J'♡ Paris

Just spent the last two days in Paris with my sister, Erin, and I must say, I love it more and more each time I go. I can definitely see myself living there in the future. My travels started on Sunday when I left Lille bright and early to catch a train to the Charles de Gaulle airport to meet Erin. Once we met up, we took the RER into the city and then switch to the Metro to go to our hotel. I was actually really surprised that I was able to use the transportation so easily. I was nervous that I wouldn't be able to lead Erin around but I guess since it was the third time I've been in the Paris metro, I had a pretty decent idea on what to do. It's really not as daunting as I thought. The hardest part of finding our hotel was when we got out of the metro. There were about 6 different streets and of course we chose the one opposite of our street to go down first so we walked about in a circle. Not bad for our only problem! Once we checked in and got organized, we walked to the Montmartre area to see the Moulin Rouge and Sacre Coeur. We stopped at all the tourist shops and took lots of pictures. Erin got to experience her first French crepe too! We came across a guy who was making sculptures out of silver wire. He had a guitar made which I thought was awesome so I bought that and then he made both Erin and I free rings! We decided to go back to the hotel after supper so we could have a relaxing evening because 1- Erin was jet-lagged and 2- I felt jet-lagged because I only had 3 hours of sleep the night before. The next day, Monday, we woke up at 7am to go on a segway tour. I was tired, but extremely excited to start using the segway. Before the tour started, we had a little tutorial. I wish I had of taken a video of Erin, I have never seen her look more concentrated on something in my life. It was hilarious. After getting the hang of the segway, we took off on our tour. We covered Napolean's Tomb, The Eiffel Tower, The Tuileries, Ecole Militaire, The Louvre, Place de la Concorde, and The Rodin Museum. I froze for the first part of the tour but the second half was gorgeous. The sun came out which made the tour much more enjoyable. I really didn't want to get off the segway, it was so much fun to bop around on. Someday I'll move to Paris, live in a place with a view of The Eiffel Tower, and own a segway... I can dream, right? The Paris part can come true! After the tour we went back to Napolean's Tomb and went inside. Since I'm living in France, I got to go in for free and the ticket guy was nice enough to pretend Erin was from London and let her in for free too! Next we walked to The Eiffel Tower, then to the Arc de Triomphe, and then we took the metro to the Louvre. Unfortunately when we went to buy a ticket, it was closed for the evening so we just shopped and took more pictures. We had supper at a place called The Hippopotamus which was pretty good then called it a night. This morning we got up had a crepe and then caught the 3 hour train to Amsterdam. I will update you all on Amsterdam in my next post!

A tout a l'heure

Le Carnaval de Dunkerque and Monosourcils

Salut! So since I last wrote I haven't done any traveling but I have been having fun in Lille. On Sunday, February 19th, I went to Le Carnaval de Dunkerque with my friends Camille, Anne-Alicia, Clemence, and Clemence's friend, Marco. For those of you who do not know what Le Carnaval de Dunkerque is, I have provided a link (in french, but there's also a video) at the bottom of this post to give you an idea of what it was like. I am still a little unclear about where exactly the tradition comes from, but each year, a huge crowd gathers in Dunkerque for a celebration. It's said to be the Venice Carnival of the North. At the start of the day, I really had no idea what I was in for. I knew it was going to be crowded, but I didn't know how it could be so bad that we needed to wear old clothes that we don't mind getting stained or ripped. Lucky for me, one of the girls had a bunch of clothes to dress up in. I ended up going with an oversized yellow and grey, striped, button up shirt, some burgundy parachute/bali style pants, and a plastic, old-school english style police officer's helmet. We looked awesome. Once we got to Dunkerque, I got a glimpse of what I would be dealing with - people of all ages dressed to the max. Face paint, bright wigs, boas, matching cat costumes, and men dressed as women (the main tradition). Making our way to the centre of the city, I could tell that the crowds were just going to get bigger and bigger once the events started to take place. We decided to get a drink before the fish tossing started (don't worry, I'll get to that). I opted for a coke but when someone found out it was my first time at the Carnaval, my coke was quickly taken away and replaced with a beer. Soon it was time to go to the place where they would be throwing the fish. I guess it's tradition for a crowd to assemble at the bottom of a building and chant "liberez les harengs!" (basically "free the herrings") while waiting to catch the fish that are flung from the building. Again, not sure about the significance, but it was neat to experience. Waiting in the crowd was one of the most intense experiences I have ever had, I have never been in a crowd that big. One moment I was being squished and then I was being thrown from one direction to the next. It was impossible to stand your ground. Complete strangers were making conversation with us and banging on my helmet. People were excited to hear that not only was it my first time, but that I was Canadian too. One man, a little too excited by the atmosphere, was going around with bright red lipstick and kissing people. He tried to kiss my friend "sur la bouche!" (on the mouth) but she managed to brush him off. Unfortunately for me, he then came in my direction. "SUR LA BOUCHE!" he yelled. I of course said no so he settled for kissing me on both cheeks and my forehead. Hilarious and overwhelming. Once the fish throwing started, that's when it got even more intense (didn't think that was possible). Before I knew it I, along with all my friends, were down on the ground. That's it, I thought, I'm done for. I was surprised to see how great everyone was when someone fell though. People would try to hold the rest of the crowd back and numerous people helped us up. It was nice to see how great the people of Dunkerque were in that situation, they make sure everyone is kept safe and that the rules are respected. I was impressed because it definitely could have gone bad. After being stomped on, we thought it best to get out of the worst part of the crowd and just watch for the rest of the fish freeing. Next was some food and hot chocolate to warm us up before it was time to head home. Overall, it was a crazy experience but extremely fun. I'm so glad I got the opportunity to see something like that in France :) I wasn't totally traumatized, despite what my French friends may think hahaha. On Tuesday, February 21st, I went to a party at my friend's place. The theme - monosourcil. Before this party, I had no idea what this word meant. I now know that it means unibrow... yes, a unibrow party. It was sooo funny. People were extremely original making unibrows out of feathers, stickers, and by drawing things such as a city and a garden on their eyebrows. Definitely something I'll have to bring back to Canada haha. The party was filled with good food and dancing and it was a good opportunity to meet new people and practice my French (which I actually got the guts to try a bit!) Other than that, I've just been been going to classes and trying to get things sorted out. I've been trying to get my insurance and such worked out so I got my friend Anne-Alicia to come with me so she could translate for me. Lucky she was with me because we were basically sent on a wild goose chase. In the end, we figured out that I needed to open a French bank account, get confirmation of enrolment, and get doctor's stamp in order to finally buy what I need. It was so complicated and it's still not complete! Good thing I had Anne-Alicia with me otherwise I would have been totally lost. That's one that has been hard to get used to, the organization and pace in France. It's much different than home and it's not very fit for a procrastinator such as myself. Maybe it'll make me learn not to procrastinate! Next on the agenda is to meet my sister Erin in Paris tomorrow! We're going to spend 2 nights in Paris, 2 in Amsterdam, and 2 in Lille... I can't wait :)

