HAPPY 4th A TOUS!
Mood:  mischievious
HAPPY 4TH OF JULY TO EVERYONE!! Here in Belgium there isn't much racket being made about the 4th... which makes sense seeing it isn't their day of independance :p. A group of American exchange students were, though, trying to get a party set up on the beach for the 4th of july, with fireworks and everything, but I'm not sure how that worked out. I had planned on going but first I wanted to make a stop in Brussels with Adriana to get her diploma thingy for the school but by the time we were done doing that it was full out storming and we didn't think anyone would be at the sea... plus I had asked Ross to call me around noon and he never did, so Adriana and I returned early which turned out really good in the end.

Adriana, elle est partie le 5. Quelle horreur! C'est un choses quand tu dois dire au revoir ? ta meilleure amie, mais c'?tait encore plus pire que ?a pour moi... Adriana est devenue plus que ma meilleure amie, elle est comme ma soeur! (et c'est vrai que nous avons habit?es ensemble pendant que je sois install?e chez Duchesne)

--> Adriana left the 5!! How terrible it was! It's one thing to lose your best friend but it was even worse than that for me because Adriana is more than my best friend! She's like my sister! (and its true that while I was living at the Duchene's house, she was living there with me)

Her last night in Belgium was spent like this: First the Duchesne family made couscous and we spent the evening there eating our 'last supper' with the family until 8:30 or so then when my host family was done doing the dishes, they took us to Adriana's first host families house where we spent the rest of the evening. Around midnight Marie took us back to my house (but don't be decepted, it wasn't to say goodnight) but instead to get my bottle of a****** and by 6 in the morning that was polished off between Adriana, Robin (Adriana's host brother) and me.

^Marie Fayersn(adriana's first host mom) added a comment to this photo on Adriana's website in French that went something like this: 'H? woah you 3! How many glasses of ice water did you drink before you got that beautiful starry eyed look?' lol :) At 6 in the morning the 3 of us wandered down to my house (the Duchesne house) on this little path that leads almost directly from their back yard to mine. And for the rest of the day I spent packing with Adriana and at 2 her first host family came to get her and me and took us to the airport. Goodbyes are always sad and this one was no acception either... :( As soon as I got back from the airport, I finished packing my bags and after a quick dinner with my Duchesne fam, Guillaume came to get me to take me to my new living arrnagements.

I'm really happy how the family change worked out where I moved the same day as she left for Brasil. I couldn't have supported staying there when she wasn't there. So now I'm at the Hubert residence. Guy and Martin are reallllly nice and they have two really cute sons (who unfortunately dont live at the house any more :( lol ) I get the entire upstairs of their house to myself which is sectioned off into two rooms for their sons who obviously don't need them any more. I get a bathroom to myself and everything.

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I just can not believe London won the hosting of 2012 Olympic games! I'm so sad for Paris (because I dooooo loooove paris!) And then this morning when there was a terrorist attack in London. Hummm I just don't know what to think :/
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Yesterday I woke up around noon (having finally caught up on the sleep that I missed from the night of the 4th of July (the night I stayed up with Adriana and Robin) and then went to work with my host dad until 6. He is the manager/ boss of an accounting business but I mainly stayed upstairs working on my presentation speach for Rotary that I presented today...

If I can find the cd with the 4th of july photos, then I'll put them on my yahoo album... that is if I canfind them. Everything is so almost neatly packed away I almost don't want to disturb it. :)

So many things are changing... and life goes on
Mood:  not sure
Topic: EUROTOUR
'Rob ' left yesterday. I went to the airport early in the morning to see her off. I had to be up at 6:30 to take the train at 8 and be in Brussels by 9:30. Ashley told me she would be there at 9 and that her plane was leaving at 11 so there I was and there was no sign of her. I was freaking out for about an hour when all of a sudden as I was walking past some gates I see her and Kathleen and Ross walking towards me and I hear Kathleen say: oh there she is! I was so relieved I ran up and gave Ashley the biggest hug and it turned really quickly into a big crying fest. :'( I'LL MISS YOU 'MY ORIGIONAL ROB'!!!! The reason I hadn't seen her had been because her family had been late and she had just been checking in her things. I WAS SOOO RELIEVED THAT I FOUND HER! I had visions of not finding her and not being able to say good solid goodbyes... And I think good goodbyes are important. Once she left, I went into the city with Ross and Kathleen for a half an hour or so but decided it was a better idea for me to head home to Liege (since I left early in the morning, I never mentioned to my host family where I was going and they wern't too impressed with me when I got back) but i just told them that I'd woken up around 11, and gone out into town to buy a book and no one was home when I left.

When I got back to the house, Charles, my 6 year old host brother was fast asleep ontop of the table... huh? lol tooo cute! I'll miss these kids... If I miss nothing else about this god forsaken country... i will miss the Duchesne kids :):):)


Adriana will leave me in 2 days... this is probably going to be the hardest goodbye ever! She has become my best friend during the year here and I don't know when I'll see her again. I'm sure we'll talk and do our circle journal thing but... its not the same. Nothing will be the same between us like it is here in Belgium 04-05...

