t-minus one month

désolé.. quoi?! (sorry, what!) one month? insanity. cannot believe it's already been four months - as I expected, the semester has absolutely flown by and been filled to the brim with delicious eats, great souls, and running for every form of transportation. 

this week i checked off a few angers bucket list items. hol and i tried speed rabbit pizza - it was a definite thumbs up and we now know why it's always busy when we walk by. kerst and i popped over to the saturday market (kind of by accident) because we were on our way to CLASS on a SATURDAY. should be against the law, without a doubt. we snagged a pastry for breakfast to get us through our 3 hour class on a saturday morning.. we wanted to go to the outlet mall, but leave it to angers to be be 41 degrees at the end of april - its 41 according to weatherchannel.com, but it actually feels like 30 degrees with the wind and the rain. needless to say, we are jealous of the warm and sunny days dayton has been blessed with over the last few months..

this weekend is bittersweet. it's one of my last weekends in angers, because i am trying to squeeze in as much travel as possible with the few weeks i have left in europe. my classes and final schedule for the rest of the semester is scattered and strange (truly a pain in the butt) but you'll be seeing a lot of travel photos coming up and i am super excited. i do love being in angers though, especially with the girls and my roommates.

picture of the window is the snail: I pass by this flower shop every time I go to school and I absolutely LOVE flowers but there's this big white snail that I think is so pretty and i honestly wanted to buy it for my room. LOL just kidding mom, didn't buy a huge ceramic snail.  

Hollys corner: 

• peckish. meaning: hungry, down for a snack
• savlon. meaning: neosporin
• taking the piss. meaning: to mock someone
• togs. meaning: one piece bathing suit
• chilly bin. meaning: cooler  
• wags. meaning: wives and girlfriends on the sidelines (like a soccer mum, but a wife or gf) 

heading out in Tuesday for a few trips - gotta squeeze as much travel in before finals and before the grand departure back to the US of A. loving life as eurojules.. 

cheers, jkro

bar(th)elona

Sunday morning in Lisbon the alarm went off at 5:40 - fat nope from both of the Kromar gals. we stumbled around and made our way to the metro, which we had to wait to open at 6:30. we waited many Portuguese stop names before arriving at the airport. luckily we arrived sooner and made it through security faster than expected so we didn't have to run through the mall-like airport to get to our gate. the Lisbon security so kindly confiscated my bomb american toothpaste, which I plan to be salty about until I return home and secure good toothpaste again. like come on dude, I've been patient when you shuffle and rummage through my bag or when you fondle me to make sure I'm not packing heat and that's fine. but my toothpaste? seriously?

we waited on the Tarmac for a half hour, and it's times like these when I'm glad I managed to book a direct and we have nothing to rush to upon landing. the Spanish population on the plane YELLED most of the flight (because I'm convinced they all missed the indoor voice lesson both on the plane and in class at ESSCA), so sleeping wasn't really a thing. we've now been up for 5 hours, and it's only 1045. we're planning to drop our things at the hostel and venture out for a tour of barca - fingers crossed the weather behaves and we can snag a napski later.

beautiful day all day Sunday - took a while to find our hostel but we checked in, dropped our things and went out for food. we snagged a slice of pizza and then walked along the port and popped in and out of tents selling things like fans, jewelry and fake nikes. we sat on the patio of a cafe and shared a beer and some paella - when in spain, right? we walked around some more, popped into the mall on the water, and then mosied around back to the hostel. we took a little siesta and then ventured out for dinner at a local tapas place. pretty much the weirdest set up for a restaurant, ever. it was so tiny, you had to wait in a line outside and they took you in by group and sat you smushed against the bar or smushed against the wall, pick your poison. waiting in line, a really lovely British gal started to chat us up. we covered a wide array of topics in a short amount of time, including politics and sightseeing and country generalities. I asked her what her favorite place was in Europe (though basic, I really enjoy hearing where people have been and enjoy) and she said a small town in Slovenia. both Tess & my mouth dropped open. Slovenia? seriously? she saw our shock and asked if we'd been and we said no we'd love to go because we're Slovenian. she was floored by that, (and by the fact we are sisters) and just thought it was so cool and went on to recommend a restaurant and the name of the owner that we should ask for. SO COOL, seriously meeting people like Alice is one of my favorite parts of traveling. back to the restaurant -we went for the bar, and then they instructed us to get up and walk along the bar (but really behind everyone sitting at the bar) to point out what we wanted. tapas are basically picky appetizers, but they're known for them around here. we both ordered sangria too - very delish but honestly my roommates made some a few weeks back and theirs might've been even better. everything was very tasty, and we got a chuckle out of watching everyone go through the same inefficient and overall awkward process of selecting their tapas off the counter to then be warmed and served as they ate. we walked around, I picked up a few post cards, and then we stopped at a cervezeria for a beer and a chat. we sat outside so we could people watch (didn't disappoint on one of the busier Barcelona avenues) and then we picked up some gelato because why not were on vacation. I tend to go for mango & lemon together, it has yet to be a bad call. honestly how could it be bad, it's gelato.