Adieu!

Le Carnaval de Dunkerque link:

http://www.ville-dunkerque.fr/fr/je-vis-adunkerque/carnaval-dunkerque/index.html

This is a message from your heart ♫

Hello all! I just got back from a short trip to Paris on Thursday. Turns out, Paris is still currently my favourite place in the world. On Wednesday, February 15th, I took a train from Lille to Gare du Nord in Paris where Morgan met me. It was wonderful to see her again because I haven't gotten to see her since the first day I arrived which was almost 2 months ago now (ah, scary thought!) This trip to Paris had been something I was looking forward to for a couple of reasons. Obviously, I was there to see my friend but I came that particular night because we had tickets to see the lovely Kina Grannis in concert! Opening for Kina was Imaginary Friend (Jesse Epstein). I couldn't have been more excited! We got to the concert around 7pm and it was due to start at 7:30pm. Because neither of us had supper, we got some sandwiches from a random cafe and then ate them while we waited in line. Once we were inside I was shaking I was so excited. Imaginary Friend was a wonderful opening act. His voice is so soothing, great way to start the night. After he left the stage, we had about a 20min wait until Kina came on. Morgan and I decided to sit and save our spots so we wouldn't loose them which was a good choice. We talked and shared stories until the crowd went wild... Kina time! She played In Your Arms, The One You Say Goodnight To, Valentine, Strong Enough, a cover of Oops, I Did It Again, The World In Front Of Me, and Message From Your Heart, to name a few. She played some of her songs with cello player, Keith Tutt II. It was beautiful. Kina and Imaginary Friend played a cover of Fix You together too which was breathtaking of course. I loved every minute of it. After two encores, it was time for her to stop playing (unfortunately). Once the crowd left, there were about 50 people who were left for the meet & greet. I couldn't wait! We got to take a picture with both her and Imaginary Friend. They were so humble and friendly! Their next stop was Switzerland and I was talking about how I really wanted to go, and they told us to come. I was like "yeah, if I can get a drive with you!" Needless to say, we couldn't haha. After a quick chat, I bought a t-shirt and got her autograph. Happiness! Once we left the concert, Morgan and I made our way back to her place for the night. On the way, she educated me on a children's book about an elephant and a pig. We stayed up for a while talking before she had to go to bed because she unfortunately had to work in the morning. The next day, her sister, Mara, came home and we went out and spent the day in Paris. It was nice to see her because it had been since May 2011! We first went to Trocadero to see the Eiffel Tower. We got some nutella crepes, one of my favorite foods in the world and then walked to the base of the Eiffel Tower. After wandering around for a while, we went to Montmartre and Sacre Coeur. There was a random guy who came up to us and started talking and tried to do a mix between the bis and an actual kiss. Creeper. We ended up just walking quickly away from him while Mara said we were in a hurry haha. We walked around Montmartre, looking in all the touristy shops and acting like obnoxious tourists (well, at least I was). I loved it :) On the way back down the hill, I got the brilliant idea in my mind to try and slide down the stair rail. I ended up sliding about an inch, stopping abruptly, and tipping over. I did manage to make Mara almost pee herself laughing so I figure it wasn't a total fail :) Finally it was time to go to Gare du Nord so I could catch a train back to Lille. I was very sad to leave because I love Paris so much. Good thing I'm only an hour away!

