Rosetta: $$$ (or as ABBA puts it 'Money, Money, Money')

              This morning we all woke up early to go attend our first patisserie class. We spent three hours in the kitchen making chocolate and lemon meringue pies. It was quite fun but very tiring and we were all disappointed in the end when we didn’t get to eat any of the pies (they were all sent off to be used by the waitress class, I’m not sure who ended up eating them).

              After class we looked into buying tickets for our October travel plans. So today was my first money shock. I managed to save up 1,000 dollars in the bank in addition to the cash money I brought with me. So I’ve been pretty lax with my budget since I knew I had plenty of money. However, $1,000 translates to 600€ and with my first months rent, plus the deposit and house supplies and food, the money is quickly departing. The good news is I get paid in 10 days so I should be okay but I am still going to need to budget (but don’t worry I have some extra money saved up that I wanted to save until my return but that I am willing to use if I really need it).

            After all that I was very tired this afternoon so I stayed in and finished my book and watched some TV (which usually I would feel guilty about but here since I watch TV in French it is like studying so it doesn’t feel as lazy).  Later we drove to the Carafour (the big cheap market in the neighboring town) and did some serious grocery shopping. Now I am exhausted and going to go to bed early even though it is a Friday night. I am a little sad to have finished my book since it is part of a series and I have a feeling I won’t have access to the sequel until I get back to the States (and the author did not resolve anything at the end of this book). In addition the next book on my reading list is in French, which is a bit more difficult and less like recreation, which is the main reason I read so I am not sure how quickly I will finish the next book.

Travel plans:

Wednesday: Le Touquet à Étaples àCalais

Thursday: Calais à Lille à Calais

Friday: Calais àBelgium

Monday: Belgium à The South of France

The following Monday: The South of France à Le Touquet

So as you can see I have a lot of train tickets to buy and travel plans to arrange. The South of France plans are still in the works but I hope it works out how I’ve sketched it here.