Weeks Twenty-Six and Twenty-Seven

The last vacation gave me some of the best weeks of my exchange so far. The first week I went skiing and then the second week I went to Paris and Barcelona with 47 other exchange students.

I didn’t really do much the couple days between the two weeks but I had to get some relaxation in this vacation right?

The bus trip was amazing. Oyku, who had come to La Roche the night before, and I left on Wednesday on a train at 5:09 AM so we could get to Paris at 9 to meet everyone in the train station. It was a little awkward when we first got there because we didn’t know anyone and didn’t know how to break the ice. As is often the case, a Brazilian was the least timid of the group and came over to talk to us. This initial step broke the ice and we fell into the process of getting to know each other. Two of the people that we met at the train station were Sandy and Daniela who would become some of our best friends on the trip.

It was nice because we were the first ones on the bus so we got a sort of first pick of seats. From our train station, we drove around the city to the other train stations to pick all the other kids up. At the Gare de Lyon, which was the last stop, they gave us about an hour or two to eat, go to the bathroom or what have you. This was a pretty common theme on the trip and it was a really nice aspect that I’m really glad they included, we had a lot of freedom. It also started our trend of eating our lunches from grocery stores or fast food places because they are much cheaper.

That first day they gave us a guided bus and walking tour of Paris. It was very interesting and I really like to do stuff like that because it lets you see things about a city that you didn’t before and it also gives you an image of the historical or political context of the city in the time when it was being developed or when certain infrastructure was put in place. That first day, to end the day we also went to the Champs-Elysées, the main street of Paris. We stayed near the end of the road and didn’t see too much of the Arc de Triomphe. At the opposite end of the road, there is a big ferris wheel set up for the winter season. We fished out the ten euros is cost and went around a couple of times. It was totally worth it, we got some amazing views of Paris. We stayed that night and next night in a hotel about an hour or so outside of Paris. It was a nice place and probably the nicest thing about the place was the free wifi.

The second day we spent in Paris. We went to the Eifel Tower in the morning and went up! The first two levels were included in the price of the trip but we had to pay to go up to the top level. The price was only 6.50 € so it wasn’t really a question whether we go up or not. The afternoon we spent at the Chateau de Versailles. It is a very impressive castle and had immense gardens. We spent a while touring the castle with an audio guide and then we ate in the city around the castle. Most people went to McDonald’s but my card didn’t work so I went to a supermarket and bought some food there. Hey, it was just as good right?!

The next day we spent a lot of time in the bus and stopped to see le Chateau de Chenonceau, which is very cool place. It feels very isolated and I feel like it has a very nice ambiance. I actually preferred this castle to Versailles. I liked the feeling of the gardens and buildings more. The Chateau de Versailles is enormous and impressive but it also feels very formal and reserved. Not to say the Chateau de Chenonceau wasn’t this way, it was just a little bit less like this.

We spent the night in a youth hostel further south in France. The fourth day was spent almost entirely in the bus. You can see why this was a little painful with a locked bathroom and a full bladder, but we fought through it. We lunch in a medieval walled city. It reminded me a lot of Mont Saint Michel. It was a very cool place and there weren’t too many people. We ate pizzas in one of the restaurants in the city and ten explored some and bought some Crêpes and souvenirs. We got back on the bus and drove until we got to Lloret del Mar, the place we would be sleeping at for the next three nights.

The next day was the first day in Barcelona, we drove in and had a guided tour of the city and then went to the Picasso museum. It was a very interesting place. I really like the organization of the art works. They were group by the various disciplines the artist practiced but also chronologically. You can really see that at the beginning of his painting career he was a prodigy and an extremely talented classical painter. I think it’s interesting how he then chose to go in a completely different direction with his artwork and started painting more impressionist or surrealist stuff. It’s cool that he had all this classical talent but he exercised that in a completely different way than anything that had ever been done before.

We didn’t know this the night we came in but as it turns out the hotel was within walking distance of the Mediterranean Sea. That night we went to the beach for a while. Even though it was a pretty chilly, a girl and I decided to go swimming. We told ourselves, you know we’re in Spain on the beach on exchange, I figured that would be only time I’d get that opportunity so I took it! It was great, totally worth it.

They gave us five hours of free time in the morning of the second day in Barcelona. We spent some of that time shopping but we also took advantage of the time to see the city a little and observe the unique buildings and artwork of the city. We then spent the afternoon at the Sagrada Familia. It is truly an amazing piece of architecture and a real piece of Barcelona. It’s actually surprisingly modern on the inside. There again I was happy to have had a guide that was able to explain the history and meaning of the building.

The last day of the trip we spent in Figueras, the birthplace of Salvador Dali. We spent the first half of the day touring his museum. It is a very interesting collection of art. He was definitely his own person and his artwork really shows this. We got on the bus after lunch and drove until dinner and then through the night to Paris. Dinner was one of the strangest things I’ve ever eaten. We were served a sausage with what we thought were mashed potatoes but they were actually mixed with some kind of cheese so they were very elastically. Imagine, the inside of mozzarella sticks on your plate and you wont be too far off.

It was very sad to say goodbye to all the friends that I made on the trip. One of the things I liked best about the experience was that all the kids were not only from all over the world, they were from all over France. You really got to get a sense of what the different parts of France are like for these people. I enjoyed this trip so much and such good friends, I know I’ll be spending a lot in train tickets to go see them all.

As I feel I should do more often, I need to thank not only everyone who made this trip possible for me but also all the great people I met along the way. You guys are literally the best and I love you so much!