Back in France:
The day before finals we went the the Cointreau factory. Then we went to a group dinner. Then at night, we studied for finals. That I wasn't to fond of- I like having actual study time for finals.
I don't think I did well at all on my French final, I have to say. I know I learned a lot in 4 weeks of study, but in class was discussion based, and the test was mostly vocabulary and conjugations. There was very little similarities between the class and the test, in my opinion. Oh well. After the test my teacher Muriel asked (in French, of course) if I did I did well, and I just said "Uhh....." Then she told me that she knew I'd made a lot of progress compared to my first day in Angers. So hopefully my grade will be alright...
Econ went very well, although it was a very long test. That's Barbara John for you.
That night we (Dana, BJ, Rachel, and their visiting friends) went out to get crepes.
Since my Easyjet flight out of France had been cancelled the day before, on Friday I slept in a bit in Angers, took an afternoon train to Paris, and a night train to Florence to meet Erin. While sick. Worst. Idea. Ever. Just a word of advice: if you are ever so nauseous you can't eat all day, don't take a night train. Attempting to sleep in a crowded couchette is not a good idea, especially when the bathroom is a jump down, walk along a narrow hallway, and wait in line, away. I didn't get a lot of sleep. Another contributing factor is that the porter takes your passport away for the night when he takes your ticket. That make me very uncomfortable- since I was getting off hours before the last stop in Rome.
In Florence after the night train disaster, I couldn't muster up any energy to sightsee. We sat in the hotel room most of the day exchanging stories, and only briefly took a walk to the Duomo. Fortunately, I've seen Florence before, so I didn't feel gipped by the experience.
Then, we flew to Munich- me on a last minute flight we booked the day before. All I knew was I couldn't possibly handle another night train. So, instead, I waited in the airport for 5-7 hours or so. When I finally did get on the plane, it was technically business class. (It was literally the last seat on the plane). That was infinitely better than a night train, I'll just say.
In Munich we met up with Erin's parents, saw several churches, went to the Hofbrauhaus, and went to an art museum. It was lovely. I missed Germany.
And now, finally, we are in Dublin. Have been for a few days. We've walked a lot of the city so far and done: more churches, the Guinness brewery, the Jameson distillery, Dublin Castle, the Book of Kells, and more.
My summer so far has also been brought full-circle.... the other day we were eating shepherd's pie in an Irish pub, and the song "Istanbul (not Constantinople)" came on. I have to say, even in wonderful Dublin, I still miss Istanbul....
I'm excited to be in one place for a while. One place that speaks English. It's going to be weird.
Well, the internet doesn't work in our hotel room and my power is about to run out here in the hotel pub.
I should write sooner next time.
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