tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6633294219884578862024-02-18T23:05:28.789-06:00La Petite Voyageuse AventureuseThe life and travels of a teaching assistant in France.nicolekt88http://www.blogger.com/profile/16022046433759939530noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-663329421988457886.post-63897106431383999872011-11-30T06:41:00.001-06:002011-11-30T06:44:58.796-06:00ObservationsSome thoughts and observations from my first 2 months in France: <br />
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<ul><li>Everyone in France has the same ringtone. It may sound as if I'm exaggerating, but it's actually true. Every time I am on the bus or tram and someone's phone starts ringing, literally every person on board will pull out his/her phone. Including me. It's confusing!</li>
</ul><ul><li>Schools tend to teach mainly British English. I was told by a teacher I speak incorrectly when I asked a student "Do you have any brothers or sisters?" instead of "Have you got any brothers or sisters?" I feel that using "have you got" or "I have got" is extremely rare in the U.S. and, as an English teacher, I would never teach my students that "do you have" or "I have" is wrong. It's annoying sometimes because my classes are lucky to have an authentic English speaker, but it's ruins the authenticity when I am forced to use phrases I otherwise wouldn't.</li>
</ul><ul><li>French people really enjoy correcting grammar. Or maybe it's just my grammar they enjoy correcting. I don't blame them.</li>
</ul><ul><li>I have been here for a little over 2 months now and I don't know if my French has improved at all. I do speak French as much as I can and I hear it all the time, I guess the improvements have just not been noticeable to me yet. I'm thinking of taking a French class in the Spring to help things along.</li>
</ul><ul><li>French people love the Chicago Bulls! </li>
</ul><ul><li>Whenever I meet students, I'm always asked how old I am and if I like French guys. And French food. </li>
</ul><br />
As far as news, I don't have much except that Thanksgiving was last week and though I was sad not to be at home with my family, I had a great time celebrating here. I had a huge Thanksgiving dinner with many other assistants. It was really cool because there were a lot of Americans, but there were also assistants from England, Ireland, France, Canada, Germany, and Argentina. So for a lot of people it was their first ever Thanksgiving and I thought it was really nice being able to share it with everyone. We each brought different dishes and even had a huge turkey (which is really difficult to find in France!) I made pumpkin squares and I have never had so much trouble baking something in my life. I had to substitute half the ingredients because they're not available in France so I was afraid it would taste different. There is also no canned pumpkin here so I had to buy an actual pumpkin and cook it. Then there was the problem of no measuring cups or really anything at all with measurements, and an oven that does not have the temperature. Luckily, somehow the pumpkin squares still turned out good and most of the non-Americans got to try it for the first time.<br />
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Here is everyone from Thanksgiving:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1kmA9-IgSes0dTTqOphjAvnkAfmXwUh5McMN-3lbfW4oJ9UQAeqh9mcfkkKCpCUHOdaPU0yI2tNEYzZg2AtcJiH22C25iJEldCamPbNUwGP7eDBNTsIooMmHog-TKKMwTGbV6L_J5sHA9/s1600/Thanksgiving.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1kmA9-IgSes0dTTqOphjAvnkAfmXwUh5McMN-3lbfW4oJ9UQAeqh9mcfkkKCpCUHOdaPU0yI2tNEYzZg2AtcJiH22C25iJEldCamPbNUwGP7eDBNTsIooMmHog-TKKMwTGbV6L_J5sHA9/s400/Thanksgiving.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>nicolekt88http://www.blogger.com/profile/16022046433759939530noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-663329421988457886.post-8654315597712917932011-11-14T08:08:00.000-06:002011-11-14T08:08:24.869-06:00Science Fiction and the BeachMy life lately has been a little more relaxing so I haven't had much to write about, but I have done a few interesting things in the past week.<br />
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Thursday night I went to a science fiction festival in Nantes. One of my teachers gave me some information on it and 2 free tickets if I pretended to be in high school (which I did successfully.) I'm not the biggest science fiction fan nor do I pretend to know a whole lot about it, but it sounded interesting so I decided to go. It was fun, but I definitely felt a bit out of my element. For starters, there really weren't many women there. Though I guess I wasn't too surprised by that. They had an exhibition on "V for Vendetta" and David Lloyd, the creator, was one of the featured speakers. They had a few other exhibitions, which included some interesting paintings, science fiction films, book signings, and games. I played a couple video games for X Box and old school Sega, which was pretty cool. They also had lots of live action role playing games which I found a little funny. Most seemed to be military/fighting based, but there was also a vampire role playing game. It was definitely interesting!<br />
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After the science fiction festival I went to couchsurfing party with my English roommate, Frances. She had heard about it from a French girl she met, and it was basically lots of people who wanted to meet with people from different countries. I loved it because I met a bunch of French people! One of my main goals coming to France this time was to make permanent French friends and I fiiiiinally feel like I'm making some. I've found that making French friends here can be pretty difficult. French people tend to be a little more closed off when they are out with their friends; not at all like Americans who go to bars and are extremely social with random people. However, I have also heard that once you do make friends here, they will be your friends for life. They don't take the notion of friendship very lightly. My teachers have been very nice in inviting me out with them, but I'm glad I'm also making some French friends on my own. I think it will also help me improve my French a lot!<br />
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Saturday I went to a nearby beach town called Pornic with both my roommates, an Argentinian friend, Florencia, and another Argentinian who is an assistant in another city. The day was really quite perfect for the beach; it was sunny and in the low 60s. I cannot believe we are still having weather like this in November! I had a fabulous time just walking along the beach, sticking my feet in the frigid Atlantic Ocean, and picking up seashells. We didn't get to explore the town very much since we spent most of the time on the beach, so hopefully I can go back soon! All in all it was a wonderful weekend.<br />
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Unfortunately, I forgot to bring my camera to Pornic so I don't have any pictures of my own. Here are a couple pictures that my roommate took:<br />
Photo credit: Frances Pope<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAd9PuEwNOeu4K-qWEwOXNi3i3GrODv9a4xy7JjomSaiFM0YM__8sPqilVGqI65dstEBw9jhFN3BLZwlRstaRFVbPV_jowqJ6clC057f4vwuYcqV-6k5z96YowMMgbBi0fClGhjMAokqwj/s1600/Me+Pornic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAd9PuEwNOeu4K-qWEwOXNi3i3GrODv9a4xy7JjomSaiFM0YM__8sPqilVGqI65dstEBw9jhFN3BLZwlRstaRFVbPV_jowqJ6clC057f4vwuYcqV-6k5z96YowMMgbBi0fClGhjMAokqwj/s320/Me+Pornic.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkNRpLqpn8j8F6t2dGpaJggWNoYAkuQ8BjdCfXhRsZ22fxa3h4L3sG1gPKjQXlDP5F5QhasjDDpEF2rgyfhyphenhyphencnjVKidDYJyrXMpCIIboGLmMRl3jj3-rnbEjiG9E5Cr7jpHD6Dl4YgwnpI/s1600/Me+Pornic+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkNRpLqpn8j8F6t2dGpaJggWNoYAkuQ8BjdCfXhRsZ22fxa3h4L3sG1gPKjQXlDP5F5QhasjDDpEF2rgyfhyphenhyphencnjVKidDYJyrXMpCIIboGLmMRl3jj3-rnbEjiG9E5Cr7jpHD6Dl4YgwnpI/s320/Me+Pornic+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixP0CQOMX0uvcmPTLTwBwMhlH2qNkcaGnPAk_WgFWB0OhIHBCE-onBG0qxQDbQQfXa976cMJiC7_7nQ0wXdQHAlr6P5p1i2LImb4pw5IABOmaUCIy9P9GFzhj34Iuod5dFU5DeigpdbHGz/s1600/Group+Pornic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixP0CQOMX0uvcmPTLTwBwMhlH2qNkcaGnPAk_WgFWB0OhIHBCE-onBG0qxQDbQQfXa976cMJiC7_7nQ0wXdQHAlr6P5p1i2LImb4pw5IABOmaUCIy9P9GFzhj34Iuod5dFU5DeigpdbHGz/s320/Group+Pornic.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> I look like such a dork in this one!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div>nicolekt88http://www.blogger.com/profile/16022046433759939530noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-663329421988457886.post-14772236570394632242011-11-04T09:30:00.002-05:002011-11-04T09:47:46.217-05:00Toussaint VacationI am such a slacker! It's been quite a while since I posted and I have to apologize. It's been difficult getting into the habit of writing but I promise to put more of an effort into it.<br />