A la prochain!

Vienna Calling

So I know I have been slacking on writing my Austria post, my apologies. For those of you who don't know, I went to Vienna Austria on February 8th until the 12th to see my good friend Gabriela, who did an exchange at the Mount last semester. My journey there was relatively smooth. I did, however, have to deal with an extremely rude French lady and what seemed to be a bomb precaution at the Paris airport. No worries though, all turned out fine! After 2 hours on the plane, I landed in Vienna and was warmly greeted by Gabriela. We were both hungry so we grabbed some McDonalds (I had my first European BigMac haha) before we made our way to her friend's house in the city. I guess it's an Austrian tradition to offer people slippers when they come into your house because her friend had about half a dozen pairs of slippers just for guests. She said that her parents do the same thing. I think that's an awesome tradition haha. After settling in, we went to a club called Loco's. Loco's was something I had never experienced before. To start off, there was a smoking room, which I wasn't a big fan of. Second, from 7-8pm you could buy cocktails for a mere 0,50 euros! Crazy, hien (eh)? The drinks really only went up to 3,90 euros. I couldn't believe how cheap it was. Probably explains the crowd each night. Third and last, I couldn't believe how touchy everyone was. People didn't just push past you, they basically put both hands on you, picked you up, and moved you. Needless to say, I felt a big claustrophobic. Marcus, another Austrian who did his exchange at the Mount, met up with us and ended up hanging out at the apartment for a while which was nice! One thing I notice about my first day being there is that I am getting used to automatically using French sayings. I kept saying "pardon" and such to the Austrians. Guess I forgot I was in a German speaking country. The next day, Thursday, Gabriela and I went walking around the city. The first thing we did was go to Belvedere where I got to see the Gustav Klimt exhibit. We weren't supposed to take pictures but with the help of Gabriela, I managed to get a shot of The Kiss. The rest of the day was spent walking around, seeing the sights, and snacking. Vienna is a beautiful city which is great because it helped distract me from how cold it was! Once we got back to the house we thought it would be nice to have a quiet night so we just stayed in and watched a movie. Friday we got up and went straight to Schonbrunn which was absolutely beautiful! Inside Schonbrunn there is a huge zoo. Being the animal lover that I am, I of course wanted to go in. We spent a good 3 hours in it where we got to see a panda, a cheetah, elephants, a tiger, lions, etc. I had so much fun, the hours flew by. We then went back to Gabriela's friend's apartment to watch a movie and relax before going out for dinner. Around 6:50pm, we met the group of Erasmus (international students), from her school, which included Kelsey, another Mount student, and we went out to dinner. I got to try a wiener schnitzel which was delicious but too big to finish. After dinner we went back to her friend's apartment and had some drinks and played games with some other Austrians. My last day, Saturday, was spent touring the city and soaking it all in. I got to try sachertorte which is a popular chocolate cake in both Austria and Germany. It was yummy! That night, Gabriela and I went to another one of her friend's places to hang out and have some drinks but left early because we had to get up at 6am so I could go to the airport. We took the metro to get home and I had my first infamous creepy metro experience. While waiting for the train to pull up, there was a creepy guy hovering around us. I was telling Gabriela a story and I said something was scary and while we were stepping onto the train, we could hear the guy mocking me saying "scary... scary, scary." Gabriela then said something about how she doesn't like big cities for that reason, creepy people. That's when some girls started talking about us in German. I don't speak a word of German and I could tell they were talking about us so Gabriela turned to them and shocked them by speaking fluent German to them. I was glad she could put them in their place haha. Since the creeper kept hovering, we thought it best to switch cars at the next stop to avoid him. As soon as we switched cars, we walked from one awkward situation to another one. There was a homeless man crawling around on the floor and mumbling incoherent German. I couldn't help but laugh at our misfortune because we tried to get away from one thing and walked straight into another. Luckily, nothing amounted from either situation. After only getting 4 & 1/2 hours of sleep, it was back to the airport to head back to France. I was sad to have to say goodbye to Gabriela again but I knew she would be coming to visit me soon enough in Lille so it made it a little easier. My flight was a breeze, as I slept the whole time, but the train to Lille from Paris was a different story. I already had to wait 2 hours after I landed to catch my train and then it was delayed an hour. I was not impressed. It was nice to finally get back to my room so I could go to bed. Although I wanted to stay, France is much warmer than Austria, so I was happy for that upon my return!

Bisous!