I have been in France for ever a month! That is craziness. I am 1/4 way through my trip. We have gotten into a routine when it comes to the weeks. We have classes Mon-Fri and sometimes we'll go do something fun during the weeknights, but most of our fun happens on the weekends.
Specifically, A few weeks ago we took a day trip to Geneva, Switzerland with our program. This was the first of our 3 excursions. On the way to Geneva, we stopped in Jura France and had a cheese tasting. It was comte cheese and we tried two different varieties. I liked one, but the other tasted absolutely awful in my opinion. Anyway, it was cool because this kind of cheese only comes from a certain kind of cow, so it is rare and special. Oooo aaaaaah....
When we finally got to Geneva, we had a walking tour with one of our professors, Stephane, and then we were set loose to get our lunch/dinner. My friends and I stopped at a little restaurant and got some cheese fondue and pizza to split between us. You honestly cannot go wrong with melted cheese on bread, right? SO good!
After this we headed over to get some gelato and coffee. I just had gelato, and I got cassis flavored which was glorious. Cassis is their thing in this region, it is currants. Then we went on a search to find Swiss chocolate and came out victorious with a few candy bars each. I even still have one left, somehow with the help of the heavens I have not eaten it yet.
After this, our time had come to a close and we had to meet back up with our group to head home. Most of us slept on the bus home. It was a long day!
This past weekend, some friends and I traveled to Paris! It was like a dream come true. I have been learning about Paris since I was basically 8 years old and to finally get there was great. We left Dijon at 6:50 am on a train, that was a fun time. After arriving in Paris, we had to maneuver the subway to get to the Bastille district where our hostel/hotel was. Our hostel only cost us each 30 euro a night, which was so low that we were a little worried about its condition, but guys, it was BEAUTIFUL! I have never been to a nicer, better decorated hotel. We grabbed some lunch and coffee (crepes for me) and then we headed out to central Paris! First we went to the Eiffel Tower and spent a very long time taking very touristy pictures. We decided that we were going to unabashedly show that we were American and have no shame about it.
Next we took a walk to find the Champs Elysees and the Arc de Triomphe. Here's a funny story! So to get to the little area where the Arc is, you go under the street and back up again on the other side. In the tunnel, we saw a long line formed and we were very confused because we never knew that you had to wait to get there. Then we saw a sign that you had to PAY 10 euros to go up there!!! WHAT? Then we saw a second set of stairs with people coming back down.... As we got closer, we saw a sign on those stairs that said "monter interdit" which means "going up is prohibited". Well, let's just say that we acted like we couldn't read French and scooted ourselves on up that way. There was even a POLICE OFFICER right behind us and he said NOTHING. I think he just didn't care. So we got to go take pictures and admire the artwork at a five-finger discount.... ooops. :)
After this we walked down the Cahmps Elysees (the ritzy shopping section of Paris) in order to find dinner an hopefully Starbucks (since we don't have it in Dijon). After a long walk we found one and I got a caramel frappaccino, but let me tell you Parisians, Starbucks is ripping you off. I didn't get nearly as much as at home and it cost about twice as much, but it was worth it!
After this we found a little restaurant on a street right off the main road called Chateaubriand and they had a full course meal special for 19 euros. It was so great! You got an appetizer, wine, entree, bread, dessert, and coffee for that. I had a glass of red wine, then ESCARGOTS! That's right, I ate snails. They were pretty good too, except I think it's all in the garlic butter sauce, without that they wouldn't be so great. We were brought out bread and then our meals came. I had steak and fries and it was very good. :) I haven't had steak since being here, so it was a treat. After this we ordered our desserts. I had chocolate mousse and MMMMMMmmmmm was it great. Then we were all served coffee and a little piece of chocolate to go with it. I love Paris. I hadn't been that full since getting to France.
After this we made our way back to the hostel. Some of us went out to a club that night, but I stayed home because I was feeling exhausted and my feet hurt. I do not regret this decision at all. I slept very well in the hotel and woke up early with my friend who also didn't go out the night before to go to Notre Dame cathedral. We started our morning by finding out that it was daylight savings and we had gotten an extra hour to do stuff that day and we were very happy about that! So we set off on yet another subway adventure. I have been on so many subways at this point that I am pretty pro at it. We got to Notre Dame and it was still early enough that not too many tourists were there yet. It was also a treat because mass was happening inside, so I got to experience Sunday morning mass in Notre Dame de Paris!!! Such a blessing. :) It was so incredibly beautiful and I found myself just feeling more connected to God than I have since being here. I haven't been able to find a church to go to while I am here, so even just being there was nice.
Afterwards, we didn't know what else to do and my friend thought of the Jardin des plants, which means plant garden, so we headed there. It was a very pretty and very large garden/park place. We split up and I walked around a little bit and then just sat down and read some of the book I am reading because it just seemed like the prettiest place to read a book ever. I loved it.
After the park we headed off to get lunch before we had to catch our 2 pm train home. We found a verrrrry small Chinese food place and I had curry chicken and we were off to Gare de Lyon to head home.
This Monday was Halloween. They don't really do it here, but it is growing. So naturally, us Americans and our Canadian friends decided we were dressing up anyways. We all dressed up as jungle cats and I was a leopard. We went out dancing and it was a fun time. More people were dressed up than I expected, so that was good.
Anyways, now I have class later today, so I am going to go. Have a good day!
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