Blogs from Alsace, France, Europe - page 42

So, that was fast. Tomorrow I leave Besançon. I have to say I am going to miss this place. I had some great times here, met some awesome people, and even learned a little french along the way. I think I began making exponential progress after having seen the new James Bond film in VF with no subtitles. Having understood the majority of it, I found a new confidence in my oral comprehension and speaking abilities. It is really a shame to have to leave after having made so much progress in so little time. I guess I should be thankful, however, as some of the other term-ites haven't even progressed enough to close their bank accounts without having someone hold their hand. I think I did pretty well here, all things considered. Apologies for not ... read more

If you are going to be in France during December, it is worth your time to stop in Strasbourg, a picturesque city in the Alsace region...what a magical Christmas atmosphere! It deserves its reputation as the 'Christmas Capitol' of France. I just got back from a great 36-hour trip there (Saturday morning to Sunday evening) during which I stayed with my friend Stacy from Georgetown who is studying at Sciences Po Strasbourg. Everyone I had talked to told me I HAD to go there during the Christmas season, so I took their advice and went...tickets were only 70 euro round-trip, so not bad! I'm really glad I went...and fully into the Christmas spirit! One word of advice...book a hotel well in advance, because every French/German person within a couple hundred miles descends on the city near ... read more

Kate and I had the opportunity to visit Strasbourg a few weeks ago. For a town that is over 2000 years old (the first mention of this city dates back to 12 B.C.), Strasbourg looked extremely well preserved. The old town is located on an island, which is surrounded by beautiful rivers and canals. Strasbourg sits at the confluence of the Bruche and Ill rivers and it sits across the Rhine River from Germany. It boasts one of the world’s most stunning cathedrals and its streets, including the Petite France neighborhood, are right out of a fairy tale. Situated on the Franco-German border, over the centuries, Strasbourg has been passed back and forward between those two countries. Annexed to France in 1681, after centuries of self-rule, Strasbourg was subject to German control from 1871 until the ... read more

Bonjour tout le monde! Before we get started on the blog, we have to apologise for the 87 emails you all received last time... we contacted travelblog.org & they said it had to do with our server (Mozilla) so sorry about that but we don't really know how it all happened! Hopefully you'll only get this once (but please open it, it will be good I promise)! Also, sorry for the delays in our updates but we've had a hell of a time finding internet for under £1 an hour, as it takes us about 2-3 hours to do each blog (download photos, resize them, write our journal...) PLUS we've been job hunting and to be honest finding a job in London is PRIORITY 1 at the moment, it's so damn expensive! So after the last ... read more

So we spent all day in the bus which would have killed me if we didn't end up in a great little town, in a tiny german-style restaurant, with our tour guide, downing bottle after bottle of wine telling stories about traveling and wierd cultural interactions. After the lovely dinner (described above) we went out for dessert. Just a handful of us, Craig, Sarah, Mary, Myself & Simeone (our guide). It was beautiful because after dessert we ended up in the town square with a whole lot of the locals gearing up for the tour de france with lots of drinking and lots of dancing. At some point in the evening Craig asked us all what we wanted to be when we grew up. When Simeone's turn to answer rolled around he said, "I want to ... read more