Vacances de Pâques

I spent two lovely weeks traveling around Switzerland (and a little bit of Italy) for my spring vacation. I spent around two days in each city and they were all vastly different from the rest. Other than the fact that Switzerland robbed me blind (they still use the Franc...) I would go back in a heartbeat.

Let's start with Geneva...Saw all the touristy destinations and spent a lovely two days with my friend.

Interlaken was my favorite place by far! It is what I generally picture as the stereotypical "Swiss" town. We spent our days hiking around the lake, watching paragliders land and celebrating Andrea's 21st birthday. We even saw Swiss cows!

The third stop was Basel. We spent three days CouchSurfing over Easter. There's generally not much to see or do but it was a nice quiet weekend. The zoo was a lot of fun.

My last stop in Switzerland was Lugano, which is in the southern, Italian-speaking part of the country. This place was crazy touristy and soooo hilly. Be prepared to climb up and down. The lake was very pretty but I do not think I'd want to go back. (Its certainly a Swan-filled country...or so I noticed...)

My final leg of the journey was in Genova, Italy. I didn't spend much time there but in all honesty I didn't get a very good impression of the country. The aquarium was kind of disapointing (its the biggest in Europe but very small compred to Baltimore). It's amazing how quickly you notice the differences between the Italian and the French.

Overall it was a really nice week, despite some of the disappointments. Unfortunetly its back to schoolwork. I've completed two of my five classes and will finish two more once I finish my papers. As much as I love France and speaking French I have to say that I am looking forward to going home. I can't wait to see my family and enjoy the comforts of home. Three more weeks! The depart will be bittersweet.

Boatride on les Etangs

Last Saturday our study abroad program provided us with our second trip of the semester - a boat ride on the sea and les etangs.

Again, just like our trip to Provence, the weather was beautiful.

Or not.... I really was hoping for photos of crystal blue water and sunshine, but that dream didn't come true

First we drove to the Gaur d'Adge and hoped on to a boat to coast around the Mediterranean Sea. The water was very choppy so I was feeling a bit nauseous and had a headache.

We got off the boat and ate lunch in the town of Adge. We stayed in the restaurant for two and half hours because it was raining too hard to be outside.

Then, to the dismay of many students, we had to get back on the boat and travel through le Canal du Midi. You know it's a bad trip when everyone busts out their books and starts reading...They'd rather study for their exams than enjoy the ride. I wouldn't be so bitter if I hadn't known that in all the years past, they've treated the students to a weekend sunny in Barcelona. I know they can't control the weather but I'm pretty sure we paid the same amount of money and our boat ride doesn't cost the same as a weekend in Spain.

In other news,

THE STRIKE IS OVER!

It was frustrating not being able to go to class and learn, because that's sort of the reason I'm here, but in the end it worked out to our advantage. They had to extend the school year for the French students so we don't have to take final exams in our integrated classes :)

Now it's off to Switzerland and Italy for two weeks for spring break. After that I planned a trip to Portugal and Spain for four days. And sadly, after that it'll be time to go home already. Time flies when you're in France!