Heaven

While growing up in church, one of the first things I learned about heaven was that it was a place of rest. And I still believe that to be a fair description of the heaven above (after all, what else could it be?), but if there was one on earth, St-Brieuc would have to be pretty damn close. For those only think France = Paris, here's where I am:



And this is a bit of what it looks like (the background, not me):



I say it's heaven (or at least heaven-like) not because it has cheesily-gorgeous scenery, but because I feel as if I've finally found my respite. Paris was fun, but exhausting. And I don't know if it's b/c I'm getting older, but being in a hostel seemed to have lost its novelty. It was getting annoying, frankly, to be woken up in the middle of night by drunken hostelmates and heading to the bathroom to change b/c there were boys in the room.

So when I arrived in St-Brieuc (pronounced seine-bree-ooh) on Sunday afternoon after a pretty hellish train ride (courtesy of my oversized baggage), I was ready for some R&R. Fortunately, my contact teacher, Bronwen, and her husband Jean-Jacques, were waiting for me on the platform and helped me with the luggage. They brought me back to their place where I am currently staying indefinitely until I find my own place. This is what it looks like:






Basically, it's the cutest stinking place I've ever been in. I'll need to take pictures of the other houses around here, they are just charming beyond belief. It actually looks more like an Irish countryside (or at least how I imagine it to be) than "typical" France. One thing is for sure: hardly anyone speaks English. But they at least seem friendlier than Parisiens when I stumble through my French. Heh.

P.S. This morning, I got woken up by a rooster. An actual rooster. I chuckled.. then fell back asleep. O, what a heaven..

Le point de vue, c'est ça..

Everybody looks at cities differently. Some look for the bustling city vibe, others the architecture, some for the food, and others for love. Mine is for the views. Is there anything more marvelous than finishing a day in Paris with a sunset atop the Arc de Triomphe?




I finally run into my fellow abroad mate, Kelsey, at our hostel and we headed off into the city together, running from metro stop to metro stop, climbing a bajillion staircases (no exaggeration- we went to the Sacre Coeur, La Grande Arche, top of Arc de Triomphe + metro steps) and wandering through the small corners of the city. Unfortunately, all the shots I took up until the above photos were corrupt and thus un-uploadable. Tsk.. well, at least it's not the last of me and Paris. I still have another day, in which I hope to meet up my host brother from Montpellier, Alexis, and my other abroad mate, Kingsley. Plus, I'll be only a three-hour train ride away for 8 months :)

Changing your point of view changes everything. Really..

Paris, encore une fois

Paris! Je suis arrivée!

It was a surprisingly smooth journey from ATL to CDG. Despite a brief hiccup in Toronto (where I somehow missed the international customs line and almost headed straight out of the airport), I arrived in one piece.

I took Paris Shuttle (www.parishuttle.com) and it was so worth the 25 euros. Dragging my luggage through the metro is a nightmare I never want to occur!

I don't have much to report now, since I just got to my hostel and they won't let me check-in until 2 p.m. (currently 1:30 p.m.) And I certainly don't have any pics to post (unless you really want to see test pics of my feet.) But for the sake of blog art, here's a few recycled photos from two years ago.

Ciao!