Bruges, Belgique

Sad truth: I've now been to Bruges, but I've never seen In Bruges. I did, though, watch the trailer in preparation for trip.
Apparently the movie has inspired many to make the trek out to this adorably quaint and perfectly magical ville.

Canals run all throughout the city, creating about a gazillion kodak moments and allowing for boat tours that can only be compared to Disneyland's Small World. What's more, every boat that went by seemed to have a different language being spoken- though sadly I heard no singing.

One of my favorite parts of Bruges was waking up early and just strolling along the streets. The city is perfectly still in the mornings save for a few people riding by on their bikes. This probably has something to do with the fact that Bruges, at any given time, has more tourists than actual people residing there. And, as we all know, most tourists (unless you're from my family) like to actually vacation, ie. sleeping in, eating a leisurely breakfast at 10, etc.
Well at least I don't miss anything.

Ville de Lille

I just got back from an absolutely wonderful solo trip up to Belgium. For whatever reason (I tried asking, but no one seemed to really know why) most French students were given a break last week, leaving me plenty of time to relax, and to travel. So after some careful planning I hopped on a train Wednesday morning and rode 5 hours to my first stop, the lovely city of Lille.

 

Though I only had half a day there until I moved on to my next location, I definitely did my fair share of sight seeing. The Musee des Beaux-Arts was a favorite. Not only did it have a wide variety of art- ranging from really really old to pretty contemporary and including ceramics, statues, and paintings- but I was also able to check my backpack and walk around free of all the extra weight.

  

I also got to browse through a used book sale that was set up in the middle of an old building's courtyard. The vendors were offering everything from yellowed and fading postcards to glossy neon colored comic books. There was even a man with huge boxes of worldly coins for the collectors out there.

The brisk weather made it a perfect day to just wander the city, and though it definitely was no Bordeaux, I did enjoy my visit to Lille. It was a nice mix of working city and quintessential 'french' culture with plenty to offer to a tourist passing through.

Wine Country

After my large trip to Mont Saint-Michel, I felt a little too tired to go on any big adventures- but it seemed silly to spend what was going to be a beautiful weekend simply roaming the streets with nothing to do. As luck would have it, a lovely friend of mine mentioned she was heading off to Saint Emilion for the day, and I was welcome to go with her! I couldn't possibly refuse, so at 10 am the next day we rode the train out into wine country.

A small but beautiful city, Saint Emilion was exactly the kind of peaceful getaway I was looking for. The lack of people that day made it even more magical. I mean walking down empty cobblestone streets while hearing only the echoes of footsteps in an otherwise still afternoon certainly leaves one feeling like they've stepped into an alternate universe. It was all very Miyazaki/Spirited Away-esque, which is always cool in my book.

After an exploration stroll (which took us by an awesome cathedral situated on top of a hill of sorts), my friend and I decided to spend our lunch at a restaurant across the street from catacombs dating back to the middle ages.

No big deal. 

We even took the catacomb tour, which were actually carved entirely out of one rock. Aaand I'm pretty sure I saw a bone... just saying

Now I'm not really one for art of the middle ages- it was all so similar and religious- but I must say the fading images left in the catacombs really put into perspective how old everything was. Unfortunately for me, photography was not allowed, so I never got to document the coolness. Too bad, but it's nice at least to have the memories (sappy, sorry).

 

ps check out this super nifty car

A Trip Up North

With some quick planning and a lot of excitement, a few friends and I decided to make the long trek up to Mont Saint-Michel in Normandy. And what an excellent trek it was!
My first day of travel started out a little rocky when my alarm didn't go off at 5 am like it was supposed to. Yet, by some miracle of the travel gods, I was lucky enough to wake up in time to rush out of the house and make it on the train with minutes to spare. It was very exciting.
After that little mishap the trip only went uphill. A three hour train ride got us into Paris where we then had two hours to meander throughout the city before the next leg of the journey.

 I enjoyed the short stop in Paris, but I must say, I'm proud to be living in Bordeaux. Paris was just a bit too urban for my taste.

After stretching our legs we got back on the train and headed off to Caen, where we then switched trains and rode to Coutances, hopped on a bus from there to Pontorson and, finally, were picked up via a large red van that brought us to the hostel out in the countryside

 The town we were staying in was definitely one of the cutest most picturesque places I have ever been. I half expected a horse and buggy to come rolling down the road.

 

The Team

 The next day was like Christmas. We got a ride (in the nice red van again) to bring us closer to Mont Saint-Michel. From there we were dropped off so we could walk up to the colossal land mass.

It was just incredible.

 We spent the rest of the day exploring the island city, walking through the 1000 year old monastery, and viewing the cheesy (but cute) wax museums that explained the history of the structure.

 

After a long day of non stop walking, we finally took a relaxing break to sit and watch the tide slowly come in and wrap its way around Mont Saint-Michel. Highlight= watching the not too smart travelers who stayed out on the sand too long and, after realizing they were cut off from land, had to be rescued.

I would definitely recommend Mont Saint-Michel to anyone interested in beautiful architecture of an historically fascinating origin!

Le Cirque Pinder

This past Sunday, for the price of only 1 euro, I attempted to live out all my 1920s-esque fantasies of going to a real circus with real striped tents and circus folk running around juggling real fire. Unfortunately for me, I was way too cheap to attend the actual circus and thus my euro only allowed entrance to the menagerie. I read Water for Elephants and I must say, even at its darkest points, the circus in the book sounded like a magical event. So this was not quite what I expected.

Note: The entrance to the zoo is where that sad little van off to the right is

 The menagerie itself was nothing to write home about. For the weeks before as the circus had been setting up, I would walk by and see camels, llamas, horses- even a tiger. I got excited, imagining that there must be much more, that they wouldn't allow common folk like me to see everything without paying.
There wasn't much more.
There were some lions.
And I'm sure that if I had craned my neck over the hastily put up fencing I could have see them as well.

By far the most interesting part of the circus were the rows upon rows of trailers housing the performers. Very reminiscent of a gypsy encampment, clothing lines strung themselves out between the white RVs, while extension cords wrapped every which way.
What was strange (though nice, in my opinion) was there was no barrier to separate the living quarters from the 'zoo' area. One could walk wherever he or she pleased.

 And as I was there during the mid-afternoon, and peak hours didn't start until night fall, I was lucky enough to witness the circus people going about their daily business.

 Though I wouldn't necessarily want to go back, I don't regret spending my little euro. It was more interesting than anything else.

A little field trip

Through the Education Abroad Program (EAP to those who already know and loathe it) my fellow UC students and I were recently taken on a field trip out to the beautiful Bassin d'Arcachon. The journey started in a sleepy fishing village where the tide had gone so far out the boats were floating on nothing but sand (my first thought was tidal wave, but it turned out to be normal).

 And after a tour of a small oyster museum, we were then given the opportunity to watch the tide roll in as we sipped white wine and tasted the famed shellfish. 

 

The French refer to such tastings as a dégustation, and from a personal standpoint I found it a very fitting title. Maybe it was knowing my little oyster was alive while I chewed on its rubbery skin, or maybe it was just that I don't enjoy eating sea water: no matter the reason I would not call myself an oyster fan. I tried two- just to be sure- but sadly I'm just not a shellfish girl.


 The next stop on our trip took us to the largest sand dune in all of Europe, Dune du Pyla.  

                                        It was really big


After some much needed playtime (which really just meant building a human pyramid, among other circus tricks), we move on to our final destination. Swimming at the beach! The water was warm enough to splash around in without a wetsuit- which was definitely not something I've experienced in a long time- and the beach itself was just beautiful. I would say all in all a job well done by EAP. Finally.