Les Chateaux de la Loire, Partie 1
The first big thing I did since I last blogged (I know it has been a while!) was the first Chateaux de la Loire excursion. We stopped at three different chateaux along the Loire River Valley, each quite different from the last and each with a beauty and grandeur all its own. Honestly, for all three I preferred the outsides to the insides. The architecture is so stunning and spectacular, it is amazing to think about all the work and artistry that when into forming each brick. It was also fun just getting to explore with my friends for the day, so here is a taste of our adventures also...
PARIS!
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Our hostel room!
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Sacre Coeur
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Montmartre
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FINALLY! I went to Paris! I have been waiting for this since I first decided to come here; since I first heard of that magical city. And better yet, it was everything I dreamed of and more. Three friends and I left Friday at 9 am and arrived in Paris around noon, finding our way to the hostel by 1:30. We dropped our stuff off and headed out to explore. We were staying in Montmartre, which is a really cool part of town. We got lunch in a nice cafe and then ended up stumbling upon a famous basilica called Sacre Coeur, which translates to sacred heart. Sacre Coeur overlooks all of Paris and is beautiful itself. We walked through during a mass and the whole experience was very moving. Then we walked through more of Montmartre and found an area with tons of artists painting original pieces, mostly skylines and streets of gorgeous Paris. It was so cool, everything was very busy and lively there. We kept walking past that and next stumbled upon Moulin Rouge! We were extremely surprised to have found it by accident. After taking our pictures in front we headed back to our hostel to check into our room then took the metro downtown to see
la tour Eiffel all lit up a night! It sparkles every hour on the hour and we made it just in time! It was so amazing, I had to take a minute to realize that I was actually standing next to the universal symbol of France with all her glory. After seeing it, we wandered around some more before going back to Montmartre, grabbing some dinner and collapsing into bed to get up early the next morning.
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I studied this in Art
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Sunrise outside my hostel window
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Saturday morning we woke up around 7 am and got ready for the day. We had booked a four person room so it was just us. The hostel we stayed at, Montclair, was excellent. It was clean and fun and we felt extremely safe there. Not to mention breakfast was included! After
le petit-déjeuner, the Louvre was first on our list for the day. So of course we saw the one and only
Mona Lisa and
many other priceless pieces of art. I actually saw a few paintings that I had studied in Histoire de l'Art, which was very cool. After the Louvre, we had lunch and met these really cool Scotsmen and women, kilts and
all! They were so nice they gave us a Scotland scarf as a memento, so my friends and I are dying to visit now. I'll get there one day. After that we went back to the Eiffel Tower and actually went up in it this time. It's a lot taller than I thought looking up at it from the ground. Also it was quite cold and windy, but worth every second. Upon coming down, we got soaked in the pouring rain on our way to dinner, but even that couldn't bring us down.
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This entire bridge is full of locks that lovers put on and throw the key in the river <3
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In the metro...
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Sunday we slept in a little and at
breakfast met a guy from Guadeloupe and a girl from Germany. Both people were extremely nice and it was really cool to talk to them and hear what they had to say about Americans and life in general. The German girl had been there a while and so marked places on our map of Paris that she loved.
Then we headed to
boulevard Champs-Élysées and found
Ladurée, a restaurant renowned for its macaroons. We had dessert there and chocolat chaud, which was basically molten chocolate, or should I say heaven? Afterwards we saw l'Arc de Triomphe and la Cathédral de Notre Dame, which were both amazing of course. After that we walked around the Latin Quarter, which I cannot wait to go back to and explore further because it was so cool. We stopped and had dinner and the most amazing gelato ever. Also in le quartier Latin, we found a bookstore/library called Shakespeare & Co. It was every book lover's dream! It was literally filled floor to ceiling, wall to wall with books and then some. There were also a bunch of little nooks where people were curled up reading. I want to go back just so I can spend a few hours there reading. Finally we had to return the hostel and grab our stuff before catching our train back to Angers. It was sad to leave so soon, but I know I will be returning in the near future.
Galaxy Gala
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Creepin'
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Finally, three other CIDEF girls and I got dressed up and attended a Gala that l'Université Catholique de l'Ouest puts on every year. It was mostly French students and so we met up with a few French friends we have made here. It was a great night; for 20 euro we got drinks, salad, dinner, dessert and dancing. It was a great deal and we had an excellent time.
