Since yesterday I've been on summer vacation, granted I still have the baccalaureate coming up but in terms of going to school I'm done! In France after
every six weeks of school there's two weeks of vacation (except summer vacation). Sounds nice, doesn't
it? To deal with the large amounts of traffic there would be if everyone was on
vacation at once, France is divided into three sections and your vacations
correspond with where you live. I live in Zone A. To avoid that everyone always
has their vacations during the same time, the dates for vacations for each zone
change every year.
In this post I'll talk about three trips I've been on this Spring during my exchange year.
Austria
In this post I'll talk about three trips I've been on this Spring during my exchange year.
Austria
Let me take you back to April(I know it's a while ago but I needed all of the photos from my trip to better show what I did). I started off my Spring break right away, immediately after
classes were done on Friday I finished packing and jumped in the car with my
host family, who dropped me off at the airport so I could catch my flight to
Austria!
Now I've been to Austria before, but the last time I was there there was something missing. Silvia and her family. Silvia is the exchange student that I hosted with my family in the US in 2008-2009 and when I went to Austria in 2010 they weren't there to show us around, which is why I had to go back (that and the fact that France-Austria is a lot closer than USA-Austria).
So I took the plane all by myself (it was the first time I've gone alone) and after a short two hour flight I was in Vienna. Silvia and I have been lucky enough to be able to keep in touch and see each other since she left, but still it had been about two years since the last time we saw each other and when I stepped out of the baggage claim to run and greet her and finally heard her voice I was taken by surprise. Was that really Silvia's voice? How can a person change that much in such a short period of time? In the car on the way to their house we laughed about it because I was not the only one who thought that someone's voice had changed or she herself had changed. After my nine months here in France and my time with Silvia I have been shown how close and attached you can feel to someone in such a short period of time. Silvia and her family seem like my far away relatives and Silvia will always be my Austrian sister.
I was not the only one staying with Silvia and her family benefiting from their wonderful hospitality; Silvia's Aunt, Uncle and cousin Thomas were also at their house for the Easter holidays. We all stayed up late and chatted, admiring photos of Angelika's (Silvia's mom) trip to Paris with her mom, brother and sisters. Let me take a moment to say how great all of their English is, it was so sweet of them all to speak in their second language just for me, so that I could understand, when if they spoke in German there would only be me who wouldn't understand. I felt so at home and comfortable with them, which just goes to show you how being an exchange student can touch so many people and connect your life with others in ways you couldn't have imagined.
The next day would be sightseeing in Vienna, decorating Easter eggs and Cats, the musical!
Me, Victoria (Silvia's sister) and Silvia at the Easter Market (Ostermarkt) in Vienna.
They had so many beautifully decorated eggs for sale.
Uli (Silvia's Aunt), Silvia and Victoria deciding which eggs to buy to dye.
Eating traditional Austrian food for lunch (my plate's on the right).
Victoria and me starting to dye our eggs.
The final product.
Then, after a quick dinner we were off to Cats the musical. I kind of think the tent looks like a cat, or maybe batman.
During intermission, we were able to go on the stage and take a photo with a cat. Before the show we were debating whether or not everything would be in German, or just the speaking parts, turns out it was all in German, so I had a hard time understanding the plot even though they all told me there was nothing to understand, and that it's just about a big "cat meeting".
Breakfast Easter morning. I fell in love with muesli during my week in Austria, if you're looking for a healthy, tasty, filling breakfast food try muesli; you can have it with everything from nuts to fruit to chocolate. Yum!
After the church service there was an Easter egg hunt in the church's garden.
And then another one at Silvia's house! Needless to say, we had plenty of chocolate.
Cooking Easter lunch. We ate bruschetta, chips and salsa, lamb, potatoes, peppers and carrot cake.
After lunch we went to pick ramsons or bear's garlic. Don't worry I've never heard of it either. apparently it's a plant that is close to chives and smells and tastes like garlic, it can also be used instead of basil in pesto. While we were picking bags and bags of ramsons it started to snow, I don't think I've ever had a warm Easter.
The next day, Silvia and I left with her Aunt, Uncle and cousin in the car for five hours to get to their home in Innsbruck, we even passed through Germany on the way.
Silvia and me in front of Innsbruck's well known landmarks, the Golden Roof, in the old city.
That night we went out to eat at an Asian restaurant; after living in France for almost a year I've realised that one of the foods I miss the most is ethnic food. The French eat french food and only french food. I also had an apfelsaft gespritzt, which is a fizzy apple juice, why doesn't it exist in America?
Silvia and I on top of the mountain we climbed. (OK, we only climbed 10 minutes but still, it was hard considering it was so cold the snow was like ice and our boots wouldn't stop slipping)
What an amazing view! That tiny little black speck is me by the way, there's nothing like mountains to make you feel small.
