By Rachel Blair
Hey guys! I hope you’re enjoying this journey I’m taking you on. Last week as I mentioned, I made it to Germany. It was absolutely beautiful! It felt really good going to Germany because my mom’s family is actually from Germany. I have had many different types of German food before, but only from German restaurants near me, so to have actual German food was another world. I got to horseback ride in the mountains of Germany & eat home cooked German food. It all felt so unreal. I texted my mother & told her that we must go back together because I want to experience that with her. Sadly, I had to leave and get back to reality.
It was nice going back “home” to my apartment in Paris and getting to lay in “my” own bed again. Now, I’m writing this blog from Normandy. This week flew by and I feel like October is going to be over in the blink of an eye. Being here in Normandy has been an amazing experience so far. We left this morning, Saturday, October 7th, at 7:15 in the morning and arrive back in Paris tomorrow around 8 at night. Then, next weekend I’m heading to Iceland, and then the weekend after that I’m going to London, and there’s just so much to do!
While in Normandy, we are staying on this island that reminds me of “The Woman in Black” for those of you that have actually seen it. Not that it’s creepy, the island itself reminds me of Hogwarts, but the concept of the island reminds me of “The Woman in Black.” The island itself is beautiful and old but looks like it has a lot of character and doesn’t look real. But there’s one bridge to get to it, and only one way to enter into the town. Before that bridge was there, you were only able to enter or leave the island during low tide because there would be no way on or off during high tide, like in the movie. But this is everyone’s favorite part of this trip, and I can see why. It’s a great bonding experience for everyone, being stuck with most for two days, and sharing a room with people you might not be the closest too. I must say, I’ve had some great conversations with my not so usual group of people.
So far, I’ve loved going on all of the trips provided by GW. That is one major highlight about this trip. These are all paid for & are ways to explore parts of France that aren’t so close to Paris. They’ve been really fun and have also encouraged me to do things I normally would not have. If this trip was not included in the program, I definitely wouldn’t have made it here to Normandy, but I’m so glad I did. I think part of traveling is about going to the places that people least expect you to. The tourist spots are fun, but it’s also those parts of countries that only few people know about that really make a place.
One last thing, the food!! I believe that the food of a country is a very significant part of traveling and I will gladly say that the food all over France has not let me down. I could eat forever here. I’m scared to leave France to go to Iceland because the food in Iceland is supposedly very bad. I’m going to go from being spoiled by France to barely eating in Iceland. Let’s wish me the best!
Above: Oktoberfest & Horseback Riding
Above: Normandy
Above: “The Woman in Black”/Hogwarts