Last year scolarship...

Here we are! The end of my student life.

I really don't realize I'm done with studies.

I feel lost. Usually, I wake up every morning knowing what needs to be done in the day and in the upcoming months but now...

I left my school building thinking: "And now, what's next?" It is really an akward feeling.

And to end up this period of my life correctly, I'd like to say a BIG "Thank you" to the two people without whom I wouldn't have manage this year: Stéphanie and Staëns.

You two, girls, have brought so much to me and have helped me in so many different ways. I'm really happy to have you and even more of our work together. We were an excellent team and I will remember our main succès (the Junior Consulting Project) for a long time. That was really a nice and happy end.

Now the last formality is my internship so here I am! Departure to Nice to work in an incoming agency.

It may be the end of my student life but it's the beginning of real new one!

Returning to the Italian roots

No time to rest, the day after my arrival, I was already leaving for Italy to see my family.

It was great seeing everyone once again and doing the usual things (cycling in the city, going to buy bread, going to the beach...).

The best day I spent there was when I went to Venice. It's been a long time that I was complaining not to know exactly how Venice is, as everytime I went there I was only following friends or members of my family. This time, I had decided to go by myself and walk across the city to discover it. I never expected to see what I saw...

I woke up early in the morning (around 7am) and looked outside the window. The previous day there was a storm but that morning the sky was shiny and clear. I got dressed, prepared sandwiches for lunch and left to the ferry not far from home. During the hour spent on the boat, I read, took pictures, looked at the landscape recognizing some places where I'd been, sunbathed and smelled the perfume of the salty see. Just that moment was already a sign that the day was about to be very nice.

Arrived in Venice, I decided not to take the usual tour (the touristic one going from Piazza San Marco toward the Rialto) and went on the right behind the Ponte dei Sospiri. Taking that way led me to discover the "real" Venice, the one I had never seen, the one that we only see in movies.

I walked along the houses, got surprised when I saw a grocery shop (the first one I saw in Venice... I've always asked myself where people buy food), smiled when I saw clothes drying on a rope stretched from one window to another and went to places tourists don't know. I felt I was the only one to know what was Venice.

I took a hundred picture of all kinds: houses, rivers, gardens, squares, buildings, bridges, gondolas, people... I laughed when I saw a bar named "Karibu" which remind me of Finland and slowed down in front of the various shops. I decided to start a collection of masks and bought 3 of them. I also bought earrings for my mum which costed me an arm and a leg.

When I came back to the quay where the ferry was about to leave, I was exhausted, had sore feet and was thirsty. I spent a lot to get a bottle of water as I didn't have anything to drink the whole day (one thing is true, Venice is damn expensive!).
I arrived home satisfied and with a lot to tell and to show to my grandma.

The rest of the time spent in Italy, I went to see my family and went to the beach (I even got sunburned).

This past month was really a great holiday time!

You'll be in my heart

I can't believe 6 months have already past. My life here was just extraordinary and I don't want to leave.

I've said goodbye to almost everyone and now I'm trying to finish to pack. I'll never get in the plane with such heavy and big luggages! I've brought everything I really needed and left the rest to Marie.

Saying goodbye to her was really hard. I've been living with her and I did so many things with her that just imagining not seeing her every morning is awkward. I used to talk to her about everything, go out with her for a smoke even if I don't smoke, call her in the morning when I knew she was in her room awake just because I was too lazy to get up and say hi in person... I'll miss all these little things...

Finaly Célie and I left. Arriving in Baggot Street, my hand luggage, which was uncredibly heavy, broke! We just left since 2 minutes and I had already a problem!!! Célie and I decided to take a cab to the airport but getting closer to it, we got stuck in the traffic jam. We were really short in time and we started praying not to miss the plane.

Fortunately we arrived and the next problem to solve was the luggages to check in. I don't know how I did. I transferred stuff from one bag to the other until it got a bit lighter... that meant that Célie and I had each 2 pullovers, 1 coat, 1 bag about to break and 1 broken, plus other stuff that was about to fall down every second. We were desperate!

We asked a couple to help us carrying our stuff until the plane but these stupid and selfish people refused because they were afraid we were carrying bombs or stuff like this. Do we look like terrorists?!!!! That really got on our nerves but fortunately another man saw our desperation and helped us.

We arrived in Beauvais airport and I was waiting for my luggages when I heard the speakers saying "For your security, we allow only one luggage per person". I looked at Célie and together we started laughing.

Célie's mother was waiting for us outside and we drove to Célie's home. Just the time to grab some clean clothes and we were on the road to Paris.

Here finishes the story of my Irish adventure. I've made a lot of new and very good friends (among my best friends!), visited a wonderful country and learned so much on all levels. I'll never forget this amazing and great experience and I'm decided to go there again. Ireland is my best adventure so far!

Visiting the city... one last time

14.08.07
After two days spend writing my report for the school, Célie and I went to visit Dublin Zoo. We were disappointed. The entry was quite expensive and the zoo wasn't that exceptional.

We went for a coffee with a friend (potential boyfriend for me ;-) ) and in the evening we joined Alex and Ramona for the final diner together. It was nice, though a bit weird. Saying goodbye wasn't easy...

15.08.07
Last visit of the city (St Patrick's Cathedral and Christchurch) with Célie, my (still) potential boyfriend and a friend of my cousin's girlfriend (are you still following?).

The evening was a nice memory as well: Japanese restaurant with Célie and Marie (my last evening with her) and one last drink at the Capitol Bar where Richie joined us!!

