ladyanthropologie

[ladyanthropologie]

July 9th, 2023

Today I went to the aquarium! It was so much fun!!!

The aquarium at La Rochelle is considered to be one of its top attractions and it's very easy to see why. It has so many creatures in it, it's a nice design and it has a restaurant on top! The boutique also has a nice mix of books, kid stuff, t-shirts, mugs, towels, and more. However, surprisingly, half of their shop is jewelry and other really fancy items.

La Rochelle's aquarium conservation mission is to help sea turtles. They rescue and rehabilitate the turtles and then release them into the wild. They also help preserve the Charente-Maritime, or the region of France that consists of some of its southern coastal locations. **La Rochelle is actually the capital of the region!**

My friends and I spent the morning at the aquarium and then afterwards grabbed lunch at the beach! We relaxed on the beach for a few hours before heading home. It was a beautiful Sunday!

[ladyanthropologie]

July 6th - 8th, 2023

The start of my first weekend in La Rochelle.

I had some fantastic food from some street vendors, and I went to the oldest bar in La Rochelle. It was great! I bought a super cute bag from a little boutique and had a delicious fruity drink.

En dimanche, je vais aller l'aquarium!

[ladyanthropologie]

July 3rd - 5th, 2023

Class has officially started!

July 2nd was our first day of class. We got there and were given a tour of the school (a library we had access to, where the smoking areas were, the different needed classrooms, the bathrooms, and the cafeteria). Afterwards, we were broken up into our sections.

I am on this program to continue my learning of the French language and while exploring France, learning the culture. There are some students who are more advance with the language, so they are taking an extra class. As such, we have been split into different sections and paired with different French professors to teach us. My professor is super sweet, nice, funny and patient! We just introduced ourselves today, tomorrow we actually starting learning.

We are in class de 8H30 à 12H14 (from 8:30 AM to 12:45 PM). We have a break at 10:30 to 11 AM, we can use the bathroom, mingle with our classmates and grab a quick snack. Afterwards, we can grab lunch at the cafeteria (really cheap!!) or we can take the bus into centre ville and grab a bite in town.

July 3rd - 5th was review on some things we learned during the year. On July 3rd, we also got bikes! France is a very bike friendly place, especially in La Rochelle. Our university paired with a local bike rental place to get us bikes for our time here. We each got a cute little beach cruiser with an adorable basket in the front. It's perfect to get around (from my home to school, it's about 15 minutes. Same to centre ville)!

After class every day, my friends and I headed into centre ville to grab lunch and to just explore around. We saw a ton of cute little shops (there's a Harry Potter store!) and beautiful architecture.

La Rochelle is a beautiful place, I can't wait to explore!

[ladyanthropologie]

July 2nd, 2023

My first night in La Rochelle was nice. I ate a nice dinner with my host family and then went to sleep. My bed was really comfy, and my room was nice. I woke up quite refreshed!

Today, I woke up and had breakfast with my host mom, who is super sweet and nice. Afterwards, we went to a flea market where her husband has a stand (he is also really nice and funny). We walked around the flea market for a while and I bought a Harry Potter Slytherin USB (worth it!).

After the flea market, we had a bite to eat and then we went to centre ville or city center. Here my host mom dropped me off as I joined with some of my classmates and my professor, and we walked around La Rochelle for a couple of hours. Since my professor does this program year after year, he is a great tour guide.

After walking around for a while, my host mom picked me back up and we went home. She also showed me how to use the bus and what stops I need to know in order to get to the school and to centre ville.

After another great dinner, I got ready for my first day of class.

[ladyanthropologie]

July 1st, 2023

Today we toured Mont Saint-Michel. This place was gorgeous! It's this giant chapel on the water with a little town underneath it. It's on its own island and the bridge to get there is about a 25-minute walk.

