Post Switzerland, Pre Christmas Adventures

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Writing here obviously hasn't become a priority for me, but out of obligation for something begun, it will be continued, however sparsly.
(...I'll try to do better)

It's hard to believe that half of my time here has already passed. It seems like yesterday I arrived in Strasbourg... well I arrive in Strasbourg yesterday, but it was for the second time. It's as beautiful as I remember, though greyer. I hear January and Febuary are the grey months and though I don't want to wish time away, I will wish for the sun. In that spirit, Sally Meghan and I are planning a trip to summer in February. If anyone out there knows of an economical yet warm European travel destination, please let me know!

I guess in my blog-neglect, I haven't updated on all the pre-Christmas adventures I have had! A day trip to Saverne doesn't seem like much compared to five days in the beautiful Cote d'Azur, but it is worth mentioning because Jessica, Alison and I had SO much fun! After looking around the cute little Alsacian town of Saverne, we hiked to the Castle of Haut-Barr which was an old fortification. The hike was about an hour each way and despite this fact being reiterated to us by numerous people we talked to, including the travel office girl and a postman, we made it alive and it was definitely worth it! The view of Alsace from the top of the castle is absolutely breathtaking (here I use a cliche term because it's the only thing I can think of!), you can see for miles, and on a clearer day we might have seen the tower of the Strasbourg Cathedral! We enjoyed the deserted tourist spot for a while before hiking back down to Saverne and enjoying an immense amount of Tarte Flambee before catching the train back to Strasbourg.

In early December, Laura, Sally, Jessica and I went to Belgium for a long weekend! The train ride to the northern town of Bruges was long but the town is lovely. We picked the wrong time of year to visit I think, the rain didn't let up the whole weekend, but we still got an idea of the character of the town. The architecture is beautiful and we indulged in lots of chocolate and waffles. We stayed in Brussels for two days as well and it is a big bustling city but is very beautiful as well, it was the time for the Christmas market and we enjoyed browsing all the crafts and great food! Belgium seems much more like Canada than anywere else I have been in Europe so far.

Finally, only two weeks before Christmas vacation, Sally and I visited PARIS! I couldn't consciously face my family after having been in France for four months and say I have never been to Paris! (Half of them still think I LIVE in Paris despite all the Strasbourg postcards!). We spent three days but we could have spent three weeks (just in the Louvre!). It was so emotional to finally see all the sites that I have seen on TV and learned about in school (particularly in my Paris class last year) in person. They were so familiar but so much better up close! The Arc de Triomphe, the Eiffel tower, the Notre Dame, they seem like things out of a story book and it comes almost as a shock to see them solid and real before you.

So it seems like my entries are more like big summaries of months of experiences. I promise I will try to make them smaller and more detailed in the future. I am going to try and make the remaining time I have here worth my while and (despite my pronounced lack of funds) travel as much as possible. I hope these pictures actually are worth a thousand words!

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