Guess what!!??? On Saturday the 17th of January all my dreams came true! I got to go and watch a French bakery in action! As a Christmas present my host family asked the local bakery in Le Verger if it would be possible for me to come in one morning and watch the magic happen. Being an extremely frequent and obviously charmming customer they agreed! So I woke up at 5am that saturday morning and got ready for an extremely exciting morning. Those who are close to me know that I only give up precious sleeping time if it's something really important! (aka food) I thought that I had to make my way alone through the village but luckily Celine was amazing and gave me a lift! It was around -2 degrees outside and as a result we had to turn the engine on and what a while for the car to defrost. Every time I walk outside to a world covered in ice I get so ridiculously excited! The people at the bakery, the baker, his wife (who I already knew because she worked at the counter) and the pâtissier, were all extremely nice and welcoming. I didn't end up helping very much because they all worked very hard and fast. Instead I very happily wandered around taking photos, tasting things and asking questions. At one stage we were talking about Darwin and all three of them were stating how they wished they lived in Australia. Then I told them the average temperature for darwin was around 30 degrees and they all decided Le Verger wasn't so bad a after all. It was pretty funny! However they wouldn't mind a pool! I had an absolutely amazing morning and couldn't have asked for a ore fantastic Christmas present! I had so much fun watching and chatting to the locally people that worked there! I walked home he happiest girl in the world!! Everything was still frozen and I took a few photos in the daylight which I think really capture how beautiful it looked!
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After an extremely fantastic but hectic first day we all slept extremely well that night. Lisa and I both woke up to my alarm going off at 7:30am and struggled out of bed. We were halfway through getting dressed when a little voice behind me asked "But I thought mum said 8:30am". I quickly text Celine and..... it was indeed 8:30am. Whhooopppss! Sorry about that one Lisa! We managed to get another good 1hrs sleep before heading downstairs for some hot chocolate, croissant and apple compote. After breakfast we packed up the hotel rooms and put all our things in the car. We then walked across to the tram station and caught the tram to the metro for the last time. (NOTE: Some of the photos on this blog post have captions. You will need to hover your mouse/or tap your finger on the photo to see them.) Our first stop was the Louvre which was incredible!!! My favourite part was not the famous glass period but the stunning old buildings sounding it! I couldn't keep my eyes off them! I know it keep saying it and will continue to thought this post but the carvings and details on each inch of the buildings were just incredible! We spent a good 2hrs just wandering around the outside of the Louvre enjoying all the statues and carvings. After exploring the incredible outside of the Louvre museum we headed across the road. There we walked past another stunning arc and through a little garden with statues and lots of frozen puddles. From there we wondered though the streets of Paris to another Metro station that would take up to Notre Dame! We had a little bit of difficulty actually getting out of the Metro at our destination but in the end we finally made it. On our way to Notre Dame we found a gorgeous christmas market, which naturally we had to walk through! It was full of giant bubbles, a merry-go-round, a massive REAL ICE skating rink and lots of people. After our adventure though the market we headed across the Seine and towards the faint outline of Notre Dame. Notre Dame was breath taking! I could not take my eyes off it! There was so much detail and beauty in everything about it. From it's statues and intricate carvings to it's windows and height, Notre Dame was by far the most beautiful thing I saw in Paris. We were all ready for lunch after Notre Dame so we headed to a sanwhich bar. I had the best hot sandwich ever! It was called a Panini Roma and was chicken, delicious cheese, a deliciously fragrant tomato pasta sauce and rocket! We then did a little bit more wondering across the Seine and through Paris enjoying our yummy lunch. After our little wander we headed down into the Metro to catch a train to Palais de la Découverte. We walked around the christmas markets there and then enjoyed the building itself. It had some incredible mosaics and carvings on its outer walls. We then once again caught the metro but this time is was to Sacre-Cœur. It was such an incredible beautiful building. We wondered around the outside of the building and the streets that sounding it. We found a little art market with lots of people drawing caricatures and selling paintings. I would have liked to have bought once or two of the prints but they were pretty expensive. From the top steps of the Sacre-Cœur you got the most incredible panoramic view of Paris! It was exspecially stunning when the sun began to set and the sky was a gorgeous pinky orange. Inside the church itself you were not allowed to take picture but I can testify that it was absolutely breath taking! There was so much beautiful colour and detail. It was an extremely special place. After Sacre-Cœur we very quickly caught the metro to the Eiffel Tower and ran to catch our cruise on the Seine. Luckily we made it in time! The cruise was absolutely beautiful! The photos below are very low quality and can not capture how stunning it was in real life. If someone asked me to describe what the Seine looked like at night all I would be able to say is gold. You will see what I mean in the photos below! Also I apologise in advance for all the photos of the Eiffel Tower :)! I just couldn't help myself! I really didn't want to say goodbye to the Eiffel Tower but we needed to get dinner before we headed home. We found a nice little restaurant where I ate an amazing eggplant and fresh tomato pizza. We then caught the metro and tram for the last time back to the hotel. We picked up the car and headed off on our journey home. I had the most incredible weekend in Paris and I will definitely be going back again in the future! I don't remember much of the drive home because I slept the whole 4hrs home. Go me! I am so thankful that I was able to visit and explore the city of love! P.s. Sorry this is extremely late! I have been having problems with getting photos to load on my blog! I have a whole lots of other post that I want to post before I leave. So stay tuned! :)