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The most eventful thing that has happened recently was the Toussaint Break. All Saints Day, the day after Halloween, is a very big holiday in France so the schools get 2 weeks off for it. It was weird only working for 3 weeks then having a 2 week break, but I definitely am not complaining. For the vacaion, I took a week-long trip around Northern France with 3 other American girls and it was really a lot of fun! Here are the places we went:<br />
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First stop on the trip was Rennes, the capital of Brittany. Unfortunately, I missed the train due to my bus not running that morning... gotta love France. Luckily Rennes is only about 1.5 hours from Nantes so there are a lot of trains going there and I hopped on the next one 3 hours later. It was frustrating missing my train and not getting to ride their with my friends, but I met up with them eventually and it all worked out. We only spent one night in Rennes, but it was a relaxing night of walking around and eating crêpes. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkbhHhprHwaeV1BmhmOqhG3QvfjzMpcxorKeuMFr34Vh02YERXzFFRmNswruPfFxaOvzOKit_XkjTgVXWKaKcgVnG8lPZQuafw_KHfLp3GRHIkT9s9GaSgxJ_Cd4JgIS2-bemGSye2aTPP/s1600/P1000249.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkbhHhprHwaeV1BmhmOqhG3QvfjzMpcxorKeuMFr34Vh02YERXzFFRmNswruPfFxaOvzOKit_XkjTgVXWKaKcgVnG8lPZQuafw_KHfLp3GRHIkT9s9GaSgxJ_Cd4JgIS2-bemGSye2aTPP/s320/P1000249.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Half-timbered houses - Rennes is famous for having many of these. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje9yJ_YFtMv2REnxKNXrwG7ro9p23LlqVv-f9CsY3hRxVCSBKQC5CgUWKNzpvuNk9BmObOYb0M-N5ySWJPPv2UbB6pG_MGcnLuG-tdOHOJSN9fmcdXl7rn8vam7Hch3GheA1IXEFuL6m6J/s1600/P1000248.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje9yJ_YFtMv2REnxKNXrwG7ro9p23LlqVv-f9CsY3hRxVCSBKQC5CgUWKNzpvuNk9BmObOYb0M-N5ySWJPPv2UbB6pG_MGcnLuG-tdOHOJSN9fmcdXl7rn8vam7Hch3GheA1IXEFuL6m6J/s320/P1000248.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> The adorable crêperie we went to (the darker timbered house).</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigWZ_y2mvm108p0m48fAUhyhiP7ZDnXmwsHKCIuIVqfST9ouW1U-kxzFeoXcwQEJTS7Q5F4kZqSRzwiq4cgqI0nSYsZmYjkMorUJhUKvIvOE-slvzuSfv1eU8bydrsB0arY28r-oI8r7kh/s1600/P1000277.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigWZ_y2mvm108p0m48fAUhyhiP7ZDnXmwsHKCIuIVqfST9ouW1U-kxzFeoXcwQEJTS7Q5F4kZqSRzwiq4cgqI0nSYsZmYjkMorUJhUKvIvOE-slvzuSfv1eU8bydrsB0arY28r-oI8r7kh/s320/P1000277.JPG" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje9yJ_YFtMv2REnxKNXrwG7ro9p23LlqVv-f9CsY3hRxVCSBKQC5CgUWKNzpvuNk9BmObOYb0M-N5ySWJPPv2UbB6pG_MGcnLuG-tdOHOJSN9fmcdXl7rn8vam7Hch3GheA1IXEFuL6m6J/s1600/P1000248.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Yummy galette with ham, egg, and cheese and cider at the crêperie we went to. My favorite French food!</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkf-JiOP-NeX4vp8lhDQjGTKZaALlEorhggpjH97GBflJxohjkTSMStV2SUDVWIfkUMYM5JB3qKjPNFNo1LLtftKNxpv7UxlP5IwZQTS0N0Nn01qd2Zws05QfXVxcPmQVNt-ARYonnaE-u/s1600/P1000263.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkf-JiOP-NeX4vp8lhDQjGTKZaALlEorhggpjH97GBflJxohjkTSMStV2SUDVWIfkUMYM5JB3qKjPNFNo1LLtftKNxpv7UxlP5IwZQTS0N0Nn01qd2Zws05QfXVxcPmQVNt-ARYonnaE-u/s320/P1000263.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Rennes' château. Older than the one in Nantes but not as pretty.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji2o23p-APsdtX2nyvqDESd8nxeGePXb1GtTdrPa9JEfWbiEszsJCuhtjmkl8TOAfZUFRBmmLJNMqx6gwXV4ZC33l21nRXBe1QfYq84rzH53GpDC4LsUokU2mJv79UXGJ1S6E26wCqJOfn/s1600/P1000256.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji2o23p-APsdtX2nyvqDESd8nxeGePXb1GtTdrPa9JEfWbiEszsJCuhtjmkl8TOAfZUFRBmmLJNMqx6gwXV4ZC33l21nRXBe1QfYq84rzH53GpDC4LsUokU2mJv79UXGJ1S6E26wCqJOfn/s320/P1000256.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">The streets of Rennes.</div><br />
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Next, we took a bus and a train to get to Bayeux, a town in Normandy. I would call Normandy the Wisconsin of France; they were very proud of their cows. Only Normandy also has a beautiful coastline with cliffs and beaches. Bayeux is a pretty small town, but it is famous for the Bayeux tapestry, which depicts the story of William the Conqueror and the Norman conquest of England. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of the tapestry because photography was forbidden. The main reason we went to Bayeux is that is it very close to the D-Day beaches. Someone from our hotel hired a taxi driver to drive us to several WWII sites and he actually came to all of them with us and was able to tell us a lot of interesting information.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEvTUb3LHajL7lPczDuWkCoQz8cs8OiBZKkPOCEPTQj7a630E0S6Y_KpYZbObvoy6v6PfPI-UQ7hRt26ppiNlJzmIywc9CLJfeS6d4RZFP8m5FwzIb4PaFZHbLuOBNUuyT2ySk8byPglTo/s1600/P1000282.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEvTUb3LHajL7lPczDuWkCoQz8cs8OiBZKkPOCEPTQj7a630E0S6Y_KpYZbObvoy6v6PfPI-UQ7hRt26ppiNlJzmIywc9CLJfeS6d4RZFP8m5FwzIb4PaFZHbLuOBNUuyT2ySk8byPglTo/s320/P1000282.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Bayeux Cathedral</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWTNkbD5Y6lru3zgmEOf2O_VllMZRMP8TarnciCMtEzXjVb2mKLWyJg0tYK0PL6EaqGRrPq2VAtztsELz28Ej63chFHZlQDexfuSUwh43fW8TsryOVJQxP07MJSG3MxVLgl5qWPTWE4MEc/s1600/P1000289.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWTNkbD5Y6lru3zgmEOf2O_VllMZRMP8TarnciCMtEzXjVb2mKLWyJg0tYK0PL6EaqGRrPq2VAtztsELz28Ej63chFHZlQDexfuSUwh43fW8TsryOVJQxP07MJSG3MxVLgl5qWPTWE4MEc/s320/P1000289.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Our hotel was recommended by Rick Steves! </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJuHxmMfs9mDGO9VOuDN5_RYmiBe57ZCqCGSAu7Xxme1VoXLnMJzCFbLc3tiyXiA6K0yGvPGcJaqpyP2pYlAss12IhzlV_Buk81S8BO8rRaMayCHhbTxhAs01El2bomyuqArGhw39qoB13/s1600/P1000299.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJuHxmMfs9mDGO9VOuDN5_RYmiBe57ZCqCGSAu7Xxme1VoXLnMJzCFbLc3tiyXiA6K0yGvPGcJaqpyP2pYlAss12IhzlV_Buk81S8BO8rRaMayCHhbTxhAs01El2bomyuqArGhw39qoB13/s320/P1000299.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Pointe du Hoc - the first D-Day site we visited. It's situated between Omaha Beach and Utah beach and the German guns there threatened the Allied landings on both beaches. The U.S. sent Rangers to destroy the German weapons here early on D-Day. Due to weather, the Rangers were 40 minutes late and the Germans knew they were coming and moved their guns back. The Rangers scaled the cliffs, found where the weapons had been moved, and destroyed them. Only 90 of about 225 Rangers survived, but they succeeded. There were supposed to be 500+ more Rangers joining them there, but they instead landed on Omaha beach and probably helped avoid a disaster there.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJKTbb_lgXkH74ZEHmcczcqp3A2-oIanPFOzcmEyZ1FskpVoZcdYfm21vhP6E_BdO6QwOUUUWEFrP_hD9NJY2aDvmcd8PuCM2WwYQo8W3jneugPHZM2fgyCdRMJH2m18N-dkZDk-hVoag2/s1600/P1000301.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJKTbb_lgXkH74ZEHmcczcqp3A2-oIanPFOzcmEyZ1FskpVoZcdYfm21vhP6E_BdO6QwOUUUWEFrP_hD9NJY2aDvmcd8PuCM2WwYQo8W3jneugPHZM2fgyCdRMJH2m18N-dkZDk-hVoag2/s320/P1000301.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Cliffs with barbed wire at Pointe du Hoc. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuq1ITmroJ_FspdttKVRNzwmVBuiOYxMpeGmekijSGAhWAuY9kGqDQQp5gE3LIQTFj3V3DHFd4t43g3FKfpyH5yosM45gLZyF5HjCZR2fA1KcRfSIK2GUQOZ3Htl2PFUqMF8rwTu0bpSQT/s1600/P1000306.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuq1ITmroJ_FspdttKVRNzwmVBuiOYxMpeGmekijSGAhWAuY9kGqDQQp5gE3LIQTFj3V3DHFd4t43g3FKfpyH5yosM45gLZyF5HjCZR2fA1KcRfSIK2GUQOZ3Htl2PFUqMF8rwTu0bpSQT/s320/P1000306.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Me at Pointe du Hoc. It was weird thinking about how beautiful it was, and also about all the men who fought and died there. