Week 11

The second physiology exam is upon us!! Even though this week is only two days of classes, we have to amp it up a bit for a little while right before we head off to France! Especially because we cancelled classes last week… a few  more got added to our schedule on Monday and Tuesday. But hey, no biggie, 'cause the rest of the week is gonna be in France!!! On Wednesday morning super early, we left on the bus to Colmar! I originally had planned to go to Colmar over Easter, but since we are seeing it on the France excursion, I will have to figure something else out. In Colmar, we went to see a beautiful altar that was being restored right in front of our eyes! Watching the restoration was almost cooler than getting to see it all laid out. The techniques and care that it takes to work with such a magnificent piece of art… is totally mind boggling. I felt really honored to get to see this specific alter on that specific day. That first night, we stayed in Beaune, France which is a region for Burgundy wines. So naturally, we had a delicious dinner paired with Burgundy wine, and then headed to a wine bar. The wine bar was a super duper cool experience. I wish we had things more like it in the States/College Station/Texas. We also met two guys there who were familiar with the Aggies 'cause they were from San Antonio! One of them made a couple Aggie jokes, but that can pretty much be expected  and they were still fun to talk to. The next morning we went to Hotel Dieu, which was one of the very first modern hospitals. After that, came Paris!! Even though I had been to Paris twice already, I was still excited to go back and experience everything with the friends I have made on this trip! We went to see another alter, some churches, parks/gardens, and lots of museums! One of my favorite parts of the trip was seing Sacre Coeur in the daylight with Park. The last time I went at night. Let me tell you! Day or night, it's the best view in the city. A close second though, would be on top of the Arc du Triopmhe watching the Eifel Tour sparkle every hour! This time though, I watched the Eifel Tour sparkle from right underneath it, with Kevin and a bottle (or two) or champagne! Wow, what a fun trip it was! Right before the trip to the Eifel Tour, we had an insanely delicious (and quite fancy) meal with incredible and creative dishes. We were definitely living the high life in Paris! I also dropped some Euros on an amazing painting of Notre Dame to add my to street art collection - which started with Parisian street art almost four years ago. Another happy purchase I made in Paris was a nice swimsuit! Mady and I travelled to Palma de Mallorca (a Spanish island) for the weekend after Paris, to catch some sun and relax on the beaches. Palma also had some really cool sights to see, and I would 100% recommend it for anyone thinking of going! Overall, the week was jampacked full of lots of things. But hey, that's what we're here for, right?