The day stated with a 6am wake up call and left over crêpes for breakfast. We then all jumped in the car and began our 4hr car journey to Paris. Even though by the time we left Le Verger behind it was around 7:30am it was pitch black outside. We got to watch the sunrise and see the sky turn from black to dark blue to pinky orange and finally to a beautiful clear blue. I noticed that there were lots of white patches on the ground and on the houses. It turned out to be snow! I do not have a picture that captured it but I think you can imagine how excited I was!!! (NOTE: Some of the photos on this blog post have captions. Some will appear underneath the photo and others you will need to hover you mouse/or tap your finger on to see.) We were staying on the very outskirts of Paris in an Ibis Budget hotel. It was in a great location, right next to a tramline which lead straight to the Paris Metro. When we were heading towards the hotel Sebastien pointed out something on the horizon which very much looked like the Eiffel Tower. At first we got very excited but then we realised that we wouldn't be able to see it from here and that he must be tricking us. We refused point blank to believe him. Unfortunately he was correct and it did turn out to be the Eiffel Tower. Whoops! Our two hotel rooms were very comfortable and cosy. Lisa and I slept together in room 229 and Chloé, Celiné and Sebastien slept together in the room next door, number 230. Before starting our day in Paris we had a quick lunch in the hotel room which was very funny. They spread an unused sheet over the bed and we all huddled around it to stop the room from being covered in crumbs. I volunteered to shake the sheet out and only realised halfway through that there was a window below, the whole time I had been whacking the sheet against it. We all thought it was quite hilarious! Also for the hotel rooms we had one of those cool swipe cards instead of a key. I don't think I've used them since staying at the AIS in 2009. I can tell you that they were just as exciting to me at 16 as they were when I was 11! We headed off to the tram station were we bought two days worth of tickets that covered trams and Paris metro. We look the tram all the way to it's last stop before getting out and heading down into the Paris metro for the second time in my life. It is so much easier and less stressful to take the metro when not carrying a massive suitcase and a hand luggage suitcase! The first time I ever caught the metro my luggage kept getting stuck in the ticket barriers and poor random french people had to keep stopping to help me carry them up or down the numerous flights of stairs. The thing I love most about the Paris metro is the life it holds. It is not for one minute silent and is full with every different kind of person moving hither and dither. It is a constant stream of babbling colour and I could not get enough of it! Our first stop was the Eiffel Tower which I was dying to see! The Eiffel Tower was everything it was made out to be! It was such a striking piece of architecture standing tall against the clear blue sky. As I got closer to the tower I noticed a very familiar flag flying on a building directly ahead. That's right, the Australian flag was flapping in the wind just in-front of the Eiffel Tower. I have no idea why it was there, we pretended it was because they knew I was coming, but it is one of the funniest things I have ever seen. It was also something I was not expecting to see in Paris! Alongside the Eiffel Tower was a little christmas market selling an assortment of different things. From bed socks to hazelnut and raspberry nougat to freshly roasted chestnuts. P.s. The clear blue sunny sky is deceiving you! It was -2 degrees the whole day and I lost feeling in both my hands and feet! After visiting the Eiffel Tower we walked across the Seine and through a gorgeous little park on the other side. After a little stroll across the sunlit lawns, we made our way through the cobblestone streets of Paris towards the Arc de Triomphe. The Arc de Triomphe was incredible! The two things that struck me the most were, firstly the amount of traffic there was and secondly, how intricately carved it was. I couldn't take my eyes off it and will definitely next time go and take a closer look. We had a quick snack before heading off once again. This time we walked in the direction of the metro where we took a train to the Tour Montparnasse. The Tour Montparnasse is a 56 story sky scraper with a 360 view of Paris from the top floor. The lift took less then a minute to go up 56 floors! It was a pretty scary feeling! There were two different levels when we got out of the lift. The first one was inclosed with walls of glass, a souvenir shop and restaurant. The level above that was an open platform from which you got the most spectacular view of Paris. We arrived at the perfect time. The sun was just setting and the city had turned all its lights on. It was absolutely stunning! These photos do not do the view any justice. We found a little restaurant just near the Tour Montparnasse called Flamby's. For dinner I ordered 'Le Français' which was camembert, walnuts, spring onions and bacon on what slightly resembled a pizza base. They however mixed up my order and gave me 'The Classic' which was crème fraîche, potato slices and bacon. We managed to rectify the mistake and I got the pleasure of eating half of each! I preferred 'Le Français' but they were both incredibly delicious! For dessert the girls shared a chocolate and banana pizza. I however finished off the meal with 3 scoops of sorbet, one strawberry and two lime. It was the best sorbet I have ever tasted! Throughout the meal Lisa had been working on a drawing for a competition the restaurant was holding. I have attached a picture below. I thought it was pretty impressive! Once we had finished dinner we found our way to the metro and caught a train to the suburb we were staying in. When we got off the train we looked around for the tram station which would take us to our hotel. It turned out however that the tram station we were looking for wasn't where we thought it was. Actually, it wan't anywhere near where we were! Luckily we stopped an nice young woman who kindly showed us the way to our Hotel, which turned out to be not to far away. It was wonderful to be out walking at night again. I'd forgotten how refreshing it is! It was so lovely feel the cold wind whipping my face as I walked down cobblestone streets bathed in golden light. We made it back to the hotel safe and sound and headed straight to bed. Lisa watched a few episodes of Oliver Twist while I caught up my journal on the days events. My first day in Paris could not have been more incredibly amazing or beautiful! I fell asleep that night thinking excitedly about everything I had seen that day and all the fantastic things that were to come!
