Bonjour! Wow! What an eventful week!
Thursday marked my very first Thanksgiving away from my family and although I missed out on family dinner, Black Friday shopping, and getting a Christmas tree, I still had an enjoyable celebration here in Liverpool!
The Americans and International Advisors here on campus got together to make a big Thanksgiving feast for our international friends to show them our culture. We had everything from Turkey and stuffing, to Apple and Pumpkin pie, and everyone seemed to have a good time.
Over the weekend, I travelled with a few of my friends to the beautiful city of Paris. We flew in on Friday evening and left Sunday evening. On Saturday, we visited Notre Dame, the Lourve, the Panthéon, the Palace of Luxembourg, the Arc de Triomphe, and Montparnasse Tower. Of these, we decided to go inside the Lourve, and the Montparnasse Tower. Visiting the Lourve was a very overwhelming, yet brilliant experience, considering there are so many artifacts (approximately 38,000). Not only were the artifacts and paintings fascinating, the architecture of the building was itself something to marvel over.
In the evening we visited the Montparnasse Tower, which has an observation deck and a rooftop viewing area of the city. The rooftop is the 59th floor, which puts you up in the air 689ft (210 meters). The views were absolutely stunning; no picture on any camera could do it justice.
On Sunday we visited Moulin Rouge, Sacré Cœur, the Montmartre cemetery, and the Eiffel Tower. Sacré Cœur Basilica is a Roman Catholic church located at the summit of the highest point in Paris; butte Montmartre. Just by pure luck, we went on a Sunday morning and were able to catch a little bit of a service while touring the church. I was very moved by the experience, from the beautiful sounds of the music, to the high ceilings, I found myself almost moved tears. Afterwards, we enjoyed a lovely view from the summit (and the numerous amount of stairs back down the summit). Another amazing part of the day was getting to see the Eiffel Tower, in near perfect weather.
Throughout the weekend, I was able to try some really great food; crêpes, crème brûlée, macaroons, French cheese, and a chocolate croissant (pain au chocolat). I was definitely not sad to have crêpes three times throughout the weekend! :)
Compared to Amsterdam, the people of Paris use their native language a lot more than English. I enjoyed this language barrier because it let me challenge myself to step outside of my comfort zone and have a little bit of fun! Before I came to Liverpool, I was able to study a little bit of French on my own, and I am very glad that I did. I was able to pick items off of a menu that I liked, and was even able to translate a few stops on the Subway. Also, it made me really think about what my international friends must be going through in Liverpool.
Merci and Au revoir!
Michaela
