Jarrod's France Blog

Winter Vacation Pictures, At Last!

2010-03-25T08:24:00.005-06:00

After much waiting and getting distracted by other things going on around Toulouse, I've finally found the time and motivation to sort these pictures and get them uploaded. Having a laptop helps also! Most of the pictures that need captions have them, and a lot are just random shots that don't have a story behind them.

If I feel industrious later I might edit this post and give a narrative of the trip, but for now here are the pictures.

A View Worth Waking Up For

From Winter Vacation 2010

A little longer on the next update...

2010-03-03T12:22:00.001-06:00

I came home from our week off of school and discovered my computer would no longer turn on. I'll be using a friend's computer to sort and upload the pictures but it will probably be early next week before I can sort and upload them all. It should be worth it though, I took almost 700 pictures and discovered the digital macro mode on my camera (to my travel companions dismay), and should be able to post a good number of them after the sorting is all done.

Back up your photos in more than one location!

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Albi!

2010-02-14T07:01:00.002-06:00

The latest album contains a photo of the people in my program watching the Super Bowl, a few pictures from a trip around the Palais de Justice metro stop and Jardin des Plants, and Seve and I's day trip to Albi.

Albi is such a cool city! It takes about an hour to get there by train from Toulouse and is only 24 euro roundtrip for the standard fare. Seve suggested we go there for the day since everyone else in our program was going snow skiing, and we both wanted to see some smaller towns outside of Toulouse. I couldn't find too much info on Albi before leaving, but we didn't have any shortage of things to do there. We first went to the Cathedral de St. Cecile where the largest 15th century Italian renaissance painting covers both walls behind the main altar. The church's alcoves are covered in bright patterns as can be seen in some of the pictures. After the church we went to the Toulouse-Lautrec museum, and though we only had one hour to look around I think we saw most of the paintings on display for a reasonable amount of time.

After finishing the only two things we felt we needed to do in Albi, we wandered around and started looking for somewhere to eat. We got distracted when we saw the light from the setting sun lighting up the red brick bridges that span the Tarn river, and decided to take a walk and try to get a closer look. After the walk by the river we climbed back up to street level and began our search for food again.

We wandered around in a few directions looking for a kebab shop for a cheap and filling meal but couldn't seem to find anything other than expensive places with table cloths. We spotted a bar across a pedestrian mall and started walking towards it when we noticed lights from an area to the right of where we had just come from. We decided that since we were 2 backpackers on a day trip to another city, we should put the bar food off until later and go investigate.

It turned out to be a small carnival with lots of games like they have at the fair, such as picking up rubber ducks from a pool and throwing darts at balloons. The people working at these games stood out though! Unlike the workers at the State Fair in Jackson, these people were having pleasant conversations with each other, not yelling at you over a microphone, and generally didn't really seem to care if you didn't want to play their game.

After wandering around this carnival for a while we found a kebab stand and had an amazing meal of kebab + frites, though we were freezing by the time we were done eating because the only place to sit down was in a park that was not very protected from the wind. After eating we decided to go and find somewhere to warm up. We ended up in the Brussel's Cafe which was nice and centrally located. From there we figured out when we needed to leave to get back to the train station on time, then sat back with a beer and relived the great day we had.

The train ride back to Toulouse was great. Fast, quiet, and peaceful. I had an hour to kick back and listen to some music before getting home and taking the metro to my bed. Being able to wake up, go to another city for the day, then ride the train home and sleep in your own bed is a great thing.

From Feb 14, 2010

Daytrip to Albi

2010-02-13T06:51:00.000-06:00

Most of the students in my program went skiing for the day, so Seve and I are taking a day trip to Albi and coming back on the last train.

Here are a few pictures from the train ride:

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Toulouse, First Impressions

2010-02-12T19:17:00.002-06:00

This post is unfortunately just a few pictures.

These are the pictures I took on the train ride to Toulouse and the photos I took during my first week here. I have more to sort and upload, but since another guy in my program and myself are taking a day trip to Albi tomorrow I don't really have time to wade through all of them. Anyway, enjoy these and leave feedback in the comments!

A picture that's easy enough to take here, just look down any road off of a main street. Just click the date under the picture to go to the full album!

From January 31, 2010

Picture and Formatting Update

2010-02-04T16:42:00.004-06:00

It's been a crazy time since last updating. We saw Paris in a whirlwind of sights, sounds, smells, and tastes... with only a little bit of frostbite. Towards the end of our stay there the weather improved some and the cold was manageable so we saw a good number of sites, but spent a lot of time in museums as well. Following is the new format that I'll be posting pictures in. I'll post a "cover" type picture with a link to the album it is contained in instead of inundating the blog with pictures. This way you can read the text without clutter, then go to the album to look at pictures which are mostly captioned if needed for clarity. Also, most photos will be posted in the lowest resolution to save room in my Picasa albums, but if you happen to like one you can leave a comment with your e-mail and I'll see about getting you a nicer copy.

