Champagne, Amsterdam, & A Castle!

Bonjour mes amis,

I apologize for the delayed post. I have been very busy sightseeing, traveling, and STUDYING. Yes, school has started and I spend a great deal of my time each day doing french grammar exercises. But no worries, I have had plenty of time to continue my adventures around Paris and Europe.

Two weekends ago, my friends and I took a day trip to Champagne. Not only was the trip delicious, but we learned a lot about the process of making champagne. Just a quick tip, if the grapes were not grown and fermented in the Champagne region of France, the bubbly beverage cannot be referred to as "champagne," but it is merely a sparkling wine. Therefore, the three dollar bottle of Andre that can be found in the grocery store, and purchased in bulk on New Years Eve, does not qualify.



In honor of Valentines, we got to taste a Rose after our tour of the champagne caves at Champagne Mercier.

In my history of architecture class, we took a trip to the Chateau de Vincennes. Orignially, a fortified castle of King Charles I of France, this beautiful tower looks like a place where Rapunzel would have let down her long hair. My architecture class has already provided a great deal of insight on how incredibly advanced the architects of the medevial and gothic times really were. I still can't fathom how they had the means to pull these types of things off without the techonology of today, but they did it and they did it well. Here's a picture of the chatelet or castle.



My most recent excursion was a wonderful trip to Amsterdam this past weekend. Now, before you let your mind wander to all of the "scandalous" aspects of this culture. Let me just say that the adorable city much more to offer than a red light district and an unusual drug culture. Often referred to as the Venice of the North, the city is intersected by many small canals. One of my favorite parts of this city is it's ecologically friendly transportation. In Amsterdam, the bikers have the right away. There are bike lanes everywhere, bikes locked up on all the bridges, bicycle traffic lights, head lights and bells. It is the best way to get around. I was lucky enough to be able to borrow bikes from my friends who were hosting me and got to experience Amsterdam at it's best.




So now, I am back in Paris and back to doing the usual every day things. (I'm sure you feel really bad for me, I know.) I'll be back to update you soon. In the meantime, here's another photo just to remind that although I love traveling through Europe, I couldn't be happier to call Paris home. Bisous, Erin <3

Escargot, Belgian Chocolate, and Degas

Bonjour tout le monde,

I'm finding it incredibly difficult to keep up with this blog as much as I hoped to, but I will do my best to deliver a full update. Since my last post, I have been to the Galeries Lafayette, an amazing department store filled with the latest fashion trends from designers all over the world. The stained glass dome ceiling over the center of the mall is truly breath-taking. In my architecture class, we went on a trip to an Archaeological Crypt of Paris in front of the Notre Dame Cathedral. In essence, it was a small city beneath a the grand city of Paris, preserved since the Roman times. We were able to see Roman bath houses and cellars that dated all the way back to 400 B.C.

A few nights ago my roommates and I decided it was time that we had a traditional french meal. We ordered the menu which consisted of an entree, main meal, and dessert. I was feeling adventurous, so I started with the popular french delicacy, escargot. As a first timer to the strange delicacy, I was pleasantly surprised, and I definitely plan on ordering them again in the future. However, I must admit the main course, Seabass and vegetables, was not what I was expecting. When, I received a full fish; tail, eye, and head included, I may have freaked a bit. My kind friend, Allison, volunteered to switch meals with me and we continued on. The final course, dessert was the most delicious creme brûlée I have ever tasted. Overall, the experience was a success.

The next morning CEA, my study abroad program, planned a Mystery Excursion. We arrived in a groggy haze on platform #8, Gare du Nord at 7:30 am. We gathered around in excitement as our wonderful CEA staff advisors announced that we would be traveling to Bruges, Belgium! Bruges is a wonderful little city in Belgium known as the Venice of the North. With chocolate shops every ten feet, it truly was a treat! The day may have been centered around food and ended in a slight stomach ache, but it was worth it. We tried Belgian beer, Belgian chocolates, Belgian waffles, and fries which originated in Belgium. Overall, it was great to be able to go to Bruges, a place I probably wouldn't have been able to see otherwise.

The first sunday of the month means free admission to Paris museums. So today, we ventured over to the Musée D'Orsay. There was no where near enough time see all exhibits with famous french painters and sculptors, such as Monet, Manet, Degas, Van Gogh, Renoir and much more. I'm sure I will be back in the future.

In the upcoming weeks, I will be visiting Champagne and Amsterdam! I promise to update you again soon.

Bonne Nuit,

Erin

le 30 janvier

I've only been here a week, yet I have seen and done so many amazing things. A few nights ago we walked around the Seine at night. Notre Dame lit up may be one of my favorite parts of the city. Today, was a wonderful little lazy Sunday in Paris. A stroll through the Luxembourg gardens with crepes in hand was the perfect end to an exciting week. I'm excited for classes to start tomorrow. CEA Paris has an awesome staff who I can't wait to work with and learn from this semester. My Sorbonne classes will start next week and the French bootcamp will begin. I'm so excited to learn more of the language. The language is beautiful and I'm ready to be able to interact with the people of the city. I'd love to have time to write more, but there's rarely a free minute in the city of lights!

le 27 janvier

Hello all,

I have officially been in the city of light for four full days. It all feels surreal. As a relatively inexperienced European traveler, I have come to realize that Paris is all of the beautiful clichés and much, much more.

The first day was more exhausting, then I realized it would be. I left Charles de Gualle airport with van full of other CEA students and we made our way through the suburbs into the city and to the CEA Paris campus located at 6 rue de Braque in the 3rd arrondissement. A large deep sea blue door contrasted the classique beige building walls set on a small cobblestone French Parisien alley. As our chauffeur opened the great blue door, we stepped into a beautiful courtyard. The architecture of Paris is truely striking. It is unique and undeniably gorgeous. I feel so grateful to live in one of the most aesthtically pleasing cities in the world. At CEA, we met with our student coordinators, recieved our apartment keys, and were sent on our ways. The apartment is wonderful. As an older European apartment it has charachters, quirks, and bright pink walls. The walls don't seem to be a common European tradition, but they brighten the room, none the less. My roomates are fabolous. They are all from different areas of California and are best friends at California Berkeley. We all get along fabolous. Claire is my roommate, and Hannah and Allison share the second bedroom.

Within these short few days, I have went on a bus tour allowing me to see every major monument or attraction in Paris, strolled along the Seine at night on our way to admire the gorgeous gothic architecture of Notre Dame, got fruity drinks at Cafe Jade, and french onion soup at Pavé. If that was four days, I can't even imagine what four months will be like. I'll update again soon with pictures and more posts, I'm too busy enjoying myself. :)

Bien à toi, Erin