The Coslett Nose Would Never Survive Paris.

I will explain later.

First let me catch you all up on what's been going on in my life the last few days.

(**side note. 90% of this post was written IN paris, i just hadnt had a chance to finish it.... i'll step in and let you know when the date of writing changes)

Patrick took Lance and I to the train station where we rode the almost 2 hour ride from Brussels, Belgium to Paris, France… which is where the real backpacking began. Lance has a huge backpack he threw on his back that weighed a solid 50+ lbs with our clothes: enough to last us 4 days (for our 8 day expected trip). I had a backpack with lance's laptop, ipad, our toiletries, my makeup bag, all chargers for said electronics, and in a separate bag, our large camera. My bag wasn't as heavy as Lance's, but it came in at a close second. SO, keep in mind this is what we had to travel with everywhere we went from leaving Patrick's on...

There was one transfer train in-between with a 30 minute layover, so Lance decided it would be a good idea to try and find a SIM card that would work in Europe so he could have a working GPS and phone in case we needed to get ahold of the people who lived where we were staying in Paris.

I can't really explain the train stations very well, (probably because I am seriously exhausted at this point and my brain is functioning at half-capacity) but i can say that there is a LOT of walking, running, pushing, stairs, and uneven walkways. That's just inside the train station. Then outside there's more stairs, and at this particular stop there were a LOT of relatively steep hills (lined with shops and bakeries, i might add!)-which is where Lance was sure he'd find a place to offer him a SIM card.



While lance went walking up the hills, he let me wander into H&M  and look around. (Paige this is the part that made me think of you the entire time!) I LOVED IT. I seriously loved it. I felt like I had just walked into the most amazing department store with the most gorgeous clothes at FOREVER TWENTY ONE PRICES. seriously…the only problem was i looked similar to a homeless person with a huge backpack on my back, which in turn, caused me to bump into racks of clothes and other people and it was just overall embarrassing…but i didn't exactly care - There were so many things i wanted…and they were made out of fine materials - there was this one tunic i cant stop thinking about that was a pale pink made out of 100% silk  with a ribbon belt and quarterlength sleeves for 14 Euros! I'm hoping that on the way back to Brussels i can con my way into buying a few things.

anyway, so eventually we met back up and went back to the translation (lance still hadn't found a sim card)  and made it into Paris.  The excitement of being in one of the most amazing cities hadn't set in yet. I was still jetlagged and hungry and ready to get the heavy pack off my back. We got off of the train and walked down to…the metro… oh the metro (which is equivalent to the subway). I have a lot to say about this thing. First, (i don't know how totally accurate this is so please feel free to correct me if my information is wrong) let me say this about the metro. Apparently some of the underground tunnels where the metro currently exists in Paris are made of cleared out catacombs (how eerie is that?), which i found pretty cool. Next, the metro map is your bff. With out it, it is VERY easy to get mixed up and end up on the other end of town. Good thing Lance is already experienced with reading metro maps because it would have been miserable to get lost. Anyway, we found our right metro route to take us to the place we were staying- which was about 15 miles outside of the heart of paris. Overall it took us about 40 minutes to take the several metros and then hop onto the bus. We arrived relatively late (this is new years eve, so i was stressing a little) - around 6:45. Lance stayed in his denim and jacket, but I was sure i wanted to change into my darling lace dress, tights, and flats (i wanted to curl my hair too but i knew realistically there wasn't enough time). So we backtracked the exact way we came and toward the Eiffel Tower. I don't understand French yet, so i was just sort of following Lance around like a lost puppy and didn't realize we were there yet, so once we walked up the metro steps and onto the street Lance made me close my eyes and held my hand… then told me to open them and BAM! The Eiffel Tower was RIGHT in front of me, all lit up and HUGE! It LITERALLY took my breath away. I haven't seen something so incredible in a really long time. It was beautiful and the streets were relatively clear, so i was able to enjoy it (...i loathe crowds).