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjQ1C4-NMFy7P_H1yeueJQOIcZB1pFnrbzNF40Uf38t4IckrHDUC8tz1CqXlxrpE8bA1Uu9IUsPX1OorI1Swl1CVk3n8GNgz-X2Px4cjQQNb1KGrjWylWTWLoe9wyWJqpxvcjsTvueQdQb/s1600/P1000308.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjQ1C4-NMFy7P_H1yeueJQOIcZB1pFnrbzNF40Uf38t4IckrHDUC8tz1CqXlxrpE8bA1Uu9IUsPX1OorI1Swl1CVk3n8GNgz-X2Px4cjQQNb1KGrjWylWTWLoe9wyWJqpxvcjsTvueQdQb/s320/P1000308.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> More of Pointe du Hoc.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfk8fonIiZv1hyphenhyphenBL0kXMvJ_VRu_5ITKwjxYIgH2aXclM7yczc4q3cQj4UJ8LPjKPpUzeDyJVISIHifTbmhmVW8TaAAulxROuuHp1EpM-yDfBvbb6TbspLuvvLC-j-7B-ETiHwFD-ZLTR7Z/s1600/P1000309.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfk8fonIiZv1hyphenhyphenBL0kXMvJ_VRu_5ITKwjxYIgH2aXclM7yczc4q3cQj4UJ8LPjKPpUzeDyJVISIHifTbmhmVW8TaAAulxROuuHp1EpM-yDfBvbb6TbspLuvvLC-j-7B-ETiHwFD-ZLTR7Z/s320/P1000309.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> The memorial for the Rangers at Pointe du Hoc. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimTXKQMTNK_T7UxvvpxQx-r98vTc8hIcT6SaQPy-UUQ8ExfBznL2WvcSQGr3L2TtLN0et5CkxxmbztcOzd_UUPK0sZu0YN1Qef0AlNAP2fLQm5xEbw6HdahL7CQDtuqkk07I5E3XUzGcs5/s1600/P1000314.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimTXKQMTNK_T7UxvvpxQx-r98vTc8hIcT6SaQPy-UUQ8ExfBznL2WvcSQGr3L2TtLN0et5CkxxmbztcOzd_UUPK0sZu0YN1Qef0AlNAP2fLQm5xEbw6HdahL7CQDtuqkk07I5E3XUzGcs5/s320/P1000314.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Lots of barbed wire. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOXJTbqD0zHQORsQwvxCFt_9z2qokl6fCp60VpCTDXOfR3nl169klTWlB0-5lazwRP8gDPsqObgfww5yRunxcsSe0eqS3zvHV2r9wwm2yKYxCqaoRwm6r_6hpzWusgtm0kKiIJ6_5OLoBF/s1600/P1000324.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOXJTbqD0zHQORsQwvxCFt_9z2qokl6fCp60VpCTDXOfR3nl169klTWlB0-5lazwRP8gDPsqObgfww5yRunxcsSe0eqS3zvHV2r9wwm2yKYxCqaoRwm6r_6hpzWusgtm0kKiIJ6_5OLoBF/s320/P1000324.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Pretty flower at Omaha Beach. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJdSaxuUOIc2WXW7-JngmRUVnJAWkydZ_QFGS7HngHCOnu1BNG7jJsfdko84aYTm6QVjNHLEQ5UA98U42xP6XN8IIrNKSrwjtLKRpOuoYeI7cgvDUX1CjLAKuo6wkdMhrB7l0o0GIZdwRO/s1600/P1000326.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJdSaxuUOIc2WXW7-JngmRUVnJAWkydZ_QFGS7HngHCOnu1BNG7jJsfdko84aYTm6QVjNHLEQ5UA98U42xP6XN8IIrNKSrwjtLKRpOuoYeI7cgvDUX1CjLAKuo6wkdMhrB7l0o0GIZdwRO/s320/P1000326.JPG" width="320" /></a></div> Our next D-Day destination was Omaha Beach. One of the beaches where U.S. troops landed during the Allied invasion of German-occupied France.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7o7stGYDF3gFDD9ZtIVrLJ8Qv5zzdy_1AGnFrT2pqEHj-nazETZ-yNdrdv1i2uXlsR8K2Pi3chCWf2ItQ6N71eBX0yNKPPj5c9hAsdnC93TLe0-Bvz0Mjm_g6mdVTX0DSZMB2AgDrz3h9/s1600/P1000330.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7o7stGYDF3gFDD9ZtIVrLJ8Qv5zzdy_1AGnFrT2pqEHj-nazETZ-yNdrdv1i2uXlsR8K2Pi3chCWf2ItQ6N71eBX0yNKPPj5c9hAsdnC93TLe0-Bvz0Mjm_g6mdVTX0DSZMB2AgDrz3h9/s320/P1000330.JPG" width="320" /></a></div> The beach was very pretty, and again it was strange thinking of so many people fighting and dying in such a gorgeous place. Omaha Beach was the location of the most American deaths during WWII: over 3,000.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc9RYuCtgnx4GMNfxFd6YgqToGzGeKYDWlrZdob7VAgDxzwz8iMzz0E29HkXdKQoYyBiJxvnNc_g7vpQ_n2AnViJrF9uDeTgGvbhG-U_pn9hQCIdw-3N_CvFnFhAbATKzGBOWl7QJkOa-p/s1600/P1000333.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc9RYuCtgnx4GMNfxFd6YgqToGzGeKYDWlrZdob7VAgDxzwz8iMzz0E29HkXdKQoYyBiJxvnNc_g7vpQ_n2AnViJrF9uDeTgGvbhG-U_pn9hQCIdw-3N_CvFnFhAbATKzGBOWl7QJkOa-p/s320/P1000333.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> American memorial at Omaha Beach. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtdQre7galh9t8sSBtn-E_lyJXqvSwpKwI1vMHERBFJimD9j9PAYjm7QVNMU_UZQfLmEpScCGgvfkqRZBbAiivc6Y4PBIUmhARfem2gZm9OpGR9NwjqzKa9kYqXpK9mgmm4r5eTTRKzsP2/s1600/P1000366.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtdQre7galh9t8sSBtn-E_lyJXqvSwpKwI1vMHERBFJimD9j9PAYjm7QVNMU_UZQfLmEpScCGgvfkqRZBbAiivc6Y4PBIUmhARfem2gZm9OpGR9NwjqzKa9kYqXpK9mgmm4r5eTTRKzsP2/s320/P1000366.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> The American WWII Cemetary. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9c0ZscAsVz7scPFJXx9fDFg5KsMIT0Xd1rQ2YzKqjUkPY7n0Y1P9v7bOuz_zIdlZE-N1t0Bx_dmi3HiRh7hZkYJQzCGWnBelrS__yrVwxEzUGVDPHoacKs7opTHXtvhGFAOAg4fx4PgQZ/s1600/P1000375.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9c0ZscAsVz7scPFJXx9fDFg5KsMIT0Xd1rQ2YzKqjUkPY7n0Y1P9v7bOuz_zIdlZE-N1t0Bx_dmi3HiRh7hZkYJQzCGWnBelrS__yrVwxEzUGVDPHoacKs7opTHXtvhGFAOAg4fx4PgQZ/s320/P1000375.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> There were many graves for unknown soldiers. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo6nOjoDWV8KoZ11WyquvY0RkC_rDr4hhH0NIWhb8OXYd5JKbBkXPt4FIuW60IqbTVSnCIxXYmyQk0zN-BXUz4tKNZFu3ptVHrbucelZAUZ4xVAc5BFJj2n7AONQvbnMkCi-VYnhW1mlG2/s1600/P1000385.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo6nOjoDWV8KoZ11WyquvY0RkC_rDr4hhH0NIWhb8OXYd5JKbBkXPt4FIuW60IqbTVSnCIxXYmyQk0zN-BXUz4tKNZFu3ptVHrbucelZAUZ4xVAc5BFJj2n7AONQvbnMkCi-VYnhW1mlG2/s320/P1000385.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> The last place we visited was Arromanches-les-Bains. The British set up a Mulberry Harbor here to get cargo to the beaches during the Allied invasion of Normandy. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2WzfYp_wyUUuUeZb7B1T_L6Bnr_u9p_MIknA8y5ytrhHLrOutqLzfTz-xIJSwZM4R4n78oB2gGACQlc0IeW2faRZqIZJTmUnFgt-NdR8SWhEJp7dBcjTSp3kaHKWSJmaxUa-kohWs5H_7/s1600/P1000395.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2WzfYp_wyUUuUeZb7B1T_L6Bnr_u9p_MIknA8y5ytrhHLrOutqLzfTz-xIJSwZM4R4n78oB2gGACQlc0IeW2faRZqIZJTmUnFgt-NdR8SWhEJp7dBcjTSp3kaHKWSJmaxUa-kohWs5H_7/s320/P1000395.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Cannon at Arromanches. </div><br />
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After our day/night in Bayeux, we headed to the Champagne region. We stayed two nights in Reims, famous for its cathedral where the kings of France were coronated. It was absolutely beautiful! One of our days there we also went to Epernay, a smaller town nearby that is famous for its champagne. We visited 2 champagne caves: Moet & Chandon and Mercier. We had tours in the caves and learned all about how champagne is made, the history, and the difference between traditional champagne and vintage champagne. It was unbelievably fun and informative! I even bought 2 bottles: a Rose from Moet and a Vintage 2007 from Mercier. Unfortunately, I was feeling a bit under the weather during this leg of the trip, but I still really enjoyed it.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHYd-54M9nW11-uFuVlW9OmPAENZguBd1irXUG_MSrW-wEGJpehLDrhRb79Aixhv-PuYCEEbJ20j6zr8GCnFONyGJss21Aj_-o79aZJk61VgOIe7G7iEEtTx2eUZiaOP6NtdJSiFn-jSGL/s1600/P1000443.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHYd-54M9nW11-uFuVlW9OmPAENZguBd1irXUG_MSrW-wEGJpehLDrhRb79Aixhv-PuYCEEbJ20j6zr8GCnFONyGJss21Aj_-o79aZJk61VgOIe7G7iEEtTx2eUZiaOP6NtdJSiFn-jSGL/s320/P1000443.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Reims Cathedral</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY-79DHEr9y83DqeiqyRgb1_FP_KonogDO_1mV40k_HqN7wvGHfZdstsiDyVR2kre4A4D0xuqJLAskdoErp64hkhhkbBMml2v33X_AuMblCs61qFCGh_qQlXgVLt2mOtQ79AX7WAA6q-Od/s1600/P1000439.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY-79DHEr9y83DqeiqyRgb1_FP_KonogDO_1mV40k_HqN7wvGHfZdstsiDyVR2kre4A4D0xuqJLAskdoErp64hkhhkbBMml2v33X_AuMblCs61qFCGh_qQlXgVLt2mOtQ79AX7WAA6q-Od/s320/P1000439.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> The cathedral's gargoyles are all different types of animals. This one is a cow. </div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjXU7Wfp4M5GINhfpXedr7mIhiqwT11AQmII2mQfJxW3IySdFJetasjsHo1D7p6-ygSkJU53g70SfiIK7qm5ItDJBlNS1xtPWgMOmzd-F7_vzYDqPq5agpgTh0OLGONUmzKYLCh6vCNo6H/s1600/P1000446.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjXU7Wfp4M5GINhfpXedr7mIhiqwT11AQmII2mQfJxW3IySdFJetasjsHo1D7p6-ygSkJU53g70SfiIK7qm5ItDJBlNS1xtPWgMOmzd-F7_vzYDqPq5agpgTh0OLGONUmzKYLCh6vCNo6H/s320/P1000446.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Kings of France. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj49VPAw2nAve4J9I20HZztCH0WA0RsNWQJZ-q2MNHGozDjytiTYENUd4n2HoJtNPUYCd_NdOmrZ-gkPpq9RvGwFnfvg_nm9FW1eJz66k6ohGdvdX2W1JNOgyrdVFtRpDfwppWWu-Oa4Oyz/s1600/P1000468.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj49VPAw2nAve4J9I20HZztCH0WA0RsNWQJZ-q2MNHGozDjytiTYENUd4n2HoJtNPUYCd_NdOmrZ-gkPpq9RvGwFnfvg_nm9FW1eJz66k6ohGdvdX2W1JNOgyrdVFtRpDfwppWWu-Oa4Oyz/s320/P1000468.