Blogs from Pays-de-la-Loire, France, Europe - page 10

For whatever reason, I hate looking like a tourist. I always scolded my mother when she would take out a map and try to find out where we were, or where we were going, it immediately pegged us as tourists (Mom your still my favorite travel bud, don't worry). So being in Nantes by myself, it was a goal to be indiscreet and walk around like a normal citizen of the city. After my first half hour of attempting not to look like a tourist, I had already failed miserably. I walked out of the airport and walked toward the bus stop. It seemed so simple when online, you just hop on a bus, and fifteen minutes later you are downtown. But they didn't tell you there would be 50 options at that particular bus stop. ... read more

My dilema here is where to start as the title says. I will admit that I didn't see ALL of Angers but I have seen some of it, and I've also seen it grow each time I return. I have visited the chateau, which I will admit, doesn't have anything on the other Chateaux de la Loire (which I will cover eventually), I have visited the cathedral, the little bistros, visited la maison d'Adam, walked through les Jardins du mail and a small park by Rue Jean de la Fountaine where I would go do work or just people watch on a Sunday. I have been very intrigued since my days in France of their 'joy de vivre', their easy going lifestyles and just their nonchalent way of going about things. Let's start with le Chateau ... read more

One of the things that studying abroad has taught me is that a lot of things seem like a big deal in the moment, but aren’t in the grand scheme of things. Right now my biggest headache is trying to figure out whether or not I’ll get credit for my classes that I’m taking here. And like most times that I worry about the future, I hear this one sermon from Grace Center in my head telling me to not expect bad things to happen all the time. I keep preparing myself for the inevitable worst where some credits won’t transfer over and I have to drop down to a French minor in order to graduate in May. It would suck, but is it the end of the world? Am I ever, ever going to use ... read more

Tourist day today. This is when our scooter really comes in so useful. A quick check of our map and off we went East along the south side of the Loire for 10 kms and then a right turn up to Fontevraud and L’Abbaye Royale. What an excellent choice for a visit. The guide literature describes it as ‘one of the largest monastic cities from the Middle Ages’ and it is certainly much more than one would expect to find in a normal abbey or chateau. It was founded in 1101 as a community of religious men and women to became a monastic city consisting of 4 priories, 3 for the nuns and another for the men. It enjoyed royal protection throughout its history and Eleanor of Aquitaine, husband Henry ll of England, and their son, ... read more

I would have written in this sooner, but we haven’t actually had a bit of internet the entire time we’ve been here. Some friends and I even tried to steal internet from McDonalds yesterday and were thwarted by the Gods of the Wifi world. It’s really interesting not having internet, and I kind of feel like this is the one really crucial time when we’d actually need it. The first week, that is, when we’re still meeting people and trying to make plans, do things, and just stay out of your own room at all costs in fear of actually missing home way too much. So far, so good. Until now that is, but so far, I feel fine! Other than the first day here, I wouldn’t actually call anything that we’ve done bad. I’ve had ... read more