultural notes:
American Pickles are better.  But if tiny and warty is your thing, I'm not going to stop you.
Trader Joes is an asset to cultural diffusion. Did you know that you can buy raclette cheese there now?And the samples lady called  Crayfish langoustine.... Ok playa, time to pump those breaks. Cos that shit cray.
American beers are way better than French ones. Belgium you're still cool. Seriously though, Europe--Stop scoffing and start checking out these breweries: Magic Hat, Flying dog, Red Hook,  Blue Moon. Honestly, these are just my steady eddies, a bunch of new regional beers have sprung up that I haven't even had the time to try. Much like how the States can't be summarized by San Francisco and New York City--American beer isn't just Budweiser. But sometimes it is, because I get nostalgic for running from the cops and drinking in the woods. Plus bud light is 7 dollars a pitcher--and that's after happy hour.

I feel like I'm leaving a lot of stuff out and that this is also getting kind of long so for further clues as to how I spent my time you can head over to my new instagram feed.  Add me if you like me.

In closing, I just want to make clear that I'm so glad I we made this trip. I saw a lot of the people I love--not all, but a lot of them. Sebastien and I came up against constraints and annoyances  and still managed to make the best of it. If you haven't heard me say it in awhile, he's so much better than I deserve.
We head back to France tomorrow.
It's weird to know that I still feel more relaxed in States that I've never lived in than a country that I've called home for two years. And yet, I'm going back expecting to feel relieved when French is the background noise I hear between songs....Attention à la marche en descendant du train.. 
I will.
I always do.
Even when it's just the T and there ain't no gap to speak of.

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Seattle Trip

As ya'll know I'm still trying to catch up on our adventures. With my computer being down for a while I didn't have anywhere to upload all of my pics-

So.. Here is the long awaited Seattle Post from the beginning of July!

We headed to Seattle to visit Spencer's family- a final summer vacation before Spencer starts school. I met a niece and nephew of mine as well as my brother in law Brandon. We stayed busy and had a lot of fun!

Saturday- The first night we got there we went to hang out at the lake by their house. So pretty!!

Sunday we took a drive to downtown Seattle and went to the troll bridge.

I loved playing with this little Missy!

MONDAY we went to the beach at low-tide and found TONS of sand dollars, little crabs, jellyfish and seashells!

Before the beach we went to get some food, and of course, got Starbucks.

This was an attempt to wipe sand off my hands- who knew the paint was wet...

Found a jellyfish and poked it with a stick.

\

After the beach Spencer and I went to the closest mall to look around. And of course, got Starbucks.

TUESDAY Spencer and I hit up downtown Seattle for date-day..

I absolutely fell in LOVE with Pike's Place- so so so cool.

We found an awesome little shop under Pike's Place that sold vintage magazines, ads, newspaper articles, cards- you name it. There were playboy magazines from the 40's- the ladies on the cover had more clothes than a normal magazine you'd see now days! I bought my mom a LIFE magazine from the year she was born and Spencer found an old Sports Illustrated with articles about a BYU player. Sweet- unfortunately I wasn't allowed to take pictures of this place or I'd post them.

THEN THERE'S THE GUM WALL.....

That pink Piece of gum smack dab in the middle is mine.

Pretty awesome. And totally Gross.

My only expectation for this trip was to see the Gum Wall. After this anything could have happened and I would have been fine. This was probably ONE of my favorite things!

I'm married to a total babe..

After visiting the Space Needle, we stopped downtown to get Starbucks.

Only in Seattle would you see this outfit....  and this activity in the same city..

We ended the day by getting back in time to play with this little guy!

WEDNESDAY we went back to Seattle for round 2!

We went on the new Ferris Wheel and got stuck talking to a really strange couple in the same little cart thing as us.. But met a really awesome guy standing in line. We are now instagram buddies.

We stopped by the gum wall again, bought some fresh peaches at the market and bought 6 donuts from a heavy lady with hairy armpits. yum.

We made Seattle a quick trip before we started our drive to Anacortes!

When we got to Anacortes we stopped to check out the millions of boats

We stayed in Anacortes for the night so we didn't have to drive so early in the morning to get to our Whale Watching Tour! We ate a really nice dinner and drove around this little town!

And... got Starbucks.

THURSDAY was our whale watching adventure..

while we waited for our tour to start this HUGE bald eagle kept flying by!

while it may not look like it here.. it was FREEEZZIINNGG.

Spencer failed to mention we were supposed to dress in layers. Everyone else was in winter coats and gloves- and here I am- skinny jeans, a tee, light jacket and ballet flats. Yup.

Hi Free Willy!!

Three swimming together

Look how close this whale got to that boat....

...and those kayakers!!

...Free-willie Chili!?!?

Our whale watching tour was SO awesome- after 8 hours on the boat in the freezing cold we were beat! That is where our few hour drive back to Seattle began.

But first, we got Starbucks.

At Starbucks this was on the mirror in the bathroom- So cool!

We got home and we were BEAT from a long day and a long drive.

FRIDAY we went to the Mariner's Game!

Before we went to the game we went to the mall again to look around.

And of course, got Starbucks...

We TOTALLY Scored with some awesome season ticket seats!

There's a reason you don't see Snow Cone stands in Seattle- someone needs to teach them how it's done!!

We had an awesome date night together at the Safeco Field!!

SATURDAY started our long trip home..

Between eating donuts from a lady with hairy pits to seeing so many Orca Whales, to LITERALLY 7 trips to Starbucks- this trip was priceless to us.

Thank you SO much Natalie and Brandon for letting us stay with you for a whole week- We loved it and had so much fun!



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