It was VERY cold. I mean like my knees started become numb…and shortly after my feet followed suit. Lance, at the end of the night, called my shoes "pieces of paper wrapped around my feet", which is actually pretty accurate. The stone streets and the cold Paris weather did not agree with my attire. a lace dress, cardigan, tights, and flats. REAL SMART. I just thought we were going to go somewhere nice, but by the time we got to the Eiffel Tower everything nice was closed. Luckily there were a few bakeries open on the side streets - so before we decided to venture closer to the Eiffel Tower, we got some yummy sandwiches and eclairs - okay seriously SO AMAZING and delicious. We went back to the Eiffel Tower to explore and to buy a few souvenirs, waiting for the "ball to drop" - or some sort of equivalent. we eventually ended up where we started and saw a huge crowd start to form, so we climbed up on the ledges overlooking the courtyard….which ended up being a really smart idea. basically the courtyard ended up looking like a moshpit with people drinking, smoking, yelling and even fighting (great holiday cheer, eh?). The experience was pretty amazing in general - there was a group of Brazillians to my right, some super cute girls from Spain to my left, french/belgian people all around… so multicultural. Eventually when the it turned midnight there were a few small fireworks that came from the crowd - apparently fireworks are illegal in Paris because too many accidents have happened and the ban is their attempt at avoiding terrorist attacks... - but the tower twinkled like it does on every hour, and it was beautiful. I will never forget this new year's eve. So breathtaking.

The adventure that followed was..interesting. We waited about an hour before we started to head back to the metro - there were too many people pushing and getting trampled (and wayyyy too many drunk people who were a little out of control). so we froze, and then started walking. We walked along the riverbank with the Eiffel Tower to our left, it's light reflected on the water, and headed toward the metro station. By the time we pushed through the crowds and made it underground, it was around 1:45 am. Apparently, normally the metro doesn't run past midnight, but i guess for NYE the city made an exception, AND decided they'd make the metro FREE- thus explaining the excessive amount of people...this proved to be a slight problem. Once our metro finally arrived, we were pushed back and people shoved themselves into the train. it was so full that when the doors were shutting peoples backs were literally pressed up against the windows - FACES literally pressed up against the GLASS. Seriously, SO funny. luckily, there was one more metro that we knew was coming....it arrived... people started pushing and shoving to get in... then a fight broke out! Luckily it was at the far end, but like 1st graders, one fight ruins recess for the whole class... in other words, because of the fight, they SHUT the last metro ride down.... COOL.

Normally this wouldn't ahve been such a big deal, but i really couldn't feel my feet. But our only choice was to walk. To walk the 6-7 miles back to the house we were staying at... needless to say, we arrived at home around 4:30 am.... and woke up at 3 pm on accident that afternoon. whoops!

(...here i am now, in belgium... weeks later....so forgive my lack of remembering)
What I can recall is that the next few days we went sight seeing. We saw the moulin rouge, which gave me the creeps. but it was bright and colorful.


then we walked to the Paris Opera House and were able to pay something like $3 each to take a self guided tour through out. Apparently, when lance was in high school, he read The Phantom Of The Opera and ever since has wanted to explore the place... I am pretty sure he was interested in exploring what was UNDERNEATH the building - i think it is some underground city or something - but we got to explore the private viewing rooms, the grand staircase, the hallways.... it was so intricate and elaborately designed... i loved it.

we also quickly visited the outside of the Louvre - which was just neat to be there....

on sunday we were able to go to church in paris!! which i LOVED!

we also went to Notre Dame. I've been so fascinated by this cathedral, ever since i was introduced to it in the disney movie, The Hunchback... i've studied it a few times, and the stained glass, the history...everything about it has always been so interesting to me. I've day dreamed about it even, ha ha. I am so happy to inform you that it lived up to everything i've ever thought about. it was so incredible. beautiful. gothic (in the historical sense)....which in its own way was beautiful. the intricate history. we walked in while a sermon was taking place, so that added to the way i was feeling.

we explored more of paris, which meant we spent a LOT of time in the metro. Please let me explain what the metro is like (especially the day after NYE).

