The Memories We Gained In Paris During Our Epic Adventure... One Most Certainly For The Books

Pepe Le Pew, the little french rascal of a skunk, once said during a scene in a Disney series, "you know... it is possible to be too attractive."  Yeah, well, he lies as bad as he smells.  He makes us oblivious Americans' assume that the French are lovably and sweet. The realization- they're smooth, sly, and sour.  

Paris, oh Paris, how beautiful of historical sites you have, but how unwelcoming of people you have.  The mass majority of people may be easy on the eye, but the glaring looks and snarls made it quite uneasy.  Maybe if they just listened to Trevor Hall's 'Where's the Love' they would cool down and be just a tad more approachable. Big maybe though.

To put into perspective:
It was like a scene from Westside Story.  Nate, Jordan, Brian Chapman, David Byrne, and Nate Engel made up the gang. We were the Jets, the typical Americans, hard nosed, stubborn, and looking to have a good, unconfrontational time.  The french were the Sharks, stylish and looking to not give any ground.  As we arrived late on the first night, we decided to venture out.  Not knowing ANY french, reading the map was interesting.  Well, actually, it was impossible.  Ten minutes into the trip we were as lost as the three blind mice.  We were 'not in Kansas anymore' as the group jokingly said numerous times to each other. Walking in circles, we finally looked to the only skyscraper in Paris to use as a land mark.  On the flight in, we met with a UW- River Falls graduate that Nate recognized and were to meet up for some chow.  A half hour walk turned into an hour and half race for sanity.  Tired and driven by hunger, we finally made it a restaurant called 'The Hippopotamus' - our first mistake.

It was late, around 11 PM, the place was hoppin as if it was happy hour at Apple bees.  Packed and filled with people of all ages, literally all ages- there was a group of 60+ year-olds having tea, we were able to sit right away.  The waiter, a middle aged gentleman, looked like a cut out from a GQ magazine.  Though, his english was real shaky which made speaking to him close to impossible (something that was common during the trip).  After pointing to the pictures on the menu like the typical tourists we were, our order was in.  Jordan decided that his PB&J at the hostel would be ok so he just ordered a Mojito.  Brian, Engel, and David got a half order of chips (fries) along with a few mozzarella sticks filled with a variety of veggies (disgusting) and Nate got a sample platter (second mistake).  Most of the group enjoyed the meal, Nate on the other hand did not.  The sample platter consisted of 6 dips and a newborn-baby-portioned bowl of crisps (chips)- costing 10 EUROS.  Needless to say the restaurant had zoomed in 10x on the platter that was on the menu.  After three bites, the crisps were gone.  Assuming that, like in the states, where you could ask for more crisps, Nate did just so (third mistake).  After the meal was complete, the bill came.  Little did Nate know, but the small side of extra crisps cost the same as the meal it's self. Awesome. After dropping half our bank account, we got up to the leave.  It was 1 AM and there was a waiting line to get in.  It was weird to see people coming in to get a meal so late.  Though, we soon found out that that is how the culture is over there. Psh- weirdos. Now it was time to try to make it back to our beautiful, extravagant, 5 star, marvelous, all inclusive hostel.  hahaha- it's opposite day, right?

The hostel- a cut out of a third world county.  To say the least, we now respect what we have.  A bed that is comfy, floors that are clean, sheets that aren't bloody, walls that aren't paper thin, bathrooms that don't look like Big Foots cave, doors that are hole-less, and roommates that you know. Our first hostel experience was... an experience. Located halfway down a dark alley, it was site for sore eyes. Jordan can be thanked for picking this beauty out.
Night one was eventful.  Nate, the hard sleeper he is, was able to sleep like a baby.  The others, not so much.  They were awaken at 4 AM by screaming and pounding that lasted an hour and a half. It was a mix of guys and girls, but no  one had the guts to see what was the matter.  All they could do was curl up in their wool blanket and hope the door wouldn't get broken down by the barbarians that were yelling outside.

