What an amazing two weeks it has been! After such a needed time too. The Friday before break we had two 5-page essays due, took a 2-hour exam, had a big presentation, a small presentation, and finished a novel for English. Yes, a break was definitely needed after that. That Friday many of my friends and I met at cafe depart, our usual rendez-vous location, for a cafe au lait before vacation. After saying goodbye to my friends I went home to pack and finish the laundry. After a good meal of crepes, and watching The Devil Wears Prada in French with my host sister, I went to bed as to be refreshed for the trip ahead.
In the morning I met my friend Kelsey at cafe depart and we boarded the train to Paris at 8:30. Arriving around 10H we went to Starbucks to plan our day. We decided, since it was a nice day, to drop off our bags in at St. Christophers (our hostel) and ventur up to Montmartre. The hosetel was in a great location and it was so easy to find on Rue de Crimee just off the Quai de la Seine. We put our things in the luggage room and walked through the African Quarter on our way. The African Quarter was very interesting as historically is the place for the poor in Paris. There was such a difference in the quality of living when comparing this place to the other places in Paris. After finding a park on the outside of the Quarter, we climbed the stairs to Sacre Coeur to find lunch. The park was magnificent and had such interesting paths and staircases throughout while providing a great view of Paris. After walking through Place de Tertre we found a sandwich shop. I had a wonderful panini: chevre chaud (hot goat cheese) yum. We sat in front of Sacre Coeur to do some people watching and before we knew it a street performer set up his equipment and was playing songs all afternoon. He was great and played music from such classic artists like Pink Floyd, The Eagles, REM, U2 and John Mayer. After staying there for a few hours, we went inside Sacre Coeur to look at the architecture. It was interesting to see the differences between it being built just at the beginning of 1900 and comparing it to the Rouen Cathedral. We wondered if the architecture was similar for simply atheistic or to provide a message as the cathedrals of the middle ages did. Once we toured the cathedral, we went to an ice cream shop that I discovered in the summer to enjoy dessert... it was vacation after all! The rest of the day we walked around, found a free concert at the Parc de la Villette, ate great Indian food, and met some people in the bar at the hostel. We went to bed early as we both had early engagements.
Waking up at 7:30, I went downstairs for breakfast and planned out my route for Gare de Lyon. Leaving the hostel around 8:30 was just perfect as I later bought a panini and dessert from Brioche Doiree for the train ride to Nice. It was so cold the day I left and with wind and rain I was glad to be leaving the North in search of sun on the French Riviera. The train ride was absolutely beautiful as we passed through the French countryside. Arriving at 6:30 that Sunday I was greeted to Nice with not a soul on the street. In the rain through trial and error... but mostly error with no map... I found the tram and called the hostel for my ride to the hostel. The villa was wonderful. Free Internet, laundry, breakfast, rides to the tram, umbrellas, and towels it was a steal for 16 Euro a night.
The week was just lovely. I met so many friends from all over the world: Australia, Belgium, Italy, England, Canada, America, Switzerland, Germany, Normandy, Spain... it was terrific. Transportation in Nice was so easy too as there was a tram that ran every 5 minutes which covered Gare Nice-Ville, Gare Routire, Jean Medicine, beaches, and even to Pont Michel. Finished in 2004 it was a blessing to have especially for one Euro a ticket good for 70 minutes. The first day I used the public transportation to its fullest extent by visiting the Mitese, Picasso, and Chagall Museums. I ate at a great little cafe near Jean Medicine and was sitting near a man who graduated from Clarkson... what a small world. After window-shopping around Galleries Layfette, I went back to hostel for dinner. There I met three people with whom I would be spending the next three days with. That night we went to an amazing restaurant near the Flower market and bought ice cream at Fenocchio and took it to the beach, yum. The rest of the week was amazing as the clouds disappeared and the temperature hovered around 18 c. Each day was an adventure as I visited Monte Carlo/Monoco, Antibes, Cannes, Eze, St. Paul de Vence, and spent much time in Nice especially on the beach. Each day I visited Fenocchio and had a panini on the beach with company from the hostel. Three nights I made dinner myself in the kitchen with a girl from New York, twice ate at the hostel, and two went out to dinner. Nice was so wonderful and was just the break I was looking for. Cannot wait to go back!
I left Saturday at 6:30 a.m. for Paris and spent the day near Gare St. Lazare. I came home in just enouph time to catch up with my family, do some laundry, eat dinner, and go to bed packed and ready to go for Paris Sunday. We met at the gare at 8:00 and made the trek to Chartres. After getting lunch, listening to a tour, and analyzing our assigned windows, we went to our hotel in Paris.
Paris was great though the weather did not compare with Nice as the wind and rain was just terrible. We managed to find some good spots of nice weather though to walk through the Parc de Monceau, visit le Jardin de Luxemburg, get a cafe at le Select a cafe frequented by Hemmingway, Picasso, and Mitese, and have another good day in front of Sacre Coeur. We went to the Louvre, Musee d'Orsay, L'Orangerie, Musee de L'histoire de Paris, toured the Sorbonne and saw the major monuments. We did a cruise on the Seine, went to the Lion King, and went to Zampa a French Opera. We went inside Shakespeare and Company, now owned by the great grandson of Walt Whitman, and did a few literary walks. Some of us went to the cemetiere du Pere Lachaise to find Edith Piaf, James Morrison, Oscar Wilde, and Isadora Duncun. Around the same area we discovered a cafe where Edith Piaf spend much of her time. A friend and I also went to a movie on our last day when the streets were filled with people and the skies were full of rain. We saw Modern Love, my new favorite French film.
Spring Break really could not have been better. It is so nice to be back in Rouen especially for Easter. It is so nice how comfortable I feel here and how much I love my family. Today, being Easter, my host parents closed all the windows and threatened us if we peeked outside while they hid eggs and chocolate everywhere in the yard. We all had purple boxes with our names on it, which we had to find in very difficult places. It was so much fun and I felt so much a part of the family. It will be so sad to leave for the States in only 5 weeks! This program has gone by so quickly I still cannot believe that I will be in Senegal in two weeks!!
Bisous!