End of the Finish adventure

Time to leave Finland and Aurélia.

6.30 am?: Getting up
Here we are, packing the last things before leaving. Nothing's left behind, we can go and say goodbye to Rauma, and Aurélia's appartment (she already left as she had to catch a plane for France in the morning)

7.15 am: HOW ARE WE GOING TO DO??????
The bus left just in front of us leaving us and our luggages at the bus station without any other solution to go to the airport. Célie and I started worrying. This bus was our unique chance to be on time to catch the coach that would have lead us to the airport from Tempere. We started thinking of the possibilities left:
- taking the next bus would have left us in Tempere without any transport to go to the airport... except the taxi
- grabbing a taxi from Rauma to Tempere: we asked, it would have cost 200€ (1,50€ per km!!!)
- doing hitch-hiking until Tempere

We voted for the last solution and tried stopping cars on the streets. The problem was that people didn't go that far and we didn't want to stop in the middle of nowhere risking not to find any cars afterwards... So we tried until the next bus to Tempere arrived and we cought it. In Tempere we decided to take a taxi. That was another 30€ but at least we were at the airport and ready to check in. The funny thing is that we were the first to get into the plane and that we got the place next to the windows! Amazing, when you think how the day started!

15 pm: Arrival in Dublin
Even though the wheather isn't great as in Finland, it's so good to be home!!!

Turku Express

Last but one day before going back to Dublin.

This morning we had decided to take our time and to stay in bed. After a while, we stood up quietly and got ready. We had planed to have a good and big lunch with pasta as we had only eaten bred and cheese all the previous days. We also had planed to go to Turku in the afternoon and to visit the city.

Around 3 pm, we still hadn't eaten and the girl of the tourism office told us the next bus was leaving in 20 min. We looked at each other with Célie and understood our thoughts: we had to run back home, prepare our stuff and run again to the bus station... that meant also giving up our big lunch.

Though a bit disappointed not to have pasta, we went home and got ready in less time then expected. On the way to the bus station, we were already tired and, joking, we suggested to do hitch-hiking. That was actually successful! A car stopped and it took us some time to make the driver understand where we wanted to go ("Bus station... Das Bus... le bus... Bus...")

We had 5 min left before the bus' departure. The driver of the car understood we were in a hurry and really cooperated. He drove fast until the arrival point and we manage to catch the bus! That was our first hitch-hiking experience!!! And it was funny!

In Turku, we went to see a nice church that had a river flowing just aside. On both sides of the river was a kind of park where people lay down and rested. Instead of getting in the church and visit, we decided to rest as well a bit and we ended up sleeping in the grass!
After a 20 minutes nap, we sang (as usual!), visited a bit the city center and went back to our meeting point where Aurélia was supposed to join us. In effect, we had planed to go to Naantali, the Finish Saint-Tropez, where sunsets are well-known for being among the most wonderful.

Aurélia arrived (1 hour late!!) and we got a bit lost in Naatali. But the show we attended was amazing! We went on the edge of a lake where ducks were bathing and took some great pictures!

We stopped for a beer to celebrate our trip and to thank our friend for welcoming us. But time was running and we still didn't had diner so we drove back to Turku and had a burger in the Finish Mac Donald's: Hesburger! Not bad.

"Les Island"

3rd day in Finland.

We decided with Célie to change landscape and to visit some islands that the tourism office described us.

First of all, there was a misunderstanding regarding the departure time. The first boat, that was marked as leaving around 10 am, was finally cancelled. It took us almost 30 minutes to understand that as noone was talking English or wanted to help us. Fortunately, we met a really nice Finish couple that translated for us.

So we had about two and a half hours to kill and since the weather was once more very hot and shiny, we decided to stay on Rauma's harbour, to visit the Lighthouse and just lay on the rocks under the sun.

These 2 hours were the most peaceful we spent in Finland. We listened to music, chatted, enjoyed, discovered wild life...

At the right time we went to buy our tickets for the tour. This was the program:
- 1st island (unpronounceable name so I re baptised it Couscoustajine... quite close to the real name): 5 hours on it. Historical island, bonkers, military canteen...
- 2nd island (can't remember the name): one and a half hour on it. The lighthouse.

When we left the harbour, we were really excited because the trip really changed the landscape around us: sea, boats, fresh air. Just great!
As soon as we arrived on the island, we kind of changed face. We soon discovered that there was not much to see. Bonkers, bonkers, abandoned places and... bonkers. 5 hours HERE!!! We occupied our time on the swing, having an ice cream in the military canteen, going to a viewpoint on top of a tower and... chatting... again!

We were really happy to see the boat coming back to lead us to the 2nd island. We were like 2 adventurers rescued after 1 month in a tropical jungle without seeing anybody. So when the boat arrived, we didn't even let the people come down and jumped on the deck.

2nd island: worse then the first one!! It was 3 stones in the sea and a lighthouse on the middle of it. And that was basically all!!!! And THERE we had to stay one and a half hour!!!!!! The area of the place was around 600m². No kidding!

We tried to stay calm and went up the lighthouse. The view was really nice... but still to desert to be that exciting! I think we were really surptised when we discovered that the lighthouse was also a hotel!! Why do people spend 100€ (we asked for the price!) to spend one night in the middle of nowhere????

Coming back to the continent, we decided that the day was still nice even though a bit long.

In the evening we went to a restaurant to eat traditional food: reindeer. It was delicious and we ended up our day coming back, stomach full.