Merry Christmas everybody!!! I hope you all had an absolutely fantastic day! Here is a little run through of what my Christmas Eve night and Christmas day looked like. Christmas Eve night I attended a Christmas mass service in a near by town called Mordelles. It was an the most gorgeous old church wit huge vaulted ceilings, intricate carving and beautiful stained glass windows. It was the local town church and it was probably twice the size of the Cathedral in Darwin! I understood most of the mass but I still spent a fair part of my time examining every inch of incredible architecture and carvings. After the service we headed home for an extensive Christmas Eve dinner. It began with Scollops in a creamy herb sauce. Which was then followed by duck, artichoke and truffle crème brûlée and potato balls. After that we headed onto cheeses. And last but not least we had a delicious caramel and pecan ice-cream log. Throughout the evening I drank 2 Panach', a combination of beer and lemonade. They taste surprisingly good! (I forgot to take photos of everything. Sorry guys!) After dinner I had a fantastic FaceTime with my family. I had missed the present opening but both my sisters showed me their haul and I got to wish everyone luck for the big family lunch Mausie was hosting at her house. It was lovely to see and speak to them again and it really got me into the Christmas spirit! After putting my presents under the Christmas tree (a real pine one!) I headed of to bed. I woke up to the sound of Black Mambo blasting from my phone as an alarm to get me out of bed and FaceTime everybody in Melbourne. You'll be happy to know that I did moan and groan as I got out of bed. In fact, I threw off the covers, jumped out of bed and ran to my phone to shut it up before it woke up everyone all the way to Paris. I then proceeded to tame my bed hair and throw on a jumper before setting myself up in front of my computer ready to wish everyone Merry Christmas. It was the most incredible experience being able to see everyone I love again. Even though I mainly just waved and smiled because it was to noisy to hear me, just seeing them smile back made me swell with happiness. One of my favourite moments was when my cousin Renata showed of her awesome Christmas cardigan. Another is Bridget and I having a good old giggle over a silly book she got for Christmas. Seeing Fiona in her gorgeous Sari from India. Seeing my cousin Kevin again and discovering that he now has a quite hilarious beard. Seeing Emma in her amazing purple velvet dress. Watching Phoebe as she attempted to ride my little cousin's tiny electric bike. I have so many amazing memories and so many incredible relatives! It was so wonderful to see you all again and I can't wait until next year when I get to see everyone in person! Love you all so much!!! It was the most amazing start to my Christmas and made me feel so loved and special! After my amazing FaceTime it was time to open presents. Céline, Sebastien, Lisa and Chloe had got me Asterix comics, Lindt dark chocolates (YES!) and best of all a trip to the local bakery to help make bread and pastries!!! I was so excited that I couldn't find the words to thank them (more than usual that is). It's a dream come true and I'm so lucky! It's going to be awesome! Also received some other little pressies from my beautiful family. Mum, Dad, Bridget and Phoebe had sent me a little package of Australian lollies. I scored sour squirms, Darrell Lea Liquorice Bullets (the best kind!) and some very fancy Adriano Zumbo salted caramel TimTams. In the parcel there was also the most wonderful card from Phoebe! (I have attached a picture below. Shhhh.... Don't tell Bridget!) After present opening, we had Pain Aux Choclat's which we dipped in bowls of hot chocolate. We then proceeded to get the house ready for Christmas lunch. I didn't help much with the cooking but I did make mini smoked salmon croissants. They were really yummy and I will definitely have to make them again! For lunch we had Celine's mother and brother with his wife and 2 daughters come around for lunch. Both gave me boxes of chocolates which was very thoughtful of them and was much appreciated. Christmas lunch was an extravagant 4hr 5 course ordeal. It began with a selection of staters varying from my croissants to bread with pâté. That was followed by fresh seafood. There were oysters, prawns, lobster like things and 2 different types of sea snail. I tried both types of sea sail and the oysters. None of them rocked my boat. 3rd course was roast chicken like thing with chestnuts, apples and potatoes. After that we had cheeses and salad. I tried a fluffy black mouldy goats cheese and blue cheese. Both were nice but I couldn't get over the fluffiness of the goats cheese. And last but not least we had the most delicious christmas cakes. They were bought for the local bakery and were the most delicious things I have ever tasted. One was chocolate and the other was strawberry and they were composed of different layers of mousse on a biscuit base. It would have to be one of the best christmas desserts I have eaten in my life! After lunch everyone, except the girls and I, went to look at Celine and Sebastien's caravan. I accidentally feel asleep on my be while they were gone. When I woke up they had all (including the girls) gone out to a Christmas fair in Rennes. I used my time to get started on the book the Secret River for school and eat some liquorice bullets. It was very nice to have some quite down time. All in all I had an incredible french Christmas! It is a day that will stay with me for the rest of my life! (Here are some pictures of all my chocolates and lollies!)
