Weekend Getaway: London

What started out as a stressful trip, ended up being a adventurous and relaxing weekend with good friends, good food and good fun.  As we got to the train station in Paris at 7:30 am for our 7:43 am train, we did not realize that they recommend arriving AT LEAST 30 minutes before your departure. Clearly we are Chunnel virgins and did not think about having to go through customs and security. When I saw we ran through the train station like maniacs, I wish I was exaggerating. After getting in trouble with the customs lady for putting "white" as my ethnicity (I was a little scatterbrained), we cut the security line and ran about a mile to our train. We then couldn't find cabin #3, so we hopped on the departing train in cabin #19, and walked through every single cabin.

But we made it. Thank goodness.

We checked into our bed and breakfast in Notting Hill Gate and waited for our friends Molly and Melissa to arrive. When they did, we all enjoyed a nice lunch and a (much needed) cold beer. We bought our Tube passes and made our way to the Tower of London. Of corse every other tourist in the city had the same idea as us, so we had to deviate from the guided tour. We explored the tower, ogled over the queens jewels, and enjoyed the views of the London bridge. Walking around so much made us realize that we were in dire need of some afternoon tea, so we made our way to one of the neatest places in England, Fortnum and Mason.

Fortnum and Mason is similar in greatness to the Grand Epicerie, but the concept is slightly different. F&M is a giant department store with home goods, restaurants, chocolates, a bakery, and much more. We enjoyed the most amazing afternoon tea at The Parlour like true Brits. We drank tea and ate scones and small ice cream cakes...Needless to say, we felt pretty cool. On full stomachs we left to explore the different shops on Bond Street and Oxford Street, which reminded us a lot of New York City. We ended our night like the locals at a pub with a pint of beer and some fish and chips.

Saturday morning we woke up to an adorable little  breakfast cart outside our room, complete with warm croissants, toast, jam, cheese, yogurt and hot coffee. I am starting to think that bed and breakfasts are definitely the way to go. Our place was right off of Portobello Road, so we spent the morning exploring the famous Portobello Market walking into all the cute shops and stands. It is the little things like this that I wish we had more of at home- local markets with fresh groceries, food and flowers. 

Thanks to recommendations from a friend, we had lunch reservations at The Orangery at Kensington Palace.  This is an experience that I will never forget. I ordered this amazing gazpacho and we got a bottle of wine for the table.  I highly recommend this restaurant to anyone who travels to London; there was great food and great service at a great location.  After lunch we went to Harrods, which was one of the worst ideas we have had yet. Saturday was the first day of their massive summer sale, and the place was so crowded you could not even move. We ended up leaving with a few chocolate truffles and went to sit at a nearby Starbucks. After re-energizing with some green tea, we went to see Harvey Nichols, which was having their big sale as well. Later that night, Cara snagged us some dinner reservations at an oyster bar called J Sheeky. We were all so excited for some real seafood. I ordered the shrimp and scallop burger, which was amazing, but the service was not. We were disappointed at how snooty and condescending the staff was.

This morning we woke up bright and early to grab breakfast before the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace. We ate at a cute little bakery on Portobello Road called Gail's. My porridge and latte were a perfect last meal in London. The changing of the guards was absolutely packed with people, which made it hard to see anything. At least Molly and Mel found distractions...

Exploring Saint Germain des Prés & Saint Michel

Wednesday was another day filled with amazing and fascinating adventures.  It just blows my mind how much there is to see and do in this city.  After a quick glimpse into the life and culture of the Saint Germain and Saint Michel area, we decided we had to go back to explore some more.

We got out of class early enough to plan a little "picnic" in the Luxembourg Gardens.  We picked up two little flatbread pizzas covered with tomatoes, olives and arugula.  The six of us lined up our chairs along the garden to eat and enjoy the view.  On our way out we just so happened to run into Cara's family friends again- how ironic?  And they gave us this amazing map book of the city... our new bible.

From the gardens we walked to the famous Café de Flore for their specialty hot chocolate.  The hot chocolate here is not your typical, American, watered down hot chocolate, it is real hot chocolate that tastes more like a melted chocolate bar.

We used our new bible to take Rue de Seine all the way to the Seine to find the Lovers Lock Bridge.  Luckily, we found the exact bridge we were looking for.  For those of you who are not familiar with the Lovers Lock Bridge, it is a bridge over the Seine that has thousands and thousands of locks on it.  Couples from all over the world visit the bridge to hang their lock with their names, initials, anniversaries, etc.  You then throw the key to the lock over the edge and into the Seine.  Since Ron and Alex (Cara's beau) were not with us to partake in this lovely (you might say... cheesy) tradition, we decided to do it ourselves.

The off to the The Smith's Bakery for a little something sweet.

Living the Parisian Life

Even though I was exhausted when I returned from our weekend stay in Normandy, we hit the ground running on Monday morning.  And so week two of our Parisian adventures begins.

Monday was our last day of eight hour class days (thank goodness).  It was time to stop studying, and time to start living and exploring!  Cara and I took the Metro directly from class to the heart of Saint Germain des Prés to have dinner with a family that Cara knows from Memphis.  We followed exact directions from the metro and found ourselves in the cutest, most charming neighborhood we have seen yet.  This will be the future home of our Paris apartment :)  I was very lucky to enjoy an amazing home prepared dinner with ingredients and foods from all the best markets and épiceries around.  We sat around the family's beautiful French apartment, talking about Paris and eating ahi tuna, a variety of cheeses, pea soup, fresh vegetables and much much more.  To read more about our dinner, visit Cara's blog!

