Vacances de Noel

My second of three 2-week vacations begins this weekend! This one is the Christmas break (not to be confused with the winter break in February). I'll be taking two trips: the first to Istanbul (I did my best to find a non-Christian country where I could do tourist-y things during Christmas), and the second to Paris and Strasbourg with my friend Sean. I'm really excited about the trips: Istanbul and Strasbourg are both places I've wanted to visit for a long time.

~ Map of my travels ~

Saint-Quentin - Istanbul, Saint-Quentin - Paris - Strasbourg

Happy holidays everyone--see you in 2014!

*map from Google

Day Trip: Compiègne

A few weeks ago, Sarah and I took a leisurely day trip to Compiegne, a town about halfway between Saint-Quentin and Paris.  After a relaxing lunch of mushroom omelets, fries, and salad, we wandered to the Chateau de Compiegne. The chateau is a Versailles-like palace that is wrapped up in Louis XVI and Napoleon history; it was very grand and beautiful, with large gardens to explore as well.  The rest of our trip was taken up with wandering around the city's charming downtown and a stop at the Christmas market where we indulged in some freshly made churros.

~ Where we had lunch, decked out for the holidays ~

~ Marble map of France in the chateau ~

~ For a casual, intimate dining experience ~

~ Amazing trompe l'oeil painting ~

~ I wish you could still buy this kind of chair ~

~ Awesome library and pretty cabinet ~

~ Flower room ~

~ Gardens ~

~ Town Hall and Christmas market ~

Winter in Saint-Quentin

Towns across France have been getting in the holiday spirit lately with Christmas music in every store and festive lights on every street.  I've been enjoying the Christmas markets (Marches de Noel) here -- I went to the markets in Nantes and Paris during my semester abroad, and this year I've visited those in Lille, Compiegne, and of course Saint-Quentin.

Maybe I'm biased, but I like the market in Saint-Quentin the best of all the ones I've visited. Like in other markets, there are many small chalets selling Christmas trinkets, food, and other items.  Here, though, there's less to buy and more to do: the market includes an ice skating rink, sledding hill, mini zoo, and a whole section of the square set up with snow-encrusted pine trees decorated with candy ornaments (very Willy Wonka-esque).

I've been to the market several times in the past few weeks with other assistants--we've enjoyed skating, sledding, and the occasional vin chaud (mulled wine) in the market's large and impressive tavern. I'll be sad to see the market go after vacation ends in January!

~ Christmas tree on the market's edge ~

~ Hotel de Ville seen through a ceiling of lights over the market ~

~ Crepes, waffles, and other chocolate treats ~

~ Candy-covered trees ~

~ Inside the heated tavern ~

~ Lights leading to the market ~

Hunger Games: L'embrasement

I’m a big fan of The Hunger Games series, as are many of the assistants, so we were determined to see the new movie when it came out. In Saint-Quentin there are very few foreign films offered in their original version. We resigned ourselves to watching the film with French dubbing, and resolved that if we understood nothing, we could always go to Paris where we’d be likely to find a theater showing original English movies.

To my extreme surprise, the trip to Paris doesn’t seem necessary. I understood almost all of the dialogue (it helped that I’ve read the books, too), and while I’m certain to see the original version when I get home, I managed to thoroughly enjoy seeing the movie here.

~ The French movie poster ~

(image credit: http://www.tribute.ca/movies/posters/hunger-games-lembrasement/37415/)

Weekend Trip: Lille

Early in December I took a weekend trip to Lille, one of the largest cities in France and about an hour north of Saint-Quentin. As a result of being so near to Belgium, Lille’s Flemish architecture gives it a different feel from other towns in northern France.  I liked the look and atmosphere of the city: the wider streets and colorful buildings were more welcoming and cozy than the austere stone and gothic architecture of other regions.

We began our trip by visiting the birthplace of Charles de Gaulle.  This included a walking tour of the house where he grew up, as well as an exhibit about Franco-German relations over the years. The house was quite nice, but the exhibit was the most fascinating part of the experience.

After a leisurely lunch (during which, when I ordered a coffee with my main dish, the waiter stared at me and asked incredulously “at the SAME TIME?!”), we went to the Lille art museum, one of the best in the north of France.  The museum was in a lovely building and had a good variety in its collection, including some impressive Impressionist pieces, a long gallery of porcelain, and a Rodin among the sculptures.

In the evening we visited Lille’s Christmas market. It was extremely crowded but very festive—I indulged in vin chaud (mulled wine), a gauffre (perfectly crispy waffle) with nutella, and a cheesy pretzel for dinner. We also rode the market’s Ferris wheel, which was much faster than a regular Ferris wheel and gave us a cool view of the city at night.

~ Colorful Flemish buildings ~

~ Inside Charles de Gaulle's house ~

~ Lille art museum ~

~ Sculptures ~

~ Van Gogh ~

~ Christmas market and view from the Ferris wheel ~

Happy Chanukah!

Happy Chanukah! The holiday is winding down and I’ve been diligently “lighting” the candles on my family’s velcro menorah (sent to me by my parents, along with some presents and dreidels) since Wednesday. Chanukah’s not a huge deal but I’ve been trying to acknowledge it, especially since I’m in a town that has upwards of 60 Jewish inhabitants. In addition to menorah-ing and presents-ing, I indulged in some Chanukah cookies (seen here). I’m already looking forward to lighting a real menorah again next year.

~ Chanukah lights, circa freshman year of college, decorating my window ~

~ Presents imported from the States ~

~ Dreidel cookies! ~

~ Makeshift menorah ~