So today is the 24th of December and Le Verger is looking pretty christmassy. As it is almost Christmas I thought I would give you a taste of all the awesome christmas decorations hung up all over the place. There are also snow white and the seven dwarves all over the village. I din't however manage to get photos of all of them. I also didn't find Snow White until I wasn't equipped with a camera or a phone. I thought they were pretty cool and definitely worth sharing! :) Even the house is getting into the festive spirit! Christmas is definitely in the air here in Le Verger! I would also like to give a massive thanks to those people who sent me christmas cards! You have no idea much they meant to me and how special and loved they made me feel. Thank you all so much! Here are a few other christmas decorations I have found in my travels. Some were taken out the bus window so might be slightly blurred. And lastly here are some very christmassy photos of me. Enjoy and have a very merry Christmas! Joyeux Noël tout le monde!!! xx
The last few weeks have been incredible! Due to the fact I have been extremely busy with school and being a tourist my blog posts have been infrequent. I do apologise for this and now that it's holidays I plan to make up for the lack of posts. This post is just to catch you up on all the different things I've been up to! As the last few weeks have been pretty action packed I'm just going to name a few of the things important to me in my life here. After that, I'm going to let the photos tell you the rest. 1. My friends at school are amazing! Everyone at school constantly makes an effort to include me, make me feel welcome and hold conversations with me. Whenever I don't understand my friends go out of their ways to help and support me. There is never a day that they don't make me laugh. I honestly could not be luckier! 2. FaceTimes with my beautiful family. It is so wonderful to be able to see their smiling faces and hear their voices again. To be able to communicate my thoughts and emotions again with people who understand but also love and know me. I had the most fantastic FaceTime the other day with my family, my Nana, my aunty Fiona, my aunty Maureen, my uncle Nick and my cousin Blade. It made me so happy to hear all about their lives and what they are planning to do for the holidays. I love them so much that just seeing their faces again left a smile on my face for the rest of the day. I can't wait to talk everyone again soon! 3. My conversations with Becky. Everyday she makes me grin like and idiot. She never lets me down and always picks me up. She's incredible and I don't know what I would do without her! 4.THE FOOOOODDDDD!!!!!! I might as well marry the pastries as I am never without one! If ever I've had a hard day theres always a Pain Aux Chocolat waiting for me on my walk home. There is no way to describe how amazing it is to bite into freshly made crêpe on cold Saturday morning. If you love food well then France is the place for you! 5. As silly as it sounds I love seeing the cows, sheep and horses out the bus window morning and night! As well as the vibrant colours of paddocks or passing autumn forests. It's such a wonderful change from the constant stream of houses that I am used to. 6. Walking home in the fading light with a pastry in one hand and my phone in the other singing my heart out to Birdy. It's incredibly how free and happy this makes me feel. And yes, I already know I'm crazy! I hope you enjoy the photos!(I have put captions on some of them. To see the captions hover/or pass your mouse over the photo.) A couple of weeks ago I went to a soup festival in a little town about 1hrs drive away from Le Verger. It was like doing the Yellow Brick Road at the Darwin Show again. After purchasing a cute little handmade bowl you had to wonder through the streets finding the different stations. Each station was either a shop or stall and each had a different type of soup. My favourite was an Egyptian soup which tasted like cumin and made me think of all of Dad's delicious curries I eat at home. It was a beautiful day and the village was gorgeous with it's old windy streets and houses.
I woke up on Sunday morning to find that outside resembled a winter wonderland. There was no snow but everything was covered in ice. It was incredibly beautiful! Naturally I raced outside to take some photos! Here they are: (They don't capture how white everything was but they definitely capture the iciness) After my photo taking adventure in the yard I returned to the house to get ready to go to Mont Saint-Michel. However, before we could leave we had to do one very important (and awesome) thing. We had to scrap the ice of all the car windows. I volunteered straight away! I wasn't going to miss this opportunity. I have included a few photos below that capture my first car-ice-removing. The drive to Mont Saint-Micel was very pleasant and also very white. As we drove we were sounded by fog and ice. When we arrived at Mont Saint-Michel we ate lunch at a cute little farm style restaurant. It was delicious! (I have put captions on some of the following photos. To see them hover/or pass your mouse over the photo.) From the restaurant we walked to and through Mont Saint-Michel.It was incredible watching it loom closer and closer. Mont Saint-Michel is extremely beautiful. It is full of cobble streets, old stone houses, little passage ways, gorgeous architecture and speculator views. We visited an old church which took my breath away. I was enraptured by the stunning glass windows, chandeliers and sculptures. We also visited the grand Abbey which to me felt like a huge castle. I had never been somewhere that was that old or had seen that much history. It was full of intricate carvings, vaulted ceilings, huge stained glass windows, stunning views and and lots of stairs. (I do apology for the selfies. They were however the most convenient method of getting a photo of me with Mont Saint-Michel or different pieces of architecture.) I hope you enjoy! On our way back from Mont Saint-Michel we found some pretty funky looking cows. Lets just say that it was love at first sight! Haha
I have been meaning to put this post up for ages but haven't managed to find time. So, exactly 2 weeks and 4 days ago on Wednesday the 26th of November I decided to head into Rennes after school. The night before my little adventure I spent a good 20mins taking screenshots of Monfort-Sur-Meu (where my school is) and Rennes on google maps. My plan for the afternoon was as follows: Firstly I had to find my way to the train station in Monfort. School on a Wednesday finishes at 12:30 meaning I had 37 minutes to find the train station, purchase a ticket and get to the correct platform before my train left at 1:07pm. However I didn't manage to leave school until 12:40pm, I then discovered that I had no idea how to orientate the screenshots I had taken from google maps. Luckily I had data on my phone so I was able to use that. However the trip to the station just seemed to be taking a lot more time then I thought it would! I walked down windy street after windy street watching the time tick nearer and nearer to the trains departure. Just as I was beginning to panic that I would never make it in time I found it! I ran (not kidding) to the ticket machine but found myself facing a very complicated purchasing system in French. Luckily there was a lovely French woman behind me to whom I said "Je ne comprend pas! Je ne sais pas!" The woman was kind enough to do the whole transaction for me and hand me my ticket at the end. After that, finding the station was easy and I had about 10mins to catch my breath before the train arrived.
