January 27, 2020

Hello everyone!  It's been a hot minute since my last post, more than a month actually.  I spent two weeks at home for the Christmas holidays, and then the last couple weeks here have been busy.  I went to Strasbourg this last weekend though, so I have lots of pictures to share, don't worry!

Alrighty, so.  I went home for the holidays, and it was really nice!  My first meal back in the states was in the Minneapolis/Saint Paul airport, and I had ranch with my fries.  I think the waitress thought I was a little crazy because of how fast I asked if they had ranch, but that's okay, I was in heaven.  Ugh, I love ranch so much.  And cheese sticks, but this restaurant didn't serve them, so I stuck with what they had: ranch💓  Anyway, moving on from the ranch, I made it to Denver.  My mom called and suggested that I ask the desk agent at the last flight to Billings that night if I could switch flights from my one in the morning.  I had 20 minutes to get there from the time my flight arrived and that one departed, so that's why I originally didn't book that flight; I thought I would miss it.  But my flight from Minneapolis got in a little earlier, and I decided to try, mostly because it would be nice to not spend the night on the Denver Airport floor.  When I got to the desk, the agent was sooooo nice.  He was able to switch the flights, and I was able to board in less than 10 minutes.  This was United Airlines, they were amazing!  I was standing there, waiting for him so say no, that it was impossible and the flight was already departing, when a guy came over to close the door to the jet-way.  The desk agent said wait, there's one more to get on, and I almost cried.  It really was a Christmas miracle.  I'm tearing up now just writing this and it's been more than a month since it happened.  So I was able to see my family that night instead of waiting for the next day, and got to sleep in a house and not on the dirty airport floor, which is all I really wanted for Christmas:)

During the holidays, I saw a lot of my friends, and spent an amazing couple of weeks with my family.  It was hard to leave, but I was so looking forward to doing some more traveling and getting back to Luxembourg!  My connections were a little tight, and I almost missed my flight from Denver to Salt Lake City, but it ended up being fine!  I got into Paris early, and got to the train station with plenty of time to spare before my train left.  Those first couple days of jet-lag were rough, but within the week, I was back to normal.

The last couple of weeks have been busy, but good.  My birthday was last Monday, and it was a good day.  The host dad's coworkers played a prank on him stealing his car and taking it back to the house.  The kids and I then helped cover the car in Post-It Notes.  He had to drive home in one of the coworker's cars and go around on a scavenger hunt before he could come home.  It was really funny the entire time getting updates from him with pictures of where he was!  Eventually, he brought home Pizza Hut, and I had a great birthday dinner💜  On Friday, I had a fit of insanity and bought stuff to dye my hair and perm it, but then ended up getting it chopped off to right below my shoulders.  Then I went home and permed it anyway, so I think my head needs a break😂  What a time.

On Saturday, I took the train to Strasbourg for the weekend.  Strasbourg is one of the European capital cities, housing the European Parliament.  Throughout its history, it belonged off and on to Germany and France, which is why there is a strong cultural presence from both countries there, though now it belongs to France.  The city was beautiful, and I took a lot of pictures, so buckle up.

I got in around 9 am, and walked across the river to the Petite France area.  There are canals and locks in this area, and the buildings are right up to the water.  I ate breakfast in a little café that was decorated so amazingly.  There were framed prints of animals dressed as people all over the walls, and glass ornaments hanging from the ceiling.

  

  

  

  

From there, I wandered around that area for a couple of hours.  By far my favorite thing I saw was this building that had steps all the way down to the canal and plants growing everywhere:

From there, I went to the cathedral.  It was the tallest building in Europe from 1647 to 1874.  I didn't look it up on my phone, I just walked toward it, and got to the entrance pretty quickly.  It was so magnificent.  Absolutely stunning.  Inside, there is an astronomical clock, the very first built in 1352.  It was taken down in 1572 when the second clock was to be built, on the wall opposite.  The current clock, from what I understand, is an updated (as of 1843) version of the second clock, using many of the same pieces, and just replacing the mechanics of it.  

 I meandered back towards the train station, where my hotel was located, so that I could drop off my backpack.  I was able to check in though, and after leaving my bag, wandered around that area.  That evening, I went shopping at Sephora and H&M to use gift cards I had, then had dinner at a pub.  It was so good.  I was supposed to eat the most popular food from that region (the Alsace region), the tarte flambée.  It's a thin crust pizza with a white sauce, cheese, onion, and bacon, and you eat it rolled up.  I was told to eat this, but I forgot until I had already ordered my food.  The people next to me got one though, and it looked so good🤤

 

The next day, I had breakfast in the hotel, which was amazing.  The hotel, by the way, was the Mercure Hotel in Strasbourg, and it was a great place.  You could pick out your own pillow according to your preferred firmness!  Anyway, the breakfast was to die for.  There was french toast with either chocolate spread or icing to go on it, eggs and bacon, different pastries and cereals, a variety of juice, and bread, meat, and cheese to make sandwiches.  I ate so much, and I'm drooling just thinking of it.

After breakfast, walked down the river for a bit so see a defensive building built on the river that is now used as a pedestrian bridge.  There were old towers and a great view of the cathedral, though the fog obscured half of it.  After exploring that area for an hour, I walked back to the hotel, checked out, then went to the station to catch my train back to Luxembourg.  It was a great weekend, and I loved exploring it.  I didn't use a map until I wanted to head back to the hotel, and just wandered down the streets that looked pretty. 

   

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

Thanks for reading:)  In a couple weeks, my friend Danielle comes to visit.  I can't wait to show her around here.  I'm making a tentative itinerary after I post this, which I love to do:)  Have a good night!