1. There are no public bathrooms anywhere. ESPECIALLY the metro.

2. Homeless people set up permanent shop inside the metro. (I guess that makes them technically not homeless).

3. Due to 1 and 2, the metro is a permanent toilet....the walls, the benches, any surface, really. It is a toilet that has no prejudice - it doesn't discriminate against animals, people, vomit, feces, vomit...all are welcome.

4. Due to 3, the aroma of the ENTIRE METRO SYSTEM smells like a mix of said items.

5. Due to 4, YOU, in turn, carry the aroma WITH you if you're down there too long.

yummy.

on that note, i will end my paris blog.

it was beautiful, interesting, dreamy, stinky. ha. i loved this experience.

update!

hey guys,
i dont have time to write, but just a little fyi.
an intern dropped out of lances program so i was able to fill the position. so i have a job!! thanks for all your prayers and support... we're already tired of the 2 hour commute, so as we speak we are seeking an apartment in brussels. wish us luck!

love,
ashley

Elloooo

Hey Y'all!

Sorry, again no pictures for right now :( just words.


I am currently on my laptop. I walked almost 3 miles in 30 degree weather to get to the McDonalds (yuck!) to use their WiFi (in french they call it weefee haha), so i could update a little. (i reallllly need to tell you about dirty paris! soon i promise... i just need lance's laptop.)

Where do I start?

Before i talk about our travels, i have to say a few things:

MOM: the brownishreddish scarf you knitted me for Belgium.... I LOVE IT. Like seriously love it. I didnt want to wear it while i was traveling, so i tested it out this weekend and today, and it's SO WARM. Thank you thank you for knitting it for me. It's super cute too. The first time i put it on lance asked me where i got it, and i told him you knit it for me and he was like, "woah dude, that' seriously legit" haha. he thought i bought it at nordstrom. And then he said "that's rude she didnt knit me one. i want one" hahaha. so if you feel like knitting up something for him and sending it over, you can. :) he likes greys, reds and black. :)

CLYDIE: I took my under armour pants for a jog today in the VERY COLD belg weather. Seriously they are the most amazing things ever. i looove them and they are keeping me toasty toasty. and they are SO comfortable to run in. So thank you for helping me be healthy while staying warm. And, like i already told you, the socks continue to be the gift that keeps giving. haha they've been life savers day after day.

KATHERINE: I miss you. for real. There have been so many times when i needed to call you to vent/laugh etc and has made me really sad that i couldn't. I just wanted to give you a SHOUT OUT (haha) because i really love you and am so thankful for you! when i get home from Europe i'm going to call you every day. so get ready. because being away has made me grow even more thankful for you. i love you and i will call you as soon as im able to.

HEATHER AND NICK: I am so thankful for y'all too! Thank you so much for taking such good care of our little baby. she couldn't be in better hands. thank you for babysitting her and disciplining her the same way we would if we were there. Thank you for taking on the burden of watching our house and playing landlord. You both are a blessing and the distance has definately reminded me of how grateful i am that you both live so close and that we have you in our lives (and for Jason and McKell for being our friends via you two. even lance loves them! you know that means something).

COSLETT FAMILY (including ralph!): I miss y'all too. Something I've learned during this trip is how grateful I am for you. I am grateful for the comfortable life you've provided me my entire life, for the warm love i've always had in the home, the giving nature you've made sure to hold in our home, and for the wonderful friendships we have that interconnects each one of us. I've taken for granted the fact that i could pick up the phone and call you or text you, i promise when i get back i'll be better about that. I've had a renewed love for you all in general, just the network of family and how much it defines me and the weight it holds in my life. I've had a LOOOOOT of time to think, and i hope my family ends up with the similar nature of ours. Love y'all!

WAKEFIELDS: Lance and I have talked so much about how giving you are, and how selfless you are. The Canon Rebel has helped make this trip so memorable, and we literally take it with us everywhere (we even fight about who gets to take pictures. haha). Thank you for being so willing to try and talk to us and find ways to get skype working and to make sure we're doing okay. Thank you for being so interested in our lives and adventures. i know i've said it before but i feel so lucky to have married into such a wonderful, loving family. I am blessed beyond words. Thankyou for being such a huge factor in that.

