Goodbye Nantes, I will Never Forget you

May 12

Well my friends, 

The time has come to say goodbye to Nantes and my semester abroad. Even though I do not officially leave Europe for 3 more days, I will not have time or internet connection so I am deciding to write my goodbye post now. As I may have mentioned before, I love this place, it just rocks. 

Yesterday was our last IES event: a dinner on the Erdre river, one of the branches of the Loire than runs through Nantes. We had 6 bottles of wine at my table for 9 people and a delicious dinner. It was a wonderful closing event. 

From the first time I walked up the 3 flights of stairs to IES, I knew I had made the right decision. This semester has not only allowed me to experience different cultures, languages, and people, but also has allowed me to appreciate how much I have left to see of this planet. I have had the time of my life here and I have so many people to thank for that: 

 Mallory, Harkiran, Sarah, and Julia: I am so happy I found you ladies. I know that having you all as friends made this experience infinitesimally better. There is no way in hell I could ever forget any of you or all our awesome adventures. This is definitely not the end of our friendship and I can't wait to see you guys when we're back stateside! 

Tyler, Sam, Doug, and Dmitri: You boys are all hilarious and made this semester very entertaining and enjoyable. We will definitely have to hang out once we're back home but I just want to thank you for being a part of the coolest semester of my college career. 

Ninon, Martial, Christina, Guillaume, and Mathilde: Je vous aime avec tout mon coeur et vous me manquez déjà. Si je reviens en France, je vais vous appeler toute suite! et si vous décidez de visiter les Etats-Unis sur le côte est, vous doives rester avec moi, c'est obligatoire! Merci mes microbes et pas trop des conneries ;-)

To my host parents: you have been the most welcoming and kind people, I could not have asked for a better host family. Marie-Aude, thank you for all the delicious meals and taking a sincere interest in my life, I will miss you dearly and you will always be my French mother. 

Thank you to all the other IES students, we had a great group of people and every moment I shared with you guys was filled with laughs and smiles, thank you for being my classmates this semester.

Before I start crying, just kidding, I am already tearing up, I will just say thank you. Nantes has truly been my home for the last four months and I will be so sad to say goodbye to this magnificent city. I will miss the 21/23 bus that took me to class everyday and I will miss cote plage and our other regular hot spots. This semester has meant so much to me and effected me in ways I'm sure I'm not even aware of yet. This experience has forever changed my life and I am so thankful I had to opportunity to study in this beautiful country and city.

Au Revoir France, Je t'aime toujours.

KSG

One Last Hurrah

May 1st- May 10th

As my time in Nantes, France draws to an end, I have been bombarded by a bunch of conflicting emotions. I have had the time of my life here and going back to the United States means going back to reality and saying goodbye to so many wonderful things and amazing people. On the other hand, I am very excited to see my friends and family back home. As I start packing my suitcases and say my goodbyes, I am slowly realizing that I will never have another experience quite like this semester. Anyways, I will stop being so gushy and share some of my final Nantais stories:

My Parents came and visited me in Nantes for the first 4 days of May and got to see the way I live. My parents arrived Sunday, May 1st which is a European holiday so no one works and nothing is open. Needless to say, they found the city kind of boring. They came over my host parents house around 7:30 and we had apéritifs before going to the famous La Cigale restaurant of Nantes. Even though it took a while to get our food, the inside of the restaurant was spectacular and the food was great. After the meal my parents returned to their hotel to get some rest.

After class Monday, I met up with my parents and took them to the best creperie in Nantes in Bouffay and then grabbed a beer with my dad at the local Irish Pub, John McByrne. Later that night my family came over for dinner with my host mom and myself. She made delicious pea soup and a tarte aux tomates. 

Tuesday, I only had 1 class so my parents and I decided to check out the Chateau Dutchesse Anne and la Cathedrale. We then got some lunch at this little restaurant across from the chateau. 

For their final dinner in Nantes before heading off to Paris my parents and I went to a little restaurant near Place Royale called le Petit Flore. It was an eclectic menu and the food was great. After I said goodbye to my parents I headed home to start studying for my finals. 

On Saturday, May 7 we had our final soirée with our french friends. We had one last hurrah at Guillaume's apartment and said our goodbyes. I want to thank Guillaume mon microbe, Mathilde, Christina, Ninon, and Martial for being great friends and showing us a great time, I love you all and will never forget you. 

We have the final IES event tomorrow night which will be an evening on the erdre, one of the branches of the Loire that runs through Nantes. We will all be on a boat wearing are best clothes and sailing through Nantes beauty one more time. I will try to do one more post once all my finals are finished. Good luck to everyone studying for finals and I can't wait to see what happens next. 

KSG

Spring Break Part 2: Ibiza!

April 26-  May 1

Alright time for Part II ladies and germs, IBIZA!

