France - Germany Week 8

              This week has been great! We took a group excursion to France, traveling to Colmar, Beaune, and Paris. And now Spring Break has started so the next 9 days will be spent traveling even more!

Musée Unterlinden

              On Monday, we all loaded up on a bus and headed to Colmar, France. After quite a bit of time on the bus, we arrived in Colmar and explored to town looking for lunch. Lois, Darby, Camella, Corey, and I found a cute little café, where we had lunch, and then we bought some gelato form another little stand. We met back up as a group and went to Musée Unterlinden, where we saw the Isenheim Altarpiece. It was a very giant alter painting and it took up almost an entire room. The paintings were so vivid in color and were very well protected, so little restoration was needed. It was very interesting to see the artist’s depiction of the scenes painted, like the crucifixion, resurrection, and scenes about Saint Anthony and Saint Paul. Because of where this altarpiece was displayed, in a place for the sick, the crucifixion of Jesus shows Jesus covered in Plague and Ergotism like boils and lesions. There are also plants depicted that are known to treat inflammation. After wondering through the museum some more and looking at the collection of other paintings and sculptures they had, we all boarded the bus again and headed to Beaune. A few more hours later, we got to Beaune and went to have lunch at a fancy restaurant. We had a three course meal, which included poached eggs, some sort of beef roast, and chocolate mousse. Everything I ate was so good and it was such a great experience! I also tried some escargot that Lois ordered, and I was hesitant at first, but I must say that it was pretty good.

Hôtel Dieu

              On Tuesday, we headed to the Hôtel Dieu, which was a large hospital built for the poor. It was so huge and very extravagant. So many people were cared for there and it was interesting to see and think about their lives and living conditions. They also had an altarpiece that was smaller but absolutely gorgeous. After we got lunch, we boarded the bus once more and headed to Paris. After what felt like forever, we made it to Paris and checked into our hotel. We all went and had dinner at a creperie, where we had a savory crepe and a sweet crepe. I had a ham and cheese crepe and then a chocolate crepe. They were so large and so tasty! What was strange is that we were given a really dry apple cider to drink. Apparently, it’s a thing. We ordered some apple juice because some of us weren’t too fond of it, and the apple juice was the best apple juice I’ve ever had! We were free to do what we wanted after that, so Darby, Lois, Camella, Mitchell, Corey, and I headed to the Eiffel Tower. It was so large and bright! Every hour it starts to sparkle and it is so cool and so pretty. We then walked around and just explored a little. We got some good views of the Eiffel Tower, but I was a little concerned about the large population of rats that seems to be living in Paris.

              Wednesday, we got up and had a walking tour of Paris. Our guide was so great and stayed with us the whole week. First, he took us to a platform that had a great view of the Eiffel Tower. It was nice to see it during the day and from the angle with the city behind it. Then we headed to see the Arc de Triomphe, which was again so large and so cool to see in person. It was surrounded by a huge roundabout, which was crazy busy with traffic. After walking some more and seeing so many more buildings, we made it to Notre Dame. I think this was my favorite place, as it was so beautiful and massive. It was so much more than I had imagined. That night, we met back up as a group to go to the Eiffel Tower. This time, we took an elevator to the very top, which was extremely stressful for me, as I am terrified of heights. Even though the stress was heavy, the view of the city from the top of the tower was so beautiful. That night, a few of us went out to a bar and ordered some wine. While we were hanging out, I realized what day and time it was, and that I had school stuff due in 30 minutes, so I had to rush back to the hotel and do that, but that went smoothly.

              Thursday was our trip to the Louvre. Wow I loved it. I could have spent forever in there. This museum is so massive and has so many works of art that there was no way to see all of it in the short 3 hours we were there. But we got to see the really famous works of art, including the Venus de Milo and the Mona Lisa, along with other things. The museum was so packed and I cannot even imagine it during peak tourist season. After our trip to the Louvre, we had free time to do what we wanted. Camella, Lois, Darby, Lexie, Corey, and I went to Montmartre, which a small artist district in Paris. We went up the big hill to see the Basilica of Sacre-Coeur, which was a very large and elaborate church. It was very beautiful and there was a platform outside of the church that had a nice view of the city. Sadly it was rainy, just like every day we were in Paris, so the view was distorted with clouds and rain. Up on the hill, it was also incredibly windy! We went into some tourist shops and bought some souvenirs. Then headed back into the city. We went and had some crepes from a street vendor for dinner, which were very good. I don’t think I have ever had a bad crepe.

 

            Today, we went to the Palace of Versailles, which again was so huge and extravagant. It was so cool to see, and we went super early so there was not a line to get in. By the time we were leaving, the line went all the way to the outside gate and snaked back around all the way back to the palace. It was probably at least an hour wait in the line, which is crazy. But we went through the palace and got to see most of the rooms. The hall of mirrors was really cool and I also liked that there were rooms dedicated to the different Roman gods. Not all of the gods had a room, but many did, including Venus, Apollo, and Mars. It was also cool to see how extravagant the royals lived back then. We had a picnic in a building that was in the gardens. The lunch was a traditional French lunch, which included bread and meats and cheeses. It was interesting because they did not give up plates. Apparently, bread is your plate. So we all awkwardly scrambled to figure out how to use a full baguette as a plate. All of the cheeses were interesting and so were the meats. We also had chocolate mousse for dinner, which was delicious. We headed back to the hotel to collect our things, and then left to our respective train stations and airports to begin our Spring Break adventures. Darby, Camella, and I hopped on a plane to Venice and we are currently in our hostel preparing for the days ahead. So much will be happening in the next 9 days and I can’t wait to see what adventures await. Until next time, arrivederci!