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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