Blogs from Alsace, France, Europe - page 36

16th October 2007 - Strasbourg We took a walk around the city in the general direction of the Botanical Gardens, following the river Ill. Never made it to the gardens, but enjoyed the walk anyway. Had to try to get back to the main Cathedral before midday to meet Al and Melissa so we could get and see the astronomical clock do it’s stuff. Strasbourg is a lovely city, had to laugh at the sign on the banks of the river at a café with deck chairs set out in the sun - Strasbourg Plage (Sans la Plage), the Strasbourg Beach (Without the beach). The clock is a wonder to watch and midday and midnight are naturally the best time to view it do the business. There is a parade of figures and sounds supposedly set ... read more

13th October 2007 - Colmar in search of a TV Juliette, Lorenza, Al, Jean and I climbed into the green bus and headed to Colmar. Our mission was to buy a plasma TV. Jean had been promised one for his 70th birthday and today seemed like a good day to get one because in the evening the French were to play the “Roast Beef” in the Rugby semi-final. Juliette and I joked that it was a bit like a day out in an episode from the Simpson’s, the whole family off shopping for a new TV. Melissa didn’t join us for the excursion; instead she was taken by Beatrice to a hairdresser for some colour touching up. This was a brave objective when your grasp of French is reasonably limited. We wished her luck! After studying ... read more

I can't believe I was dreading going back to uni! I had so much fun during the summer holidays that I didn't want them to end, but now that I’m back at uni I’m really enjoying myself and am glad to be back. Although it was great spending lazy days wandering around Strasbourg and occasionally popping off to different European cities, having a schedule to follow once again is actually a welcome change. It’s making me feel like I have a purpose in life again! This semester is a lot more intense than the previous one because this time round, instead of taking mostly classes for foreigners, I’m in with the French students taking real university courses. I took one course for French students last semester but I was so frightened I’d rock up to class ... read more

Warm Weekends Eastern France ... read more

August 29, 2007 I Live to Eat My Words I know we all eat our words from time to time. I just hate it when it happens to me. Before I left the US I know that I told anyone and everyone (my mom, my sister, Kim, Judi, Becky, Kathy d, Dave and Laura, Pete and Katherine, and dozens at PPMM) that while we were traveling on a budget that “I would never stay in a youth hostel, I was too old for that.” Well, we just spent three days in Interlaken, Switzerland…in a youth hostel. We live to tell…and we may not have been the oldest people there. (second and third but not first!!) After the Lucca experience, while at the Farm we made a reservation for our time in Switzerland. We also needed to ... read more