On the island, there is a cute little town that's full of shops, places to eat and even a few hotels. We stayed in a hotel on the mainland thankfully as there is only a bus that runs between the island and the mainland or else you walk and we were a group of like 30 people, with a ton of luggage. Maybe next time!

The chapel itself rests at the top of the island and is beautiful. Quite a few stairs and a long way down but the view is stunning. Unfortunately, it was a cloudy, windy, and slightly rainy day but the view was still great.

After a quick lunch, we got on the bus and drove to La Rochelle. It was about a 5-hour drive, most of which we all slept through. Eventually, we made it to La Rochelle where we will be spending the next 4 weeks learning French.

When we got to La Rochelle, we met our host families. Our professors introduced us and then said, "see you Monday!" and left us with these total strangers! Joking aside, my host family are really nice people, I have a nice big room and a bathroom all to myself and they showed me where my breakfast foods are, they are amazing.

[ladyanthropologie]

The Adventures of Bunker!

July 1st, 2023

This morning, Bunker toured Mont Saint-Michel. It was gorgeous!! There were so many little shops and food places on the island and of course the Chapel at the top! It was an amazing view.

After a quick lunch, Bunker got on the bus and traveled the 5 hours to La Rochelle! Here, Bunker will make his nest. He still has a few more adventures to go on before this trip is over though!!

[ladyanthropologie]

June 30th, 2023

Today, I continued to travel through Normandy. We stopped at Arromanche, a commune in France that is located in the middle of the D-Day Landings. Specifically, it was on the beach code named "Gold", the others were "Juno", "Sword", "Utah" and of course, "Omaha". It was these locations that various divisions of the Allied military started the Battle of Normandy, or Operation Overlord. Once victory was claimed, the Allies built a giant artificial port at Arromanche, remnants of such which can still be seen today. D-Day, or Operation Neptune, was just the start. Everyone remembers D-Day, but barely anyone knows (and I don't even remember it being taught in my history classes) that the Battle of Normandy lasted over 2 months! It wasn't until 2 months after D-Day that the Liberation of France truly got started. The largest amphibious invasion in military history, D-Day started the downfall of Nazi Germany.

Now that the Allies have a foothold in France, they were able to tactically and surgically move through the region and liberate France (which a year later).

After a lunch in Arromanche, we traveled to Omaha Beach itself and visited the American Cemetary in Normandy. 9,387 soldiers are buried here, most of which lost their lives in the Battle of Normandy and the ensuing operations. It was created on June 8th, 1944 (D-Day happened only a few days prior). On the Walls of the Missing are the names of 1,557 soldiers. Rosettes mark the names of those who have since been recovered and identified. The Cemetary will be holding a special celebration to commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-Day next year, June 6th, 2024.

Again, to put in perspective, the US lost 416,800 soldiers (1,700 civilians). France lost 217,600 soldiers (350,000 civilians) and Germany lost 5,533,000 soldiers (1,067,000 - 3,267,000 civilians). **Numbers given by the National WW2 Musuem in New Orleans. Historians have repeatedly said the numbers are unreliable, as the deadliest conflict in human history, it's difficult to put actual numbers between the military and civilians, between the dead, wounded, and lost**

Most of France was destroyed, between air raids and the Nazis and Germany military destroying places as they left (they were given orders to do so). You can see the scars of this today.

While at the American Cemetary, I read some profiles and stories on different people who died, survived, were lost, or stuck at home. One such explained the origins behind the story Saving Private Ryan, which I thought was cool.

Afterwards, we traveled to Mont Saint-Michel, where we stayed for the night.

[ladyanthropologie]

The Adventures of Bunker!

June 30th, 2023

After spending the night in Caen, Bunker woke up and continued to travel around Normandy! He even made a friend!

Today, Bunker went to Arromanche, the location of the massive military installation following the events of D-Day. The Allies built an entire artificial port and the remains of it are still visible today! Arromanche is located in between the beaches code names "Juno" and "Gold" and is in the middle of the entire stretch of land that D-Day took place. The 5 beaches are named "Juno", "Gold", "Sword", "Utah" and of course, "Omaha".