PAIGE: I miss youuuuuuuuuuuuuu. I miss texting you DAILY, and having you make me LAUGH out loud. The clothes/fashion/adorable girls on the street make me think of you almost every time. You would fit in SO well here. If you feel like hopping on a plane and want to come visit me you're welcome to do so. haha. Thank you for being a source of happiness in my life daily-believe me, your absence in my life has NOT gone unnoticed (unfortunately. :( it makes me more homesick!) - and I love you more than words. Be waiting for your European birthday gift soon!

Celeste- I love you both A LOT! Sissy - i miss texting you too. PLEASE come and visit me. Ill take you shopping and we can go find some dope photography spots that you would LOVE. Lance and i think about you all the time and how you're SO Euro, no doubt. you'd fit in here perfectly too. i really think you'd love love love it. Find a way to get out here, foolio.

CJ- (dont worry, ill email this to you so you can see it!) i understand a little of what it might be like to be a missionary in the early stages of being in a foreign country. I feel like a moron and my headache is non stop, especially since i SO bad wish i could communicate/read within the culture. I can't imagine doing this while knocking doors and trying to bring people to the gospel. My respect for you (and DEF for lance, and all other missionaries in general) has been heightened by 1202348. Thank you for going out to serve and share your amazing personality with the world. 

KASSIE- YOU WOULD LOVE THIS TRIP. I've thought a few times about how much you'd LOVE backpacking through Europe. You're always up for an adventure, especially ones that include walking and meeting new people. A few times when I've been in a bad mood or wished i was home or was mad that i was walking SO MUCH with a heavy backpack on my back, i've thought about you and the good attitude you'd have, and the adventure you'd turn it into  - usually that helped me a lot and i've tried to do what you might do in the situation. If you want to come visit Europe too, you should! I think you were really meant for this kind of thing. I love you, and appreciate your fun personality that takes life's curveballs with grace.


OKAY onto blogging after that mushy stuff (Europe's turned me soft. haha)

Last I left off, we had vistited the swiss temple.... beautiful! The next day we hopped onto the train and visited a nearby town - which was really cool. You know how castles have their guard towers with gates and then the inner city and then the main castle? you know, typical medieval - what you might picture in your head. we walked from the gare (train) station and over a bridge into the town and explored. it was magical almost. the streets were narrow and there werent really cars, all the streets were REALLY old cobblestone, there was (of course) an amazingly cool church...back then they dated a lot of structures, and i think the oldest one we saw was like 1697 or something like that. I wish there were villages like that in America. I would love to walk or ride my bike everywhere.

The next day was another of my favorites. The Swiss Alps. Yan was SO awesome and let us borrow his car for the day... which meant we had to get up at 630 and go to the temple with him, drop him off, and head to the alps... I am SO happy Yan trusted us enough to drive his car, because we were able to see and stop and visit really cool things and towns and villages along the way. At first i was in a REALLY bad mood because i was exhausted and more sightseeing was not exactly on my jet-lagged agenda of fun. haha. but once the sun started coming up and i had been awake for an hour, i turned my frown upside down and really began to enjoy it. we visited ANOTHER cool castle with so many stairs and more cobblestone streets and arches. Lance told me a long time ago taht when you've seen one castle youve seen them all... while i can see what he's saying, i still appreciate the history and let my imagination run while im walking through the historic castles, picturing bartering, battles, love stories (haha!) happening inside the huge brick walls. hopefully i can get pictures up stat so you can see what im talking about.

we then left and took the back way to Interlaken, which was basically inside the swiss alps. the backway was this long, winding road that took you through villages that were only awake in the summer - i think because it was PCH style, only on the edge of this enormous lake that was basically tucked up against the mountain sides. I really loved this drive. lance was driving and always has a good eye for adventure (and no one was on the highway at ALL)...so when we passed a gate that basically said DONT ENTER, of course he stopped, reversed, and parked on the side of the road. It was this cave type thing.... we hopped the sharp fence and explored a little. The cave part wasn't huge, but it had two caverns that led you to this HUGE  canyon where they were now harvesting rock. SO breathtaking (and a little scary!). I almost snagged my poor, abused leggings on the fence, but luckily i somehow managed to escape with out (much) injury.

