Monday, March 21, 2016

P A R I S

This is a post is especially for Madame Thomas’s 5th grade French class, Bonjour!
                During the first week of my time here I was given the opportunity to see all the amazing opportunities study abroad students have while at their host institution to jam as many things into their already busy schedules, to make the most of their time abroad. Literally the second day of being at my host school I was sat down in a room, and given a pitch about all of the social events and opportunities that were allotted for international students only. I remember this very well, because the woman telling us all about the social programs here at Roehampton was a tall, lively and quirky woman named Susannah. Quite the character, and hard to forget. She is the co- owner of somewherenew.com, the host of the social programs that any international student studying at a qualified university in London can sign up for.
                There are various programs to choose from, day trips, plays, London events, and weekend trips. They are almost “all- inclusive” and are extremely well priced for the dodgy student budget every study abroad student has. This idea, along with the fact that I had made friends that wanted to go on it as well pushed me to sign right up. I had figured that out of all the weekend trips the company offers, there would be no better place to have my tours, accommodation and transportation planned out for me than in Paris, quite simply because… I don’t know any French!! So with that being said, I signed up and was ready to go.
                On March 4th, myself and two of my friends set out to St. Pancras International Station to collect our tickets to Paris. A bright and early Friday morning, and who was waiting there for us, but Susannah and her husband and, their two six year old daughters. We travelled as a group, with the cute family, our tour guide, and a host of other study abroad students. We took the Eurostar from London to Paris; which means, yes, I did go through the Chunnel. Surprisingly it was only a 20 minute journey through the Chunnel, and after a quick 2 and a half hours we arrived at Gare Du Nord, the international train station in Paris.
                 Our itinerary was packed full, and from the second we stepped out of the train station we were on a tour of the grand city. We took a bus tour from the station and ended at our hotel, roughly 4 hours after we had arrived. On the bus tour we saw a brief glimpse of the Arc De Triomphe, and the stopped off at the Eiffel Tower for a quick photo op. Lastly we took a drive by Notre Dame, which we only stopped at for a bit, as we were to have a tour of it the next day. We then were dropped off at our hotel, and after just about 45 minutes of down time, we were back in the lobby to travel to the Louvre, because there was a free entry for students that night. The Louvre was absolutely incredible, regardless of whether you like art or not. It would seriously take someone at least two weeks to get through the entire thing, so we decided to see the most important bits, the Mona Lisa (duh.) and Venus Di Milo (also, duh.) and then some other pieces that we happened to pass by in our pursuits. After so much art, we went out to dinner, but ended up getting pizza… so French! NOT! And then some macarons… just because.


                On Saturday morning we were up early again as we had a walking tour of the Latin Quarter. Which is comprised of small entwined streets of cafes and shops. Charming, really. We also got to tour Notre Dame, and see the wonderful scenery all around the area, before embarking on a river cruise down the Seine. FUN FACT- there are 16 statues of liberty all around the world… here I was thinking the French had given us a special gift, but it turns out they’ve got their own too! After the river cruise we had the rest of the day to ourselves. We ate French crepes in the Latin Quarter for lunch and then took a lovely stroll all around the city. I often find the best way to learn and explore is actually by getting lost, and guess what? That’s exactly what we did. Once we finally found our way to a metro station that would take us back to the hotel, we travelled back to relax for a bit before dinner. We went to a restaurant very close to our hotel for dinner and then ventured back into central Paris to find out why it really is call the city of lights. We certainly found out, you can see the Eiffel Tower from all corners of Paris, and trying to get close to it at night time proved to be a challenge when you don’t have a map. You’d think because it is lit up, it would be a no brainer to get there. WRONG. You can see it from LITERALLY everywhere, so just as you think you’re getting close, you’ll see a sign to point you in exactly the opposite direction than you’re travelling to get there. Thus my saying, the best way to see everything, and experience everything is to just get lost. However we did end up finding it, and seeing how really brilliant it is. Pictures certainly do not do it any justice.







                On Sunday we packed up before heading out on a tour of Versailles palace. A brilliant estate just outside of Paris, with quite the history. After visiting Versailles we took a walking tour through Montmartre another little “village” like area of Paris with winding streets, and friendly shops and cafes. We also visited Sacre- Coeur, a church built for the people on top of the hill in Montmartre looking over the city. After the walking tour we collected our luggage from the hotel and made our way back to the train station.





                Paris is indeed as beautiful as everyone makes it out to be. The French culture is also a beautiful way of life, compared to London, it is very relaxed, it is calm, and everyone enjoys every moment of every day. Of course the food too, crepes are delicious, and the coffee is superb. There is nothing like sitting in a café with the sun shining in the windows to really make you understand what French living is all about.

                THAT BEING SAID, I know this is specifically for a French class, to read about what Paris is like, but I have also got to be honest, it is my blog after all. I certainly like London more than Paris, London is COMPLETELY different, and busy and always moving, and things in Paris are a bit too slow for me. I also am not a huge fan of the Parisian public transport. The Metro is incredibly busy all the time, and most definitely not as easy to manage as the tube… but I may just be bias because I live here. Anyway, I had a wonderful weekend exploring a new place, and am incredibly thankful to have gotten this opportunity through somewherenew.com, otherwise I might still be lost and wandering around Paris. PLEASE NOTE, this post is not sponsored by the company, I was just incredibly impressed with their professionality, and the fact that they actually came on the trip and although they were technically on their own vacation, still accounted for us, and were always willing to give recommendations of fun things to do or places to go. Their children were also adorable and a pleasure to be around for the weekend! Thanks again to somewherenew!

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about my adventures, thanks for keeping up!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     Cheers!! xoxo

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