Bunker walked along Omaha Beach and visited the fallen soldiers at the American Cemetary in Normandy. Afterwards, he traveled to Mont Saint-Michel. He'll tour it tomorrow!

[ladyanthropologie]

June 29th, 2023

Today, we left Paris and headed for Normandy. Our first stop was Caen, a commune in France. It's a beautiful place with a gorgeous castle in its center. We stopped by the Caen Museum dedicated to World War 2 (it also has a section on the Cold War). We took a walk-through history, specifically, through the French's eyes.

In America, I feel like World War 2 and how it's taught and thought of is muted in a way, a mentality of "it happened over there." Also, when the US joined the war, it ended in less than 2 years, but for France and the rest of Europe? It was a very long and very bloody 6 years. There isn't a village, town, commune, or city in France that doesn't have a memorial to those who were lost during World War 1 and 2. France was affected heavily as less than a year after the war started, Germany invaded and occupied until D-Day when the Allies started taking back the country. Whole towns were destroyed from either air raids or the Nazis destroying the place (they were under orders to destroy a place when they leave it, leave no building standing).

In Normandy, you can see the remnants of the giant military operation that led to the liberation of France. I'll talk more about that on my next post as tomorrow I head to Omaha Beach, the site of the infamous D-Day Landing (there's actually 5 beaches, but Omaha is the most famous).

These next couple of days are going to be very solemn.

[ladyanthropologie]

The Adventures of Bunker!

June 29th, 2023

Bunker left Paris today after so many wonderful days. Now it was on to Normandy!

After a long drive, Bunker arrived in Caen and went to a WW2 Museum and took a walk-through history. Being from a military town, in fact the "Home of the Airborne", the very same Airborne that played a huge role in the liberation of France, Bunker knew how important Normandy was, how important D-Day was.

After spending the day in the museum and seeing history, Bunker made it to his hotel where he got ready to see more of Normandy the following day.

[ladyanthropologie]

June 28th, 2023

Today was a nice day to walk around the city. After breakfast, some friends and I travelled to the Sainte-Chapelle, the royal chapel. The gothic design paired with the amazing stained glass truly made it the residence of the Kings.

Afterwards, we walked to Notre Dame. Even though it was still under repairs, and we couldn't go inside, it was still something to be at her feet. We were able to go inside the crypt underneath Notre Dame. It was a very cool space to see that I don't think many people know about. All along the crypt, it was giving the history, of not only Notre Dame, but of also that whole little island. It used to be a military town believe it or not! I also didn't know that the Notre Dame wasn't this huge famous landmark until after the publishing of The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo. Due to the success of the book, which romanticized the cathedral, the people of Paris couldn't bear to see the place demolished (before the publishing, it was on track to be destroyed) and instead they repaired and renewed it. There is even a special gargoyle high up on one of her balconies that encompasses all the characters of the book - The Hunchback, Esmeralda, and Frollo. It was cool to read this history and see how the view of Notre Dame changed over the years. While it is still under heavy construction, Paris has plans to complete the work on Notre Dame in time for the Olympics next summer - the opening ceremony and parade are going to take place on the Seine! It's going to be a very public affair, which is going to be awesome!

After Notre Dame, we went to the Latin Quarter, home of the Sorbonne, or the University of Paris. We went inside the Église Saint-Étienne-du-Mont and tried to go inside the Pantheon, but sadly it was closed to a unforeseen emergency. It was still cool to see outside it though, and to see the Sorbonne. We ate lunch at this little poke place (first time I had poke and sushi, not bad) and then continued on to the Cluny Museum.