Come morning it was time to see some sites. First was shower time. Very crucial.  This was awkwardly the nicest area of the hostel. We locked our bags to the beds and headed out.  First stop was the Statue of Liberty.  A smaller version of our massive statue.  Then it was off to the Eiffel Tower.  Holy big.  We paid a small fee to go up a third of the way and once on top, we did some ice skating... seriously. As we got down, we wanted to snag a few photos from higher ground.  We started to walk and soon realized we were in a vicious game of red rover.  We were the runners and the Nigerians were the wall.  They were carrying small, janky Eiffel Tower key chains and looking for money- and were very persistent on doing so.  They were able to pick up Nate because he was oblivious to what was going on and was more focused on taking a million pictures of the Tower.  They were able to stop Nate, grab his hand, wrap some string around it and begin to make a bracelet.  As they began to make the bracelet, Nate insisted that they were not going to get paid, but all they could say was 'oh you know Bob Marley, you know, no woman no cry' along with a variety of song titles and jibberish.  While this was going on, Nate was trying to get the attention of the others.  After a few seconds, Jordan and Engel came to the rescue but soon was pulled into the same trap as Nate.  The bracelet only took a few minutes to make and the Nigerian wanted 20 EURO! Nate laughed in his face and told him that was not going to happen.  Nate was able to throw change at him but he wanted more.  Tensions rose and more Nigerians came out from the shadows, Nate and the other two were able to bargain them down to 5 EURO each and they parted ways.  What a relief.

Next we trekked to the Champs Elysees- which was just a huge Arch with a 8 lane turn about surrounding it.  It was something to see.  No lanes, just ridiculous driving with many honks.

Then we headed to the Louvre. Wow. This place was something to see.  Holding the Monalisa, this museum is known as the most famous one because of that.  Though, due to the hundreds of school tours and the lines being way too long, we were content with walking around as much as we could without paying, taking some photos and then leaving.

The Notre Dame was our next stop.  This cathedral was massive.  Hundreds of tourists were walking around and snapping photos.  We were able to get in without charge and walk around.  Words really can't describe it. It's just one of those things that you got to see.      

So it had been a long, exhausting, terrifying, 7 hour, 6 mile adventure.  We were ready to go home- as if that was any better.  We were done for the day. Great, now we had to find our way back and travel completely across Paris.  Needless to say, we got lost which led to a two mile hike that took two hours. Just great! When we FINALLY returned, we were met by Chelsea Plant who is there studying abroad for the semester in Paris.  She had a club lined up for us to go to for the night.  And, remember, the night life starts much later than in the states.  We took the sketchy metro to her apartment which is located in a MUCH nicer part of Paris, had a few, met her friends from all over the US, then jumped back on the metro to hit up the club.  After a long night of dancing and meeting random french people, we laid our heads to rest close to sun rise.

The next day we packed up, checked out, met back up with Chelsea and walked around Paris a bit.  This was SO much better having Chelsea with us.  She is fluent in french and knows her way around.  Two key factors that none of us possessed.  Our flight to Barcelona was to depart later than night, but we were done with Paris.  So rather than walk any more, we decided to head to the airport early, catch some shut eye and prepare ourselves for the night in Spain.

Stay tuned for the the Barcelona blog- we probably should spend a bit of time on this new thing we just discovered called studying- such a weird concept...

First Extended Weekend... Paris and Barcelona! Why not, right?

Nate and Jordan are soon off to the City of Love, Paris, in a few hours accompanied by three other Soup Town boys- Brian, Nate Engel, Dave.  Matt will be heading to the City of Dance, Barcelona at the same time. He's with a friend and on Friday night Nate, Jordan, Brian, Dave and Nate Engel will be joining Matt to get their party on and enjoy the rays at the beach. It is going to be a epic trip for the three of them.  They've been ranting about it all week in excitement.

Posting on the blog while away looks grim. We will try, but in any case, we will post by Tuesday.

We want to let our families know we love them and would like to thank them for everything!

To all are friends back home... make sure to bend at the knees while shoveling... wish you could be with us!!

St. Andrews, Enough said...

Well, we've done it. We've gone full circle with the game of golf. Ever since we were kids, golf was integrated into our lives.  From chipping in the back yard to going to various tournaments as young bucks- golf was a sport that never got old and we never gave up on.

Friday, February 4, 2011 will forever be ingrained in our minds.  We woke up around 7 AM after a few hours of sleep.  Tired and dragging tail, we showered up, grabbed some chow and made our way to the coach bus.  After a two hour, much need nap, we arrived.  First sight, 18th hole of the Old Course.  A green that is the most legendary hole known to the golf world.  A green that rests on a 459 year-old course.  It took our breathe away.

