Hello again, everyone!

 

I know it has been a long time since I’ve shared my stories with you, but I hope you haven’t forgotten about me! I miss you all so much, despite all my fun adventures around Europe.

 

So, we’ve got some catching up to do. I just got back from a trip to Barcelona, and a couple of weeks ago I went east on spring break to Berlin, Prague, Budapest, Munich, and Strasbourg. Tonight I’ll email you about my trips to Brussels and other random things I’ve done, but stay tuned because I’ll email again soon about my spring break trip and Barcelona!

 

Brussels (Jan 30-Feb 1)

I took my first weekend trip with Chris, another exchange student at CERAM from California. We decided to go to Brussels for no better reason than a cheap direct flight from Nice, but it was definitely a great place to visit. We stayed in a pretty nice hostel – actually Van Gogh used to work in the same building! My favorite thing in Brussels was the Fine Arts Museum, where I spent hours and got to see David’s Death of Marat, one of my favorite paintings ever. The museum also featured Dutch artists like Bruegels, Van Dyck, Rubens, and my personal favorite Hieronymous Bosch.

               Perhaps more importantly, the food in Belgium was incredible. When I wasn’t eating a gaufre (waffle) on the street with a crunchy sugary filling, I was snacking on “French” fries or sampling chocolates. But I also ate real meals, like moules-frites (yum!) and Flemish beef stew. Not to mention all the beer I drank that weekend, and I don’t even like beer! I drank Kriek, an authentic Belgian girly-beer which tasted just like cherry soda, at a bar which holds the Guinness World Record for serving the most kinds of beers – over 2000! I didn’t mind drinking it even though I found out that Belgian beer is apparently so good because of the bacteria in the sewer water that runs under the city.

               Other attractions – I walked around the Grand Place square taking in the beautiful architecture, and I saw Mannekin Pis, a statue of a peeing boy which has many legends behind it, and often wears elaborate costumes with a convenient hole. I saw him bare, but was able to catch a glimpse of many of the costumes he’s worn at the National Museum. I also went to the Comic Strip Museum, so you can be jealous that I learned all about the Smurfs in their home country. I saw the business district of the city too, seeking out the EU headquarters and European Parliament buildings. I also saw the Atomium, which was a large statue built for the 1958 World’s Fair, showing a unit cell of an iron crystal magnified 165 billion times.

               I wasn’t expecting much from Brussels, but it turned out to be an amazing trip, and I was even able to speak French there (though they also speak Dutch). I’d like to return to Brussels for some more waffles, but next time I’ll venture out to the beautiful city of Bruges too.

 

Festivals: Games, Lemons, Mimosas, and the Nice Carnaval

               February was a month of festivals in France. I went the Cannes Festival des Jeux, which was held in the same building as the red carpet and recommended by my French professor. It was just as it’s called: a festival of games. I was just a spectator, but if I wanted I could have played any kind of game I wanted; they had everything from Mahjong to Guitar Hero, as well as new games they were testing out. It attracted a very fun crowd, young and old. I also went to the Festival du Citron in Menton (on the France-Italy border, about an hour by train), where there was a huge parade of floats made completely from lemons and oranges. I had some very sour lemonade here.

Before I go further, let me clarify that mimosas are more than a delicious cocktail; a mimosa is also a beautiful yellow flower that blooms in winter in the south of France (after being imported from Australia) and is used to make perfumes. I didn’t make it to the Mimosa Festival in Mandelieu-La Napoule, but I went on a tour (in French) which guided us through the Massif du Tanneron (hills which include the largest mimosa forest in Europe) and to a perfume factory in Grasse.

Last but not least, the Nice Carnaval is one of the Riveria’s biggest events (along with the Cannes Film Festival and the Grand Prix). You can’t walk along the Promenade des Anglais or go to Place Massena during this 3-week festival without getting completely covered in silly string and confetti.  I went to one of the nighttime parades and saw the very bizarre and monster-size floats making their way through the streets, with crowds of people (adults and kids alike!) getting into silly string wars. The litter at the end of the night was ridiculous, but even I think it was worth it for that much fun.

 

Private Plane Ride

One last thing before I let you go: Because CERAM has an aerospace engineering major, I was able to find a student (a licensed pilot though) to take me on a private flight for a small fee. I say private because it was just me and him, but no one else would have fit on the 2-seater plane! So, as co-pilot, I was able to take control for a little while. We had a lot of fun up in the air and spoke French the whole time, not to mention the beautiful view of Cannes and the Riviera, flying from the Cannes-Mandelieu airport to Fréjus and back. It was definitely the most exhilarating experience yet – it even beats that first time I went sailing on the Mediterranean. I’ve been on the water, over the water, and now since it’s getting warmer outside, I can’t wait to get IN the water!

 

Well, that’s enough of my adventures for now… Oh yeah, I should probably mention my classes so you guys keep thinking I’m a good student! Haha just kidding, I’ve been doing well in my classes actually, already had one round of midterms and another round is coming up next week. Classes are pretty easy here compared to AU, but that might just be because I’m in a totally different mindset here. One culture shock though: apparently a lot French students cheat. Don’t worry, I haven’t become THAT French.

 

Thanks for reading, and please, keep in touch! Like I said, I’m having an amazing time, but I really do miss everyone from home.

 

Love always,

Emily

 

PS: Check out my photo albums on Facebook for some pics!