There was so much wind at the summit that you can't even see Silvia's face!
Warming up with some hot chocolate and a strudel at the chalet.
After our short two day stay in Innsbruck, it was time to take the train back to Vienna.
I really had no time to rest. The next day Silvia and I had to get up bright and early to catch the ferry that would take us to Bratislava, Slovakia on the blue Danube.
We decided to just roam around and when we needed something to occupy us, we went to McDonald's for the free wifi to search "things to do in Bratislava".
After some shopping, sightseeing, and a traditional Slovakian lunch we decided to take a break for hot chocolate. That's me in the window!
It was so thick it was like drinking pudding. On a side note this photo was not posed.
After a short visit to the modern art museum, it was time to catch the ferry back to Vienna.
If you ever go to Austria you have to try the real sachertorte (which is only sold in Vienna and Salzburg), it's a dense chocolate cake with a thin layer of apricot jam.
That night we went to a restaurant where they only sell the wine that they have made and of course traditional Austrian food, I know there's a specific name for this kind of a restaurant, but I can't think of it at the moment.
The next day was a day around Vienna. Silvia wanted to take me to the "American food store" where they sell food from English speaking countries that you can't find anywhere else and of course I wasn't about to turn down the opportunity to buy some root beer!
Pop tarts! Despite the overly expensive price of 6 euros for one box, I decided to buy some to share with my host family along with, marshmallows, root beer (which they said tasted like medicine) and some Reese's peanut butter cups.
Before I had to say goodbye to Silvia and her family there was just enough time to make an apple strudel, have a nice meal together and then go dancing.
Royan, France
At midnight during Ascension weekend my host family and I left for the ocean to see some friends of theirs who live near Royan. It was a long eight hour drive and it was almost impossible for me to sleep with all of the roundabouts there are on French streets. Everyone was both very tired and very happy to finally be out of the car when we arrived at their friends' house. We had no time to catch up on our missed sleep, there was too much to do!
We started the day off with some croissants, ping pong, soccer and a tour of their camp site that they own before a nice lunch outside and then it was off to Talmont.
Talmont is a small fishing port known for its breathtaking cliffs and small town charm.
Church de Saint Eutrope.
I noticed that on the walls there were lots of small circles like this, Alain, my host family's friend, explained to me that as the workers were making the wall they would get thirsty so they'd place a wine bottle on the wall as they worked.
Soap for sale.
Another thing that the French Atlantic coast is known for is their fishing houses, in this photo you can see two of the fishing huts and the type of cliffs that are all over the South East of France.
More fishing huts.
The Roman "arc de triomphe" that was moved from the river Charente in Saintes.
Church in Saintes.
After a tour of the town and some lunch we went to La Palmyre Zoo in Les Mathes, which is the largest private zoo in France. Here's Alex feeding a zebra.
The biggest attraction that weekend was probably Elisa, the 10 month old baby of my host family's close friends. Left to right Me, Sarah with Elisa, Sacha and Alex.
The next morning we went to the market in Royan, which on the outside looks like a parachute or the metrodome. Many months before we even left on this trip my host family was telling me how I have to try oysters and that it's well known on the Atlantic coast, so at the market they bought some roti chicken, strawberries, bread, a cake and oysters for lunch.
The big moment finally came; the oysters were ready and everyone was either explaining to me how to eat them or anxiously waiting for my reaction, I took my cold uncooked oyster, chewed twice and swallowed. I gagged a little from the flavor and texture, and sadly I will have to tell you that despite all of the hype I head about oysters before I ate them, it was far from being one of my new favorite foods in France. To celebrate me eating an oyster, I decided to try some French champagne. Cheers!
To help everyone digest our huge meal we went for a walk on the coast.
If you look really closely, you can see the US.
This part of the Atlantic coast is called the wild coast or the "côte sauvage"in French. After four short days with their friends, it was time to head home and say goodbye to the Atlantic.
Marseille, France
The last week of May my host dad, Alex, Sarah and I went to Marseille for one of Alex's basketball tournaments. Throughout the year Alex and Sacha have had lots of basketball games, so I've gotten to know the sport a lot better and even how my state's team, the Timber wolves, were doing (badly) because my two host brothers would give me updates on players and their wins and losses (mostly losses).
To cool down from the heat, everyone went down to the beach to cool off, which was only a five minute walk from our campsite. It was the first time I've gone swimming in the sea and I enjoyed everything about it except the salt.
Here's Alex warming up for the tournament wearing his new Rubio Timber wolves Shirt. His team was named champion of the Alps and has only lost one game this season. Sacha was chosen to play in "selection" which means in addition to his games with his team, he sometimes plays with other another team at a higher level.