At the Cluny Museum (or the Middle Ages Musuem), we saw the Golden Rose, the Roman Baths, and many religious artifacts and artwork. The best part was seeing the tapestry The Lady and the Unicorn. Did you know The Lady and the Unicorn are not the only one? It's actually the ending of a series of 6 tapestries - each of the 5 before depicting a different sense: Taste, Touch, Sight, Smell, and Hearing. Actually, The Lady and the Unicorn is the name of the set, the one everyone knows as The Lady and the Unicorn is actually titled "À mon seul désir" or "To My Only Desire" and it's depicting a mysterious sixth sense, and it has caused many theories as to the true nature and depiction of the tapestry.

After the Cluny Musuem, we traveled to the famous confiserie that inspired the home of the main character in Miraculous Ladybug, a French TV show (that is really good! It has a movie releasing on July 5th!) and got some pastries (delicious!). Afterwards, my friend and I split off from the group and travelled to The Basilica of Sacré Coeur de Montmartre and went inside and climbed to the top. Once again, it was a lot of winding steps, but the view was worth it! I thought the view from the Arc de Triomphe was gorgeous, but this view was absolutely breathtaking! Enjoy a video of the view as I walk around the top of the Basilica!

[ladyanthropologie]

The Adventures of Bunker!

June 28th, 2023

Bunker had another adventure filled day. He first traveled all the way to Notre Dame and saw the Sainte-Chapelle. This was a royal chapel, the residence of the Kings of France. It was absolutely gorgeous; its stained glass was breathtaking! Afterwards, he walked a short distance to see Notre Dame. Sadly, it is still closed to construction after the fire a few years ago nearly destroyed it but he did get to go inside the crypt that is underneath it! He learned the history of Notre Dame and how it wasn't until the publishing of The Hunchback of Notre Dame that the huge cathedral actually started becoming famous (before the book, it was almost demolished!).

Bunker then proceeded to walk to the Pantheon in the Latin Quarter and saw the Sorbonne, or the University of Paris. He then continued on to the Cluny Museum and saw the Roman Baths and the famous tapestry, The Lady and the Unicorn. It was HUGE!

After dinner, and a quick pastry, Bunker flew all the way to the top of The Basilica of Sacré Coeur de Montmartre and had an even more breathtaking panoramic view of Paris. Inside was breathtaking too! Though, it was even more steps than the Arc de Triomphe so afterwards, Bunker went straight to sleep. Regardless, it was a fun and full day!

[ladyanthropologie]

June 27th, 2023

Today I went to 3 different museums (YESSSSS!!!). The Musée d'Orsay, the Musée Rodin and the Musée de l'Armée (in that order).

At the Musée d'Orsay I saw many sculptures and beautiful pieces of art. A couple of those are shown above - Van Gogh's Starry Night and Monet's Water Lillies. I also saw a replica of the Thinker and the Gates of Hell. Luckily, after eating lunch at the Musée de l'Armée, I got to see the real things.

After lunch, I went to the Musée Rodin, which was inside Rodin's house! There I saw the Kiss, the Thinker, the Gates of Hell and many more sculptures. Rodin was a famous and very talented sculptor, and the museum also had his in-progress pieces, and you can see how each one was the start or was changed into a famous sculpture. After that, I went to the Musée de l'Armée and saw Napoleon's Tomb! It was a beautiful piece of architecture, and you can feel the significance of it as soon as you walked up to it. Unforuntaly, the Musée de l'Armée's WW1 and WW2 exhibit was closed but I still got to see many Medieval Ages artifacts as well as some Japanese ones too.

I then went and did some shopping (can't tell you where and what because they were gifts) and then my friend and I went to watch the sunset from the top of the Arc de Triomphe! It was gorgeous. And so many steps...in a circle...I got dizzy...

While up there, we watched the sun set and the Eiffle Tower's lights come on, even got to see the light show! Seeing such a beautiful panoramic view of the city was amazing. We stayed up there until they told us to leave.

[ladyanthropologie]

The Adventures of Bunker!