Monday morning rolls around, and we set out to take a tour of the city. I so gracefully fell down the super old marble stairs leading up to our hostel - eurojules took a Monday morning tumble. after a jump start on some bruises, we made our way to the tour spot. our tour guide was hysterical - Leon from the UK fell in love with his girl and uprooted to Barcelona (which I called before he even said it) 15 years ago and they have twins on the way (basically the love story I'm always dying to hear.) we met some neat people on the tour, and learned some nifty facts about barcelona's history. spoiler alert: it's bloody. people are kind of the worst sometimes. we finished the tour, and stopped in at bo de b, a sandwich place recommended to Tess and I separately by pals who previously studied abroad (thanks Andrew & Danielle!) and it was very tasty. quite the happening place around lunch hour so we had a feeling it would be worth the wait.

Tess had previously visited Barcelona, so we went up to Gaudi the artist's village on the top of the hill. the walk up I was cracking up because this hill was so steep and Tess was muttering under her breath "gaudi you son of a bitch." gotta keep things light and entertaining when your calves are on fire. evidently when Tess was here about five years ago, it was a free for all. now to get into anything you have to buy tickets, and the queue for entering certain spots was like 5 hours out.. so we didn't go into anything but I got to see some of his pieces and I really liked the mosaic design. gotta say that would be the pits to execute, but power to ya. we walked to the segrada familia (the big cathedral) and it was 1. huge and 2. so odd! one side was relatively simple and in my opinion quite pretty, but the other side was dark and crammed and droopy and just weird. not to mention there's cranes and hella construction everywhere around it. the queues for that were long also and I've seen my fair share of churches thanks to the catholic presence in Europe. we made our way back to the main avenue, had a little paella and a cerveza, went back to the hostel to do a quick freshen up before the tapas tour. we purchased tickets after our morning tour for the tapas tour to take us to a few places and have us try pretty typical tapas dishes. Michael, a tennis player that goes to Michigan accompanied us (more like laughed at Tess and I being weird and enjoying ourselves) so we had a new friend to chat with. the tour was quite long, and not a whole lot of food was invoked but I had a great time with Tessie. met a handful of Australians, wow they're seriously so nice and I was cracking up speaking to a woman because 1. her name was holly and 2. she said a ton of terms and things like my holly says. I KNOW New Zealand is "better" than Australia hol but I'm just giggling at the comparison. oddly enough there were two guys from Toledo on the tour, and after talking to them we realized we knew Jake, a friend from Miami, who went to their high school and Aaron, one of the Toledo guys goes to BG (dad's alma mater.) so weird, right?

after the tour, Michael Tess and I went back to Michaels hostel for a drink. it was huge with a bar and restaurant on the ground floor - such a cool vibing place with great drink specials. I had myself a vodka cran (!!!!!) the first in Europe since every dang bar I've tried ordering a vodka cran (my go to drink) they scoff and say no cran, just orange or something else weird BLECH. so that was a small win for eurojules. Tessie & I headed back to our hostel, skyped with dad and sang the handsome guy happy birthday in three languages. can't wait to get home to give him a hug, and mom too for her birthday in a few weeks. we snuggled in the tiny bed & tried to catch a few z's before the alarm went off at 5:30 for the trek to the airport.

