Daytrip- le norrrrrd

So yesterday was one of those days! We were off on a coach trip to France for the day, visiting Montreuil and Le Touquet (for the 5 millionth time) and we set the wrong alarm time. Cue frantic dashing up the road and being there two seconds before the coach arrived. And if that wasn't enough, there was a woman behind who was talking at the top of her voice about everything under the sun, including an acrimonious divorce, the age of her cat and how she broke her toe (which we later heard about 3 more times). Needless to say, if you know me well, we told her to zip it. So that was kind of that.

The town ramparts, don't look down!

Montreuil is a fortified town in the Nord Pas de Calais and somewhere I'd never visited before. It's connected to both World Wars; there's a fountain commemorating General Haig for creating the Anglo-French friendship (the town was the British army headquarters!) and a memorial to those that fell in the second. It was a lovely town, quite small, and we spent our time there wandering along the town wall and dawdling through the little cobbled streets, where mum insisted I ask a shopkeeper for a magnet.It was also super warm. I spoke entirely in French to the waitress at the bar, and even made her laugh. Hopefully not at me.

One of the little streets

One of the coach group was late back so there was a lot of grumbling but we eventually made it to Le Touquet for the rest of the day. I've been to le Touquet at least 5 times and mum's been twice, so we weren't really fussed about seeing everything. Mum bought some fish paste (ew), another fridge magnet, and a chocolate cat lolly for my sister (she's 32). Then it was time for dinner. We went back to a restaurant I'd been to on a school trip, where I'd had mussels with my French teacher. Second time around, they didn't disappoint.

Me and my moules

We had some ice cream on the seafront and watched the sun begin to set. It was such a lovely evening! The journey home was awful though. We had to get a late euro shuttle back so it was gone 9pm english time before we were boarded. And then, it got stuck. The power went out not long before we were about to arrive! Apparently there was some sort of signal failure on the England side and we were now the last train for hours. Oh god.

Mother and I squinting

Then, oh yes there's more, there were two motorway diversions. We didn't get back to Chelmsford until at least 1.30am. Crikey. Apart from that, it was a good trip and it's actually made me feel more confident r.e moving to Paris; I hadn't spoken French properly all summer until yesterday, so it was a good test run!

Only a couple of weeks away now....

Paris Bucket List

Moving to Paris is not far away now, eek, so it's probably time to actually start thinking about it. I've been to Paris before, in high school, and saw most of the sights but I didn't really enjoy myself because of blah blah blah so this time I'm going to really try and see the city properly.

Me in Paris in 2008, bloody hell!

I've attempted a bucket list and hopefully I'll get at least 50% done!

• buy a book from Shakespeare and Company bookshop
• revisit Musée d'Orsay (last time I was drunk, don't ask)
• see a film at la Pagode (I wonder if they have salty popcorn) they didn't :( BUT they supplied fleecy blankets
• take a tour of les Catacombes
• revisit the Louvre (last time I spent two hours looking for the Mona Lisa)
• light a candle for my Nan's birthday at Sacre-Coeur Basilica
• climb to the top of Notre Dame and pretend I'm a gargoyle
• watch a ballet, preferably Sleeping Beauty, at Palais Garnier (keep dreaming) I've been inside, just not to a performance
• go to the Chanel shop and drool over handbags
• buy a watercolour of the Eiffel Tower (if I can find that man who was selling them...) It's oil but it counts, ok
• watch a fashion show at Galeries Lafayette
• stand where royal blood was spilled at Place de la Concorde
• visit Marché aux Puces and buy something intriguing
• go to la Conciergerie and have a butchers at Marie Antoinette's cell
• attempt a Vélib ride along the Seine (should be...interesting) wasn't possible!
• have a coffee in Café des Moulins, the one from Amelié (which you've all seen, I know)
• actually try a macaroon
• take a cheesy photo on Pont Neuf
• visit Monet's gardens in Giverny and find inspiration to do...something I CAN'T THEY CLOSED ON 1ST NOVEMBER :(
• 'woah, wow' at Palace of Versailles
• have a fancy meal with my best friend for my 21st (we met in Paris, bezzer 4 lyf)

x

The Beginning!

 

Yo, I'm Kirsty, I'm 20 and I am about to start my Year Abroad!

I fly to Paris on the 10th September, where I'll study translation at ISIT until January. Then I'm off to Berlin for a 6 month internship with a small translation agency.

It's going to be amazing, but if you know me, you'll know I'm more worried than Melman from Madagascar.

A (relatively) recent one of me in a forest, in Sweden. Hej!

It's been a stressful few months of preparation and I only found out last month about the internship- which I am over the moon about! I booked my flight to gay Par-ee yesterday and now the biggest thing left on my list is to buy some insurance. I've purchased a suitcase that's almost as big as me, I've photocopied important stuff about a hundred times, I've filled a plastic folder with sheets of bureaucracy, and, perhaps most importantly, I've bought a pug duvet for my room in Paris. I think I'm physically quite ready, in other ways probably not!

Here, I'll keep record of my continental frolics, just to remind myself really! If anyone does actually read this, ha ha, I hope you enjoy it!