Two weekends ago I went with two other American students to a town north of Paris, called Rouen. We mostly went because my friend Ryan had gone on a school trip but wanted to go back and spend more time exploring. We got in Friday night around 6pm and met our coachsurfing host outside of the train station. He lived near by so we didn't have to carry our bags around all night. It was a pretty awesome night because we got to meet some of this friends at a cafe (where he was having a photo exposition!) We also had the most french dinner yet, 6 different kinds of cheese from the region, some cold cuts, bread from a local boulangerie, red wine, and white wine. It was fun to sit around some ones appartement and just hang out. I have been doing so many tourist things that is was refreshing to talk to people who actually live in the town and speak French.
Saturday was our sight-seeing day because our host was working. We went into, I swear, every church or cathedrale the town had to offer. There is also the super pretty and ornate clock tower. In fact, the town thought it was so beautiful that they "elevated" it from La Grosse Horlage to Le Gros Horlage. You gotta love it when sexism is built right into the language. The town is also where Joan of Arc was burned at the stake by the English so, I saw dungeon, the building where her trial was held and the place where she was burned.
In addition to the historic visits we also went to the fair that was on the other side of the river. I can now saw I've ridden a roller coaster in France and eaten churos dipped in nutella (because one form of sugar is never enough). We spent most of the day with a friend of Ryan's who is currently teaching English at a school in the area. She and her British friend hung out with us during the day and then watched A Fish Called Wanda with us that night. It was pretty fun to watch it with a mix of Americans and a British guy. At one point (as John Cleese and his wife are getting ready to sleep in different beds and are passive aggressively sniping at each other) he turned to us and ask "Is this how you really see British people?" I almost feel off the bed laughing.
Sunday morning we hung out with our French host and I bought two Tintin comic books!
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The French version of Thanksgiving was quite interesting. It did include turkey but also chestnuts. I have discovered that they are quite yummy but nonetheless a bit of a surprise. They also made a half-hearted attempt at pumpkin pie. They only succeed in making some kind of tasteless orange thing but the chocolate dessert was fantastic!
I now have 3 weeks before I head home.
Tuesday, 29 November 2011
Monday, 14 November 2011
Traveling
I know, I know, I really should have put up pictures from Italy sooner but I'm doing it now!
The last weekend in October (October 28th-November 2nd) I travelled in Italy with a friend from Grinnell (Sivan Philo) who is studying in Milan for the semester. I took the train from Nantes to Paris and then Paris all the way to Milan. I thought it would be pretty cool to go by train and it was but in retrospect 8 hours in a train is a little too long! I got into Milan late on Friday and we left for Venice--the first phase of the trip--on Saturday morning. We wandered around Venice for a little while that morning and then went (by water bus!) to Murano island. It was really cool to see the glass blowing demonstration. We spent the rest of Saturday and the part of Sunday in Venice before heading to Florence
In Florence we had quite a list of things we wanted to do. Sunday was the big day of tourist action in Florence. We saw the Uffizi gallery in the morning and then headed to a church on a hill on the edge of town. The view was amazing!
After our little walk we checked out the Duomo in Florence and then checked out the leather market. Sivan bought an excellent leather jacket and I bought a nice leather bracelet and a beautiful scarf. I know that haggling is what is expected but it still feels really weird and kind of disingenuous. They want to sell the jacket and the customer wants to buy the jacket but we still had to go through the motions.
After the leather market we found a grocery store and cooked some gnnocchi and pesto. I have found a new favorite kind of pasta. So yummy, so filling and so easy on a student budget.
Monday was a little bit more chill. We went to the Accademia and saw the David. I didn't realize that it was so tall! We walked around the historic part of Florence and tried to go to the cemetery ( called "the island of the dea") but it was closed. We ended up hanging out at the train stations for a couple of hours because we were both just so tired. It was exhausting to be a tourist and be simultaneously annoyed with the number of tourists in Florence and Venice.
The last stop for me was to go back to Milan so I could take the train back to Paris. Getting back to Milan at about 6pm gave Sivan some time to take me to his favorite panzerotti and gelato place. There was melted dark chocolate in the bottom of the cone! I also accidentally ordered whipped cream because I don't speak a word of Italian. No regrets.
Whew!
This past weekend I went to Paris with three other girls from IES. We had quite a full plate of activites: the Musée d'Orsay, the Moulin Rouge, the Catacombes, walking along the Seine, Sacre Coeur, Eiffel Tower, Musée Carnavalet, and Sainte Chapelle. Don't worry it wasn't all in one day because we had most of Friday, all of Saturday and most of Sunday.
On Sunday afternoon I split off on my own to do a little visiting. I went and saw Denise! I also met with a former Grinnell biology major who is working at Institute Pasteur. I promise I won't get too many ideas Mom but it was still great to talk to her.
The last weekend in October (October 28th-November 2nd) I travelled in Italy with a friend from Grinnell (Sivan Philo) who is studying in Milan for the semester. I took the train from Nantes to Paris and then Paris all the way to Milan. I thought it would be pretty cool to go by train and it was but in retrospect 8 hours in a train is a little too long! I got into Milan late on Friday and we left for Venice--the first phase of the trip--on Saturday morning. We wandered around Venice for a little while that morning and then went (by water bus!) to Murano island. It was really cool to see the glass blowing demonstration. We spent the rest of Saturday and the part of Sunday in Venice before heading to Florence
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| The view of the grand canal just outside of the train station. |
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| water bus! |
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| 0,50euro gondola ride with Sivan! |
In Florence we had quite a list of things we wanted to do. Sunday was the big day of tourist action in Florence. We saw the Uffizi gallery in the morning and then headed to a church on a hill on the edge of town. The view was amazing!
After our little walk we checked out the Duomo in Florence and then checked out the leather market. Sivan bought an excellent leather jacket and I bought a nice leather bracelet and a beautiful scarf. I know that haggling is what is expected but it still feels really weird and kind of disingenuous. They want to sell the jacket and the customer wants to buy the jacket but we still had to go through the motions.
After the leather market we found a grocery store and cooked some gnnocchi and pesto. I have found a new favorite kind of pasta. So yummy, so filling and so easy on a student budget.
Monday was a little bit more chill. We went to the Accademia and saw the David. I didn't realize that it was so tall! We walked around the historic part of Florence and tried to go to the cemetery ( called "the island of the dea") but it was closed. We ended up hanging out at the train stations for a couple of hours because we were both just so tired. It was exhausting to be a tourist and be simultaneously annoyed with the number of tourists in Florence and Venice.
The last stop for me was to go back to Milan so I could take the train back to Paris. Getting back to Milan at about 6pm gave Sivan some time to take me to his favorite panzerotti and gelato place. There was melted dark chocolate in the bottom of the cone! I also accidentally ordered whipped cream because I don't speak a word of Italian. No regrets. |
| Going through the Alps! |
Whew!
This past weekend I went to Paris with three other girls from IES. We had quite a full plate of activites: the Musée d'Orsay, the Moulin Rouge, the Catacombes, walking along the Seine, Sacre Coeur, Eiffel Tower, Musée Carnavalet, and Sainte Chapelle. Don't worry it wasn't all in one day because we had most of Friday, all of Saturday and most of Sunday.
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