8/17-8/27
**DISCLAIMER** (Sept 3,2017)
I have just finished my study abroad about 4 days ago so now i have time to catch up and write my blog and adventures!!
OKAY LETS BEGIN!!
August 17th, We visited the Hotel Des Invalides, which Louis XIV had built to serve as a home and hospital for aged and unwell soldiers. It is also the resting place of Napoleon Bonaparte! It is such a big place, and contained many different museums. My favorite exhibit they had was the World Wars visit. History of the world wars, and history in general, is extremely important to me because I feel that we’re to learn from history and our mistakes and grow from them in order to not repeat the wars and the mistakes of our past. After the visit some of the group went to a cafe near Père Lachaise, one of the biggest cemetery’s in Paris, and had some snacks before going back to our housing for the night.
August 18th, Friday was just a day of class and then we were free for the rest of the weekend!! After class, my friends and i went to go see Dunkirk (Dunkerque en Français) at the movie theater. The movie theater itself was very different and also very small, the movie played in English but had french subtitles so it was easy to understand and correlate the words i didn’t understand in french to the words i heard in English. Afterwards we just headed back to get some rest because the whole week before was super busy, and the week ahead would be even busier!
August 19th, some friends and i took a stroll through the Luxembourg Gardens again, and we found a small version of the Statue of Liberty that France had gifted to the US back in 1886.
After being in Europe for a couple weeks, we finally decided to try the french version of Chipotle! Usually i don’t eat meat in the US because it makes me sick but i have had a lot more luck in Europe, with other food that aren’t meat too. Fast food is fast food where ever you go, but personally i think that the fast food in Europe doesn’t taste like the fast food in America. We then walked around after being full of food, and shopped a little! We tried to go to the catacombs the line was too long and they were closing soon so we just got some food at home and played card games for the night!
August 20th, a couple of us got up early for a post-mass performance to hear the organist play the Organ. It was really something spectacular. I have played music for over 7 years and i just love hearing music being played so to me it was a really great experience. After listening to the organist, we went and got crepes at one of the little cafes and myself and my friend, Sarah, went to the Cemetery Montparnasse, and the Père Lachaise Cemetery because for once of our classes we needed to research a famous French person buried in one of the two cemeteries. The cemeteries here are very different than in the US too. They are very crowded and have very extravagant or elaborate tombs. Just walking around the cemeteries took a couple hours, and after wards we headed home and worked on our projects, and went to sleep so we could rest for the week ahead.
August 22st, probably one of my favorite days on the trip was this day. We went to the Hôtel de Ville, which is the city hall of Paris, and it was really extravagant on the inside and outside, we had a guided tour around and i still am in awe of all the beauty in Parisian buildings. After the class visit, my other friend , Xiyi, and i went to Le Mur des Je t’aime and Sacré Cœur. We climbed way too many steps that day, but it was worth it to see the view of paris. And the wall of i love you, is a wall that has the words ‘I love you’ written on it in every language. It was really an amazing sight to see. And i was able to get little souvenirs for my friends, because at the bottom of the hill from the Sacré Cœur, were a ton of little shops for souvenirs. It was a very eventful day.
August 23nd, EARLY EARLY MORNING!! We got up for our group trip outside of Paris to visit Fontainebleau and Vaux-le-Vicomte! We took a charter bus about an hour out of the city to look and have the hands on experience of our history lesson. Both the castles were beautiful but were simple compared to the upcoming visit to Versailles. There’s not a lot to say but more to show for the two castles. *side note; i did get attacked by a swan though because it didn’t like my white shoes, i think maybe it thought i was another swan, but who knows*
August 24th, another early morning with the first stop being the Louvre! I got to see so many amazing works of art that I’ve always wanted to see. We only had a couple hours in the Louvre, and let me say as a word of advice, if you go to the Louvre and want to see it all, plan on that taking a couple days! The place is huge!! After wards we had class, until around 5pm, and i was so tired i just took a nap after wards and then did some homework.
August 25th, the day we went to Versailles!! Versailles, was probably one of my favorite group outings. The inside is so beautiful and the outside gardens are HUGE, you would need a whole day or two just to see all of both. The weather wasn’t happy that day so we had to wait under some arches until the storm passed before we could walk around the gardens. But it was so beautiful and after the storm cleared it was really nice!
August 27th, we had a optional cooking lesson with our professor Hélène! She taught us couple of french meals that we then prepared for the class for the next day for lunch and dinner. Our professor contributed to much to the program from her knowledge to her cooking to her help in general everyday things! She really made the program great and is another reason study abroad was so amazing