side note: sometimes people ask where you're from when you walk by them (they're usually trying to sell you something) and I have to say I'm pretty identifiable as an american. I do my best to blend but you can only do so much there and it is what it is. walking back from dinner one night in Barcelona a guy asked the where are you from question, kind of after we'd already passed and proceeded to throw out German and Dutch (!!!! pt. 2) I am so proud to be an american but they receive pretty little regard and respect here in Europe and I try to blend as much as possible, so another small win for eurojules. you can call me #germanjules.. HA

another thing I realized traveling with Tessie - people were shocked, and I mean visible surprise on their faces that we were sisters every time we identified that we were. I suppose a lot of people travel with pals, so it would be totally normal that we were friends (thanking the good lord every day that we are in fact friends, best friends) but we'd be talking about how I'm studying, she's visiting blah blah yeah we're sisters and instant reaction of sisters? seriously? and then they look back and forth a few times trying to get a grip. it's like we were saying we were identical twins or something with the amount of surprise they had. anyway, it was rather entertaining and a frequent go about in our #kromarsabroad travels.

Tessie, an ode to you (lolz yes) for being an incredible traveling bud. thank you for spoiling me with everything, but most especially your presence. 14 weeks was way too long going with just skype and texts, let's not do that again. selfishly I wanted to keep you all to myself for the next month but I know the house of miracles needs your superhero self. thanks for the endless giggs, food & fun. I love you more than made in sicily pizza and little cacti in mugs.

cheers, jkro

laughs in lisboa

basics of travel day: pack up, head to the train station, destination either Paris or Nantes. lucky for us, it was Nantes so a quick train ride and shuttle to the airport. while on the TGV, the lady checked our tickets. I managed to forget my carte jeune, which is basically my discount card for certain trains. you're supposed to have it with you when they check tickets, and though I've been good up until this point about having it with me and them rarely checking my ticket, I forgot it. I shuffled through all of my bags and then asked if she could look in her system to see that I do in fact possess a card I just don't have it on me. she said she'd look in her system for both of us (HA she will be looking until I'm 80 for Tess's because she doesn't have one..) but I was prepared to pay a fine for Tess, sort of playing the lottery on whether or not our tickets would be checked. the french are pretty aggressive when it comes to confrontation, so I was dreading her return. she left, and then every time the door was opened Tess and I would peek up over the chair infront to see if it was her. I was like, hey maybe she will be merciful today. and Tess was like, uh i don't think so. didn't seem like the type. well, the train ride was pretty quick, and she never returned, so we put our heads down and walked our American buns quickly off the station platform. a first bump was in order for scooting out of that one for sure.

we arrived at our hostel, which was the cutest place. the owner furnished and fixed up this really old building and it was so pretty and homey. we dropped our bags and ventured out to find dinner. we decided on tapas at this crazy tiny restaurant on a side street. great decision because the food was incredible - we shared a few tapas, split a sandwich and a bottle of wine. there was a ton of hustle and bustle and we thoroughly enjoyed the people watching and each other's company. we stopped on the way home for a drink at a really pretty & rustic restaurant/bar. Tess had a mojito (the strongest she's ever had evidently) and I ordered a passion fruit margarita. normally I'm a big margarita fan and how can you really botch a marg but wow this place did. they put brandy in there I guess and it was pretty disgusting. I was choking it down and Tess was laughing at me..

Saturday morning we made our way to what would be central Lisbon to catch a tour. our tour guide's name was Lexi and she was incredible. from Manchester, so her accent was fantastic and her touch of humor and history together made for a really enjoyable tour. I hadn't realized how much Portugal was involved in pivotal parts of history - you go guys. we saw the worlds oldest book store (peeked in as well.. had about 4 English books ha) which beat out a store in Bologna Italy for the Guinness book of world records by 6 months. after the tour we popped into the market for lunch. SO yummy! reminded me a lot of paper island in Copenhagen where there were many food stands to choose from and cafeteria style seating (but more like throw some bows and nasty looks in order to secure a seat..) I had fish and Tess had prawn rice, both delicious. we split a bottle of wine, people watched some more and then carried on. after the market we walked down by the water a bit, and then made our way back to the hostel so we could pay for our stay as we'd be leaving early Sunday morning.

we hung out for a bit in the room, I managed to get caught up in the blankets and fall face first out of the bed (typical) and then we freshened up to go back out for dinner. we took a scenic tour in finding the place for dinner, but the weather was nice so it was alright. we shared a Portuguese style steak and this time red wine instead of white. neither of us are steak gals but it was tasty for a change. we stopped for gelato on the way home, people watching and giggling some more. the hills started to really get to us at the end of the day, Lisbon is so similar to San Francisco with the hills & the trolleys. back at the hostel, packed up and ready to roll for our early wake up call. Barcelona, the kromars are coming for you.

