Sorry for the long blogging vacation!

So, needless to say, my promise to keep my friends and family updated through this blog fell by the wayside. My camera broke around Halloween, so it has been beyond difficult to document my time here. But I've finally amassed a collection of friend's photos, so the blogging shall re-commence!

Morgan

Bruxelles!

We got home from Normandy at around 9:30, and headed to Bruxelles around 9:30 the next morning. Unfortunately, our friend Kelly missed the bus and had to meet us there. BUT after a 5 hour bus ride into Belgium, we finally arrived. We got off at the wrong stop in a Harlem-like area, but figured out the half-German Metro and found our hostel. After dropped off our things, Sam and I decided to get our first famous Belgian beer.

Samantha.

Moi-même.

We then began our Brussels (ou Bruxelles pour les français) sightseeing, all of which can be done in around 2 hours.

Random Chinese balloon-covered building.

By this point it was nighttime and freezing, so we sought refuge in another bar. (Sorry to those against alcohol, but it's Europe, they're everywhere)

Belgian beer is some of the most famous...and cheapest!

Me and the random American who sat next to us.

In love.

We then went to meet Kelly, who finally arrived at 9:30 that night (7 hours after us). We went out with some people we met at our hostel. The next day we woke up, and redid the sightseeing for Kelly's sake.

Grand Place.

Again.

And again!

We then sought out the famous "peeing boy statue." After wandering around Bruxelles, we almost passed it, because it turns out it's very small and unimpressive!

The peeing boy fountain.

The much more impressive chocolate version across the street.

C'est tout! Bisous!

Normandy!

The weekend of October 24th, we all took off for Normandy. After a 3 hour bus ride, we arrived at a Holocaust and World War II themed museum. It was a very moving experience.

Old Nazi flag.

Bullet holes in a wall.

Book of French communication codes.

Wedding dress made from a used silk parachute.

After the museum, we drove a half hour to American soil - Omaha beach, the site of some of the infamous D-Day attacks.

View from above.

I'm sure it didn't look like this for them!

Omaha beach.

After the beach, we walked back uphill and ventured into the American soldiers' cemetary. It was very moving to see all those graves, and know that so many people were killed right where we were standing. I wanted to look for the graves from Saving Private Ryan, but it was understandably impossible.

Headstones.

Grave of the unknown soldier.

Inside the chapel.

"I give unto them eternal life, and the shall never perish."

"Think not only upon their passing, remember the glory of their spirit."

"Through the gate of Death may they pass to their joyful resurrection."

We then drove 3 more hours to our resting place for the night - St. Malo. It was an adorable coastal sailing town still surrounded by its medieval fortified walls.

The harbor.

Sunset!

A specialty of the Normandy region - moules frites!

(Mussels & fries)

The next day we were off to Mont Saint Michel, one of the 7 wonders of the world. It was built to be used as an abbey for monks, and is still used for this today (along with being a huge tourist attraction!)

Mont Saint Michel rising out of the ocean.

My friends and I being tourists!

(Olivia, Sam, Quinn, Catherine, Emma, Sabina, Katie, et moi)

The view of the chapel from the beach.

It was a fabulous sightseeing weekend. Unfortunately after this we had a 6 hour bus ride back to Paris, but what can you do, right!

Bisous!

Mes Amies

Nothing too eventful happened after the last post, so I figured I would just include some pictures of my friends here in Paris, and our daily happenings.

Marissa, Quinn, and I in Chatelet.

Sam, Kelly, Marissa, and I in an awkwardly taken picture on Rue Mouffetard.

Kelly dancing in the Little Temple Bar.

Me in the Little Temple Bar.

Me, Sam, Marissa, et Fabien at Le Frog et la Princesse.

Edward and I playing with glasses in his appartment.

Oh! and le Tour Eiffel at night.

C'est tout pour maintenant!

Sightseeing During Breaks!

So, every Wednesday I thankfully have no classes. This provides me with the perfect opportunity to explore Paris (when it's nice!). A few Wednesdays ago (I'm several weeks behind with this blog), I went to do an art project, got lost, and ended up in a beautiful area of Paris - les Invalides.

I didn't actually pay to go inside, but from what I've heard it's Napoleon's final resting place. I just like it for the pretty outside!

The inner courtyard.

Me!

I went and picked up my friend Marissa, and we continued to explore this area. We happened upon 2 huge art museums - le Petit Palais and le Grand Palais.

Then we walked along the Seine river and le Pont de Alexandre III.

That was it for that sightseeing trip!

Roussillon-Languedoc Trip

So, after about a week and a half in Paris, API took us all to the South of France. 80 degrees, beaches, wine...c'est fabuleux! Anyways, we stayed in a little town called Collioure. If you know anything about art, it's one of the towns made famous by the Fauvists Matisse, Braque, and Picasso.

Quinn playing on the beach in Collioure.

We skipped out on the art history tour in favor of lounging on the beach. That night, we bought tons of baguettes, cheese, grapes, dark chocolate, and Sangria and ate to our hearts content.

Sam and our feast.

The next day was an early morning. We took a bus to Les Grands Canalettes, the largest grotto in France and third largest in the world. Turns out, even if you're in the South of France, it's 30 degrees inside a grotto. That was not fun with the clothes I packed. Anyways, the man who actually discovered the caves (the spelunker) gave us a guided tour of the whole place.

Us being bear-like.

Rocks and stuff.

Me with a stalagmite / stalachtite.

More rocks.

The tour ended in 'the Cathedral,' a huge open area full of beautiful crystals, stalagmites, rocks, etc., and there was a music and light show. A little too long for my freezing self, but beautiful nonetheless. The tour ended with a huge feast prepared by the guide's family. A pig roast, as a matter of fact. It started with fresh corn, tomatoes, onions, and bread. Then, there were 3 pork courses: 1 was an odd lumpy black sausage served with aoili (spelling?) mayonaise; 2 was like a long hot dog; 3 was just a pork steak kind of thing. Then our guide pulled out the pouru.

Me with the pouru.

It's meant to be used with wine, like he did, but for API purposes it was water. He could actually pour it from his forehead to his mouth! Needless to say, we all loved this man. He then gave us 4 rounds of dessert, and we were on our merry way.

Us jumping at les Grands Canelettes.

Kelly, Sam, Me, Quinn, Marissa.

That night we just went sat on the beach, and headed to bed early in preparation for another early day.

Fun on the beach.

The next day we travelled to Carcasson, one of the oldest medieval towns in France. There, we opted out of the tour (again) and had a tour of our own.

Quinn in Carcasson.

We had a long sit down meal where we tried the Catalonian specialty, cassoule. It's a white bean, goose, and sausage stew. SO GOOD!

Cassoule.

Right after Carcasson, we got back on the bus, drove an hour to the train station, took a 6 hour train, and arrived back in Paris. Fabulous weekend!