June 27th, 2023

Today Bunker traveled all over! He went to the Musée d'Orsay (some of Van Gogh's famous artworks are in there!), the Musée Rodin (the Thinker! The Gates of Hell! Oh my!!), and the Musée de l'Armée (Napolean's Tomb!) It was a lot of walking but he saw so much of Paris and so many famous pieces of art, it was amazing!

After dinner, Bunker went to the Arc de Triomphe (he flew all the way to the top!) and saw a beautiful panoramic view of Paris and watched the sunset. He even saw the Eiffel Tower's lights come on!

What will tomorrow bring?

[ladyanthropologie]

June 26th, 2023

Today was a great first day in Paris! After a restful night's sleep, I woke up re-energized and ready to go!

First, we went to Père Lachaise Cemetery and visited many famous people like Jim Morrison, Oscar Wilde, Proust, and more! It was very peaceful and serene. Père Lachaise Cemetery is the most famous and visited necropolis in all of Paris and many people would like to be buried there. A family has to pay to keep their loved one's tombstone up or else it will be removed - there are some that will never be removed, they have a special symbol on their graves to let people know that they are not moving! You can, however, have your ashes spread in the cemetery.

Afterwards, we got sandwiches and pastries from a little boulangerie and ate in a nearby park. The food was delicious! Then it was on to the Louvre!

The Louvre was splendid! Absolutely marvelous!! The Louvre is completely interconnected but is split into 3 different sections and they each have their own entrance to make it easier for people. The Louvre also has the main entrance from the pyramids, an entrance from the underground mall and metro station and at least one entrance from the back (which, go to that one! It was completely empty and had no line!) Our professor took us to the main sites - La Joconde (The Mona Lisa), Le Radeau de la Méduse (The Raft of the Medusa), La Liberté guidant le peuple (Liberty Leading the People), and more! Our professor told us of some other noteworthy art and artifacts and said that even if you spent 30 seconds in front of each piece in the Louvre, it would still take you like a year to see everything! It's that big and holds that much!! A friend and I proceeded to close the Louvre (we stayed in there for like 5 hours!), our professor was impressed - no one did that before.

My friend and I proceeded to grab a quick bite for dinner, and we ate in the Louvre Gardens - a beautiful spot of greenery in Paris. Afterwards, we went back to the hotel to rest up before heading back out to see la tour Eiffel! We met up with some of our classmates and sat in front of the Eiffel Tower as the sun set and watched it light up! We even saw the Eiffel Tower do it's little light show, it was fantastic! Beautiful! Marvelous!

It was a great first day!

[ladyanthropologie]

The Adventures of Bunker!

June 26th, 2023

After an exhausting day of travel, Bunker had a wonderful night's rest and went out to explore the city! He first stopped by Père Lachaise Cemetery and paid a visit to Jim Morrison, Oscar Wilde, and more!

Afterwards, Bunker went to the famous Louvre! He saw so many wonderful artifacts and artwork (but was exhausted after all that walking!).

He ended his day by visiting perhaps Paris' most famous landmark - La tour Eiffel! He sat and watched as the Eiffel Tower lit up the night sky and did a little light show.

All in all, a wonderful first day in Paris!

[ladyanthropologie]

June 24 - 25th, 2023

I was originally supposed to be leaving RDU at 6:00 PM, however, about a half an hour before we started boarding, our flight got delayed. We were now leaving at 1:00 AM... luckily that got changed to 11:00 PM. At least I wasn't alone in the airport, as about 3 other students on my program were on my same flight, so we were all stuck together!

I now landed in Paris on June 25th, in the early afternoon. Luckily, customs and borders weren't backed up and we got through relatively quickly. Got our bags, grabbed a taxi and finally made it to the hotel. I then immediately took a nap. I was exhausted and not feeling the greatest (I think I ate something right before we boarded as I spent the whole flight feeling terrible). After a quick nap, I had dinner with my class and then promptly went to bed. I was travelling all day! I didn't have the energy to go and explore. I'll get to that tomorrow!