In between Alex's games, Sarah and I went rock climbing.
On the car ride home I tried to catch up on my summer reading for my Senior year in the US, but I still have four more books to read once I get back!
Well, my vacations here aren't done, but this hopefully gives you a taste of the things I've had the chance to do and see during my time abroad.
Now I've been to Austria before, but the last time I was there there was something missing. Silvia and her family. Silvia is the exchange student that I hosted with my family in the US in 2008-2009 and when I went to Austria in 2010 they weren't there to show us around, which is why I had to go back (that and the fact that France-Austria is a lot closer than USA-Austria).
So I took the plane all by myself (it was the first time I've gone alone) and after a short two hour flight I was in Vienna. Silvia and I have been lucky enough to be able to keep in touch and see each other since she left, but still it had been about two years since the last time we saw each other and when I stepped out of the baggage claim to run and greet her and finally heard her voice I was taken by surprise. Was that really Silvia's voice? How can a person change that much in such a short period of time? In the car on the way to their house we laughed about it because I was not the only one who thought that someone's voice had changed or she herself had changed. After my nine months here in France and my time with Silvia I have been shown how close and attached you can feel to someone in such a short period of time. Silvia and her family seem like my far away relatives and Silvia will always be my Austrian sister.
I was not the only one staying with Silvia and her family benefiting from their wonderful hospitality; Silvia's Aunt, Uncle and cousin Thomas were also at their house for the Easter holidays. We all stayed up late and chatted, admiring photos of Angelika's (Silvia's mom) trip to Paris with her mom, brother and sisters. Let me take a moment to say how great all of their English is, it was so sweet of them all to speak in their second language just for me, so that I could understand, when if they spoke in German there would only be me who wouldn't understand. I felt so at home and comfortable with them, which just goes to show you how being an exchange student can touch so many people and connect your life with others in ways you couldn't have imagined.
The next day would be sightseeing in Vienna, decorating Easter eggs and Cats, the musical!
Me, Victoria (Silvia's sister) and Silvia at the Easter Market (Ostermarkt) in Vienna.
They had so many beautifully decorated eggs for sale.
Uli (Silvia's Aunt), Silvia and Victoria deciding which eggs to buy to dye.
Eating traditional Austrian food for lunch (my plate's on the right).
Victoria and me starting to dye our eggs.
The final product.
Then, after a quick dinner we were off to Cats the musical. I kind of think the tent looks like a cat, or maybe batman.
During intermission, we were able to go on the stage and take a photo with a cat. Before the show we were debating whether or not everything would be in German, or just the speaking parts, turns out it was all in German, so I had a hard time understanding the plot even though they all told me there was nothing to understand, and that it's just about a big "cat meeting".
Breakfast Easter morning. I fell in love with muesli during my week in Austria, if you're looking for a healthy, tasty, filling breakfast food try muesli; you can have it with everything from nuts to fruit to chocolate. Yum!
After the church service there was an Easter egg hunt in the church's garden.
And then another one at Silvia's house! Needless to say, we had plenty of chocolate.
Cooking Easter lunch. We ate bruschetta, chips and salsa, lamb, potatoes, peppers and carrot cake.
After lunch we went to pick ramsons or bear's garlic. Don't worry I've never heard of it either. apparently it's a plant that is close to chives and smells and tastes like garlic, it can also be used instead of basil in pesto. While we were picking bags and bags of ramsons it started to snow, I don't think I've ever had a warm Easter.
The next day, Silvia and I left with her Aunt, Uncle and cousin in the car for five hours to get to their home in Innsbruck, we even passed through Germany on the way.
Silvia and me in front of Innsbruck's well known landmarks, the Golden Roof, in the old city.
That night we went out to eat at an Asian restaurant; after living in France for almost a year I've realised that one of the foods I miss the most is ethnic food. The French eat french food and only french food. I also had an apfelsaft gespritzt, which is a fizzy apple juice, why doesn't it exist in America?
Silvia and I on top of the mountain we climbed. (OK, we only climbed 10 minutes but still, it was hard considering it was so cold the snow was like ice and our boots wouldn't stop slipping)
What an amazing view! That tiny little black speck is me by the way, there's nothing like mountains to make you feel small.
There was so much wind at the summit that you can't even see Silvia's face!
Warming up with some hot chocolate and a strudel at the chalet.
After our short two day stay in Innsbruck, it was time to take the train back to Vienna.
I really had no time to rest. The next day Silvia and I had to get up bright and early to catch the ferry that would take us to Bratislava, Slovakia on the blue Danube.