The second part of my plan was to meet Callum (another exchange student which whom I flew to France) at the train station and find the Columbia shopping centre together. However, It did not go exactly to plan. Firstly, I took the wrong exit out of the train station and ended up in a shabby car-park with some stairs to the street below. In a call with Callum we decided the best plan was for me just to see where the street below lead and try and find the other exit where he was waiting for me. So, I began to head down the doggier side of Rennes surrounded by lots of houses but no high-rise buildings. It was in the following conversation that Callum and I discovered that we were in fact at completely different train stations! We then changed the plan to meeting each other at the shopping centre. I managed to go in a full circle before heading in the right direction. It took me about 40mins longer to find the shopping centre then I thought it would and my feet were beginning to hurt. When I finally found the shopping centre it took around 20mins to find Callum due to the presence of 2 christmas markets, 2 McDonalds and 2 H&M entrances.
We had a good time shopping once we had managed to find each other. I bought two things from the Christmas market, a delicious macron and a meringue covered in chocolate with honeycomb bits. They were both amazing! Callum bought a meringue bigger then his head which I thought was pretty funny. After a pleasant few hours of shop browsing Callum and I headed to the Republic Station to take our buses home. The journey to the station was a bit of a rush as we didn't know how far away the station was, Callum couldn't remember exactly where it was located, I had no idea where in the station my bus stop was and my bus left in 10mins. Luckily we found the statin and bus stop and Callum had enough time to duck off and by drinks before my bus left. As I waved goodbye to Callum I prepared myself for the ticket purchasing encounter with the bus driver. The transaction went really well until it came to the part where I had to pay. Being a girl from Darwin where children catch the bus for free I had no idea that buses didn't take credit card! (I was however informed later by my exasperated mother that buses have never taken credit card in Australia of Europe. Whoops!) The ticket cost €1.50 and I had exactly €1.40 in change. However no-one on the buses seemed willing to lend me the extra €0.10 so to my horror the bus driver kicked me off. As I watched my bus depart I began I began to panic because the next bus cam in an hour and I was stuck alone in a city I didn't know. I quickly sent a message to Céline (with the help of my best friend Google Translate) explaining the situation and inquiring what I should do next. When Céline replied she told me to get out some cash and catch the next bus to Mordolles which just happened to come in 10mins. I quickly ran to the nearby News-agency where I waited inline for what seemed like an hour to find out that they didn't exchange money. As I raced out of the shop I noticed an Automated Teller machine across the road. I managed to figure out how it worked from the numerous years I've watched my parents use them. With my new cash, I hurried back to the train station where I found my bus just pulling in. I jumped on the bus, purchased a ticket, sat down and took a huge breath. I met Céline at the bus stop in Mordolles and went to the near by Library to pick up Lisa. It was there that I borrowed Harry Potter in French (which I was and still am very happy about!). All in all it was an extremely eventful day and I was very happy to get home and relax. I slept very well that night!
I've been wanting to put a post like this up for the last couple of weeks but I haven't had a chance. Photo 1: Marie and I after my last french lesson with her. Photo 2: My family and I eating lunch at Dome before my planes departure. Photo 3: Zoe and I at Dome. I couldn't have been more thankful that she came to see me off. Photo 4-10: My family and I just before I boarded my plane. Photo 11: Me as at the gate seconds before I got to see me family and Zoe for the last time. Photo 12: The Plane that flew me to Sydney and started my adventure. Photos 13-14: Photos from my families angle during my FaceTime with them on my birthday. Observations: 1. The French eat like Americans 2. The French love salt 3. The French love to eat butter 4. The French love their meat 5. For lunch and dinner the french eat with napkins Notes: 1. The cutlery here is slightly different. They don't have soup spoons. They eat soup with dessert spoons and dessert with teaspoons. 2. The French don't really like spicy food. Almost all the food I have eaten have had subtle herbs and salt but no chilli, cumin or turmeric. A bit different to what I am used to eating at home. 3. French yogurt is an amazing consistency. Once you've had one mouthful you don't want to stop eating it! 4. Croissants and pain aux chocolats from French supermarkets are the same quality as ones from an Australian supermarket. They are utterly insignificant compared to a fresh croissant from a French bakery. 5. French girls dress like their stereotype. They are on point everyday equipped with gorgeous clothing, flawless face, beautiful hair and a confident attitude. Stories: 1. I have mentioned the nutty cheese I am in love with at least twice throughout my blog posts. Well, one morning I decided to eat it on my baguette for breakfast. Big mistake! Apparently the french don't eat cheese for breakfast. It was like I had just walked mud throughout the house. It was quite hilarious actually. They let me eat it but with an air of nobody ever does that in France. 