I can't believe that after months of telling people about my study abroad program, and how I travel to France for a week with my class, the trip is already over! Saturday night was the beginning of our adventure, and we boarded the bus to drive to France....yes, I said drive! We took a ferry over to Germany, and then continued on our way, over night, to Verdun. Luckily I brought a pillow, and since there are only 22 kids in my class, we each got our own two seats of the bus - across which I attempted to sleep in the fetal position. Surprisingly, I slept for almost 8 hours...although I did wake up frequently, as different body parts went numb from lack of blood flow, to switch positions. In the morning we made a stop to get breakfast and I attempted to order egg whites. The woman looked at me as if I were insane and then just walked a way. Lesson learned: Don't order egg whites in
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| Fort Douaumont in Verdun. |
foreign countries...they just don’t get it. The rest of the day was spent visiting the battlefields and forts in Verdun. It was very interesting learn about, but after sleeping on a bus the night before, I (along with my entire class) was not the most alert person around. Having a bed that night was greatly appreciated, although I did make the mistake of ordering a dessert with crushed coffee beans in it, and ended up wide awake in bed until 3AM
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| Reims Cathedral |
Monday morning we left early and headed to Reims. We first visited the Reims Cathedral, which is absolutely beautiful, and then were given time to walk around the city. There was a street market going on, and it was fun seeing all the stands and getting free food samples! We then went to lunch with our class and to the St Remi Basilica. After a short visit there, we headed to the Taittinger Champagne caves, where we got a tour of the underground caves and learned the whole champagne-making process which is actually quite complex.
Early Tuesday morning we headed to Paris; I fell asleep for the ride there and woke up as we were driving along the Seine! It was rainy out, but seeing all the cafes and beauty of the city (even with the rain) made me immediately fall in love before even stepping off the bus. We dropped our bags off at our hotel and a group of us headed to lunch. Afterwards we met our class at the Musee d’Orsay and were given time to walk around the museum. We then took the RER to the Eiffel Tower and went all the way to the top. Unfortunately, it was still a bit rainy/foggy out, but was a cool perspective nonetheless. We then saw the Parisian Arcades, which are covered streets with different shops and restaurants, that years ago used to be the place “to see and be seen”. When we were done with the day's planned activities, I rushed back to my room to change and meet Margot (who is studying abroad in Paris), and the two of us went out for dinner together.
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| Gardens at Versailles. |
Wednesday morning my class took a tour of Paris on our bus, along with a tour guide who explained to us the history of everything we saw. It was a great way to be able to see the many areas of Paris, and after tons of walking the day before, I was glad to be sitting in a comfy seat. We then headed straight to Versailles and had a tour of the inside and were given time to explore the gardens. That night I met with Margot again for dinner and we got nutella-banana crepes afterwards!
Thursday morning we went to the Marais, which is the Jewish area of Paris and definitely my favorite area to walk around. It has tons of cafes and boutiques and there is always tons of people. We went to the Jewish Museum first, and then on a short walking tour of the Marais. I had heard about a place called L’as du Falafel, and knew I had to get it for lunch. Upon mentioning I wanted to go, a bunch of other people had also heard of it, and we all made a bee line for the place. After getting my huge falafel sandwich, a few of us headed to Place des Vosges, which is a park in the Marais, and we enjoyed our food sitting outside. Afterwards we met up with our class to go to the Shoah Memorial which is a Holocaust Museum. That evening we went on a dinner cruise along the Seine with our whole class! It was so much fun, the food was great, and the wine was continuously refilled.
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| Sacre Coeur |
I had chosen to extend my trip and fly home Sunday, but Friday was the last day with my class. We headed to Montmartre in the morning and walked around the streets of this hilly area in Paris. The streets almost reminded me of San Francisco because of how steep some of them were. We then went to lunch and to see Sacre Coure. It was around 3PM when we finished our activities. I had planned to meet Louiza (who is studying abroad outside of Paris) at the Louvre at 4:30, and since she did not have a Blackberry, we had to stick to our plan just like in the “olden days” as I call it. I will admit, this really gave me an appreciation for cellphones because making plans without one was not easy! I had some time to kill before meeting up with her, so I decided to climb to the top of Sacre Coeur to see the view and then walk around the streets of Montmartre. There was a fair going on and tons of wine and cheese stands with samples, so I was having fun looking at each stand and getting tasters. Then I took the metro and got off at the Tuilerie Gardens, to take a walk through them on my way to the Louvre. Louiza and I found one another much more easily than I had expected, and we walked around different areas of Paris catching up, with stops for icecream, postcard browsing, and espresso. Then we went to her friends little apartment where we stayed over for the night.
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| My brunch in Tuilerie Gardens |
I woke up early in the morning and wanted to take advantage of the day. I walked around trying to find the perfect cafe for breakfast and then remembered the cafes I had seen the day before in the Tuilerie Gardens. I made my way there, and ordered a spinach, feta, and tomato quiche. It was the perfect breakfast just like I had imagined, and was fun to people watch in such beautiful surroundings. I then headed inside the Louvre for the obligatory visit to see The Winged Victory, Venus di Milo, and The Mona Lisa. I also wandered the countless halls and rooms of paintings, and finally called it quits after 3 hours. Afterwards, I headed to Notre Dame and waited in line for about an hour to climb to the top, but it was totally worth it! The view was amazing, and much better than from the Eiffel Tower, since Notre Dame is more centrally located. After I got back down my legs were shaking from all the walking...I hadn’t sat down in almost 7 hours! After taking a short break I then headed to Pierre Hermé, which is a patisserie known for their
macarons, to get some treats for Margot’s birthday. The line was going around the corner, but now that I have tried their macarons, I can understand why! Afterwards I headed to Margot’s homestay and got ready for her birthday dinner, which was at a restaurant in Montmartre where we had cheese fondue, and drank wine from baby bottles!I slept over Margot’s and Sunday we both got little quiche tarts from a patisserie near the Luxembourg Gardens, and sat in the sun near the fountain while enjoying our brunch. I brought the Pierre Hermé macarons, and we split each one in half so that we could both try each flavor! Afterwards we walked up rue Bonaparte and passed by Ladurée which is the other patisserie known for their macarons, and decided a taste test was necessary!
After our break for dessert (x2) we went to see the stained glass windows at Sainte Chapelle and then walked around for the hour or two we had left before I had to leave for the airport, which was an experience in itself! I first had to walk to the metro station, and take 2 metros. Margot was nice enough to come with me for that leg of the trip to help carry my bag up and down the steps. After saying goodbye, I took the RER, a coach bus, and an airport shuttle, and then finished it off with a sprint through the airport to check in with 5 minutes to spare! I also had to argue with a security guard who wanted to throw away my Nalgene bottle that I had forgotten to pour the water out of...and ended up reaching in the garbage for an empty bottle to pour the water into. It was a relief to board the plane, and hearing everyone speak Danish once again made me feel very at home. Paris is an unbelievable city, and I hope to be back sometime soon!
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