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> The cathedral has really cool stained glass windows. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy2bUbveFzzb06_db_8v1zVxoXcbUbqeeZm_Yq8WEv1f3ZNrvlatKfaAMadGBJsytBg8kDuIRVl2dYSmF1TGUSca3YCrUJDnucMm845WkgJ59YMNiwyUai_K_LjLr7IRc2dZ0PEft6Nei0/s1600/P1000470.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy2bUbveFzzb06_db_8v1zVxoXcbUbqeeZm_Yq8WEv1f3ZNrvlatKfaAMadGBJsytBg8kDuIRVl2dYSmF1TGUSca3YCrUJDnucMm845WkgJ59YMNiwyUai_K_LjLr7IRc2dZ0PEft6Nei0/s320/P1000470.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> These stained glass windows were designed by Marc Chagall. It's a little blurry unfortunately. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx6DmHTzLkgUpTa4K56mkZBmsQsrk0g5nqASWugEEYGN7-ybEzpAMA5sHFVtfztvzeP6_-ie1GVSe6Urrn0CShjCsw-3l4LzI6tUlYZAcXCJFCA-kftJA6DCpuNxVZx9hDfrmrT8AwXRfw/s1600/P1000447.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx6DmHTzLkgUpTa4K56mkZBmsQsrk0g5nqASWugEEYGN7-ybEzpAMA5sHFVtfztvzeP6_-ie1GVSe6Urrn0CShjCsw-3l4LzI6tUlYZAcXCJFCA-kftJA6DCpuNxVZx9hDfrmrT8AwXRfw/s320/P1000447.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> The cathedral is also known for its smiling angel (all the way on the right). </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0za4cVsC_i6mq6kMfohw5lfg42fTf6KjUFm20xuRa57xLJH34OJTvOaOPOWnZzrzQdlJyUQoRLZNc58-BvUNpsD9VeBBv-Q4LWeyizzMBd-WfpPv2DVlMVFniEZXzVJ4mU9rWHqeHPZel/s1600/P1000516.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0za4cVsC_i6mq6kMfohw5lfg42fTf6KjUFm20xuRa57xLJH34OJTvOaOPOWnZzrzQdlJyUQoRLZNc58-BvUNpsD9VeBBv-Q4LWeyizzMBd-WfpPv2DVlMVFniEZXzVJ4mU9rWHqeHPZel/s320/P1000516.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Avenue de Champagne in Epernay!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirV3LmjgX9VVdJZB521gkZnRAH_KfeYyehdxG9zil7Eae8LnGruUokfP3WpK2KNhJPrIi6UraRUb2MpLT_5HpcfJSGEBy1moWmHD_EhiB67o3tfD15lKDeEtJkaWRR8HZ3LgEoRjJ8mXlG/s1600/P1000519.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirV3LmjgX9VVdJZB521gkZnRAH_KfeYyehdxG9zil7Eae8LnGruUokfP3WpK2KNhJPrIi6UraRUb2MpLT_5HpcfJSGEBy1moWmHD_EhiB67o3tfD15lKDeEtJkaWRR8HZ3LgEoRjJ8mXlG/s320/P1000519.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Moet & Chandon: probably the best and most well-known champagne. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfnSzX42I7j9xDJRVmQl9yBQjI_A6RXyscPoHBpocBUqT01Xxu7cTXc5HsvXGOnQiV9Z7zinX9hIzltmVaCJbhsM2INrPvP3o7P2xoCeNqQAlgc6oNQAFfMoivX03KJfqcEpT8EzuLzTUF/s1600/P1000523.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfnSzX42I7j9xDJRVmQl9yBQjI_A6RXyscPoHBpocBUqT01Xxu7cTXc5HsvXGOnQiV9Z7zinX9hIzltmVaCJbhsM2INrPvP3o7P2xoCeNqQAlgc6oNQAFfMoivX03KJfqcEpT8EzuLzTUF/s320/P1000523.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Inside Moet's caves. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV8CT_RGc1yrt68ksLPQRcUTX_ueku3uCAiwzXa7BvQhkdOnN1IBkWAEr9BP4n1uLWN3V5Khyw0B9hc54Z_pgn8Z1DcTy2-ZdUg3d5fBqDhYMNbYVwSkcvii7aKJovyyuVTE_bKZ3x8Xq8/s1600/P1000529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV8CT_RGc1yrt68ksLPQRcUTX_ueku3uCAiwzXa7BvQhkdOnN1IBkWAEr9BP4n1uLWN3V5Khyw0B9hc54Z_pgn8Z1DcTy2-ZdUg3d5fBqDhYMNbYVwSkcvii7aKJovyyuVTE_bKZ3x8Xq8/s320/P1000529.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> The numbers tell how many rows and bottles are in each area. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb9bRMbWfkS3GZCwPYKb7Leh3pvHl33tx4a-RFgau3h9ekMQPqX9mfiJQpU0N46Xt1cwq6DYOLoktWJHCG0GBibvn8_-bCgank34V6gLm-bFd4PRiW4b3ZZlMuGnEq-FxgxKsnoXEIpi2q/s1600/P1000531.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb9bRMbWfkS3GZCwPYKb7Leh3pvHl33tx4a-RFgau3h9ekMQPqX9mfiJQpU0N46Xt1cwq6DYOLoktWJHCG0GBibvn8_-bCgank34V6gLm-bFd4PRiW4b3ZZlMuGnEq-FxgxKsnoXEIpi2q/s320/P1000531.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Gift from Napoléon who was a frequent visitor of the caves. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0PhyAmwmt1PnHhaWGPYbr99N0EkCaMJPRH83DoQJFi9UqXKzLGZdBleWBKDBng976Wr-9s5lvDQetzYXva4HsSW1sIoshwPFxLAVJ6LDu68JpWeSBsM44eVhq6wyha1owzyT8-di2eaBq/s1600/P1000534.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0PhyAmwmt1PnHhaWGPYbr99N0EkCaMJPRH83DoQJFi9UqXKzLGZdBleWBKDBng976Wr-9s5lvDQetzYXva4HsSW1sIoshwPFxLAVJ6LDu68JpWeSBsM44eVhq6wyha1owzyT8-di2eaBq/s320/P1000534.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Light showing the sediment inside the champagne that gives it flavor (not in the champagne when you buy it). </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfuBzAIw-64m2hw2QVR__i8oVOg-BPr-eNIn2GNCJYkyNej85Hr0Ny3a0j-kyQq8oZkuCLlggl_uD3szMfQUQKcDgwdXBmPwueKqZaJPk9nIv16N8Wl2lRJfgPHzWQx-IiHgDk-0EP_QYV/s1600/P1000538.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfuBzAIw-64m2hw2QVR__i8oVOg-BPr-eNIn2GNCJYkyNej85Hr0Ny3a0j-kyQq8oZkuCLlggl_uD3szMfQUQKcDgwdXBmPwueKqZaJPk9nIv16N8Wl2lRJfgPHzWQx-IiHgDk-0EP_QYV/s320/P1000538.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> So much champagne!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuf2hpFra0e2KSWnMJVRjDtF4wHvVafwgtEp4LZXmXqGAPt6sjQSkPbJ3S5PQNrisRFJdLfiavvto3QSzGQ12iSCgLtFEsTiuiqq1SQXUFg86x670zXl1fE_UHn6fsjzJqUDaQiP4yVRpj/s1600/P1000539.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuf2hpFra0e2KSWnMJVRjDtF4wHvVafwgtEp4LZXmXqGAPt6sjQSkPbJ3S5PQNrisRFJdLfiavvto3QSzGQ12iSCgLtFEsTiuiqq1SQXUFg86x670zXl1fE_UHn6fsjzJqUDaQiP4yVRpj/s320/P1000539.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> These vintage bottles have clearly been here for a looong time. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEMKsfg2KY0NxdtxbanNZMiSOQKNyo1Xwo47rJAR-U2y5aKsOp-NqrOkIjcwbF3sPGX0-f5znZjylCM7ut37oj0W4vi7-VdnDWIjOV1HKHHCNB0b1WMaC6Tv-E9EsoIyvigO2ghWGyuMEX/s1600/P1000540.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEMKsfg2KY0NxdtxbanNZMiSOQKNyo1Xwo47rJAR-U2y5aKsOp-NqrOkIjcwbF3sPGX0-f5znZjylCM7ut37oj0W4vi7-VdnDWIjOV1HKHHCNB0b1WMaC6Tv-E9EsoIyvigO2ghWGyuMEX/s320/P1000540.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> A true bottle of Dom Perignon always has it written at the bottom of the bottle. Reeeally expensive champagne that I someday want to try. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpGPMqUnbIK22_y4epIWdkRlp8HdxVq52zqbY7UUCNTqypiBy0MnCgaOGcNt5m3IMLarhhcGZph8McCV9U6yTkDE9te_s-Pk8PvF7NetWJoeKBIgSpLjC9k0EJ3OnkRdjL5L4wS0M6ELAb/s1600/P1000541.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpGPMqUnbIK22_y4epIWdkRlp8HdxVq52zqbY7UUCNTqypiBy0MnCgaOGcNt5m3IMLarhhcGZph8McCV9U6yTkDE9te_s-Pk8PvF7NetWJoeKBIgSpLjC9k0EJ3OnkRdjL5L4wS0M6ELAb/s320/P1000541.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Mold at the top of the caves. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0sb7qKCW_6q5RdkbcoEQEMc4dTjqmWKfiADLzj-5Tngi97oS4UFP1_YunE8cPoimQ2hhE5HLAu9BTJkYVBkvtHo073BQOnaUcA8JWWvoSmPlsH2CgOoRiaCA8_IXyDmopU9h7brN4xpfY/s1600/P1000544.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0sb7qKCW_6q5RdkbcoEQEMc4dTjqmWKfiADLzj-5Tngi97oS4UFP1_YunE8cPoimQ2hhE5HLAu9BTJkYVBkvtHo073BQOnaUcA8JWWvoSmPlsH2CgOoRiaCA8_IXyDmopU9h7brN4xpfY/s320/P1000544.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> The different sized bottles of champagne one can buy. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl1pGiNAjoKfKhfoU4qbZRbUrKBWjcnSRrFat1qFekPx2xEh0cEoMmnHU4weQQqFaFWHOM5OWRtloqSq6HqYErxFSpoFDtNLocHDF35_pMVp8pl7u5RAEkFrxr76Z3a9QRpaQI7Oh8JGKn/s1600/P1000545.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl1pGiNAjoKfKhfoU4qbZRbUrKBWjcnSRrFat1qFekPx2xEh0cEoMmnHU4weQQqFaFWHOM5OWRtloqSq6HqYErxFSpoFDtNLocHDF35_pMVp8pl7u5RAEkFrxr76Z3a9QRpaQI7Oh8JGKn/s320/P1000545.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Our samples! </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsqpDaM2UjIdqXAfEcHNU7Rg3afxqVypeMNkbZnzrpBaTbSf8_Y3Z0WjhqvLDNai2phgyJxA236hznLzA90QleIXBdJIg7ZG4SsE_D9Yzm1LkKDckjENzBB7lNKqzTf7uvEOeJqFahGaZO/s1600/P1000560.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsqpDaM2UjIdqXAfEcHNU7Rg3afxqVypeMNkbZnzrpBaTbSf8_Y3Z0WjhqvLDNai2phgyJxA236hznLzA90QleIXBdJIg7ZG4SsE_D9Yzm1LkKDckjENzBB7lNKqzTf7uvEOeJqFahGaZO/s320/P1000560.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> The Mercier caves. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGBD3F-EvCP6EeP_98Y1Ii8jl6TqQwtCCHZ5CR7nW0_8CHH1Xz2unnZvhG3P0hiWRNdNazdPARUTLqYWrPRghOjl5JNbn15alAbXaM6uBEbCX_BTm8-PgItRolJhqRoWWUbaoPuMnjILSO/s1600/P1000562.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGBD3F-EvCP6EeP_98Y1Ii8jl6TqQwtCCHZ5CR7nW0_8CHH1Xz2unnZvhG3P0hiWRNdNazdPARUTLqYWrPRghOjl5JNbn15alAbXaM6uBEbCX_BTm8-PgItRolJhqRoWWUbaoPuMnjILSO/s320/P1000562.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Champagne is so beautiful. