Day Trip: Versailles

Yesterday I took a day trip to Versailles with some of the other assistants, where we also met up with an old friend of mine (we hadn't seen each other since summer camp in high school!). I visited Versailles during my semester in Nantes, but that trip was in November which meant it was cold, gray and way too unpleasant for visiting the gardens. I was happy to get a second chance to go this year during springtime, which turned out to be a really good decision. We enjoyed the main chateau as well as Marie Antoinette's house, but the best part of the day was walking around the gardens, lunching at an outdoor cafe, and lounging by the lake eating ice cream.

~ Me, Sophia, Haidee, Yirah, and Sarah at the entrance ~

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~ Hall of Mirrors ~

~ Queen's bedroom wallpaper ~

~ View of the chateau from the gardens ~

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~ Gardens in the Grand Trianon ~

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~ Temple de l'Amour ~

Paris Visit #4

Last weekend I took another day trip to Paris, this time with Sarah, Yirah, and Matteo. We went to a part of Paris I haven't been to before, where we visited the Natural History Museum and took a long afternoon walk. The museum was impressive, and the rest of the day was sunny and perfect for a meandering stroll through the Jardin du Luxembourg, past the Pantheon, and finishing up by the Seine.

~ Inside the Natural History Museum ~

~ Fish! ~

  

~ Chillin ~

~ Pantheon in Paris ~

~ Jardin du Luxembourg ~

~ Springtime at Notre Dame ~

Amiens: Boat Tour

My last day in Amiens, I wandered into the tourist office with two other assistants from Saint-Quentin. When we asked for some recommendations of things to do in the city, one suggestion we received was to take a boat tour through one of the city’s parks, the Parc Saint-Pierre. We decided it sounded like a fun thing to do, and it ended up being my highlight from the whole trip!

We managed to find the ticket office in the park and reserved three spots for an afternoon tour. We boarded what seemed like a large canoe with a motor (I don’t know boat terminology), where we joined about eight other passengers plus the guide. The tour took us meandering through the park’s small canals, past flower gardens, houses’ backyards, and through tunnels of trees where it was easy to forget we were in the middle of a large city.  There were a ton of ducks that were highly amusing to watch, and the natural scenery was beautiful.

I couldn’t follow everything that our French guide said, but I got the impression that we were traversing an area known for its biodiversity and impressive man-made islands. My favorite moment was near the end of the tour. We rounded a corner into a broad body of water and could suddenly see the Amiens Cathedral in the distance, just visible above the trees and water (I snapped a photo, the last one below). The rest of the city was hidden, so it looked like there was an isolated cathedral in the middle of a lush landscape.

~ Just around the river bend... ~

~ Ducks! ~

~ Lovely flowers ~

~ Sarah, Haidee, and me on the boat ~

~ Cathedral in the distance ~

Parc des Champs Elysees

Though I still have quite a bit of exploring to do in Saint-Quentin, I did visit a few sites this weekend. One of these was the Parc des Champs Elysees, a nice sized park in the middle of town conveniently located between my school and the city center. It's a peaceful area with several paths, a playground, tennis courts, and flowers and trees throughout. I'm glad I took my camera since I doubt the flowers will stick around as the weather gets colder! There's even an old stone ruin, tucked away in the park's Jardin d'Horticulture, that I believe is left over from when the Romans controlled France.

~ Border of the park ~

~ One of several tree avenues ~

~ "Horticulture Garden" ~

~ More flowers ~

 ~ Love all the purple! ~

 ~ Visitor's Center ~

~ Roman (I think) ruins ~