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Sarah and I
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Other than those events, there hasn't been too much else. Classes are going okay, although the tests are proving to be harder than I expected. But that just means I have to buckle down a bit more from now on. They grade really harshly here, although I guess they will translate to okay grades back home. Some friends and I just booked tickets to Dublin for a few weeks from now, for which we are super pumped. Also we are hoping to go down to the French Riviera next weekend since it is a three-day, but those plans are still in the works. This weekend is the excursion to an authentic French vineyard where we get to have dinner and a wine tasting in a cool cave, so be ready for a new post about that this Sunday! We are all extremely excited, it is supposed to be the best excursion.
FINALLY! I went to Paris! I have been waiting for this since I first decided to come here; since I first heard of that magical city. And better yet, it was everything I dreamed of and more. Three friends and I left Friday at 9 am and arrived in Paris around noon, finding our way to the hostel by 1:30. We dropped our stuff off and headed out to explore. We were staying in Montmartre, which is a really cool part of town. We got lunch in a nice cafe and then ended up stumbling upon a famous basilica called Sacre Coeur, which translates to sacred heart. Sacre Coeur overlooks all of Paris and is beautiful itself. We walked through during a mass and the whole experience was very moving. Then we walked through more of Montmartre and found an area with tons of artists painting original pieces, mostly skylines and streets of gorgeous Paris. It was so cool, everything was very busy and lively there. We kept walking past that and next stumbled upon Moulin Rouge! We were extremely surprised to have found it by accident. After taking our pictures in front we headed back to our hostel to check into our room then took the metro downtown to see la tour Eiffel all lit up a night! It sparkles every hour on the hour and we made it just in time! It was so amazing, I had to take a minute to realize that I was actually standing next to the universal symbol of France with all her glory. After seeing it, we wandered around some more before going back to Montmartre, grabbing some dinner and collapsing into bed to get up early the next morning.
Saturday morning we woke up around 7 am and got ready for the day. We had booked a four person room so it was just us. The hostel we stayed at, Montclair, was excellent. It was clean and fun and we felt extremely safe there. Not to mention breakfast was included! After le petit-déjeuner, the Louvre was first on our list for the day. So of course we saw the one and only Mona Lisa and many other priceless pieces of art. I actually saw a few paintings that I had studied in Histoire de l'Art, which was very cool. After the Louvre, we had lunch and met these really cool Scotsmen and women, kilts and 
all! They were so nice they gave us a Scotland scarf as a memento, so my friends and I are dying to visit now. I'll get there one day. After that we went back to the Eiffel Tower and actually went up in it this time. It's a lot taller than I thought looking up at it from the ground. Also it was quite cold and windy, but worth every second. Upon coming down, we got soaked in the pouring rain on our way to dinner, but even that couldn't bring us down.
Sunday we slept in a little and at 
breakfast met a guy from Guadeloupe and a girl from Germany. Both people were extremely nice and it was really cool to talk to them and hear what they had to say about Americans and life in general. The German girl had been there a while and so marked places on our map of Paris that she loved. 
Then we headed to boulevard Champs-Élysées and found Ladurée, a restaurant renowned for its macaroons. We had dessert there and chocolat chaud, which was basically molten chocolate, or should I say heaven? Afterwards we saw l'Arc de Triomphe and la Cathédral de Notre Dame, which were both amazing of course. After that we walked around the Latin Quarter, which I cannot wait to go back to and explore further because it was so cool. We stopped and had dinner and the most amazing gelato ever. Also in le quartier Latin, we found a bookstore/library called Shakespeare & Co. It was every book lover's dream! It was literally filled floor to ceiling, wall to wall with books and then some. There were also a bunch of little nooks where people were curled up reading. I want to go back just so I can spend a few hours there reading. Finally we had to return the hostel and grab our stuff before catching our train back to Angers. It was sad to leave so soon, but I know I will be returning in the near future.
Finally, three other CIDEF girls and I got dressed up and attended a Gala that l'Université Catholique de l'Ouest puts on every year. It was mostly French students and so we met up with a few French friends we have made here. It was a great night; for 20 euro we got drinks, salad, dinner, dessert and dancing. It was a great deal and we had an excellent time. 
Emily,
ReplyDeleteI found your blog via a post on Facebook. I am a CMU alum (a student of Dr. Palka) who was one of the first groups to study at the CIDEF (in Spring of 1992). I also stayed Chez Madame Breteau. It was one of the best experiences of my entire life.
Enjoy your time there and please tell Madame Breteau that Mike Creech says Bonjour.