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYwNshDxUtPjGmyMpprDKJJALDTH778wvz5bfWyq3QvP5D8e3gWul7UCGRWvunnxsNn5M5Xb7tym2Gom7-ttBarfWghJJFyhPpaGAi6IXEDol8srLoN2aesLdZqeR1kTWeHSgcgFWCUXpb/s1600/P1000569.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYwNshDxUtPjGmyMpprDKJJALDTH778wvz5bfWyq3QvP5D8e3gWul7UCGRWvunnxsNn5M5Xb7tym2Gom7-ttBarfWghJJFyhPpaGAi6IXEDol8srLoN2aesLdZqeR1kTWeHSgcgFWCUXpb/s320/P1000569.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Barrel of champagne that Mercier brought to the World's Fair in Paris. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdt7nzk9qN1988MNPwZB01djY9Iw7U35Jce4hdVCMgBACMJD_h1DeuywgKYAIC5K2yLTniTh8_Z0lEgFy7KJlb3J9NicWM8mKddqtRZo8c29Xw6rilXAzd2HbMsUtzr2J5ECXYTYCrEz73/s1600/P1000575.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdt7nzk9qN1988MNPwZB01djY9Iw7U35Jce4hdVCMgBACMJD_h1DeuywgKYAIC5K2yLTniTh8_Z0lEgFy7KJlb3J9NicWM8mKddqtRZo8c29Xw6rilXAzd2HbMsUtzr2J5ECXYTYCrEz73/s320/P1000575.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Me in the Mercier caves. We rode an electric train. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY5NPoSMSarlUI7PDmT8aWfVC4xtfMmw6Rl14k7M_kFDXYcIM5JFDpjAkC9ucaToTtE7nqLCJ7JY8YUeLD_eRu_GQuMXepLZ9OW-iWsuDGk5r7Am0xohk8jn4zuqb4lfes4H2R0POvVtSJ/s1600/P1000598.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY5NPoSMSarlUI7PDmT8aWfVC4xtfMmw6Rl14k7M_kFDXYcIM5JFDpjAkC9ucaToTtE7nqLCJ7JY8YUeLD_eRu_GQuMXepLZ9OW-iWsuDGk5r7Am0xohk8jn4zuqb4lfes4H2R0POvVtSJ/s320/P1000598.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> The 3 different champagnes we tried at Mercier: A Brut, a Vintage 2007, and a Rose. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQM5Pz-XTQL9jWndQJJ_sVHbPwcduBc2YW7Srsn2i4S5iI0TnXLd-ZHE6NEeGeXiRUWca9BNUMfjrDx4vvNRXHvzfw6IeKKGDugUE0WodpFtWLxwVUgopClMZ7_8sYxBMOKjFCUVnmmP-3/s1600/P1000602.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQM5Pz-XTQL9jWndQJJ_sVHbPwcduBc2YW7Srsn2i4S5iI0TnXLd-ZHE6NEeGeXiRUWca9BNUMfjrDx4vvNRXHvzfw6IeKKGDugUE0WodpFtWLxwVUgopClMZ7_8sYxBMOKjFCUVnmmP-3/s320/P1000602.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Me with my vintage purchase outside Mercier. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">The last stop on our trip was Orléans, a town a couple hours from Nantes in the Pays de la Loire region. The town itself is famous for Joan of Arc, who defended it. The reason we came to Orléans, however, was to see the nearby château Chambord. It is the largest château in the Loire valley and was built to serve as a hunting lodge by François I. I have wanted to see this chateau ever since we learned about it in French class in high school, so it was really exciting finally getting to do so. It was incredible! </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPLpiZ88v2G088rpEkFF18-z_bgH00Sbf9JiaD8dP4Txa9oSBB3TtVMB0hxrsC3_OYUk8Tp7BNiKw5TuChMIst77vxJgnyQyhTTofUIQ96bvxJlpo2VMNqDRt2OPjrWXwjEqQymfgTyvq6/s1600/P1000668.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPLpiZ88v2G088rpEkFF18-z_bgH00Sbf9JiaD8dP4Txa9oSBB3TtVMB0hxrsC3_OYUk8Tp7BNiKw5TuChMIst77vxJgnyQyhTTofUIQ96bvxJlpo2VMNqDRt2OPjrWXwjEqQymfgTyvq6/s320/P1000668.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> First glimpse of Chambord. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3KHONmuFormlepzF1fIeJ7qG-ohdGJ-nPv8gk0PerGMau6VdERVqBohJv-IezYlHEdbELttycC6FR1Tv5POITKMV0phoJyQofB9Uw7Ct47K-0AZZxjZRmcv_EgWuldOwJzY1o7sV024ge/s1600/P1000674.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3KHONmuFormlepzF1fIeJ7qG-ohdGJ-nPv8gk0PerGMau6VdERVqBohJv-IezYlHEdbELttycC6FR1Tv5POITKMV0phoJyQofB9Uw7Ct47K-0AZZxjZRmcv_EgWuldOwJzY1o7sV024ge/s320/P1000674.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> It's so big!! </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnWzi8u5sSfXnV83HFIEgJbd9LvBTnec6SDuCK1xhUwkDfSWZ7F9y5ArWs43k-2BIRYhLN_bJScNlw_w4f1mt4hVtVWDllkh4D0n6vDAPBp7UWCB9_yBYwsoU5sZ6Zo47rMK3zEJCDx3Mt/s1600/P1000676.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnWzi8u5sSfXnV83HFIEgJbd9LvBTnec6SDuCK1xhUwkDfSWZ7F9y5ArWs43k-2BIRYhLN_bJScNlw_w4f1mt4hVtVWDllkh4D0n6vDAPBp7UWCB9_yBYwsoU5sZ6Zo47rMK3zEJCDx3Mt/s320/P1000676.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> The autumn trees made it look even prettier. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAFt7D_QcEzX580tAKtp_9h4KnKJRbtLFIuG9bZ9FMOoGK6tyAmBrm9vT5rxsb3O4bwn4viu-QjN4iklGyYpiXzftSaBWAq3qpaR3Ugr_7-UWZfCCTaACM8wMAXxVGdrWotbwJ-D-he8H8/s1600/P1000680.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAFt7D_QcEzX580tAKtp_9h4KnKJRbtLFIuG9bZ9FMOoGK6tyAmBrm9vT5rxsb3O4bwn4viu-QjN4iklGyYpiXzftSaBWAq3qpaR3Ugr_7-UWZfCCTaACM8wMAXxVGdrWotbwJ-D-he8H8/s320/P1000680.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> I was so happy! </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv0GDHQKdIvuoLpWKE-evvccJxEZspRZ6AGf8nQWbCZhbrJSShhqM0RrIIozdBYUo1WkSuzVktsnqWght1__K4cYCzTuKDMlobzR1GU5Df3AGsjxfVBGaexDyJyeaGbQI-Reht6tW-3e2I/s1600/P1000682.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv0GDHQKdIvuoLpWKE-evvccJxEZspRZ6AGf8nQWbCZhbrJSShhqM0RrIIozdBYUo1WkSuzVktsnqWght1__K4cYCzTuKDMlobzR1GU5Df3AGsjxfVBGaexDyJyeaGbQI-Reht6tW-3e2I/s320/P1000682.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Gorgeous. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWoRk72Qo_QvGKzgbXtx_KNi5-UB7CKslqmqDAH4brPTz0fPgOFfvRc6jwoAqmsjBzqtpfM7Vs5ZVK6EQiGLmMpb1wPa8nghoSOB6vqFFRC-0eZ3VWsdQ_BfvN_AotGNSaMo6XIaBPXhqE/s1600/P1000684.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWoRk72Qo_QvGKzgbXtx_KNi5-UB7CKslqmqDAH4brPTz0fPgOFfvRc6jwoAqmsjBzqtpfM7Vs5ZVK6EQiGLmMpb1wPa8nghoSOB6vqFFRC-0eZ3VWsdQ_BfvN_AotGNSaMo6XIaBPXhqE/s320/P1000684.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> I can't believe it was hardly ever used. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9dLBrgU26Y8Sz_Su4zlxL664j7cfAnkycpqva-NpQHUw5xgFqjZ753qZiD0g0KtCuiehbjJj4zQAvxTE1Cn4JhUWap-fKst-nSzXhOIguJcuihTwePOsR1uW3b8_h_OdvQjwJ_DkvjljZ/s1600/P1000708.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9dLBrgU26Y8Sz_Su4zlxL664j7cfAnkycpqva-NpQHUw5xgFqjZ753qZiD0g0KtCuiehbjJj4zQAvxTE1Cn4JhUWap-fKst-nSzXhOIguJcuihTwePOsR1uW3b8_h_OdvQjwJ_DkvjljZ/s320/P1000708.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> The entrance. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhirQihnZJo54IQzfl_D3BBQ4njCYUDBUsqd8GgPUtOPHL7uAdG3SK12weW5_N1LTXet2rjHYVZFr7q8BSQeyc68i6iQKyhGY9KKEDktLQyB6CYmTe9UMMxKR3TV2fumPIcSMQIRTX_bmIQ/s1600/P1000714.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhirQihnZJo54IQzfl_D3BBQ4njCYUDBUsqd8GgPUtOPHL7uAdG3SK12weW5_N1LTXet2rjHYVZFr7q8BSQeyc68i6iQKyhGY9KKEDktLQyB6CYmTe9UMMxKR3TV2fumPIcSMQIRTX_bmIQ/s320/P1000714.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> The famous double-helix open staircase. The two staircases ascend 3 floors and never once meet. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzd9-uCiiAQeNC14neTy3mJejgnE8w6ITx6x0MWVjvQdCYN2hSy0IvTbQ7IVQZQdGC7fl2iACi7KqutXm2cX1JAhK7zbKMEzQTht6A6IGQ8KV5t-3kjc7kTkHr2i4M3FJGNPIGkYo8qQAF/s1600/P1000718.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzd9-uCiiAQeNC14neTy3mJejgnE8w6ITx6x0MWVjvQdCYN2hSy0IvTbQ7IVQZQdGC7fl2iACi7KqutXm2cX1JAhK7zbKMEzQTht6A6IGQ8KV5t-3kjc7kTkHr2i4M3FJGNPIGkYo8qQAF/s320/P1000718.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Inside of the staircase - it's so cool! It is likely to have been designed by Leonardo DaVinci. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKAnxgaqreQgq-3XE3TxTXE-0ir6xiGECnRc2qHdHwnprfBOJ3GRLCHtJJ37lIwNWOh54_8DKxFCQPojiO3eKOhjFoLDII3-uZfKmSa6F2Lr8_-TnM4rxx0XhQLfZPaKHvshWlrGMh4_kW/s1600/P1000786.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKAnxgaqreQgq-3XE3TxTXE-0ir6xiGECnRc2qHdHwnprfBOJ3GRLCHtJJ37lIwNWOh54_8DKxFCQPojiO3eKOhjFoLDII3-uZfKmSa6F2Lr8_-TnM4rxx0XhQLfZPaKHvshWlrGMh4_kW/s320/P1000786.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> View from the second floor. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdvWRCEBq7YQwS4LBEl-ZBBq5_PBaGGfIfYR6khg9LYSAmaz0lI4DsY8VbJF7LEkH3KPOTr9m8SqIdt8BcXPxEFKEl_BPrDbPJttAiDyXPvHrqrySahuzWjiABMK0Tl7GRA4lE-kOvMdLL/s1600/P1000803.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdvWRCEBq7YQwS4LBEl-ZBBq5_PBaGGfIfYR6khg9LYSAmaz0lI4DsY8VbJF7LEkH3KPOTr9m8SqIdt8BcXPxEFKEl_BPrDbPJttAiDyXPvHrqrySahuzWjiABMK0Tl7GRA4lE-kOvMdLL/s320/P1000803.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> At the top!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhobXXdU1MHwu-azAxRFdhHAcGOLxbhzdDM3gPWFrXDv0S3D7rZWvKzOARyd1y3XTCxcKW54LKwZEClyV58rss7MKS4me_AaxwTl6Sou_3_675U4lWn4G1zkM5Y7MpaSOVnWlq7uoO4iyHo/s1600/P1000806.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhobXXdU1MHwu-azAxRFdhHAcGOLxbhzdDM3gPWFrXDv0S3D7rZWvKzOARyd1y3XTCxcKW54LKwZEClyV58rss7MKS4me_AaxwTl6Sou_3_675U4lWn4G1zkM5Y7MpaSOVnWlq7uoO4iyHo/s320/P1000806.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> The beautiful woods and river. Made me wish I liked hunting. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOUG3kK4Uqq5BNq3GRvj516pyyjXkeEoE4e45-RQiQE-z2WyeEvPjB8jebxrKO_Obu5D2X7iy6870QRUVyPGQY9G8dWyi0WMO5wArYmKzTC8FEWJcBBew18uxTd8ABpSv9sOac5GdbVrka/s1600/P1000808.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOUG3kK4Uqq5BNq3GRvj516pyyjXkeEoE4e45-RQiQE-z2WyeEvPjB8jebxrKO_Obu5D2X7iy6870QRUVyPGQY9G8dWyi0WMO5wArYmKzTC8FEWJcBBew18uxTd8ABpSv9sOac5GdbVrka/s320/P1000808.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8kNNwpWIYlqQ18HHzMcEiYSBSgoYKf9Vox-WYH7ulKFtzvn1BH1gOVRI-361N5RVtNFjvYSFKwxd6f-t25YOhYCisZrZXqqqNPrH8m3Fx1PpZg4iQnb0lR2zMopA6ArU91S3_oHsC51zt/s1600/P1000819.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8kNNwpWIYlqQ18HHzMcEiYSBSgoYKf9Vox-WYH7ulKFtzvn1BH1gOVRI-361N5RVtNFjvYSFKwxd6f-t25YOhYCisZrZXqqqNPrH8m3Fx1PpZg4iQnb0lR2zMopA6ArU91S3_oHsC51zt/s320/P1000819.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">So that is it for my Toussaint vacation. I am back in Nantes now and I will be sure to update this more often! <br />
