For the weekend before finals (aka: last stress-free extended period of time), I went to the beach with a couple of Anglophones from CIDEF. I almost wish I could say we did a whole lot of exciting things but both Saturday and Sunday basically went like this:
Mid-morning: Arrive at the train station and take train to beach
Close to noon: Arrive at beach and find a market and bakery for impromptu picnic goods
After noon: Pick spot on beach and eat
Later: Sleep
After That: Go into the ocean…a really cold ocean
A Little After That After That: Eat a little more and promptly take another nap
Over An Hour Till the Next Train: Walk around the streets with ice cream stands and pretty vacation homes
Late Afternoon: Leave for Angers on train
Late Evening: Get back and have a late dinner at respective residences
Day one took place at La Baule, a well-to-do- beach town, and the next day was at Les Sables d’Olonne, also a vacation town but more family-friendly.
Sadly enough I didn’t take any photos. I forgot my camera for La Baule and the next day I thought that I should limit my number of electronics at the beach anyway between wind and sand ruining them.
Definitely, I’m ready for tomorrow and the rest of this final week of classes. Just this afternoon I made dozens of peanut butter cookies, another hit with my host family! The rest I will be bringing to the end-of-the semester party in my general language class. Finals begin this Saturday afternoon for me but then I don’t have any exams on Sunday, Monday, and Wednesday. I predict using at least Monday and Wednesday for balancing between studying and traveling. My last Sunday will be for final preparation but Saturday is a mystery. Perhaps Paris? We’ll see how well my packing has gone along throughout the week!
The experience you have had in France is amazing with a great deal of variety in your travels and adventures. Soon you will be on the 2nd part of your European adventure...on to England. Our family will look forward to hearing of your adventures there! Safe and happy travels Liz..
ReplyDeleteYour weekend sounds perfect (and perfectly timed!). One of my favorite memories of visiting Spain was a day spent exactly the same way: lying in the sun reading with occasional bouts of eating and swimming. I felt completely like a local and it was heavenly.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to believe you will be ending this time in France so soon. Actually it's a great plan to be heading toward London and a class with Americans... a transition to ease the shock of return. No one can deny that you have made the most of this experience, Liz! I hope all goes well with, uh, exams. I am kind of skipping over that important part:) Thank you for continued entries and insights. Re the beach experience: we cruised with a couple whose whole experience in Europe was planned around swimming in as many bodies of water as possible, and sunning on as many beaches as possible. They were very happy with their entire experience:)
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