Fecamp, Etretat and more

Bonjour!

It has been a little while since my last post so I will try to catch you up to speed. Last week my friends and I experienced the magic of L'as Du Falafel. That's right,  le Marais's wold famous falafel spot in the heart of the historic Jewish area. It was delicious and has made it on to our list of places to revisit. 

My art history class went back to the Louvre on Thursday to learn more about the early French painters. Our prof is an energetic and brilliant man who moves rather fast - both in terms of art history material and physically throughout the gallery rooms so keeping up with him is a task to say the least! 

On Friday a bunch of my friends and I decided to make the most of our day-off and go to Bercy Village in the 12eme. It is an adorable small town near a huge park which we plan to explore in warmer spring weather. There were cute little cafes and shops including a pet store where we stared at the puppies for far too long! We enjoyed a great lunch at a famous spot for watching rugby matches so I guess we'll have to go back if France continues to advance through the rounds. 

For Saturday our abroad program planned a "mystery tour." All we knew was that we had to meet at Gare Saint Lazare at 7:15 am (which required a 5:45am wake up call!). We arrived, coke lights in hand, and met up with the rest of the kids eager to find out where we were going. The advisers handed us our mission packets and next thing we knew we were on the train to Normandy! Pulling into the Breaute-Beuzeville station a few hours later, we got on the bus and drove to Fecamp. Situated on the Albatre coastline of the English channel, the town of Fecamp is a famous Seine-Maritime region that has long beaches with beautiful rocks, not sand, and many nautical activities throughout the year. My friends and I decided to escape the cold and go to the Terra-Neuvas Fishing Museum which houses many Newfoundland fishing-boats and explains the endeavors of the seamen of Fecamp. Our guide was an adorable old man who struggled to explain some things in English so we helped him by playing a little game of "guess that word" and mini charades- in the end it worked out pretty well. I certainly have a new level of respect for the life of a fisherman and the cod I love to eat! After an interesting "local" style meal of incredibly fresh fish, we got back on the bus and headed to Etretat. Best known for its cliffs, including a famous natural arch, Etretat attracted artists including Eugene Boudin, Gustave Courbet, and Claude Monet. If any of you have seen the movie The Goonies, the rock arch looks a lot like the rock arch that is part of their hunt for a pirate's treasure! Braving the winds, we hiked up one of the cliffs to get a view of the water and town below. As I held out my camera to capture the sights, I really thought the wind would blow me off the edge- but as you can tell, I am safe and sound! After slowly making our way down, we explored the town and then got back on the bus to catch the train home to Paris. It was a long and chilly day but such an incredible trip. It was so great to get out of Paris and experience another aspect of French culture that was anything but touristy. 

This weekend I had the pleasure of having two friends from Wisconsin who are studying in London come to visit. We went to a fabulous little place called Refuge du Fondue near Sacre Coeur that serves only their famous cheese fondue and red or white wine...out of baby bottles. Yes, thats right. It was an interesting place and definitely a night to remember with great friends. 

This morning one of my roommates and I experienced our local Lavarie for the first time and successfully did laundry! The directions were a little confusing but we figured it out. We were definitely a funny sight- the two of us walking down the street carrying out laundry bags like Santa Clause sacks on our backs. 

That's all for now- hope you like the pictures!

Bises,

Lauren Jill