Sadly, we were scheduled for a guided tour so we were forced, literally forced, to leave the course.  After numerous moans and groans, we headed down the street.  Little did we know what we were in for.  We all walked into the visitors center of St. Andrews and were given directions of what our day was going to consist of.  First was a short walk through of the history of the city, then to a castle, followed by a cathedral, then free time.

The walk through of the visitor center was unbelievable (a word that will probably be used many times here).  The history of this city was quite hard to fathom.  Having been established in the year 1140 and how 871 years later there are still early evidence of those time is just remarkable.

Next was to the St. Andrews Castle. This was one of those places where you don't really expect a whole lot since it was so old and beat up. This was not the case though. The castle sat on the side of a 100 foot cliff and had many look out points towards the ocean. The sun peaked out right as we got to the top of one of the castles peaks.  It was truly a sight to see. After numerous photos we strolled down to a underground tunnel. Going down towards the tunnel, we walked down a flight of old rock stairs into what we thought was just a small cave... hardly the case. Instead we walked, no, we crawled on our hands and knees to get through this small 4X4ft passage. Guert, with a taste of claustrophobia felt a little uneasy. But, with 15 other guys behind him pushing him forward it wasn't a hard task to make him face his fear. It didn't make anyone feel better about the crammed situation as he kept saying "this is my nightmare."

Our next adventure took us to a gigantic cemetery which used to be St. Andrews Cathedral. Huge would be an understatement. Little remained from this place but pillars of rock and one standing tower. We got a coin from the visitors center to walk up the 108 foot tower. First to enter the small gate leading into a single person walkway up to the top was Guert. After putting his coin in he turn the gate once. Stuck. hmmm.. "Jordan give me your coin" Guert says as he steals Jordan's coin and puts it in and proceeds to the other side. (reminder, one coin per entry)
Nate- "Waittt..what?!"
Matt- "Just both you and jordan fit in and come through."
So the two squeezed in and with Matt pulling from the inside and two girls pushing from the other side the gate slowly turned. Nate- "Ah! Cant breathe! Go back Go back!" We tried it one more time and succeeded. Noticing directly after that two girls would fit comfortably by themselves. Eh, another story and experience, right? Pictures of the top of the tower are on the slide show.

Up next, finally as we waited impatiently all day, was to the famous St. Andrews! Walking the course we all had one thing on our mind. Taking a stroll on the famous 18th hole bridge. A slow jog turned into a sprint where we threw our cameras at the girls and got ready for a pose on top the bridge. This memory will last the rest of our lives. To turn on the British Open and see all the famous golfers to have walked over that bridge, and then to do it yourself really is a surreal moment. Afterwards we walked the rest of the course taking golf action pictures on various tee box. (FYI- we witnessed a TORO workman on the course being used by their maintenance workers, the same as ours. An excitement needed to be witnessed to get) A couple more shops and Ziggy's restaurant were our last few stops. Ziggy's being the most memorable due to us ordering the largest burgers on the menu. Pictures will explain this tale. Jordan had a 3 1/2 pound burger along with a pound of toppings. Guert's had two patties, both wrapped in bacon, topped with two eggs. Nate had a simple mega burger with extra pickles. This  filled our stomachs up like the course filled our hearts with joy making this one beautiful day.

Oh The Lives We Live....

350 years of age. She's an oldie. Oddly enough, it's one that is small in comparison to the hundreds of castles that the Duke of Buccleuch (owner) has.  This 'palace,' as it's known here, is very hard to explain, but we'll try throughout the next few blogs or so.

First off, we are in the City of Dalkeith, not Edinburgh, like Nate thought.  Dalkeith would be considered like a suburb of Edinburgh, only about 10 minutes Southeast.

Anyways, back to the juicy goodness of the trip so far... Nate and Jordan got lucky and were able to live together in a huge room with four other guys.  Guerty got a solid pad, living on the second floor with two other gentlemen.

UW-Superior students take up a large portion of the population here, and Nate and Jordan live with two of them in room 103.  They're a solid group of boys. They are on the same level as them; they are ready to rage, live it up, and experience it all. Over the last few days, room 103 has seemed to be the hot spot of gathering, whether it be before class, after eating, or before we head out to the pubs.

