I got to go to Versailles with my program which was really fun. It was incredible to see the extravagance that gushed out of every nook and cranny of the palace! The gardens were gorgeous, and we also got to see the Grand and Petit Trianon. The Petit Trianon is where Marie Antoinette lived. In comparison with the main palace, it wasn't really all that impressive! There was a collection on display though of clothes inspired by clothes from that era. Famous designers such as Chanel made all sorts of interpretations (which unfortunately we weren't allowed to take pictures of) some being fairly accurate and others a very loose interpretation (a couple reminded me of something Lady Gaga might wear to a performance!) There was even a houndstooth dress! Roll Tide :)
Gardens at Versailles
After Versailles, my parents arrived here Sept. 23 and stayed until yesterday morning (Oct 3rd). They were here celebrating their 25th anniversary. It was really great to see some familiar faces here! We did all sorts of touring! We visited the Louvre, Notre-Dame, Saint Chapelle, Sacre Coeur, the Moulin Rouge, l'Arc de Triomphe, and Musee d'Orsay. We also did a river boat cruise down the Seine, and went to the top of the Eiffel Tower! Here are a few pics from our adventures:
Sacre Coeur
La Tour Eiffel
Arc de Triomphe
Saint Chapelle
At the very top of the Eiffel Tower
At the same time we were doing all this touring, we also did some really good eating! Lol. I think my favorite was this HUGE salad that was really unique, but really tasty! It was lettuce, some kind of tomatoes, ham, goat cheese, and thin fried potatoes. Interesting combo, but quite delicious! We also had cheesecake dinner night one evening where we got 3 different slices of cheesecake and rotated so that we all got to try all three :)
Salad at Le Relais Gascon
Besides touring and eating yummy food, I also started classes! It's nice to finally be doing something productive, as most of my Bama friends had already been in school for almost a month! All my classes are in French, and all of them are 3 hours long. It's definitely very different. While I've always done more than the minimum 12 hours to be a full time student, here the minimum is 18 hours. I am definitely excited to improve my French, but those long classes are definitely pushing my brain! I think I am most excited about my phonetics class to really improve my pronunciation.
This past weekend I went on a weekend excursion to Normandy and Mont Saint Michel. It was definitely a good trip but very sobering. We went to the WWII museum and then to Omaha where the American cemetery is and then to Pont du Hoc, a site where there are still craters from bombs and some bunkers from WWII. After that we toured an apple farm and got to taste some of their products from apple juice to up to a creamy apple liqueur (they said it was some what like Bailey's). Sunday was spent at Mont Saint Michel, which was quite gorgeous!
American Cemetery
Mont Saint Michel
View from Pont du Hoc
This week it finally feels like I'm getting into the swing of things with school now that my parents aren't here to do touristy things with, which is has it's positives and negatives. I definitely miss them! I do still have a lot of exciting things coming up though, like tonight I am going to see a ballet at l'Opera Garnier (the one Phantom of the Opera was based off of!) with my program! I'll be sure to update with pictures from that soon. Thanks for reading!
Callie
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