09 March 2009

Besançon



Besançon = incroyable. (Besançon = incredible).

The city is very old and has a lot of history to it! I thought Angers was old, but actually, it got almost completely destroyed in WWII and then rebuilt. So, really, it's not the same. (Alors, vraiment, elle n'est pas le même). But one can just SEE the old within Besançon!! I must back track a little bit... since I did spend a night in Paris first.

I arrived in Paris after little sleep because I went out with friends the night before, then had class at 8am. Smart. I also knew that I was going to get even less sleep - if any- Friday night. But, regardless, I was prepared for fatigueness! So I arrive in Paris wearing these spectacular red heels, which, the first night I wore them, were not a problem. Ha. Paris had a different plan in mind. Thus, by the end of the night, I was like this:

Translation = red and 3 or 4 blisters on each foot.

BUT the night was well worth the blisters, gross disgusting dirty feet, and 2 hours of sleep. Guillaume and Rodrigo took me to a restaurant that had an incredible view of the eiffel tower and then we had dinner, met some new friends and some old (yay Raphaelle!) and went to come bars and a club near the Louvre. It's really crazy how small the world is. Raphaelle, Rodrigo, and Guillaume all knew people from KU (they all went there) but also back in Paris at their jobs. Crazy!!


OH... I forgot to say that I tried escargot. I didn't mind it, but it's not something I would order by myself.







So... I got on the train to go to Besançon at 8:30 in the morning. WOAH. I was unable to sleep for the 2 1/2 ride, which is probably due to the fact that I was SO excited to see Pauline and Julien again! After they picked me up at the gare, we went to their apartment where we sat on the porch for a couple hours (je pense? peut-être?) because the weather was so beautiful (parce que il faisait très beau). Then Pauline made crêpes from scratch for lunch, before her parents arrived with a gâteau made sans flour... just ground nuts! Normally I'm not a fan of nuts, but of course I ate it because I'm in a different country and that's just the respectful thing to do! It was really good. MM the joy of trying new things. So, because the weather was still so gorgeous, we went for a late afternoon/early evening walk around the centre ville (downtown) of Besançon. I still find it so surreal to be looking at a castle and to think that, yes, I am really there and it is NOT a photograph. Also, I am standing on a part of history that is hundreds of years old! I don't think it's something you can understand until you experience... which is something you must do in your lifetime.













Then we returned back to the apartment to eat Raclette, which is sausage, potatoes, and melted cheese (the cheese is called "raclette"). I'm pretty sure it's a good thing I was only with Pau et Ju for 2 days... or else I would have gained about 20 pounds in a week! I was never hungry with them! Due to the fact that I was stuffed beyond belief, I took a 20 minute nap, which was, in reality, 2 hours. When I woke up, at midnight (I think?) it was almost time to go back to bed.

Sunday was really laid back, and the weather was kinda blah. Still pretty warm, but also overcast and spitting rain. Because of that we took it easy and Pau drove me around the outskirts and "countryside" of Besançon. She showed me the school where she works (and where the 12 year olds try to go smoke cigarettes), and then took me to the top of a huge hill where I could see the whole downtown of the city. It was so cool, until this bizarre man came up to us and tried to talk to us. Even when I told him he spoke too fast so I had no idea what he was talking about, he was determined to have a conversation with Pau, but she didn't know what he was talking about either because he was talking photo terms, which she didn't understand. Hm. Interesting. That was our queue to leave!

Sadly, by late afternoon it was time to return home. However, I decided a few things while in Besançon:
1. Older women like to make their hair bright colors. Maybe it's to show that they still have a young heart.


2. I LOVE old cities.
3. It's very difficult to understand people that do not speak proper french.
4. People carry rats on their shoulders.

5. I like reflections on windows. And reflections of windows. And windows.





6. I'm staying in Europe to travel until AUGUST!! There just is not enough time to do everything while I'm taking classes...


YAY!!


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