</div>nicolekt88http://www.blogger.com/profile/16022046433759939530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-663329421988457886.post-8851673975185557522011-10-05T10:19:00.001-05:002011-10-05T10:19:55.114-05:00All Settled InI am in France!! I arrived in France last Tuesday and in Nantes last Wednesday, so I've been here for about a week now. I meant to post earlier than this, but at first I didn't have wifi then I became pretty busy. But better late than never! Since I have quite a bit to write about now, I'm going to divide my blog post into different topics so it's a little easier to follow.<br />
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<u><b>My arrival in France/Paris:</b></u><br />
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My flight to Paris went by fairly quickly since I was sitting by other assistants on the plane and we chatted most of the time and I arrived in Paris without a problem. My time in Paris was a completely different story. I was traveling with another assistant going to Nantes, Nick, and we had decided upon staying with a French guy in Paris who offered us his apartment instead of staying in a hostel since we had so many suitcases with us. He picked us up from the airport which was very nice of him and somehow fit all of our suitcases into his tiny car. Then we got to his place which wasn't actually in Paris, but in Saint-Maur, which is sort of a suburb of Paris. His apartment was a lot smaller than we had thought it would be and he was also renovating it. Due to his renovations, there was no door to the bathroom, no working shower, and it was filthy with tools and plaster literally covering the entire floor. We started to get a little nervous because we had no idea how we were going to be able to sleep there.<br />
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As soon as we arrived, we wanted to go to Paris (actual downtown Paris) and we had plans to meet up with another assistant and visit the Eiffel Tower and the catacombs. Instead of just showing us how to get there and letting us go, we had to walk all over the French guy's town and for some reason we moved his car several times. By the time we got downtown, the catacombs were almost closed and we were exhausted, with no place to lie down or relax. We decided just to buy our cell phones and booked a hotel so that we could have actual beds to sleep in and a functioning bathroom. <br />
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Unfortunately, we had to return to the French guy's apartment to get all our stuff. We were hoping he wouldn't be there when we arrived so we could leave quietly, but he was. We didn't want him to feel bad because it was really nice of him to offer his place to us, so we told him we were staying with one of Nick's friends who lives near the train station. We called a cab, but he grabbed the phone and said it was too expensive and cancelled our cab. He told us we should take the metro and we vigorously refused since we had so many heavy suitcases it would have been extremely difficult. We kept trying to call a cab, but he wouldn't let us and finally he agreed to drive us. The only problem with that was we had to have him drive us to the train station instead of our hotel since he thought we were staying with Nick's friend. Basically it was a huge mess and we finally got free of him and made it to our hotel with all our luggage, but we didn't get to see a single thing in Paris and it was just a complete disaster. It definitely was not one of my better ideas.<br />
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<u><b>My arrival in Nantes: </b></u><br />
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I met my contact, who is an English teacher at the school I work at, at the train station in Nantes. We went out to lunch, and afterwards he took me to my apartment at the high school and helped me with my bags. I felt bad because my apartment is on the 5th floor and there isn't an elevator so he carried my very heavy suitcases up 5 flights of stairs! He showed me around the school and introduced me to a lot of people, then I headed back to my apartment. The apartment is decently sized and has 3 bedrooms, a room with a toilet, a room with a shower and sink, a kitchen (with no oven sadly, just hot plates), and a big living room with a TV, couch, and table. It looks a bit empty because there's not a lot of furniture, but it's definitely not a bad setup! I will post some pictures of my apartment later.<br />
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As soon as I got to my apartment, all I wanted to do was nap because I was so exhausted from traveling, lugging my suitcases around in the 80 degree heat, and especially from the fiasco in Paris. I napped for a couple hours then woke up to unpack and use the internet to communicate with everyone back home. I was told that my apartment had wifi, but I couldn't connect to any networks and after contacting someone I found out no one had installed the router yet so I had to wait for internet. My roommates were not yet in Nantes so it was incredibly lonely the first night being all alone in my apartment in a different country with no one to talk to and no way to contact people from home except my extremely expensive cell phone. The thought "oh my God, what have I done?!?!" popped into my head a few times and I was really homesick my first few nights here.<br />
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Luckily, my roommates arrived the next night and the day after that we got wifi so I haven't been as homesick since then.<br />
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<u><b>Life at the high school:</b></u><br />
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Like I mentioned before, my apartment is at the high school I teach at so luckily there are other assistants here to hang out with. I have 2 roommates; one is from England and the other is from Argentina and they're both very nice. There is also another apartment for assistants here and there is an assistant from Ireland, an assistant from Germany, and an assistant from India who live there. They're also all very nice and I think it's really great having friends from all over the world. It's also wonderful for my French since we only speak in French with each other. Even in my apartment where there is another anglophone, we very rarely speak English to each other. I also only speak French with all of the teachers here so I hope my French will be excellent by the time I'm back in the States!<br />
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The high school isn't very close to downtown, but fortunately it's right near the tram so centre ville is very accessible and the tram only takes about 10-15 minutes. I haven't been downtown a whole lot, but I've met up with assistants for dinner, drinks, and just to walk around and the city is just as wonderful as I remember! Now that I have my teaching schedule and am all settled in here, I hope to spend more time enjoying the city. <br />
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<u><b>Speaking French:</b></u><br />
