The third part of the saga, for your enjoyment:
Well, quite a lot has happened since my last report. To begin with, I took my first weekend trip outside of Paris! Two of my friends and I took the train to Bordeaux for the weekend. It was so much fun! I’ve discovered that I really like taking the train. I don’t particularly like to fly, nor do I like to drive for long periods of time (not on my own, at least). So, having now ridden the train a few times, I’ve decided that it may just be the perfect method of transportation. The train trip to Bordeaux took about three hours. We left around eight o’clock Friday morning, which meant that I had to be up much earlier than usual. But on the bright side, I’ve never had so little trouble finding a seat on the métro!
After we got to Bordeaux and found our hostel (which was really more like a hotel), we walked around the city. It had been raining in Paris for the last week, and Bordeaux was no different. Fortunately, the rain was more like a sprinkle that day, so we were still able to explore quite a bit of the old city. That night, we walked around until we found a quiet little restaurant called Tio Pepe. It was a Basque restaurant, and we had a lovely three-course dinner, complete with wine from the region. It was a really wonderful evening.
Saturday afternoon, we went on a group tour of the Saint-Emilion region, which is part of the wine country surrounding the city of Bordeaux. Our experience included a winery tour, wine tasting, and a tour of the local village. The way that this particular winery makes its wine is fascinating to me. They don’t actually crush their grapes; they just raise their temperature and allow the natural yeast of the grapes to open them. The little village was equally fascinating, home to an underground church that we were able to visit. I could have spent days exploring that little village alone.
After returning to Bordeaux, we found a spot for dinner and then walked around the city for a while—a particularly enjoyable experience since the sky had finally consented to stop crying. Bordeaux is really beautiful at night, particularly when viewed from the bridge that connects the two banks of the city (there’s a river that runs right through the middle, separating the old part from the modern one). All the lights made it look a little something like a fairy tale.
Sunday was a short day of sightseeing because we had to catch our train back to Paris, but we made the most of the time we had by exploring the side of the city that we hadn’t had a chance to see yet. Bordeaux is filled with beautiful churches and statues, little gems of which we found quite a few simply by strolling around the city.
Back in Paris, I had the last week of my language practicum and started my “real” classes for the semester. So far, I’ve attended my French language class, my Paris literature class, and my “Women in 20th Century France” class. They all seem exceptional, with professors who seem genuinely interested in what they’re teaching, and in getting the students interested in it too. Tomorrow I have my other class, Histories of Paris. The most wonderful thing about my classes is that they all involve study of the place that I’m living. It’s a remarkable thing to study a book that was written in and set in Paris, while actually being in Paris and able to visit the places described by the author. It makes school a lot more interesting and exciting when you’re studying something you visited yesterday, or, in the case of the Bastille, something you can see when you step outside your door.
Thanks for all the good wishes you all are sending my way. It really warms my heart to know that you’re thinking of me. I’m thinking of you too!