2. One night for dinner we had pumpkin soup for dinner. On the table there was bread and butter, so naturally I dipped it in my soup. You should have seen the looks on everybody at the table. Never in France do you dip bread in soup! Especially with butter! They thought it was not only weird but gross. The funniest thing is that they dip bred with jam in their coffee which is in a bowl. Not only do the dip bread in it they dip corn biscuit/cakes (the flat ones you buy at the supermarket) as well. Talk about weird. Below are some photos from the last week :) Sorry for the photo overload! I just can't help myself!!! After the most amazing sleep-in on Sunday we headed off to Dinard for a day by the seaside. It was amazing to breath-in the salty sea air again. It was about 1:30pm by the time we arrived so we went looking for a restaurant to eat lunch. The first 3 places we tried had all finished service. For me this seemed ridiculous because places in Australia are open until around 3pm. Why deny a customer when they pay you money? Why not close later? You'd think it would be the more costumers the better. However Céline explained that in France there are specific times for eating and we had just missed it. Luckily after searching around we managed to find a place that was still open. Because it was my first time eating out to play it safe as I couldn't understand the other meals to get Cesar Salad. It was nice but interesting because it also had a balsamic dressing on it. For dessert I had a salted caramel crêpe which was absolutely to die for! We then proceeded to walk all around the beach in both directions. There was an air vent on the floor and I took the opportunity to reenact Marilyn Monroe photo. No matter where you were along the beach the view was spectacular! Don't forget to check my photo gallery section if you want to see the unedited version of my photos. After my beautiful morning at the markets, we headed to Paimpont Forest for an afternoon of walking. It was absolutely stunning! Even more so because it was autumn. I am making a little autumn photo collection inspired Becky which I will post at a later date. This means I will not be posting all the photo I took in this blog post. I'm going to stop writing now and let the photos do the talking because as they say a picture...... you know how it goes. Becky's blog is here: https//beckenfrance.wordpress.com
I also have another friend in France called Flippa. Her blog is here: http//flippainfrance.wordpress.com The market in Rennes was a meld of colour, fresh produce and culture. It was like a dream come true. I loved looking at all the vegetables, fruits, flowers, cheese, breads and pastries. I think that it was pretty hilarious that in a French market they were selling bunches on eucalyptus leaves and hibiscus plants. They were also selling mangoes but they didn't compare to the beautiful mangoes in Darwin. For me one of the major culture shocks about France was how they display their meat. I found it quite confronting and something I had a problem ignoring. I have actually come to appreciate the French's 'It's a chicken so when it's dead it's still a chicken' approach. I think that it helps people to actually understand what they are eating instead of it just being pre-packaged meat in a supermarket. After the market we went into an antique shop and I felt like I had fallen into Downtown Abbey. I couldn't stop smiling! There was also this cool castle in Rennes that I thought was pretty amazing. Well I should probably head off to bed because I have school again tomorrow and it's exhausting enough without me being sleep deprived. I do however really enjoy it :). !!! WARNING !!! WARNING DEVICE MIGHT EXPLODE FROM OVERLOAD OF PHOTOS TAKEN BY ME AT THE MARKETS
I have now completed my first 3 days of school and I am very glad that it is the weekend! I love school but it is extremely draining. When I get home I am usually so tired that curl up on the couch and drift in and out of sleep. The two days of school since my last blog post have been great. I still can't really remember peoples name but I am understanding more and more each day. After lunch both days we have headed over to a near by park. All the girls I am friends with are the most hilarious people and make everything so much more fun. I thoroughly enjoyed my start to Thursday owing to my croissant and bowl of hot chocolate. It was delicious! When I head off to school in the morning and when i return home it is dark. So I really only get to see the sunshine at school which is something I'm not really used to yet. Friday afternoon due to year 12 practice exams I ended up finishing at 5pm instead of 6pm. This mean't I had to catch the bus from the middle school instead of my school. It was quite a stressful experience because I was running late and I wasn't quite sure which bus I had to catch. That morning I had been told to take the bus K13 from outside the middle school. However I got confused because usually in the morning I catch the K13 bus and the bus K15 on the way home. However there was a K15 at the very front of the bus line and as I progressed further and further down the line of buses I began to double guess my translation to english. Just when I was starting to freak out I saw the K13 bus at the very end preparing to leave. I jumped onto the bus and asked the bus driver in my best french "Á Le Verger?" Unfortunately my pronunciation of Le Verger didn't quite meet French standards. I had to repeat myself 3 times before the kid behind her said "Ah Le Verger, oui!" She then proceeded to ask for my bus card and me not understanding explained to her why I had to catch this bus instead of showing her my card. In the end she made a rectangle with her fingers and in french demanded one more time for my bus card. Finally understanding I searched through my bag, showed her my card and was at last allowed onto the bus. It was the first time so far that I have felt completely and utterly out of place. The experience really made me realise how difficult this exchange is going to be. To cheer myself up when I got off the bus I walked across the the Boulangerie and bought myself a Pain au Chocolat. It was the best thing I have ever tasted! In the evening they showed my this massive pumpkin they are going to make soup from, a non-supremarketed onion and walnuts and hazelnuts in there shells. All of which I thought was pretty cool. For dinner Céline made this delicious potato, bacon and cheese bake. There is a photo below of me taking photos of the food and Céline cooking it which I think really captured the scene. This morning I had an amazing sleep-in followed by a walk to look at the tiny markets in the town square which was comprised of two stalls, crepe and vegetables. I then proceeded onto the Boulangerie where I bought my self an apple pastry for breakfast. I know it's not the healthiest breakfast but I'm living up the french novelties while I have them. We are off to the big markets in Rennes soon so I will write about them later.
