Blogs - Ann Halpin's Blog

Postings from resident directors and students currently abroad, important announcements and useful infomation for planning your study abroad experience.

Paris and London, Two Magnificient Cities- Jessie - Paris AY 2007-08

It's finally starting to feel like springtime is Paris! Flowers are blooming in all the parks and everyone seems to be in a better mood. Paris really is beautiful this time of year. My roommates and I have started walking everyday in the park by our house, so we are really soaking up the nicer weather and the beautiful flowers. The warmer weather here has also prompted more cafe sitting and city exploring. I have class at the same time and location as my roommate Jenn, so we have been discovering sweet little cafes and delightful food (my recent obsession are bagels which are very hard to find in Paris). I must admit, I am completely in love with Paris. I keep having dreams about leaving and I wake up really sad. I really miss everyone, but Paris feels like my home now- I can't imagine not being able to walk down the street to the local boulangerie for an almond croissant, or seeing Notre Dame right when I step out of class, or going out at night and meeting people from lots of different countries. Paris is truly a magnificent city!

 

Another magnificent city that I recently visited is London. My cousin Christina lives there so I went to visit her and just be out of France for a few days. I took the eurostar (the high-speed train that goes under the English Channel) so two hours after leaving Paris, I was in London. It was really weird getting off the train and being in an english speaking country! I saw all the major sights and took a long audio tour of Westminster Abby which was really interesting. I walked around by myself a lot of the first day because Christina was at work and I noticed myself being really awkward speaking ENGLISH! Ha! It was weird not saying 'pardon' or 'merci'. The next day Christina and I explored Notting Hill (where she lives) and then drove/walked around the city. London is so beautiful. After three days in London, I took the train to Cambridge to visit a friend. I think Cambridge is the ultimate college town. The town has an incredible amount of history and beauty, but it also has lots of college kids and hip places to go. On the eurostar back to Paris, I realized that I am not ready to be back home yet. I really enjoyed England, but it did remind me a lot of home. There are some of the same grocery stores, people speak English, and you can even find some brands of food that we have in the US. While I enjoyed these things immensely while I was there, it made me realize that I kind of like not having that stuff and being in a completely different environment.

 

We had our first Abroadco excursion of the semester- Cancale, St. Malo, and Mont St. Michel. Cancale is a small fishing town where we enjoyed some delicious food while looking over the bay. Mont St. Michel was just a short bus ride from Cancale and is a massive island/rock (think Alcatraz but closer to land) that has been around since the 6th century. It has had a massive amount of history including being a place where the archangel Michael appeared and blew a hole in some guys head, it has a monastery, and it was also a prison. It has become very touristy, but still very impressive to see. St. Malo is a walled port city in Brittany where pirates and buccaneers used to live. We got a tour of the city then enjoyed a relaxing (and surprisingly warm) day on the beach :)

 

School has started again and this semester I am taking my grammar course, as well as two lecture classes (Big Names in French History, and Regions of France).  My brother, Tyson, is coming to visit me in a few days! I am SO excited! We will be traveling to Amsterdam and Madrid and doing lots of touristy things in Paris. Very exciting!

posted on Wednesday, February 27, 2008 9:47 AM