TOMORROW IN OOSTANDE!!! AMERICAN PARTY!! contact Ross asap if you want in.

*bizz

EURO TOUR (outline)
Mood:  chatty
Topic: EUROTOUR

OVERVIEW:

Tuesday the 14: Mid-afternoon the FIRST family of Adriana took me into Li?ge to stay at the Youth hostel.

Wednesday the 15: (day 1) We set out on route in the morning after eating breakfast at the youth hostel around 9. Stopped at mid-day for lunch then got to Munich, Germany in the evening. Did a tour of the city before returning to the youth hostel that night.

Thursday the 16: (day 2) We left Munich in the morning and stopped an hour or so later at Dachau which is just a little bit south of Munich (the concentration camp) in the afternoon. In the Evening we arrived in Prague. They had some crazy nightlife for a Thursday night (got back to the hostel around midnight)

Friday the 17: (day 3) There was a guided tour of Prague (the capital of Czech Republic) but the tour guide spoke really terrible french with a strong accent and no one could understand him. Returned in the afternoon by bus to the hostel after eating at a nice monestary/restaurant, to do shopping and it rained for the first and only time during Euro-tour. Afer dinner, Rotary took us to a theater preformance that was all done with blacklights and special effects. That evening I went out with Holly and Anna to go 'ambiance hunting'.

Saturday the 18: (day 4) Holly and I returned to the hostel at 7:30 in the morning. Around 8 the bus left for Vienna, Austria. (Vienna is the capital of Austria) We caught up on our sleep on the long busride. The hostel wasn't in the city center so no partying Saturday night.

Sunday the 19: (day 5) was a guided tour of Vienna and at noon they set us free to do shopping or look more around the city. In the evening they had planned for us to see a famous Vienne opera but things got mixed up and I'll explain it later. Back to the hostel around 11:30 and again, no partying.

Monday the 20: (day 6) We left early in the morning to get to Salzburg (where the movie: The Sound of Music was filmed) and we arrived around noon. Took a guided tour of the famous salt mines and then got checked into our rooms in the early evening. Went out at night with Stephanie, Danni, Anna, and Holly.

Tuesday the 21: (day 7) Got back around 3 in the morning. Slept until 7 when I had to get up with my group to go sightseeing. The guided tour lasted until noon or so then we all had lunch. In the afternoon a group of us went bike riding to make another tour of the city. No partying that night.

Wednesday the 22: (day 8) woke up at 3 with 'rob' = ashley to watch the sun come up. Cute ^^ :) Came back and got a good solid 2 hours of sleep before having to eat breakfast and get on the bus for Venise. Arrived in Venise in the afternoon. Walked around the city in the evening. Stayed at the hostel at night= no partying for me.

Thursday the 23: (day 9) Woke up early but too late for breakfast. Had a guided tour of the center of Venise then most of the peeps went to the beach on the island of Lido. Got back in the late afternoon and I went to sleep until (recover) diner, ate at the hostel, then went back to sleep for the rest of the night= no partying.

Friday the 24: (day 10) Left early in the morning to head to Florence, Italy. Got there in the afternoon and had lunch at the hostel. Then we went to a small traditional Tuscan city. Had a glass of good italian wine with the girls under the hot tuscan sun :D. Ate at a restaurant. Got back to the youth hostel and most of us stayed outdoors drinking in the gardens with other residents of the hostel.

Saturday the 25: (day 11) Guided visit of Florence (Statue of David is kept in Florence) Ate lunch at the hostel then went to Sienne to visit for the day. The busdriver got us lost and we ended up eating sandwiches in the middle of nowheres (on the side of a hill) for dinner. Got home to late for me to party in the garden. I was too tired.

Sunday the 26: (day 12)Depart in the direction of France. Stop in Pisa and see the only memorable thing in Pisa there is to see: the leaning tower... of coarse! Photos photos photos, but it costed 15 euros to climb up it and so we decided that a ground's eye view wasn't so bad. Arrived in Nice later that day. Went out in the evening but got lost on the bus and came back to the hostel. Pool at the hostel. :):):)

Monday the 27: (day 13) Visited Monaco, went to the aquarium then to see the changing of the guards that happens every day at 11:55. From there the rotary promised us lunch as long as we walked to the restaurant... an hour and 15 minutes later in the boiling heat, we arrived at the restaurant. I'm surprised no one passed out, because no one had come prepared with water... but it was such a beautiful walk anways. :)

(you can see the untouched version of this picture with my other photos from euro tour in my "Euro Tour Album")
After diner, I went with a group of girls swimming in the ocean that was right off the balcony of the restaurant. In the afternoon around 3 or so we left for Cannes (where the French Film Festival was held last year) What is the south of France famous for? Like Nice and Cannes?? BEACHES! So of coarse we went swimming (after I had already been swiming earlier) it was warmer at the water infront of the restaurant. That evening we left for yet another beach. Had a barbecue on the sand and enjoyed our last days of euro tour.