we kept driving and investigated a few more villages, then Interlaken (which i wasnt exactly impressed with - atleast in comparison to the villages we had just seen), then we started to drive sortof aimlessly, and even though it was only 10 am, we were already hungry. so we stopped at this place up in the mountains, overlooking the valley, and ate lunch - bread, salami, cheese, juice, and chocolate... hahah SUCH  a french meal.... and it was AHHHHMAZING. (i've eaten SO much bread here...so many different kinds, and its been heaven for my tummy and tongue.) After we froze and finished our lunch, we kept driving upward and somehow ended up at this awesome ski resort that reminded me of brighton and deer valley if they were meshed together.

Lance had to go to the bathroom, and really every country we've been in so far hasnt believed in public bathrooms (except the trains, but you dont go in the trains unless you're interested in catching an std or foreign disease)...so we went on a hunt for one. We used our deductive reasoning and went into this really ritzy hotel, acted like we knew what we were doing, and ran to the bathrooms (apparently it's REALLY not okay to do that. haha). eventually we made our way back to the swiss temple after exploring to pick yan up at 4:00. It was a lot of time in the car, but we were distracted by the beauty.

Really, if anyone wants to come to Europe, Switzerland really is the place to go. especially if you know someone who lives here - having yan tell us the great places to visit truly made the experience all that much better. I think one day maybe we will have a home by the Swiss Alps ;)

eventually we had to leave because lance's job started the following monday - and i was REALLY sad. Not as sad as i was when i left Hawaii (i literally teared up), but it was a close second. We took i think 4 different trains to get back to Belgium - stopping in nasty paris and transferring twice there - then Lille (cute name, right?) then to Mons. Belgium greeted us with freezing, pouring rain, which was pretty awesome because we had to walk around 2 miles to get to the place where we are living. I said a prayer in my head that i wouldn't kill Lance, ha ha, and i think the Lord was listening because we made i there and the rain sortof let up.

We're staying in this really big house - this is the city that lance last served in, and there is this really feisty, spunky sister who is older and lets the missionaries live in the 3rd story of her house that she turned into a fully functional and equipped apartment. Lance LOVED her. her name is Sister Egbert. She had told Lance to come back and visit, and lance took the liberty to interpret that into living with her for 3 months. hahah. I was a little weary about this at first, as that could be a little awkward to live with someone else, but when we walked inside, she showed us our room on the first floor which really isnt a room, its more like a flat (minus a kitchen) with a bathroom. it's actually pretty big...and then theres two huge living rooms. so basically we have the entire first floor to ourselves. upstairs is her place - 3 bedrooms, laundry room, 2 bathrooms, 2 livingrooms, kitchen. its huge. then keep going up and its basically a duplicate of her floor for the missionaries. it's pretty awesome.

anyway, so we made it here safe and sound. Today Lance went to his job in Brussels. I hope he loves it! like i said, i walked to mcdonalds to get internet service - to blog and to put out ads for my tutoring service and to look for jobs around here... its really hard because i cant get a working visa, so i need to find a paying SOMETHING that's "under the table". i really do need prayers that i can find something! (mostly for my sanity. i cant just sit around all day and do nothing!). Hopefully by the end of the week we will get wifi set up at sister egbert's house and that way if y'all want to Skype, we can work that out.

SO it's been a FREAKING JOURNEY. I've learned a lot. it's really been a humbling experience for me (but shh dont tell lance i said that. hahah)

talk to y'all soon.

ciao!

Swiss Temple

Hello all!

I am writing from Yans computer….and the key board is Swiss so it is very difficult to type on it. Here is what a sentence looks like on a swiss keyboard if i were trying to write like i were on an american—

Swityerland is so beautiful, everzone here speaks german, a little french, and ENGLISH+ Hooraz.

