To Be Erasmus

Oh, to be erasmus. That's what Parisians call exchange students, and practically speaking it means we get the chance to participate in some pretty cool things (also, significantly lower or free entrance rates!). There's a company here that designs trips especially for students who want to see more of France on a budget, which is what I did this past weekend. I was so fortunate to have a wonderful group to travel with and fantastic weather all weekend (between about 18 and 24 for both days). Without further ado, here's some highlights...

First stop: Rouen

Pan de bois (wood and earth) houses, which Rouen is famous for.

This is the site where Joan of Arc was burned at the stake.

And here's where she was held prisoner before her execution.

Part of the daily market. It smelled so good there!

Yep, that's a slice of chocolate pie. Delicious.

Clock in the middle of town.

La cathédral de Notre-Dame de l'Assomption de Rouen. Equally as impressive as Notre-Dame de Paris, in my opinion. I have no idea how they were able to carve such delicate pieces out of stone, but the whole cathedral was so intricately carved. There was just so much to look at.

Going inside. Look at how thin the stone work is, and then think about the hundreds of years it's been there. Crazy isn't it?

The front left side of the cathedral. There was restoration work being done on the other side, which seems to be a constant thing in Europe.

Next stop: Honfleur

This is where Samuel de Champlain left to go explore the New World. Most explorers and early settlers left from Honfleur, actually, which was pretty neat to think about. I was just thinking of Mom most of the time we were there because it reminded me so much of some of the small towns in Nova Scotia. Also, the apple cider from this region is fantastic if you ever get a chance to try some.

Walking along the pier.

Such great people!

The church. Once you're inside the ceiling looks like a flipped over boat, which I guess is fitting for a maritime town.

More from the waterfront :)

 And then there was Deauville...

Probably the highlight of the day because who gets to eat ice cream on the beach in France at the beginning of March. I mean, really. It was so cool!

Mmm. Waffle cones are the norm, apparently!

There were so many sailboats

Let's be honest, the water was absolutely frigid. But who goes to the beach and doesn't test out the water?

This is where Coco Chanel's first shop was. It's just a small part of the street that's now full of designer shops.

More of the traditional style houses. A bit different looking than the ones in Rouen, but built with the same materials.

Getting closer to sunset, but we left before then for our hotel.

We stayed the night in Caen, which looked like a pretty average town based on my Canadian standards. The town was almost completely destroyed during the Second World War, so that's why the architecture is so familiar. Things were rebuilt for utility rather than beauty. We checked into the hotel, ate dinner, slept, and then left the next morning.

Sunday we spent at Mont Saint Michel. For anyone planning on visiting France, you should add this place to your list of things to see. Really. It was incredible!

Basically this is an abbey built on a massive rock that sticks up out of the salt flats/flood plains. I have no idea how they would have managed to build this... the sandy areas all around it are accessible only if you take a guided tour because there's so much quick sand. People who would go on a pilgrimage to Mont Saint Michel had to make it through the quick sand and changing tides. If they died along the way, which a lot of people did, it was the general consensus that they weren't good Christians so that's why they died. Luckily now there's a road with shuttle buses that got us there quite safely.

Here's the far away view from the bus.

Us and our group of friends from church. It was so nice to be able to get to know all these people better!

The streets were pretty tiny, but there was lots to see!

Inside the church.

View of the Abbey from the street.

There was just so much empty space there. So refreshing, especially for those of us who were getting a little tired of city life

Some of the watch towers along the wall.

Courtyard in the abbey

And some of the gardens. I was actually surprised at the amount of greenery there given how small the island is.

So that was our trip! Coming back to Paris took longer than expected since so many people had gone out of the city to enjoy the nice weather. After all that sunshine, fresh air and walking we were all pretty tired out for the ride home so most people ended up sleeping for a bit at least. All in all I couldn't have asked for a better weekend and I'm so glad to have had the opportunity to go on this trip!