A nice view of a canal in Amsterdam:

From January 23, 2010

Paris and just a few from Berlin:

From January 30, 2010

Second Wave of Pictures

2010-01-24T09:22:00.004-06:00

Here are some pictures from the rest of my time in Köln

Looking north on Universitätstrasse

From Drop Box

A bridge and canal on the west side of Universitätstrasse

From Drop Box

My second host in Köln, heading to Düsseldorf for the night to try out Altbier and go to a club

From Drop Box

Düsseldorf's Altstadt (Old City)

From Drop Box

The first club we went to in Düsseldorf

From Drop Box

The club we stayed at until early in the morning in Düsseldorf

From Drop Box

Key West karaoke bar and Joschi, Luis' fencing coach. My last night in Köln

From Drop Box

Beautiful Amsterdam

From Drop Box

Travel Sites

2010-01-24T08:47:00.000-06:00

Here is a page with links to some travel tools you can find on the web:

http://web.appstorm.net/roundups/travel/12-grea-sites-to-improve-your-travel/

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First Wave of Pictures

2010-01-22T18:17:00.005-06:00

Here are the pictures from the first day and a half that we spent in Köln!

Rich and I at the Düsseldorf International Airport, about to board the train to Köln

From January 20, 2010

The Dom Cathedral in Köln

From January 20, 2010

Inside the Dom

From January 20, 2010

S. Engelbertus the Martyr

From January 20, 2010

Wall of Pick-Your-Part Lego's in the Lego store, Köln

From January 20, 2010

Romanesque Church, Köln

From January 20, 2010

A city gate from the days this town had a wall around it, Köln

From January 20, 2010

Another church downtown, this one was just beside the Rhein, Köln

From January 20, 2010

Bridge over the Rhein, Köln

From January 20, 2010

Spiral staircase up to the Hauptbahnhof, Köln

From January 20, 2010

Dom side of the Hauptbahnhof, Köln

From January 20, 2010

The Dom with a museum in the foreground, Köln

From January 20, 2010

Brrrrrrrlin

2010-01-22T16:07:00.000-06:00

We got to Berlin last night and went to sleep early after eating at a Lebanese restaraunt.

Today we walked around Potsdamer Platz and saw an area where the wall use to stand. After that we went to the Memorial for Jews killed in the Holocaust. For dinner we ate American style burgers at White Trash Fast Food, a place with golden dragons on either side of the front door and all types of decoration inside.

After dinner we went to the Reichstag. We walked to the viewing platform at the very top of the dome, then back down to a cafe on the roof.

Below is the bottom level of the dome on the roof of the Reichstag:

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Amsterdam

2010-01-19T08:28:00.001-06:00

We got to the city yesterday evening and could not have had a better welcome!

The night started with talking, then a dinner party and ended with talking late into the night with so much in between that I'll have to come back and add more details when I'm on a computer.

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Wow!

2010-01-16T22:07:00.001-06:00

Hey everyone that is following this, sorry for not updating yet!

The last few days have been somewhat crazy due to an unforeseen circumstance but it's working out. I'm still in Köln and will leave Monday. Because we stayed longer than expected I moved to a new couchsurfing host.

He has shown me the nightlife of Köln and tonight Düsseldorf. We're on the stadtsbahn riding home now after an evening experiencing all kinds of music venues.

Here's a badly lit picture of Altbier, a style only available in Düsseldorf.

More updates and pictures to come when I have rested and feel like dealing with my computer!

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Pre-Flight

2010-01-12T16:22:00.001-06:00

First class, mimosas, grinning from ear to ear!

Christmas Break

2009-12-24T14:59:00.002-06:00

This week my break finally felt like it started.

On Saturday night Rich and I went to the Esperanza Plantation Christmas showcase to see some local bands play and catch up with old friends that I hadn't seen since high school. Sunday we rode around and did a last minute Christmas shopping.

Monday I drove up to Starkville with a trailer behind my mom's car and moved everything out of my apartment before turning around and driving home. Who knew I could pack everything in my apartment in ~ 2 hours? Now with that done I don't have any big things to take care of before leaving, a big relief.

Tuesday I ran errands, finished Christmas shopping, and hung out with Richie and Eli. We did some geocaching, saw Avatar in 3-D, and then played Settlers of Catan until about 1 in the morning.

Wednesday we did a family gift exchange, I got a scarf and a travel journal. The biggest present though was getting my passport and visa back in the mail. Long stay (1 year) visa for the Schengen Area is in my possession, I'm now free to move about the globe! Richie came over to hang out and receive his Christmas present, Astronomica. That book was massive, hopefully he'll get some use out of it. We stayed up pretty late, watching Kung Fu Hustle and smoking hookah.