After dinner and beautiful desserts from Gérard Mulot, we left the apartment with intentions of jumping on the metro to head home.  That didn't happen.  While we were inside eating the streets had come to life.  There were people everywhere, eating at restaurants, drinking at cafés and walking around in the neighborhood.  Of course we had to stop and explore a little bit.

Just a few snapshots of our delicious food.

Tuesday was another busy school day, with four hours of class and a four hour company visit to Toluna.  By the end of the day, we were exhausted and decided to pick up groceries from our local market to make a small dinner.

Make sure to check back soon for a post about Luxembourg Gardens, Café de Flore and the Lovers Lock Bridge.

Weekend Getaway: Normandy, France

When I think about France, I almost immediately picture the Eiffel Tower, delicious French food and cute little Parisians walking around.  What I have not thought about are all of the other amazing cities in France, outside of Paris.  This weekend I experienced something that I never would have experienced if I was not on an organized study abroad trip.  Our trip organizers and liaisons organized a trip for us to Normandy, a region of northern France well-known for D-Day during World War II.

We began our journey on a three hour bus ride to Caen where we spent a few hours going through the exhibits of the Caen Memorial, a D-Day museum.  After taking in an overwhelming amount of information, we visited the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial.  I have to say this is one of the most beautiful and well thought out cemeteries/memorials I have ever seen.  Each soldier is remembered with a marble headstone shaped like a cross or a star of david, all facing the direction of the U.S.  We then visited the German Cemetery and many of the different beaches involved in the events of D-Day.

Late last night we finally made it to our little (tiny) hotel (if it can even be called that) to set our things down before we went on a long walk to see the Château de Caen, built by William the Conquerer.  The center of the city is built around the Château, so we walked down a few small streets to find ourselves in the heart of what seemed to be their little restaurant district.  There were a ton of cute restaurants and brasseries to choose from, and it obviously took us an hour to decide, but we finally chose a cute Italian restaurant where we polished off a vegetarian pizza and a bottle of wine (like I said... It is cheaper than water).  Of course we had to end the night with something sweet, so why not Nutella crepes with real vanilla ice cream?

This morning we woke up early to drive to Honfleur, the cutest little city I have ever seen.  The architecture and design of the houses and buildings were out of this world.  Cara and I are considering purchasing a vacation home- why not?  We were given a few hours to roam around the fishing port, picturesque streets and museums.  Our first stop was the Eugéne Boudin Museum, which was filled with art from many different impressionist artists.  For lunch we ate with a group of girls at a tiny little restaurant in the harbor.  It was nice being able to enjoy the view while we ate.  We spent the rest of our time visiting cute little shops where I purchased a bottle of fresh strawberry jam, a bag of caramel candy and a bag of assorted dried fruits.  Clearly my life revolves around food.

From Honfleur we drove to the small city of Deauville, famous for its marinas, seaside resorts. race course and international film festivals.  We only had an hour here, but we used our time wisely.

Today, I Found Heaven.

That's right.  And the address is 24 Rue de Sèvres, 75007 Paris.  Also known as Le Bon Marche.

We originally went in hopes of seeing "a department store with some nice things and a food court," as it was described to us.  Come to find that it is an immaculate store that is the home to every designer imaginable.  

The "food court" just so happened to be a two story luxury food department store complete with wine, fresh produce, and grocery departments.  Two hours later, after we made a few rounds around the grocery store, we finally made a decision on what to eat for dinner.  We then took our dinner to a cute little park next door and polished it off with a mini bottle of wine. 

We also went on a bus tour as a group on Tuesday night, and made a little pit stop at the Eiffel Tower.  We made it right as the sun was setting (after 9 pm... what).  Of course I have to share those pictures as well.

Bienvenue à Paris!

Finally made it Paris, my home for the next six weeks!  I have to say, I have only been here for two days and this has already been the experience of a lifetime (good...and not so good).  It was very difficult for me to say bye to my family and friends at home, and that is an understatement.  Luckily, I got to enjoy an amazing farewell dinner with my family and Ron's family the night before I left.  Then I went home to pack.  Nothing like waiting until the last minute, huh?

The drive to the airport was filled with tears, and on top of that, I found out my phone would not work in Paris.  After about 12 hours of flying, I finally made it to Paris... come to find out that my luggage did not.  Perfect.  Icing on the cake.

Two days later, after wearing the same outfit and brushing my teeth with my finger, I finally received my luggage.  Now I could finally relax and enjoy my time in Paris.  So Cara and I did just that and had a lovely little picnic in the park, complete with a baguette, brie, olives and a bottle of chardonnay.  For those of you who were wondering, it is true, wine IS cheaper than water.

The past three days have been filled with learning and exploring.  We are currently getting to know everyone on the trip, planning weekend trips, and learning the underground metro system.  Classes have been long and... well... long.  Hopefully they will lighten up soon so we can get out and enjoy this beautiful city!

On a walk near our dorm! 

Welcome breakfast at ESCP

ESCP, our school

Grabbing a cafe :) One of many...

Picnic in the park