We decided to just roam around and when we needed something to occupy us, we went to McDonald's for the free wifi to search "things to do in Bratislava".
After some shopping, sightseeing, and a traditional Slovakian lunch we decided to take a break for hot chocolate. That's me in the window!
It was so thick it was like drinking pudding. On a side note this photo was not posed.
After a short visit to the modern art museum, it was time to catch the ferry back to Vienna.
If you ever go to Austria you have to try the real sachertorte (which is only sold in Vienna and Salzburg), it's a dense chocolate cake with a thin layer of apricot jam.
That night we went to a restaurant where they only sell the wine that they have made and of course traditional Austrian food, I know there's a specific name for this kind of a restaurant, but I can't think of it at the moment.
The next day was a day around Vienna. Silvia wanted to take me to the "American food store" where they sell food from English speaking countries that you can't find anywhere else and of course I wasn't about to turn down the opportunity to buy some root beer!
Pop tarts! Despite the overly expensive price of 6 euros for one box, I decided to buy some to share with my host family along with, marshmallows, root beer (which they said tasted like medicine) and some Reese's peanut butter cups.
Before I had to say goodbye to Silvia and her family there was just enough time to make an apple strudel, have a nice meal together and then go dancing.
Royan, France
At midnight during Ascension weekend my host family and I left for the ocean to see some friends of theirs who live near Royan. It was a long eight hour drive and it was almost impossible for me to sleep with all of the roundabouts there are on French streets. Everyone was both very tired and very happy to finally be out of the car when we arrived at their friends' house. We had no time to catch up on our missed sleep, there was too much to do!
We started the day off with some croissants, ping pong, soccer and a tour of their camp site that they own before a nice lunch outside and then it was off to Talmont.
Talmont is a small fishing port known for its breathtaking cliffs and small town charm.
I noticed that on the walls there were lots of small circles like this, Alain, my host family's friend, explained to me that as the workers were making the wall they would get thirsty so they'd place a wine bottle on the wall as they worked.
Soap for sale.
Another thing that the French Atlantic coast is known for is their fishing houses, in this photo you can see two of the fishing huts and the type of cliffs that are all over the South East of France.
More fishing huts.
Roman ruins in Saintes, France.
The Roman "arc de triomphe" that was moved from the river Charente in Saintes.
Church in Saintes.
After a tour of the town and some lunch we went to La Palmyre Zoo in Les Mathes, which is the largest private zoo in France. Here's Alex feeding a zebra.
The next morning we went to the market in Royan, which on the outside looks like a parachute or the metrodome. Many months before we even left on this trip my host family was telling me how I have to try oysters and that it's well known on the Atlantic coast, so at the market they bought some roti chicken, strawberries, bread, a cake and oysters for lunch.
The big moment finally came; the oysters were ready and everyone was either explaining to me how to eat them or anxiously waiting for my reaction, I took my cold uncooked oyster, chewed twice and swallowed. I gagged a little from the flavor and texture, and sadly I will have to tell you that despite all of the hype I head about oysters before I ate them, it was far from being one of my new favorite foods in France. To celebrate me eating an oyster, I decided to try some French champagne. Cheers!
To help everyone digest our huge meal we went for a walk on the coast.
If you look really closely, you can see the US.
This part of the Atlantic coast is called the wild coast or the "côte sauvage"in French. After four short days with their friends, it was time to head home and say goodbye to the Atlantic.
Marseille, France
The last week of May my host dad, Alex, Sarah and I went to Marseille for one of Alex's basketball tournaments. Throughout the year Alex and Sacha have had lots of basketball games, so I've gotten to know the sport a lot better and even how my state's team, the Timber wolves, were doing (badly) because my two host brothers would give me updates on players and their wins and losses (mostly losses).
To cool down from the heat, everyone went down to the beach to cool off, which was only a five minute walk from our campsite. It was the first time I've gone swimming in the sea and I enjoyed everything about it except the salt.
We both got some cuts from walking on the sharp rocks, there was no sand!
After our day at the beach we all got together for a picnic à la française. I'm in the lawn chair next to Sarah showing off my MN pride.
Here's Alex warming up for the tournament wearing his new Rubio Timber wolves Shirt. His team was named champion of the Alps and has only lost one game this season. Sacha was chosen to play in "selection" which means in addition to his games with his team, he sometimes plays with other another team at a higher level.
In between Alex's games, Sarah and I went rock climbing.
Another beach just two minutes away from the basketball court.
On the car ride home I tried to catch up on my summer reading for my Senior year in the US, but I still have four more books to read once I get back!
Well, my vacations here aren't done, but this hopefully gives you a taste of the things I've had the chance to do and see during my time abroad.
