It's such a cliche but honestly, Paris is always a good idea. To start off my spring break this past week I headed to Paris for the weekend! I have been to Paris a few times before and I have to say this was by far one of the better experiences I have had there! I started off my weekend in Paris on Friday afternoon around 6pm when I arrived to my Airbnb. I went and left my luggage there and then headed off to a concert with my friends. My favorite French artist, Frero Delavega, were playing at the Accorhotel arena that night and I was so excited to be able to see them live for the first time! The concert lasted for about an hour and a half, after the opening act went on and they were amazing! I have been listening to their music now for 2 years and I know most of the lyrics to the songs in their two albums! Being in a concert that was filled with only French people was pretty incredible. It was a different experience than the concerts I've gone to in the States. After the concert, my friends and I headed back to the Airbnb and we hit the hay. The next morning we went to the Louvre and spent most of the morning there. This was my first time inside the Louvre and I have to say I really enjoyed the Ancient Greek exhibit they had. Next, I went to grab lunch in a small hole in the wall restaurant close to Notre Dame where you can get a panini, crêpe, and a soda for €5. Then I headed off to Montemart and climb what felt like a million stairs to reach Sacre-Cœur. When we reached the top, we had an amazing view of Paris. That day in particular was also interesting because, we were able to see a photo shoot of a beautiful bride and her groom in front of the church! We also saw a man who did some amazing tricks with a soccer ball. He climbed up a lamp post and from there he managed to bounce the ball up and down with his feet. My friends and I were impressed!! As the day continued, we went to the Luxembourg Gardens in Paris. This was my first time there and I have to say it is a beautiful place to spend a day! My friend and I sat there for a bit and enjoyed the beautiful day! That weekend in Paris was very relaxing and fun. I was able to enjoy Paris a bit more than the first time I was there. When the weekend was over, my friends and I head off to Italy to start the best spring break…!
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Brussels, Belgium is one of the coolest cities I have visited so far! While I was there I was reminded a lot of the States in some aspects! First of all, I would say it is as diverse or maybe even more diverse than the States, which is something I was missing a lot in France. I am used to being surrounded by different types of cultures and languages in my hometown but Angers is somewhat of the opposite. You only hear French and only see native French people in the streets. This is one of the reasons I chose Angers in the first place, but the diversity of the States is something that I was missing the most while abroad! While in Brussels, I loved hearing a different language as I turned through each street! I was constantly hearing English, French, German, and Spanish. I was most excited of being able to hear Spanish, since it is my native language, after months of the speaking it daily. Another great thing about Brussels in particular, is the lively and vibrant atmosphere that the city has 24/7. Brussels is a city filled with a young population and on every corner you turn to, you see something interesting you have to check out. The city also does pretty well in the gastronomy area. You have not tasted a great French Fry until you go to Belgium and have a basket full of fries for €2!!! They also have the best waffles in the world! Any type of topping that you can image having on a waffle is possible in Belgium!! I enjoyed a tasty Nutella, strawberry, and kiwi waffle on one of the million waffle shops you find walking up and down any street. When it comes to drinking beer, (which I am personally not a big fan of) Belgium has a massive selection of beers! Delirium Cafe is one of the most known places in Brussels to enjoy a beer, since they have over 2,000 option for you to choose from. The bar itself has a great atmosphere earlier in the day before it gets extremely crowded at night. If you ever find yourself in Europe and are looking for a quick, fun weekend adventure Brussels is a magnificent city to visit. They have something for everyone!! One of the great things about being in France is the wine! I am fortunate enough to have two host parents who took me to a vineyard about 30 kilometers from Angers for the day. My host dad, Jean, loves wine and is always telling me about the different types of wine and what type of wine to pair with what food. For example, for seafood lovers a nice, Muscadet is what he normally suggests. Being able to go with him and my host mom to a vineyard was a great experience. When we arrived to the vineyard it was maybe 11:30am and it was somewhat busy. We entered the area where they held the wine tasting and we paid €2 to rent a glass. Then we proceeded inside and we did a lot of tasting! I was amazed at how much Jean knew about each wine and which wines he preferred over the others! I enjoy a nice rosé or any type of wine that is on the sweeter side. Jean knowing, this showed me to the rosé section where I tried some Cabernet d'Anjou, which was amazing. He also suggested I try Sauvignon, which I ended up really liking! After tasting a few different wines, Jean and Therese (my host mom) took us next door to a free picnic area where the people from the vineyard were serving sandwiches, fries, and veal. After all the wine we had had it seemed like a great lunch. Next, Jean and Therese took us to a second vineyard that was next to where their granddaughter will be getting married. There we were able to explore the vineyard a little and hear some of the history of the wine that was produced there. It was a beautiful area and the owners of the property were kind enough to open their closed wine cellar to let us try some of the wine produced. We did a small tasting there and I ended up buying two bottles of Coteaux du Layon, a very sweet wine that was perfect for me!! Around 4pm, we were all done with our wine tours and we headed back to Angers. All in all I am grateful to have such great host parents that take the time out of their day to take me somewhere I would not be able to go by myself! It was a great experience that I will never forget!! While being abroad, it's so easy to just hop on a train and go to a new city for the weekend. I was able to do just that and I had a great weekend in Bordeaux! Bordeaux is a beautiful city filled with a lot of young people, culture and wine! While I was there I had a glass of Bordeaux wine and it was definitely one of the best glasses of wine I've had in France thus far. During my weekend trip to Bordeaux with one of the girls from my program, we went to a modern art museum, rented bicycles and explored the city. Renting bicycles in Bordeaux was definitely an experience. We rented the bikes early Saturday morning and by mid-day one of the bicycles had been stolen from the place we locked it. That unfortunate event lead to phone calls to the bicycle company and eventually to a visit to the police station to file a report! Let's just say, that was an interesting dilemma! While in Bordeaux we also visited CAPC Musée d'Art Contemporain de Bordeaux, where we saw unique exhibitions. One of the featured exhibits was the history of architecture. Here you were able to see different types of building models from around the world and how they started from a simple idea to what they are today. After the museum, we went to a huge street fair in one of the plazas of Bordeaux! The fair was so lively and fun! Unfortunately, the price of each ride is between €5-8 so we only went on two rides! I would say overall, Bordeaux was a great city to visit! It is worth being there for more than a weekend since it is such a big city with many things to do! |
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