Spring Break

A few weeks ago, I had a wonderful Spring break with my Mom and Dad, who came to visit me! First they spend a week on their 4th (5th?) honeymoon in Germany (with a small side-trip to Austria), then they met me in Paris so I could show them around France. I took a train from Nantes to Paris and got in about an hour before my parents, so I was waiting in the hotel by the time my they arrived. I saw them pull up, then crept outside so they would see me right away when they got out of their taxi. It was a joyous reunion complete with tearful embraces and a loud scream of excitement from Mom.

We spent a couple days in the bustling capital city, hitting most of the tourist attractions and famous monuments. Highlights include the Eiffel Tower (of course), Sainte-Chapelle, the Louvre pyramid, and the Arc de Triomphe. We even visited Notre Dame de Paris during Sunday mass, which was really cool, albeit very crowded. Unfortunately, we got there a half hour or so after the tower closed, so we were unable to climb up and get a aerial view of the city. There's always next time!

Sainte-Chapelle

Le Louvre

After a couple days in Paris, we rented a car and headed northwest to Normandy, where we visited Omaha beach, the American WWII cemetery, and Pointe du Hoc. I had just been to these places with IES, but it was nice to show the 'rents. Besides, each time is a different experience.

Mom and Dad at Omaha Beach

We didn't have a reservation for a place to stay, so we just drove along the coast until we came across a cute town a bit west of Pointe du Hoc, called Grandcamp-Maisy. It was already after 7pm when we inquired about a room within the nearest hotel, but everything worked out and our room was adorable. We were right on the ocean and even had a window that you could stick most of your body out of to better enjoy the seaside view.

Next, we hit the road again to visit one of my favorite French tourist locales: Mont St. Michel. We had to wait in line for awhile, but the conversation we had with a nice Brazilian couple we met made it more bearable, and the view from the top was more than worth the wait. We stopped at a restaurant on the way down and my parents enjoyed their first ever French galette. Despite all the walking up and down hills and stairs at Mont St. Michel, by late afternoon we were still raring to go and explore the walled city St. Malo. Lucky for us the weather cooperated for us the whole time, a rarity for Bretagne (Brittany)!

Walking along the St. Malo wall

After a couple more days on the road and one troublesome déviation (detour), we finally made it to my home for the semester, Nantes. I was so excited to show them around my neck of the woods and introduce them to my host family. Despite a slight language barrier, everyone hit it off really well! It was so strange for me to hear my host parents and sisters speaking English for the first time all semester, but I was very impressed (especially with my 21-year-old sister, Claire-Anais, who seems to be nearly fluent). 

Me and the host fam

I'm so happy my parents were able to come to France--now maybe they understand why I love it here so much. 

The day after Mom and Dad returned to the US, my host family invited me to go with them to their country house on the coast in a small town called Locmariaquer. I got to bond with Adelaide and her friend Julie--we
walked along the beach, took goofy pictures together, and watched Poucelina (Thumbelina in French). My host dad grew up in a neighboring town, so he and my host mom proudly showed me around and told me stories of the history of the area. We saw the ancient and mysterious stones of Carnac, toured the Locmariaquer harbor, checked out an impressive photo art gallery, and stopped at a delicious creperie for dessert. Ahh, France never ceases to amaze me.