So as you can tell by the title of this post, today was my first day of school in France. When I went to bed last night I was nervous but pretty confident about today. However when I woke up it was a completely different story. I was so nervous I was shaking because today was the first day I was completely left to my own devices. I spent about 20mins trying to figure out what to wear to a French school with all well dressed French students. I resolved to go with boots, jeans, a navy woollen jumper, Becky and Flippa's gorgeous colourful scarf and my amethyst necklace. A not particularly exciting outfit for 20mins of stressing over what to wear. For breakfast I ate muesli with fromage blanc (A soft white cheese which tastes like natural yogurt). Sébastien drove Estelle and me to school today but from now on we are catching the bus. Once I arrived at school Estelle showed me to the office were I handed in some paperwork before heading to my first class which was French. I walked into the classroom to find about 30 pairs of eyes staring at me. Luckily a pair of nice girls hailed me down to sit next to them. I can't remember their names because it blurred into the sentences of french that followed. I think the funniest thing is that the first thing they asked was "Do you know 5 seconds in summer?". They think because I am Australian I must know all famous people from Australia. I went from French with the girls to my Maths class, which I would have to say was the hardest subject of the day. It would have been fine if they had been doing a topic that I knew, but they were not. So I spent maths trying to listen but mainly staring out the window. There was a short break in which I met some other girls in my year level who were also really nice. Some of them gave me a brief tour of the school before we headed of to History. All I got from history was that Rome expanded, that there were Romans in Lyon and that the girl sitting next to me liked Harry Potter. The last class of the day was English in which I was asked to pronounce things to the class and fill out a sheet about America, most of which I didn't know. Once I said goodbye to the nice girls I met the Local Co-ordinator outside school. While we were at school she helped me to cancel my Spanish and Latin classes so I wouldn't be overloaded with work. This now means I have more free periods to go to the library, local park or perhaps a patisserie to study up on my french and clear my head a little. We also went to the local supermarket where I bought some stuff for school. Late that afternoon I went with Céline to pick up Lisa from the Library. On the way we stopped in at the tiny boulangerie in Le Verger where I bought my first french croissant. I have not however eaten it as I am saving it for breakfast tomorrow where I will eat it the french way with a bowl of hot chocolate. While I was at the Library I borrowed 3 french Tintin comics and 1 french Asterix comic. I can't wait to read them! There was also a book section in the Library called Cirque which I think needs to be included in every library. Just before dinner Chloé gave me a little French lesson which included verbs, reading, maths and art. I am now officially a little french girl! All up I had a fantastic day. I fitted in almost straight away and all the teachers and students were really kind and understanding. I'm actually excited to go back tomorrow! So today was my 16th birthday. Not only did I turn 16 but I turned 16 in France! It is a day that I will always remember. The day started with a typical French breakfast. Baguette, Brioche and a hot chocolate in a bowl. This beautiful french breakfast was then follow by a FaceTime with my amazing family in Darwin. Because of the time difference it was 6pm in Darwin and 10:30am here in France. My Family had made me cupcakes for my birthday which they lit, sung me happy birthday and helped me blow out. It was absolutely lovely to see and talk to them again. I have missed them immensely over the last few days so seeing them again helped to take a bit of weight of my shoulders. It made me feel so happy and special that they made me a cake to celebrate my birthday even though I was halfway across the world. Not long after I finished talking to my family a girl around my age called Estelle came around to show me where my bus stop is for school. She also goes to the same school as me so we will be catching the bus together. When I got home I Skyped Helen, Rhett, Vero and Imogen briefly. It was great to see and talk to them again. Vero also sent me a photo of them with the cakes my family made which I have put bellow. For an appetiser before lunch we ate tiny mini radishes which were surprisingly nice and tasted like carrots. After the main meal of beef, mashed potato and salad I ate once again the nutty cheese on a baguette. It was extremely delicious! Cheese was followed by freshly cooked Chestnuts, which I must say I'm not that much of a fan of. I was a fan however of the amazingly delicious and decorative birthday cakes that followed! There were raspberry, caramel and apple. I loved all of them! The cakes were an incredibly fluffy mousse on a biscuit base. Once I had finished savouring my amazing birthday cakes I opened some presents form my host family and played with Lisa and Chloé. Céline et Sébastien gave me a cookbook, caramels from Brittany and 2 french CDs. Chloé gave me 2 little purse things, one of which was made out of a sock which I thought was pretty cool and Lisa made my a very cute keyring flower which I still need to find a home. In the afternoon we went bowling in Rennes followed by a browse in the nearby shopping centre. I was an extremely good girl and didn't buy anything. The best parts about the shopping centre besides all the beautiful winter clothes were all the small chocolate and pastry boutiques and a casual water fountain which changed colour and spurted water at different times. All in all I had an absolutely amazing birthday! I would like to thank everybody for all their birthday wishes, every single one made me smile. On another note I start school tomorrow so I am getting pretty nervous about that. I will let you know how my first day of French school goes. P.S. I have also added some other photos of my bike ride yesterday which I forgot about down bellow.
It had now been 3 days since I arrived in France and I have loved every moment of it. One of my favourite moments, which I forgot to mention in my last post, was while we were sitting on the Paris metro a French man walked into the carriage with an accordion and started playing very frenchy music. I don't think it gets anymore cliche then that! On Saturday in the morning I walked down to the local boulangerie with Lisa and Chloe and bought a Baguette which we then ate for lunch with fromage noix (Sweet cheese with nuts). That afternoon we Drove to Monfort Sur Meu to look at my school. After that we went to the ginormous super market to buy some ingredients for dinner. While in the supermarket I spent my time saying "En Australie aussi!" For dinner that night I had Crepe de Bretagne, a crepe from Brittany which has ham, egg and a cheese I don't know. For dessert Céline made Crepes with caramel made in Brittany. C'etait trés bon! On Sunday in the morning we went to the markets in a near by town. The market was so colourful and full of life. My favourite stalls were the traditional stalls such as the ones with vegetables and cheese. In the afternoon I went for a walk around Le Verger with my host family. I honestly could not be in a more picturesque location. It is especially beautiful because it is Autumn. Today Céline and the girls had work and school so it was just Sébastien and I. In the morning I walked down to the boulangerie to buy myself a croissant for breakfast. I am so proud of myself for doing this because it was 4 degrees outside! Unfortunately it was closed but I took the opportunity to take some photos of Le Verger and my house in France. When I got home Sébastien and I went into Rennes for a quick explore before picking the girls up from school for lunch. Rennes is extremely beautiful! It is composed of gorgeous old architecture with flowers and trees everywhere. After lunch we dropped the girls back at school before doing a 3km ride. The views were spectacular but I nearly died! Being a Darwin girl I forgot there were things called hills! Later that afternoon Lisa, Chloé, Sébastien and I went to the near by swimming pool in Monfort Sur Meu. I was pretty concerned about the temperature of the water but to be honest it wasn't actually that bad. The worst bit was getting changed at the end because the change rooms weren't very warm. I am getting pretty excited for my 16th birthday in France! I will write again tomorrow telling you about my birthday. For those of you who want to see more photos I have a photo galley section on my blog for the non-edited version of my photos.