Nate, coming from the Northwoods of Wisconsin, had a NHS former graduated join him Friday morning. His name, Tim O'Halloran, a student of UW-EC. Nate's excited to be have him here and is looking forward having the young-blood join him in the pubs and various adventures around Europe. Nate also met two people who are originally from Proctor (where he lived for the first year of his life), a girl in his high school conference from Hayward, and a girl from Cloquet that knows his cousin Kelsey- small world.

Jordan, a native to Maple Grove, is roommates with two old high school rivals; Aaron Bresser, Brian Chapman. He is also acquainted with Nate Engel, all of whom are students at UW-Superior.  Also from back in Junior High, he knows Chelsea Hyser, who is Stephanie Hyser's cousin, a fellow student of theirs at UWRF.

Matt, a beloved citizen of Mounds View, a long time soccer player back in his hay day as a young buck, takes a different approach to making connections with his new fellow students by talking to the UW-Superior men's soccer players about 'football.' Also, with his glowing personality and stellar looks that he received from Rich and Sheryl, he is able to win people over and become friends easy. A task the other two find a bit difficult..

So Thursday, the actual check-in day, was the first legit full day here in Dalkeith.  We got up at about 9:30 and went out for our first run on the grounds of the castle. Interesting enough, the sun was still low which made it an amazing atmosphere to run in.  People were already out walking their dogs and walking around the many open fields and were quick to give a good morning. As we began to run, we saw arrows that we assumed would lead us around for our run... key word 'assumed.' What we hoped was going to be a short mile or two jog on flat ground around the castle, turned to a hilly adventure through the woods.  After about two miles we were lost.  We were in unfamiliar territory, deep in the woods, and could find nothing that looked right.  As we trekked through skinny trails, over old bridges, and up slopes that most olympians would probably train on, we finally found the beginning of the trail where we started... which was four miles later. This was sort of a surreal moment for all of us. We peaked over what seemed to be a couple hundred year old bridge and into the rising sun reminding us of a day of work back at the good ole RFGC course back home. We took in the moment and this was the point that really hit us.. We are here. Scotland. Its happening.

After we made it back and went down to the basement workout room.  This is one of the nicest workout facilities we've ever seen. Not. It's small, no ventilation, and has minimal equipment. We'll make it work though. Guert, a very talented weight trained individual made a 30 second blast rep out that put us all on our knees. Jordan was able to think creatively and put together another solid workout.  Nate, with no question, thought of a very edgey cardio routine that dropped all to the floor. Perfect. Shortly after finishing our workout, orientation begun.  All 66 students gathered outside the front of the palace and we did a variety of team building activities.  Some were all for the games because it was the first time we were all interacting, though some just wanted to get inside and wrap up in a blanket- dumb.

After dinner, 20+ people gathered in room 103 and 'prepared' for the night.  Once all the cans were crushed and bottles were thrown away, we ventured out to the pubs.  First stop- Maysons.  This pub as a long reputation for hosting Wisconsin in Scotland (WIS) students for a 'jolly good time.' While there, we met up with two 'lads' named Liam and Alex.  These two gave us more than enough information about the ins and outs, and the crucial dos and donts of Scotland. We also shared common stereotypes and made many jokes of both societies. Not to mention, we all tried to mock each others accent- it was hilarious to say the least.  Brian was called Paul Walker and many others were referenced as top celebrities. After a long night of pints and laughs, we went up the block to top off our stomachs with some fish and chips.  Glorious meal. Fresh fries topped with a large piece of freshly deep grilled piece of cod, covered with a traditional brown sauce. We have no idea what exactly makes up the brown sauce, or even what to compare it to, but it sure tastes amazing.

Friday was a long day.  Water was downed like it was going out of style as heads bobbed constantly as all the house rules were going over.  Ironically, the main portion of all the rules were based off off drinking.  After a small bag lunch, only filling a quarter of our empty stomachs, we had more orientation to complete.  More drinking policies and eating policies were gone over and over and over... but that didn't stop Nate who, after two hours of hearing that only designated areas of the palace you are able to eat in, tears into a Fun Dip right in front of the Director.  After a moment or two, he realized what he had done, saw that he was being glared at, and yelled out a loud 'oh my god!' Needless to say, and by the policy of eating goes, he was now going to have to clean the unauthorized room he was just in. After a traditional Scottish Pie dinner, the whole group went out in the court yard, did some games, and then traveled a few hundred yards to the wooden fortress.  This place was amazing. Covering a 50 square yard area, there was a large slide, bridges that could take you anywhere, hiding spots, and other nooks and crannies. The old man-made tunnels went through a 40ft length under a hill. With only girls to go through first, the three of us didn't realize the height of the stone above. Pitch black and stumbling you could take it out of a scene from the three stooges. We all three hit our foreheads on the not so soft stone ceiling. Shouting and hollering followed, with 15 girls staring at our star appearance coming out of the tunnel. A first appearance that really accented our personality's.
Later that night, we all hung out in the basement where there is a ping pong table, 'pool' table (much different here than back in the states), and a movie room. Day two was now in the books and fines were already given out. Just great.