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I have been attempting to only speak French here and so far I've been successful. The other assistants who live at my high school are from all different countries so we speak in French to each other all the time. I also only speak French with all the teachers and staff here, and with people in stores, the bank, the bank, the post office, etc. It's been pretty difficult, but I'm hoping after a couple weeks it will start to get easier. It's a little easier speaking in French with my friends because none of us are native speakers, but the teachers all speak very quickly and sometimes it can be difficult understanding everything they say. I know this is the best way to improve my French though so I will keep with it! I haven't really met any French people my own age, so now that I'm settled in I am going to try to get involved with a language exchange or some kind of group or activity so that I can make some French friends as well. <br />
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<u><b>Teaching: </b></u><br />
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This is my first week of classes, and so far they have gone well. As an assistant, I don't teach the classes on my own, but instead do special lessons with the teachers or with part of the class. This week, I created a power point presentation about myself and I've shown it to all the classes. For the most part, the students have been interested and have asked a lot of questions about me, where I'm from, why I'm in France, etc. My high school is a professional high school, which means the students are becoming mechanics and electricians (I think). This also means that most of my students are male. In fact, out of all my classes at the high school, I only have 2 female students. It was a little intimidating at first, but everyone has been nice so I'm a bit more at ease. I did have a student today, during introductions, tell me<span class="messageBody translationEligibleUserMessage" data-ft="{"type":3}"> "Hello, my name is _____. I am 17 years old. My hobby is sports. I am a gentleman." I found it pretty entertaining. </span>I will also work 4 hours a week at a nearby junior high, but I won't be starting there until next week. <br />
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Okay, that is all for now since it seems as though I've been writing this post for ages!! But I promise to create another post very soon and include some pictures!nicolekt88http://www.blogger.com/profile/16022046433759939530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-663329421988457886.post-5011563844512012542011-09-01T12:21:00.002-05:002011-09-01T12:26:14.155-05:00The Countdown BeginsThis summer has gone by very quickly and suddenly I am leaving for France in only 25 days! Now that I have my visa and can legally work in France, all that's really left for me to do is pack. Since I am leaving in less than a month, I thought I'd make a list of some of the things I'm not looking forward to and things that I am looking forward to. I'm really excited about going but at the same time I can't help but be nervous!<br />
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<b>Things I am NOT looking forward to:</b><br />
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- Being away from my family/boyfriend/friends for 7.5 months<br />
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- The time change (it will be difficult finding times to talk to people at home that work for both me and them) <br />
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- Strikes (the French love going on strikes - last time I was in France, the SNCF went on strike and my train to Paris was cancelled so I had to rent a car to get there and almost missed my flight to Munich)<br />
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- Not being able to understand everyone (my French is good, but I still struggle with slang and people who speak too quickly) <br />
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- People not understanding me sometimes<br />
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- Dog poop (French people don't like to clean it up)<br />
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- How expensive everything is since I am used to Milwaukee's decent prices<br />
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- Living out of 1 suitcase for 7.5 months <br />
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</b><br />
<b>Things I AM looking forward to: </b><br />
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- Being in FRANCE!!!<br />
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- Traveling all over Europe<br />
<br />
- Speaking French (and hopefully improving a lot!) <br />
<br />
- French food (especially galettes and crepes) <br />
<br />
- Yummy Boulangeries <br />
<br />
- Pain au chocolat<br />
<br />
- Nantes' Christmas market and vin chaud (hot spiced wine) in the winter<br />
<br />
- Living in a place with so much history and culture to explore<br />
<br />
- Meeting people from many different countries<br />
<br />
- Visiting chateaux <br />
<br />
- Being an English teaching assistant and getting insight into the French education system (also getting to teach about America, Chicago, and Milwaukee) <br />
<br />
- Making French friends<br />
<br />
<br />
To me, the positives definitely outweigh the negatives concerning living in France. Even though I'm nervous about it now, I had an amazing time studying abroad there and I know being a teaching assistant will be just as wonderful. Leaving my family/boyfriend/friends behind is going to be extremely difficult, but I will be home for 2 weeks over Christmas break so I know that will help. 7.5 months seems like a long time now, but I know it will go by like a flash (especially if I am having the time of my life!) <br />
<br />
<br />
nicolekt88http://www.blogger.com/profile/16022046433759939530noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-663329421988457886.post-15287837040799389632011-07-20T18:15:00.000-05:002011-07-20T18:15:03.783-05:00No Longer HomelessI got my arrêté de nomination!!!!! Even though I already knew I will be teaching in 2 schools in Nantes from emailing someone, it was still very exciting! It's now confirmed: I will be teaching at Lycée Polyvalent Monge La Chauvini<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:AllowPNG/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves/> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:DoNotPromoteQF/> <w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/> <w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/> <w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/> <w:OverrideTableStyleHps/> </w:Compatibility> <m:mathPr> <m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/> <m:brkBin m:val="before"/> <m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/> <m:smallFrac m:val="off"/> <m:dispDef/> <m:lMargin m:val="0"/> <m:rMargin m:val="0"/> <m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/> <m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/> <m:intLim m:val="subSup"/> <m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
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</style> <![endif]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">è</span>re and Collège Le Breil in Nantes proper. Oh, I forgot the best news...<br />
<br />
<b>I have housing</b>!!!!!<br />
<br />
According to my arrêté de nomination, the high school I will be teaching at has a room for me for 85 euros (around $120) a month!!! I really lucked out! Now while everyone else will be stressing out about finding a place to live when they get to France, I will get to relax and focus on finding a bank and getting settled in. I don't know much about the room except that it is part of the school. Either they have a special room reserved for assistants, or it'll be a dorm-like setting with the students who go there and live at the school. Either way, I'm glad not to be homeless. Though I did want to live in Centre Ville so that I would be in walking distance of everything, cheap housing is winning out right now. I would be lucky to get an apartment for under 350 euros (around $500) a month so my room at the school is looking very nice right about now. Plus I am just a short bus/tram ride away from downtown. No complaints here!<br />
<br />
