En Route to Paris

On August 1, 2013 we were on our seventh day of the trip and finally in France. Being in France actually felt like a different country compared to being in England which just felt like a larger city in America. I think it was just because everyone around us obviously wouldn’t speak English and there was more of a difference with food. In England the food was all a variety of things. With Indian food one night and chicken pot pie the next it wasn’t like the Brits had their own cultural food (besides fish and chips of course). But in France everything you ate was part of the French culture. For example, there really was no “regular” sandwich, but instead everything was put on foot long baguettes. Plus the majority of the pastries there would never be found in America or England; macaroons being the most obvious example.

            The entire day was mostly spent traveling besides a few stops on the way. The first stop we made was to visit a cheese factory. Right when I stepped out of the bus the smell of sour milk hit me and it was not pleasant at all. The smell inside the factory was even stronger so I was not a fan of it. The actual tour of the factory was pretty boring until we got to the cheese tasting. The first couple cheeses I tried I actually hated.  I had only taken the smallest bite I could possibly manage but the cheese was so strong one miniscule bite was enough. The cheese tasted like it was forgotten milk left out in a sun-baked car for too long; just smelling it made me gag. The only cheese I could somewhat tolerate was the last one but I still wouldn’t eat it regularly. While we were walking out I noticed one man buying six different types of cheeses! I honestly couldn’t believe someone would actually enjoy eating that cheese after I almost threw up eating it!

            The next stop was the Church of Saint Joan of Arc in the city of Rouen. It was absolutely incredible. It was the first church we actually had the opportunity to walk inside because Saint Paul’s Cathedral in England required an admission. I was actually surprised at how large the inside of the church was. I could tell from the outside that it obviously wasn’t a small church but it was still breathtaking. Once seeing the inside of the church we walked to the exact site where Joan of Arc was burned at the stake after being accused of witchcraft. It was really powerful being there but there wasn’t much to see besides a garden and an extremely tall cross that was the spot-marker.

            Then we were able to have free time and it was the first time we had over an hour to explore while in France. For lunch I had a chicken, lettuce, and tomato baguette with mayo. I noticed how the mayo seemed to be drowning my sandwich but it was great none the less. After lunch my friends Kendra, Rachel, and I went to go shopping, specifically for dresses. After a great time of struggle we were all finally able to find something.

            After our shopping trip it was time to get back on the bus which then took us to our hotel in Paris. This hotel was absolutely beautiful and by far my favorite place we stayed at. By the time we all got to our rooms and settled in I was ready to sleep.