Tuesday the 28: (day 14) Drove to Lyon. It was so hot but the youth hostels were really nice. Had a guided tour by night of Lyon and bought 3 bottles of rose wine to share between Ross, Kathleen and me. Partay in Rosses room our hostel rooms were right next to eachother. heh. At about 2 I piled out of there and went to Dani and pam's room. Slept there.

*na na na na, hey hey hey, good bye*

Wednesday the 28: (day 15) last day of euro tour was spend driving back to Belgium.We got to Liege around 6:30. It was raining. My host mom picked me up around 7.

Euro tour
Mood:  a-ok
Topic: EUROTOUR
Hey guys im in Austria in the middle of my euro tour (cyber cafes are lifesavers) but I cant talk for long so I just wanna say thanks for still lookin at this and I?m having an awesome time. Check back as often as u?d like but within a week or so I will have my photos all loaded + the rest of my adventures from Italy

**u guys are tooooo devoted and i love you**

kisses from all over europe ;)
-tRACY

I <3 VENEZIA!!!!!
Mood:  loud
Topic: Trip to Venise, Italy

I just can't believe it actually happened! First I was almost sure that I was going, then I knew I wasn't going, then I thought I might be going again, then I thought Rotary wouldn't let me go, then the night before I was scheduled to fly out, I got the go ahead and knew that I was going. *phew*

Origionally, I ordered those plane tickets with a matching pair for Adriana and it was going to be us going together. I think we bought them about 2 or 3 weeks ago, mais pas plus. After we purchased the tickets and found out there were no refunds, her host family told her that they didn't want her to go. I just gave up hope and said well then I'm not going either. I stopped to think about it, because I just figured that I wasn't going, period, end of story. Then last weekend I started thinking seriously about what if I did go. I asked Killan if he would go with me and he told me he wanted to but he had too much work to do for school. I asked Sandyha but she didn't have the money. Finn- a commitment to his drama class. Miss New Hampshire- SATs in Brussels. Hugo- never got back to me on his answer. Finally I found Yonas. THANK GOOOOOOD for Yonas!!! (and his host mom) He told me that he'd been looking for a trip to make and his host mom wanted to pay for it for him! Plus it was her that got up at 3 Saturday morning to take us to the Charleroi airport.

Last friday (the 3rd) after school was a mad crazy day for me. I was scrambeling and running and crying some all over the place because the company closed at 7 and we still hadn't changed the name on the ticket from Adriana's name to Yonas'. 15 minutes before 7, Yonas calls me and tells me ... Ok tracy... its settled. I'm going.

YEEEEEEEEES!!!! OUIAAAAAAAAAAH! w00t w00t!

I grabbed a quick chocolate sandwich and headed out the door to catch the bus in Liege to Spa where Yonas lives. He picked me up at the train station around 9 and we spent the rest of the night online looking at what our plans for the next day would be. We went to sleep around midnight but had to be up again at 3:15.

** DREAMS**

WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

And in my dream I think: AHHHH!! someone is going to drop a bomb on me!!

... no no wait, thats just my alarm clock. After a quuick breakfast we were en route pour l'aeroport. The plane left at 6:30 but we had to be there at least 40 minutes early to get our tickets and such.

I slept for most of the plane ride and woke up just as the plane touched down in Italy. Even at 7:55-8 in the morning, it was already warm and the sun was coming up. We bought a bus pass for 4,50 Euros, to get onto the island of Venise from Trevise where the airport was. Once on the Island, cars are not permitted because the roads are too little and the only means of transportation is by foot or boat. For an all day pass, it costed 10,50 Euros but it is unlimited access.

**You are never lost if you never started with a specific destination in mind**

Errant- wandering

In the morning, Yonas and I walked all over the north part of the island, absorbing all that was new and 'Italianish' taking pictures and video clips of every little thing and every little building. Seeing the big cathedrals and 'major tourist sites' wasn't so important to us as exploring all the side roads and little lost gullyways!!!!

We decided around 11 that we should find a goal and since we had bought tickets for free boat transportation we agreed that finding the nearest boat launch was a sound plan.

The first boat that came our way took us to an island secluded from all the other little islands that was just a cemetary (not just a cemetary as in insignifigant, mais just a cemetary as in, there was nothing else on the island.) its a beautiful island comme meme :) We stopped, took pictures and even got a picture of a priest coming out of the main buildings. chouette :)

From there we took the next boat (because the boats make a circular route of the upper islands, a little ways north of Venise, and you can get off at any boat landing, look around, then take the next boat in which ever direction you want to go in the circuit.) to the island Murano which is super ultra famous for glass making. They have everything made of glass (blown glass-- ultra fragile, ultra luxx, ultra exxxxxxpensive) that you could ever want or wish for short of a toilet bowl I think.

non... im sure if I looked hard enough, I could find a toilet bowl also !!! :p I picked up a couple of cute things there :)

3 pm- take the boat back to the main island

****************il faut que j'ecris le fin d'histoire plus tard parce qu' il est trop tard pour moi et je n'arrive plus de penser****************

**************** I've gotta write the rest of the story later because its too late for me to think any more*****************