Hopefully good luck keeps coming my way!nicolekt88http://www.blogger.com/profile/16022046433759939530noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-663329421988457886.post-81725262941945176342011-07-18T22:09:00.000-05:002011-07-18T22:09:45.399-05:00I'm Going Back to Nantes!!Well July is more than halfway over and I still have not received my work contract. I did, however, email someone from the Rectorat de Nantes and found out I will be teaching in Nantes proper!! I was so happy and relieved to find out that I won't be stranded in the middle of the nowhere. I will be teaching at a lycée (high school) and collège (junior high) really close to the Université de Nantes.I am beyond excited!<br />
<br />
Hopefully my work contract will come soon since my visa appointment is August 16th! Also, my work contract will most likely tell me whether or not I have housing at one of my schools. If not, I want to start looking at possible apartments and maybe figuring out a roommate situation with other assistants. If I do have housing at one of my schools, I still may want to find an apartment so that I can be in centre ville, but at least I would have somewhere to stay as soon as I arrive.<br />
<br />
Here is a map of Nantes and my schools:<br />
<a href="http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=216695735696671489283.0004a85f9d12da4cbe1bb&msa=0&ll=47.224931,-1.501007&spn=0.125206,0.338173">http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=216695735696671489283.0004a85f9d12da4cbe1bb&msa=0&ll=47.224931,-1.501007&spn=0.125206,0.338173</a><br />
<br />
Here are some pictures from last time I was in Nantes!<br />
<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwZhV2L5l814JS9Atiqs505YRbjq0E_ddVj4O_le3YSQyLorfG-BDqmoqVkGqN-DsKkaftvEPNQ6pdVcNAtKKrfuLkwo3hTOhUc5zlJvJjKQef1xWdLwTfO8qacgulSU1VvF0nvEwFOr6J/s1600/IMG_2234.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwZhV2L5l814JS9Atiqs505YRbjq0E_ddVj4O_le3YSQyLorfG-BDqmoqVkGqN-DsKkaftvEPNQ6pdVcNAtKKrfuLkwo3hTOhUc5zlJvJjKQef1xWdLwTfO8qacgulSU1VvF0nvEwFOr6J/s320/IMG_2234.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>nicolekt88http://www.blogger.com/profile/16022046433759939530noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-663329421988457886.post-58229317494386494672011-07-05T21:47:00.000-05:002011-07-05T21:47:01.862-05:00Still WaitingApproximately 2.5 months left until I am in France!<br />
<br />
This is my third week teaching summer school and with having to plan and teach two 2.5 hour classes each day, all I can think about is going to France in the Fall. I'm definitely looking forward to my 12 hours a week schedule after all these hours in summer school.<br />
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Unfortunately, I still have no idea what city/town I'll be teaching in. Assistants in most other academies have begun getting their work contracts, but no one in Nantes so far. A few people have gotten letters or email saying what city they're in. Not me. I am getting so anxious! It's really all I can think about, especially at school. I've even been having nightmares about being placed in the middle of nowhere. I just want to know!! The good news is I'll definitely find out by August 15th. The bad news is that's still over a month away. I will just have to try to be patient! It's difficult when so many other people are finding out, but I know I will eventually. nicolekt88http://www.blogger.com/profile/16022046433759939530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-663329421988457886.post-49543899565959362962011-04-26T15:26:00.000-05:002011-04-26T15:26:31.650-05:00Paperwork and Logistics, Oh La La!I am have now arrived at the "pain in the butt" part of preparing to go to France next year. I had heard the paperwork was annoying, but I can definitely tell that I will be staying quite busy the next few months. TAPIF assistants received directions to fill out 4 copies of a form that our academies will use to get us work contracts so that we can legally work in France. Once the work contracts are sent to us over the summer, we will be able to apply for long-stay visas so that we can legally work and live in France for up to 12 months. The part that is annoying about all this is that they recommend that we book a visa appointment with the consulate soon and it is supposed to be at least a month before we plan on leaving so that we ensure our visas arrive before we are set to leave. However, you can't get a visa without the work contract and I have NO idea when they will send me the work contract. Apparently it is sometime between June and August. I'm just going to have to book mine for earlyish August and hope my contract arrives before then.<br />
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Also, since we don't know when the visas will arrive, the program recommends that we refrain from buying plane tickets until we at least have the work contracts. I know that is probably the safe thing to do, but it made me nervous waiting so long to buy it when the prices could go up a ton. Therefore, I ignored the recommendation of the program and went ahead and bought my tickets. I will be leaving for France September 26th and returning December 17th for Christmas break. Since we are supposed to start teaching October 1st, I'm not terribly worried about the visa not coming in time. I think the date I picked is late enough in September that it won't be a problem. There is also a lot I need to do when I get there (find a place to live, open a bank account, etc.) so I want to make sure I have a few days to settle in before I begin work. It definitely feels good to have at least one thing all figured out! A lot of other assistants seem to be buying their plane tickets now as well so I do not foresee any issues. <br />
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For anyone who plans on visiting me next year, here are the breaks I have: <br />
<ol><li>October 22 - November 2 </li>
<li>December 17 - January 3 (I will be coming home for Christmas) </li>
<li>February 11 - February 26</li>
<li>April 7 - April 22</li>
<li>April 30 (my last day) - </li>
</ol>There are some of the places I want to visit: <br />
<ul><li>Ireland</li>
<li>Scotland</li>
<li>Spain</li>
<li>Portugal</li>
<li>Morocco</li>
<li>Egypt</li>
<li>Many places in France!!! </li>
</ul>If you plan on visiting, start thinking about when you might like to come and where you might like to go.nicolekt88http://www.blogger.com/profile/16022046433759939530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-663329421988457886.post-89446126613495012782011-04-06T10:04:00.002-05:002011-07-24T19:22:42.050-05:00I'm Back!Since I will soon be going to France again, I thought I'd start getting in the habit of blogging so that my friends can see what I'm up to in the land of crepes, chateaux, and strikes. No, I am not going until October... but you can't blame me for being excited and starting a few [read: 6] months ahead.<br />
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Some of my more loyal followers may realize this isn't the same blog I had last time. Though I would have liked to continue where I left off after I studied abroad, I somehow got locked out of my account so c'est impossible.<br />
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<div class="MsoNormal">I just got accepted to be a teaching assistant in France, which means that I will spend 12 hours a week, for 7 months, teaching English lessons to French high school students. Admittedly, 12 hours a week does not seem like much, but it will give me plenty of time to explore the town and travel a lot. I will be teaching in the Académie de Nantes, which is where I studied abroad. French académies are very large, however, so I will not necessarily be teaching in the city of Nantes. French school districts cover large regions and there are many positions in smaller cities and towns in the region. I will not find out exactly what town I'll be in until this summer, so I could really be anywhere in the district. I've heard horror stories of assistants getting placed in tiny rural towns in the middle of nowhere with no form of transportation and no other assistants. I'd prefer being in a city, but I do think being placed in a smaller town would make the experience more authentic. I wouldn't mind it as long as there is at least one more assistant and decent transportation. No matter what, I will still be in France! </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I also discovered that this 7 month period includes many different breaks. There is a 2 week break at the end of October, 2 weeks for Christmas, 2 weeks around February, and 2 weeks in April! Plan your visits accordingly. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><br />
</span> </div>nicolekt88http://www.blogger.com/profile/16022046433759939530noreply@blogger.com0