Right now I am laying snuggled up in bed with my amazingly warm bed socks on telling you about how at 1:40pm yesterday I touched down in France. One of the best things about the flight to Paris besides all the fun I had with the other exchange students was having the window seat. It was the most amazing experience glimpsing France for the first time. Noticing all the cute little villages surrounded by forests and paddocks. One thing that really surprised me about the Charles de Gaulle airport was that there were no customs. We got off the plane, got our passports stamped, collected our luggage and left the airport. I'm actually not quite sure there wasn't supposed to be customs and that we somehow managed to miss them altogether. Anyway, once I said goodbye to some of the other exchange students I headed off to the airport station to catch a train to the Paris Metro with some other exchange students called Chloe, Holly, Callum and Georgia. In books and movies you hear about the hectic Paris metro, well I can confirm that it lives up to everything said about it. There were people rushing everywhere with staircase after escalator after ticket barrier. What shocked me most was that apparently it wasn't rush hour in Paris and that the Metro was really quiet. The best way to explain it is that the rush hour for Melbourne or Sydney train stations is called quiet in Paris. I must have pulled my extremely heavy suitcase up and down 6 flights of stairs and 8 escalators. Luckily nice french men kept stopping to wordlessly pick up the end of my suitcase and help me up or down the stairs. We caught another train from the Metro to the TGV station. From there we wondered briefly around Paris, going past several creperies and patisseries. Unfortunately I did not have time to stop in and say hello to any crepes or croissants. We returned to the station from which Callum, Georgia and I caught the TGV to Rennes (Chloe and Holly were catching a different train together). I arrived in Rennes at 7:16pm were I met my host family on the platform. Lisa and Chloe straight away grabbed hold of my hands and didn't let go until we reached the car outside. My host family is wonderful and I am so excited to see what else awaits me. As promised here are some photos from all my flights including ones of Paris.
I survived! After 14 hour non-stop flight I'm walking, talking and not even that tired. The group of exchange students I meet up with in Sydney are the most amazing people and I am so happy to be travelling with them. I spent the flight chatting, watching tv-shows, sleeping and eating. The plane food wasn't amazing but it kept me going. The airport here is huge! I love all the intricate patterns on the roof, floor and doors. We all stood around for a while talking French to each other. I probably had the least French but that's okay because I'm going to France to improve it. I am beginning to feel more nervous about my trip. Not long until I board my plane for Paris. I can't believe this is actually happening!! I will post some photos of my plane flights and the airports when I get to Paris.
I can’t believe that I am actually sitting here in Sydney Airport. That I am on my way to France to meet and live with a completely new family for three months. I have spent the last 6 months preparing for the moment. For the time where I have to wave goodbye to my amazing family (and Zoe) and head down the ramp to board a plane which eventually will fly me to Paris. Now that it’s actually happening it’s hard to believe. Even harder to comprehend is the fact that I will not see Mum, Dad, Bridget and Phoebe for a whole three months. Something that hadn't really sunk in before I did wave goodbye. I am going to miss them more then words can explain but as mum says “you can’t move forward without taking one foot off the ground”. When we were saying goodbye at the airport in Darwin we got some of the funniest looks. I am pretty sure everybody in the boarding line to Sydney were thinking "It's only Sydney. Get a grip!" On the plane from Darwin my row of seats didn't have a window and as far as I could tell we were the only people without one. Since when do plane eats not have windows!? When I arrived at Sydney airport, I was helped by a lovely women who helped me find the taxi rank. From there I speed, and I'm not joking it was like being back in Bali,to the International airport where I met up with 8 other exchange students with who I will travel to Paris. My plane to Abu Dhabi is beginning to board so I better say goodbye. I will write when I arrive at Abu Dhabi airport.
The last couple of days in Darwin have been like a dream. The closer my departure draws the more I appreciate everything around me. Every moment I spend with my family seems so special. I find myself needing to spend more time down at the Nightcliff foreshore or sitting eating Asian desserts at the Rapid Creek Markets. Due to my sudden need to be sentimental I have been making the most of everything and everyone around me. Instead of boring you dead with every detail, below I have put a selection of photos that I think really capture my last few days. Enjoy! Bonjour tout le monde! My pre-departure preparation is drawing to a close and with only 8 days of normal life left it's finally beginning to sink in. It's scary to think that in just over a week I will be halfway across the world surrounded by a completley new language, culture and family. Half of me is full of nervous excitement and the other half wants to hug my family and never let go. Even though I am scared to leave the amazing life I have in Darwin behind, I can't wait to begin my new life with my host family. This trip is an opportunity of a life time and I'm so lucky and grateful to have been given it. |