Time to go get ready for another round of Christmas with family,
Happy Holidays.

Visa

2009-12-24T14:49:00.002-06:00

On Tuesday the 14th Richie and I left Jackson and pointed the car towards Atlanta. We arrived around 8 and went to eat mexican food with the people we were staying with, then went to sleep soon after getting back because we were getting up early the next day.

My visa appointment was for 11:00 wednesday, so we left the house around 9 to give ourselves plenty of time. After finding a parking garage and taking to the street on foot, we walked around a little trying to find the right building. At 10:55 we found the building where the consulate was located and I was right on time. The "interview" was no problem, about 5 minutes of paper shuffling and then it was over. I had successfully applied for my visa!

After the application was done Richie and I ate some sushi at a restaurant above the parking garage then headed deeper into downtown. We spent about 3 hours in IKEA, sitting in all the chairs and couches and deciding what we liked about every showcase, as well as doing some shopping for Rich. After IKEA we went to Trader Joe's to pick up a few more things for Rich. We considered going to Little 5 Points after TJ's, but we got caught in heavy traffic a little after 5 and so we decided to just get on the road. On the way home we ate chocolate covered espresso beans to stay awake, and stopped in a gas station in Alabama to get some Sweetwater beer that they don't sell in Mississippi. The cashier thought we were having a party since we bought all of the Sweetwater brand beers they had.

The rest of the week was a blur, Richie got food poisoning and I got some kind of food grossness as well but not as bad as him.

The Weekend!

2009-12-13T17:16:00.001-06:00

This is for the weekend of December 11-13

I left Starkville Friday afternoon for Muscle Shoals, AL to celebrate Zoie's birthday with her. We had lots of fun geocaching, going out to eat, finding Waldo at Books a Million, drinking beers with more than 5% alcohol (Double Bock and Imperial Stout I'm looking at you), and watching movies!

Sunday I drove south to Calera, AL to meet mom and friends and ride the Polar Express. Santa visited all the kids on the train while it was stopped at the North Pole. Everyone got cookies and milk and a silver bell from the elves on the ride back to the depot. After the train ride I drove back to Muscle Shoals and stayed up too late watching True Blood.

Cooper, The Conductor, and I

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Separation-Anxiety

2009-12-10T23:13:00.002-06:00

I spent today organizing clothes and packing up bags. I managed to separate all my clothes into the following categories: donations, consignment maybe, take to France, and leave in Jackson. I also got a lot of random stuff like magazines and sailing tackle stuffed into boxes that I won't remember the contents of.

I also got an answer to my question about the visa application so I can knock that out in the morning. All I'm waiting for is CampusFrance's approval then I can go to Atlanta, submit everything and wait.

Scholarship!

2009-12-10T13:14:00.005-06:00

I got an e-mail just now informing me that I'd been selected to receive a Study Abroad scholarship for spring 2010. What a great way to start another day of paperwork! Now I just need to send a Thank You note, and figure out how to write a Thank You note.

Trip to Macon

2009-12-09T22:24:00.002-06:00

Jim's Gym on the Mainstreet of Macon, MS

Masonic Temple also on the Mainstreet

What is now the library in Macon was a jail and residence when it was built. While one sheriff and her family lived there she had the bars taken off of the downstairs windows so that her family would not feel like they were in jail. The staircase to the second and third floors is accessible by a side door into the house so that it was not necessary to bring the prisoners through the living area of the house.

This is the entrance to the children's books section and reading room on the second floor.

Here you can see the shelves of children's books in a large cell with the staircase leading to the mezzanine level.

On the third floor mezzanine/catwalk you can see hook and trapdoor that were used when the jail performed hangings.

This room is immediately behind you when you're looking at the hook/trapdoor from the location of the picture above and it is filled with local family histories.

Drill Field

2009-12-09T22:05:00.000-06:00

Lee Hall - English and Foreign Language department headquarters

McCain - Bagley College of Engineering headquarters

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Productive Day

2009-12-09T18:53:00.002-06:00

I woke up around noon today after a thoroughly enjoyable night of sleep, free from worry about exams and with the knowledge that another semester is behind me. I spent most of today filling out paperwork and organizing, and even got my travel insurance taken care of and another form turned in. All that's left to do now is get my payment confirmation from CampusFrance and make the trip to Atlanta and my visa will be all taken care of.

Here's a list of projects I want to finish before leaving Starkville to move back to Jackson:

Finish filling out visa forms when I get the information
Separate clothes into keep, donate, and consignment piles/bags
Start storing stuff from the apartment like posters and mirrors
Get an idea of what I plan to take when I leave in January

That's it for now, I'm going to try and post some pictures of the University before I leave as well.