In Annecy, with my host family

Now that Paris is only a memory of this trip, I have now arrived in Annecy and am staying with my host family. They are, without a doubt, a very nice and welcoming family. I have my own bedroom with its own bathroom. How nice is that?

Tonight, I had quiche Lorraine for dinner. It was quite good. We also toured around the town of Annecy, which is a beautiful little town located in the Swiss alps. My host family's house is located just outside the town, not too far from the shores of the turquoise colored Lake Annecy.

The train ride on the TGV from Paris was a pretty scenic ride. Near the end, the train followed almost the entire shoreline of Lac du Bourget, near Aix-les-Bains. It was a pretty incredible view of the lake with the mountains in the background.

Tomorrow, we're taking a trip into the mountains. Stay tuned!

Pictures are posted

Pictures from Paris have been posted (see photo links to the right). More pictures will be added as they become available.

Day 2 in Paris

Today was another busy day in Paris. Our day started out by visiting the Hôtel des Invalides. There, we saw the Cathédrale Saint-Louis des Invalides as well as Napoleon Bonapart's tomb. From there, we visited Notre Dame de Paris, which is an incredible gothic cathedral. After our stop in Ile de la Cité, we headed to the Louvre to see famous works such as the Mona Lisa, Winged Victory, and Venus de Milo. I read somewhere that the Louvre contains nearly 400,000 objects. Needless to say, we didn't see them all. There is always next time though!

After we finished our visit at the Louvre, we headed to the Eiffel Tower to climb to the top floor. If there is one thing you must do in Paris besides speak French, it's climb the Eiffel Tower. I don't recommend literally climbing it though, not only will it be one crazy climb, I'm sure la Police nationale will be after you.

Everything is going great so far. I've made my reservation on the TGV to Annecy for this Sunday at 1pm. I have also been in contact with my host family.

Tomorrow, it's off to Versaille!



ABOVE: A view from my hotel window
literally minutes before writing this blog.

I have arrived!

I am officially in Paris! I’ve arrived safely and am all checked into my hotel. We took the RER line B from the airport to the Gare du Nord, which is right near our hotel in the 10th arrondissment of Paris. Once we were all settled in, my travel partners (Alyssa and Christy) and I did a general tour of the city. We started at the Place de la Concorde and walked along the Champs-Élysées. We continued by climbing all 284 steps to the top of the Arc de Triomph. We also did the Bateaux-Mouches boat tour. Despite the cloudy day, it has been great so far. I've really enjoyed putting my French to good use and reacquainting myself with the Paris Metro system, Tomorrow, we plan on visiting the Louvre and climbing (not literally) to the top of the Eiffel Tower.




ABOVE: The Arc de Triomph as seen from the
top of the Champs-Élysées.


ABOVE: A view of the Eiffel Tower
from the top of the Arc de Triomph.

Pre-departure Update

I am currently sitting in the Detroit airport waiting to depart for France. Everything seems to have gone smoothly thus far. I'm still convinced that I've forgotten something...but I have the important things that I can tell. More updates will soon follow!

Graduation Time = Traveling

I write this note from my hometown of Crystal Falls, MI. My good friend and member of my "2nd family" Serena Cram is graduating from high school. She isn't just graduating though, she's graduating as valedictorian of her class. Way to go Serena! Serena will be attending CMU in fall, which is definitely a wise choice!



ABOVE: Serena's graduation party on May 23, 2009.

Host Family Update

I officially have information about my host family in France. I will be staying with Mr. and Mrs. Bland, who are both doctors. They have three sons who are 20, 18, and 16 years-old. They live in a house just outside of Annecy, located right near Lake Annecy. Things are looking alright.

Upcoming Trip to France

On May 27th, I will be departing for France. I will be flying into Paris, spending the first three days there. My time in Paris will be filled with all the "normal" things people do when in Paris: the Eiffel Tower, a boat tour on the Seine, and the Louvre. After that, I will be heading to Annecy, France where I will be involved in a one month study abroad program. Annecy is located near the border of Switzerland, in the Alps.


View Larger Map

During my stay in Annecy, I will be taking French language classes at IFALPES

While there, I hope to do some other various traveling. Places on the list include Geneva, Switzerland, the Loire Valley, and a possible excursion to Italy.

Only 10 days until departure!

Welcome!

Greetings everyone!

Welcome to my newly created travel blog. My original intent with this blog was to keep all of my family and friends posted on my upcoming trip to France. As I was creating the blog, however, I figured 'why stop there?' In the future (if my current motivation continues), you should be able to check back here for periodic updates on my whereabouts (and where-have-beens) in the world.