Saturday was an awesome day.  We woke up for breakfast, did a small orientation, then headed into Edinburgh as a group.  We were lead by one of the staff members here in the castle.  We roamed about the Castle of Edinburgh. The place was unreal. Build literally hundreds of years ago (before the US even in the books), we were able to see it all.  We did that for a few hours, then rocked on home. There we started to prepare for the night. Come 10 PM, we headed to the Maysons. Come bar close, we had to tip toe back to 103. Little did we know that our door was locked. Jim Bone was the only soul snoozin in the room.  He was not waking up from our obnoxious knocks and screams from the hall. We were forced to chill in our neighbors room for about 45 minutes. Being in the girls room, ones that were out cold since 8 PM, just dumb, we were able to wake them and entertain them for a bit.  So come 45 minutes later, we went back to 103, hammered on the door, and Jim Bone came.  Little did he know we were on a whole 'nother level... and what else to do.. but to party boy him. All six of us. Yep, it was hilarious. Jordan and Nate tackled him and the others followed. As they all flew onto Jimmy's bed, Jordan and Nate flew off his bed and the other went on like nothing happened. Classic.

Sunday was just unreal. Ugh. We were all parched and wanted to sleep.  But that wasn't possible. Today we were to participate in the WIS Amazing Race. The objective was to locate, describe, take pictures, and answer questions from the four page packet we all received.  They ranged from old time historical areas to new local hot spots of Edinburgh. The bus ride was brutal.  Thomas Schuldeiz, a native to Andover Minnesota, going to UWS, was on the bus with the boys. He was a tad under the weather and ready to opt out from the activity.  Thankfully, the bus ride wasn't too long, so he did alright.  As all the groups started the race, most didn't actually participate.  Whether it was because they were too 'tired' or because they just didn't want to keep going, most opted out.  A few hours later, 3/4 of the 66 students made it back to the palace where they took a much needed nap.  Jordan and Nate were out cold. Not moving and half alive, they slept till 8 PM. Guerty was a trooper and didn't sleep that long. But why? Well that night, there was a few Scottish people that came to teach the group a traditional dance.  Needless to say, few went and the director was far from happy.  But what did they actually expect, many were drained and needed sleep. What can you do?

Monday came and it was the first day of classes. Yay. Not much to say here. It is what it is.  Classes are for an hour a forty minutes each. Two classes that the program has is Scotland ones. These are a globalization class and a culture/society one.  Both on Monday. Nate is the lucky one that gets to do them both.  After 9 hours of class, he's ready for a pint.. or two.

So far so good. This place is madness. People going out every night, people playing games and wondering around.  The people of Dalkeith are taking most of us in with open arms.  Few assume that we are all rich snobs from New York, but little do they know we are urbanized people that go to D3 schools.



From Nate: Hi Mom and Dad, I sure miss you two.  I love you 'like crazy' like grama Vadnais says.  Give a hug to Gus and kiss my baby girl like crazy up there in the sticks of WI. Be well back home, we'll skype soon. Brothers, keep on keepin on out west. I'll see you in May. Get my bed ready out there.

From Matt: Mum and Pops, much love. This is known. This is something I have yet to forget about.. Cheer for the pack hard and if they lose you will have a sad son over across the pond. I'm headed to Barcelona in a week. Wish me luck. Spanish is a bit rusty but I'll be good. Have a time on your upcoming cruise. I am a bit jealous...well, guess I cannot be that envious myself.

From Jordan: Hello family, I miss all of you and hope you are all flowing this as much as possible. I hope everything is going well and everyone is being good. TO all my siblings, Tyler, Brandon, Alyssa and Tucker… stay out of trouble and keep doing good in school so one day you can hopefully do what I am doing now. Until next time I love all of you