Biosciences Bonn: France (aka Spring Break pt1)

It’s been a fabulous two weeks of exploring Europe, and the beginning of this adventure, AIB took us on a little tour of France.

We woke up, once again, not-bright and early to get on a 6hr bus ride from Bonn to Colmar. Colmar is a cute little town on the eastern side of France and home to the Unterlinden-Museum, which hosts the Isenheim Altar. Dr Wasser is a font of infinite knowledge about history and art and medicine and saunas and it was really cool to hear about the artists of the time and see such a masterpiece. Another long ride on the bus later, we found ourselves in Beaune, home of the Burgundy winemaking region in France. While I would’ve happily eaten escargot and drank Burgundy wine all day, we journeyed to the Hôtel-Dieu Museum which showcased the 15th century hospital, Hôtel-Dieu. We saw how bedridden patients were treated in that time, learned a little about the medicines and remedies used, and even found our TA's doppelgänger! The architecture was gorgeous and, again, the artwork was amazing.

Finally, we made it to Paris! We put our stuff down and met up with the group to eat authentic, interesting crêpes. I had a "savory" crêpe with ham, cheese, and egg for dinner, and a salted caramel crêpe for dessert. I’m making myself hungry again just thinking about it…

The next day we started with a cloudy view of the Eiffel Tower and a walking tour around Paris with our guide, Julian. Julian has been leading tours in Paris for 13 years, and apparently Dr Wasser schedules the Paris excursion every year around when Julian can be our guide — he’s THAT good. He gave me wine and restaurant recommendations, pointed us in the direction of a quality hat shoppe, and, like Dr Wasser, seems to know the answer to every question we threw at him. We walked for miles and miles (frankly, I’m getting restless sitting here typing this out because I’ve gotten so used to walking upwards of 10 miles each day) and saw so many statues, important buildings, impressive arches, bridges, and other brilliant artwork and architecture, and ended our tour at dark back at the Eiffel Tower. We went up and had a fantastic view of Paris all lit up in the night.

The next day started with a tour of the Louvre. More amazing art, brilliant sculptures (some of which I recognized from Disney movies), and the Mona Lisa. I’ll just say, the Mona Lisa was pretty underwhelming. There was a sea of people blocking the view of the painting, and even if you pushed past all the people, you were still held 15 feet away from it by security. It was also rather small, especially compared to its roommate, the biggest painting in the world. Hmm. But after... LUNCH. A small group and I went to a little French wine/cafe/restaurant called Juvenile and had the best meal and wine I’ve had since coming to Europe. So much WOW.

My friend, Lindsey, has been studying in France since the beginning of last semester and has travelled a lot of Europe, partly for fun and partly because she is an international politics major. She met up with me and a few friends after lunch, which was SO cool!! We wandered around the shopping district talking for hours until we got tired and said our goodbyes. It was amazing to see someone from Texas and catch each other up on our lives and gossip and talk about boys that we knew from back home and how different Europe is from Texas. Made me feel just a tiny bit homesick…

Our last day in Paris was actually spent in Versalles! We toured the palace and learned about the history there, and finished with a traditional French lunch near the Gardens. Julian explained tons of traditional French meats, cheeses, vegetables, fruits, and wine, and we enjoyed a wonderful, relaxed smorgasbord. As a foodie and wino, this was a fantastic experience, especially because we didn't use plates; we used baguettes. So fun! We went back to the hotel to grab our luggage, and after a long nap in the hotel lobby and a stressful trip to the airport, my time in France came to an end.

Overall I enjoyed my time in France. The food was to die for, the macarons were light and fluffy and way too expensive, and the history was amazing. But, after roaming city after city, I am super excited to tell you about the week I had after…