Attempt No. 2

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=127918&id=578965668&l=0cc4728552

Okay... I believe that if you post this into your browser that it should allow you to go to a public version of my photo album for the Alps.

My private chalet in the French Alps!!!!

I just got back from four nights in the FRENCH ALPS!! My friends and I rented a private chalet in Les Houches...near Mt. Blanc: the tallest mountain in western Europe. It was three stories, slept 15, and even had a hot tub. I only went with five friends so we had this enormous cabin to our selves. The picture above is when I took Europe's highest cable car up to the top of the mountain. It was freezing yet amazing!!
This is a picture of the chalet on the day that we arrived. We flew from Paris to Geneva, Switzerland and then took a private bus to the chalet. It had plenty of bedrooms, bathrooms, and kitchens...plus a live in cat!! Smelly Cat was so amazing and cute (or as Claire, my friend says, HILH!!) It reminded me of my dog!! :( This blog takes forever to upload pictures so I am going to post a link to my facebook album that I have created for my pictures from this trip. Hopefully, (fingers crossed) you guys will be able to click this link and gain access to my album so that you can see ALL the pictures I took while I was in the Alps!

HERE IS THE LINK: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=127918&id=578965668

Just click it or perhaps copy and paste it into your browser...

The Holidays are coming...

My Thanksgiving dinner at Vicki's. We ate baby turkeys, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans, cheese grits, baguettes, candied sweet potatoes, bread puddings, pies, ice cream (I brought/made that...haha)...we drank wine, beer, and coffee with our desserts. Needless to say...it was FANTASTIC!

The Americans, Canadians, and Frenchies chowing down...

Avenue de Champs-Elysees is beginning to look alot like Christmas!!

The gigantic ferris wheel facing the Arc de Trimophe on the Champs-Elysees at Place de la Concorde.

Delicious MIGAS! and random exploration...

Cemetiere de Montparnasse. I find that the cemetaries in Paris are some of the most beautiful and peaceful areas in the entire city. Great place to explore, be quiet, and relax.

This is the Parc de Batignolles in the 17th arrondissement near my apartment. Beautiful little park where Monet painted Gare St. Lazare from its western edge.

Claire slaving over our delicious MIGAS!!!

Sarah and I....NOT slaving over our delicious migas...yeah...oops.

The finished product...THANKS CLAIRE!!

Monfils Serve

Nadal vs. Tsonga video...

BNP Paribas Masters at Bercy

Recently I was able to attend the BNP Paribas Masters tennis tournament at Bercy here in Paris. It was a blast! I watched players like Djokovic, Nadal, Del Potro, Stepanek, Tsonga, Monfils, etc. It was two full days of exciting action, and I can't wait to go to more tennis tournaments while I am here!! This picture is of Novak Djokovic warming up for one of his matches.

Del Potro (current US Open Champion) serving

The match up!! This match lasted until two in the morning!!

Nadal hitting his trademark forehand!

PROOF!! I really was there!! Not bad seats, eh?

Amsterdam...

Amsterdam is a city with tons of canals...

Looks kind of like Venice...yeah?

My friend Kenzie and I with our space cake and joint. Marijuana is decriminalized in Amsterdam and is sold in many of the coffeeshops around town. It was an amazing city with the nicest people. Great experience.

We also went to Anne Frank's House, where she hid from the Nazi's for two years while writing her now famous diary. It was an inspiring trip, and one that I will not forget.

Kenzie and I, on the eight hour bus ride to Amsterdam. Our friends had to stay behind and find a different way of getting to Amsterdam because the original bus left us. Kenzie and I were lucky enough to get in the last two spots on the next bus. Thankfully we all ended up making it to Amsterdam...even if not at the time we originally planned for.

Picnic in front of the Eiffel Tower

Pyramid in front of the Eiffel Tower...I'm bottom right....

The group eating and drinking...

Katie and Claire...Claire goes to UT with me...and Katie is from Scotland. She attends the University of Glasgow.

Pere Lachaise Cemetary

My friends Claire and Sarah laughing about the fact that we got locked in a cemetary. Pere Lachaise is a GIANT cemetary in Paris. The resting place of many famous people: Victor Hugo, Oscar Wilde, Jim Morrison, etc. We went to look at the graves and visit this famous cemtary...ONLY TO GET LOCKED IN AT NIGHT!! We went to the exit around 7 pm and it was closed with a giant wooden door. We decided not to panic and walked to another exit...it was closed! We then saw a sign that said to walk to a certain exit on the southern side of the cemetary because a guard stood duty all night to let people out....we walked...and walked..and finally made it there only to find that the guard was NOT there and that we were still locked in. We then decided to walk the entire perimeter of Pere Lachaise, determined to find at least one exit that was open. We walked the entire southern, western, and part of the northern side before finding someone to let us out. Over two hours locked in a cemetary at night. SPOOKY!! But fun too...haha.

Walking along the wall of the cemetary that surrounds it, trying to find a way out...obviously we can't climb it.

JIM MORRISON...RIP.

Crazy picture of me disappearing...
I thought this was an awesome picture because it looks like a Halloween decoration...but it is REAL!!!

Mont St. Michel Trip...

Mont St. Michel is a church that was constructed on a hill that is completely surrounded by water at high tide. It is quite a site to behold. It also is located just between the two provinces of Brittany and Normandy in France. This picture shows a storm rolling in over Brittany.

The entire hill of Mont St. Michel from the beaches of Normandy.

An island that is five miles away!!! There were guided tours that took people across the sand at low tide, but it took three hours each way. This area is famous for its quick sand...so be careful!!

The view of the church up the cliff side.

AMSTERDAM

Hey everybody!!
So tomorrow I am going to Amsterdam for about 4 days and when I return I will be posting plenty of good stuff from the time between my visit to Marines and Amsterdam. Quite a lot of stuff, actually!!

The Village of Marines

My friends and I went to Sebastian's house just outside of Paris.

We helped tend to his compost pile. Hey! We wanted the authentic French countryside experience...

Just before dinner with Sebastian and his grandfather...

Sebastian's house in Marines.

Oh you know...just a chateau along the way from Paris to Marines.

The wave during the soccer game!

Claire, Sarah, and I during the game.

France vs. Austria: World Cup Soccer!!

getting ready for the game!!

a crazy guy ran out on the field...security!!!!!!

right before france scored!!

HOOK 'EM!!!

STADE DE FRANCE! By the way...France won 3-1. ALLEZ LES BLEUS!!

After the Seine!

After the Seine we all went to my friends Sarah's...

More friends showed up!!

How we all fit..I don't know...