cheers, jkro

hoodlums in the hometown

we arrived back in angers late Sunday night, and I was so excited to have Tess around for the week in my European hometown. we got her all set up on the air mattress, luckily my apartment is big enough for it and just cozy enough for two. Monday morning rolled around, we walked to the city center for a fresh baguette sandwich and her first brioche suisse which was lovely. I then sent her on her way to the train station to get to Nantes, a nearby city about an hour by train to explore for the day. it was gorgeous weather, which eurojules was extra happy about. I went to class for about 5 hours, and then picked Tessie up at the train station on her way home from Nantes. we showered and met hol downstairs to go to dinner at our favorite pizza place, le Napoli. we chose three pizzas and picked a few pieces each. I was so happy Tess and hol finally met, my two worlds colliding in the best way. we shared many giggles and many slices, stopped at Carrefour and picked up some sweet treats as hol always calls them. Tess was standing back laughing her butt off at holly and I as we had the freezer door open and were verbally contemplating what to choose. Tess called my name amidst her giggles to get me to see the line forming behind us as we were just deep in thought and conversation choosing an ice cream flavor, whoops je m'excuse. hol & sar had a group project to work on, so when they were ready for a break we all gathered in the kitchen for some chatting and sweet treat indulging - two of my favorite things.

Tuesday we ventured to a kebab place for lunch. Tessie had to experience the infamous kebab (a shameless heart attack on a plate) that is quite popular in angers & France in general. another glorious weather day, feeling totally spoiled for two in a row as the winter has been long, cold & wet. I went to class for my presentation and Tess went into the city center to read her book and people watch. we met at a coffee shop and shared a tasty iced coffee and then shopped around a little. pretty weather, and a girls day. what's better? back to the apartment & we both showered for dinner. crêpe night! a big group of people were able to join so we had a table of 12 at our favorite crêperie in town (there are quite a few..) which was a blast with a bunch of conversations happening at once. because the weather was so nice, Tess and I went back home to change and headed out again for an evening walk. I took her down across the river to see a little more of angers, and then we stopped at another crêpe place for a dessert crêpe. Tessie had honey and I had Nutella (my favorite sweet crêpe of course.)

Wednesday I didn't have class, so we went out for an Italian lunch at al dente in a side street downtown. it was delish! gotta love the small restaurants tucked away, they often produce the best meals in the cities I've been to thus far. we popped into the cathedral, which I haven't yet seen, and it had an exquisite altar. a popular church trend, at least in angers, is all cement everything. those hour long masses turn you into an ice cube.. it's freezing! we ventured over to the chateau, and got a sweet view of the city. the flowers were finally blooming as well, which was a cheerful addition from the last time I was there with the girls. quite breezy (see Tess's Instagram for reference) on top of the chateau but it made for some funny photos. we popped over to a patisserie favorite on the corner dock for a pain au chocolat and pain au raison as well. yummy afternoon snacks in France.. sar and I hosted wine night on Wednesday night at our place and Kersten, Jibri, holly and Mary joined us (Tess too of course!) there were plenty of debates, laughs, and crêpes involved thanks to chef mar. Tess tried my favorite cheese - double crème caprice de dieux and liked it, but how could you not? the french are old pros at the wine and cheese thing.

thursday was casual, we made lunch at home and I had class in the evening. Tessie took a little snooze, I started the laundry and she finished it while I was in class. after class got out (7:30.. woof) I met holly kerst and Tessie at the pub downtown. we've been a few times, and have yet to be disappointed. kerst and I both got the chicken breast and green beans and it was so delish. Tess & hol got a salad, which we laughed because it came on a plate and not in a bowl. only in Europe I tell you. it was so nice to just chat with my angers girls and my sis, no where to be but there. we ordered dessert, but the pub's strengths end at the meal and don't carry over into dessert. ask hol about their blow torching skills for crème brûlée..

Friday morning- packing up for the weekend ahead. terribly excited to see more of Europe by big sis' side, but bummed she's leaving angers. feels warmer when she's in it, you know? alors, onward to Lisbon..!

cheers, jkro