In german you use the z more than the y so they switched places on the keyboard. Ha ha.

A few quick things – today we visited the swiss temple. I loved it! It.s the only one in the area for a while, so it.s pretty multicultural and everzthing in the temple is in italian.

Yans father has been the temple grounds keeper/landscaper since before yan was born, and lance and i had teh priveledge of visiting their family for lunch in their home. (the way they do that her eis the groundskeeper lives nearby and is paid salary) Can i tell you his mom is an amazing cook? I loved being in their home, the spirit of their house was so warm and inviting… they all spoke french german and english and throughout the meal they naturally changed languages from sentence to sentence. It was pretty cool. (and i really liked yans sister. So adorable!)

Overall today was less fast paced than yesterday, which was welcomed because we forced ourselves to wake up at 8 am to try and fight our jet lag.

Tomorrow were heading to the actual swiss alps by train (2 hr trip. Yikes!) so im sure those pictures and the experience will be amazing.

Sorry for the lack of pictures… ill upload as soon as i can.

Love yall

ashley

Hello from Switzerland

Hey guys!
So I have a really long blog written, ready for you to read... It and all the picures are on the laptop. Only problem is that it died last night when i was sky ping with heather and in switzerland the adapteers for plugs are different than the ones we have for France and belgium. So, luckily everyone here has iPod, and lances friend yan portolanno is in that gropup of people, so i am able to blog from the iPad- which is not easy and i can promise you there will be a plethora of spelling and grammar errors... So just for y'all I'll suppress my inner OCD english teacher and just quickly update you.

So lance And i spent 4 days in Paris - pictures and blog later i promise - and decided at the last minute to hop the 6 hour train ride to Switzerland. It was a little out of Our price range, but we figured this will literally be a once in a lifetime thing, so we decided to take the financial hit and go. Can i just tell you that the train ride here was scenic and gorgeous? I felt like I was watching a movie because it was so unreal. There were these tiny towns and rolling hills and snow-covered mountains... Do any of you remember those tiny Christmas towns eith the electronic people who ice skated or walked on the streets and the train went through the town (meme used to have a huge one and mom i think you had one too) - my train ride was 6 hours of that. So adorable and beautiful and unique.

So ive been gone a week and i had been starting to feel a little homesick, mostly for mfy puppy and aven more because i cant understand anything and I've had a constant headache trying to use context clues and using the petit french that i know and understanding things... So we left the train station and immediately went to the star bucks next-door to use their wifi. I have never in my life been so excited to smell coffee. Everything was in english and they were playing Michael buble and the like and i felt like iwas at home right away. :) so we waited there fopr about an hour for his friend to pick us up.

His friends name is Yan Portalonno- he is Swiss, speaks German french and english. He was in lances zone on the mission and they grew to really love each other - I'd met Portalonno once before when lance and i were dating and a i had vaguely remembered him . He was funny and a quarky and so someone I'd be friends with. Him and CJ had hung out a bunch and they really loved each other too. Anyway, Portalonno is lthe kind of person that doesn't know a stranger and is Fun and outgoing and cracking jokes all the time. Anyway so he came to pick us up and immediately took us around the town of Bern and was a fabulous tour guide.

I. Love. Switzerland. It's clean and old and historic and gorgeous. If i had to live overseas I would do it here (and most people speak English too!). Yan told us people really care about the quality of life, even though it comes at a monetary cost, but that's why everyone is so clean and tailor and the villages are so lovely. Ahhh I knew i liked immediately for some reason. :)

Eventually we drove 30 mins to his village and we stopped to get groceries (ah lettuce! Tomatoes! Cucumber! Its been a while since ive been so happy to see green foods) and bought some produce for the next
Few days. We came home and stayed up till 1:30 - me listening to lance and yan tell and reminisce about the mission days.

I guess lance and i are still jet lagged because we woke up at 1:00 in the afternoon. Whoops. There goes our first day. Haha. It's okay. Were about to go explore yan's village while we wait for him to get off work (he works on the temple grounds) and the he's taking us to Zurich to explore.

So im off. Love you all
Toodldes