Le French Experience

The beautiful Eiffel Tower all lit up

 Just an overview: Our stay in France covered visits to 3 cities: Paris, Giverny, and Le Havre. Since the Port of Antwerp was very near the Port of Le Havre, an option to stay on land and do an overland travel was given to the shipboard community. That means we were allowed to travel from Antwerp and in to the next port of call (Le Havre) on our own, on land, as long as we were back on the ship on the last day at the Le Havre port. So my trip went from Antwerp to Paris to Giverny to Le Havre, all by bus.

PARIS

Aside from all the sightseeing (Louvre, Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe) and the river boat cruise along the Seine River, here are the highlights and the things I learned from my stay in Paris:

(1) Crepes, Croissants, and Chocolat Chaud

It would almost be a mortal sin if you skip out on the crepes and croissants when you're in France! I had croissants for breakfasts, either with jam or Nutella, and then had crepes for dessert whenever we were out for lunch and dinner. To hell with calories! When in Europe, calories from pastries do not count. I also had my fair share of their chocolat chaud aka hot chocolate. It's just so good. Why can't all hot chocolates be that delicious.

Croissant with Nutella or jam, pain du chocolat (chocolate bread),
bacon, orange juice, chocolat chaud (hot chocolate)
CALORIES DON'T COUNT IN EUROPE OKAY

Chocolat chaud viennoise <3

(2) Navigating Skills

In Paris, I learned that my navigating skills were actually pretty on point! I used to hate metro maps because I never had the desire nor the energy to try and decode all that was written/drawn on it. But these past few weeks in Europe have pushed me to get over my laziness and figure these maps out. I discovered that it wasn't that complicated after all! It also helps that i'm a visual learner (as opposed to being an auditory or a kinesthetic learner) which means that my strength is in learning and remembering things through sight and images. My photographic memory retains visual information of which street we were on based on the buildings/objects/signs surrounding it. And that helped a lot!

I don't look this lost anymore

(3) Bike Tour

We went biking again, yay! But this time, we biked under the rain, riding around the city donned in bright yellow ponchos. Biking in Belgium was awesome, but biking in Paris was amazing! Thankfully, it wasn't pouring rain the whole time we were biking. The weather would alternate between rain/drizzle and a bit of sunshine. We were a huge group, too, so the dynamics were different than when I biked in Belgium with just 2 other people. We had to make sure no one got left behind or was too far up ahead. I had such a great time biking, and as I've said, the rain added that new touch of adventure to the experience.

Our group with our tour guide

On my bike

(4) To Go vs. Dine In

In restaurants and cafes, there is a price difference between eating your food inside the restaurant, and taking what you ordered to go or for "take-out/take home". To dine inside the restaurant costs more, I guess because you use the restaurant's utensils, take up a table, etc. The difference isn't that huge, but there is a cost difference. For instance, I ordered a chocolat crepe from a creperie, to go, and it cost 3.50 Euros even though it said 5 on the menu. I was confused (but not complaining!), but then we figured out later on that it was because I had chosen not to consume it inside the resto.

During one of our lunches where we chose to dine in

(5) Speaking in French

I first started studying French as a foreign language requirement for my IB course for 2 years. I then continued learning the language when I got to Westminster, but stopped taking it this past semester because I had to focus more on my major requirements. I'm a little rusty with French now, but I am happy (and proud) to report that I successfully remembered enough french to get by during my stay, as I tried to always order in french. The first conversation I had in french was when I was ordering a chocolat viennois from a cafe called Paul. It went a little something like this:

French person: Bonjour madame

Me: Hello! (I don't know why I didn't just say bonjour back) Je voudrais le pain au chocolat viennois. (Good morning/day! I would like the chocolate bread viennois)

French: D'accord (Alright/ok)

Me: Et pour emporte, s'il vous plait (And for take out, please)

French: *nods and smiles* 2.50 Euros madame

Hell yeah I felt all fancy. It was incredibly cool.

Enjoying my pastry from Cafe Paul!

(6) Le Rain

The rain was definitely both a highlight and a low point for me. It was a low point for me because 

(a) I didn't want my camera getting sprinkled on by raindrops (which meant I didn't take as much pictures as what I would've liked) and (b) my sneakers got SOAKED, so I was walking around with cold feet (literally). But when I had time to reflect on my experience, the rain was actually also a highlight because (a) it made me see just how beautiful the city of Paris still was, under any weather, and (b) it definitely gave my adventures a bit more kick to it. Doesn't the phrase "I walked in Paris under the rain" sound a bit more romantic?! Hehe.

Rockin' my bright yellow poncho!
All smiles despite the rain!

GIVERNY

Before heading to Le Havre from Paris to go back to the ship, we stopped at Giverny to visit the garden and the house of the world famous painter, Claude Monet. The garden was beautiful, sprinkled with all kinds of colorful flowers, and dusted with an ambiance that made us see exactly why it was the source of inspiration for Monet's work. It was incredible getting to visit his house and step foot in his living room where he spent most of his time painting. We were also given the chance to see L'Eglise Sainte Radegonde, the church where he is now buried. Cool stuff.

Claude Monet's house!

My roomie, Jess, and I at Monet's Garden :)

LE HAVRE

Le Havre is this little city in France that I have never heard of until I read it on our SAS itinerary. There's honestly not much to see in this place, because there are no historical monuments or famous landmarks in the area. However, we did have a scheduled field lab (aka field trip) for our Photography class on our last day in Le Havre. Since there was not a whole lot to see, the challenge then was to come up with good photographs that will express creativity through composition, lighting, and originality. Our assigned task for this field lab was to complete a portfolio that would best portray what Le Havre represents. I think I was able to successfully whip up some good photos despite the bad weather (it was raining on and off).