Early Tuesday morning my Dad drove me, Mallory, Harkiran, and Julia to the Marseille Airport to catch our plane to Madrid and then our plane to Ibiza! Upon arriving in Madrid, we walked into the most confusing airport I have ever seen. Mallory and I accidentally walked outside of our terminal and had to sneak into the baggage claim through giant white doors with a giant sign thats said DO NOT ENTER, and some Spanish that probably said we would be tasered and locked away in a Spanish prison. After rescuing our baggage which took a solid hour, we grabbed some lunch and waited for our flight to Ibiza. After landing in Ibiza, taking a cab to our apartment only to find out we got upgraded, and dropping off our bags we got some rum and pasta and started our first night on the beautiful Mediterranean beaches of Spain!

Wednesday morning, we woke up, made mimosas, and threw on our bathing suits and headed down to the beach to soak up some rays. Mallory and I went and ate lunch at this little restaurant right on the beach and I had eggs, bacon, and potatoes with a big glass of sangria. 

After soaking up more rays and napping on the beach we headed in to shower and get ready for our night on the town. Around 8 pm we headed into town and ate at this little whole in the wall restaurant by the harbor. It was one of the most amazing meals I have ever eaten. I got a salad with this feta- like cheese and this slightly spicy salad dressing. For my main course I had a tortilla which is an omlette-ish dish with potatoes and another small side salad. The cherry on top were the profiteroles and the great low prices. Filled up on Spanish food, we headed back to Jet Apartments and had a few drinks before going to bed.

Thursday morning was typical: Mimosas, bathing suits, beach. It turned out to be a perfect beach day with a cloudless sky and chilly, clear, Mediterranean water that Harkiran and I swam in a few time to cool off. We had some beers and got huge cheeseburgers for lunch. We decided to drink absinthe that night which ended up being a really bad idea as I had to shots of it and was gone-zo, it was an early night for me. Not after an embarrassing dinner where I asked our very sweet waiter where she was from like 2000000000 times. 

Friday we all woke up feeling rather under the weather. Thankfully, it was windy and cloudy so we didn't miss much. Harkiran was ready to try out Pacha, the most famous club of Ibiza. It was looking bad for a while until we all miraculously rallied and made our way to the infamous club. 

Photo Cred: Julia

Photo Cred: Harkiran

We got to the club around 2 am and did not leave till 5 am. It was so much fun, definitely the most amazing club I haver ever seen. It wasn't a normal club, it was more of an experience with amazing DJs and electric violins, guitars, and saxophones. The next morning we begrudgingly woke up and headed to the airport to head back to Nantes and Finals.

Ibiza was definitely one of the most amazing spring breaks ever and I had the time of my life. I have less than two weeks left in my French adventure and let me tell you all, it has been the most amazing experience of my life. To all those people out there who are considering studying abroad, do it, I have no regrets and my life will be forever changed because of it. I will try to do a few more blog entries before returning to the good ole USA. I cannot wait to see everyone! Wish me luck on finals and I will see you soon! 

KSG

Spring Break Part 1: Saint Cannat

April 22-  April 26

Hello friends,

I just came back from my most amazing spring break ever filled with plenty of adventures and hangovers. As it is 1 am here I am going to write part 2: Ibiza, tomorrow or sometime this week. Let us begin:

La Baule

On Friday April 22, my friends Harkiran, Julia, and I decided to get a jumpstart on our Easter vacation by spending the day at la Baule, the beach about an our northwest of Nantes. We arrived at the cute little beach town around 1 pm and immediately found the nearest grocery store and picked up some beers and b-lined it for the plage! After finding a good spot we laid out our towels and prepared to expose our pale bodies to the sun for the first time in months and drink some beers while soaking up the beautiful french sun beams. We stayed there till around 5 pm then headed back to Nantes to back and get ready for our break in Provence and Ibiza, Spain!

Aix-en-Provence and Saint Cannat

Bright and early Saturday morning my friend Mallory and I set off for our 6 hour train ride to Aix-en-Provence and the little town of Saint Cannat. Finally, after 2 TGV trains we arrived at the train station where my parents picked us up and we went grocery shopping before arriving at our beautiful house in the little town of St. Cannat which is about 30 minutes outside of Aix. After a quiet dinner at home, we went to bed and got ready for our second day in the south of France. 

All of the ladies in Saint Cannat! photo cred: Mallory

Sunday morning, Easter morning, we woke up and had delicious mimosas to start the day. We drove to the little town of Pelissanne because we heard there was a little market. Unfortunately, they were packing up right as we got there but I still managed to get this adorable scarf. After our market failure we walked around the town a little and got a beer at this cute little bar. Around 2:30 we headed back towards Saint Cannat so my dad and I could pick up my three other friends from the train station. We got back from the train and the other girls dropped there stuff off and we walked around town. Having found another little bar and having a glass of wine, we returned to our house to make a delicious Easter dinner. My dad made lamb chops; I made a tomato tart; and my friends helped my mom make a salad and baked potatoes. Around 8:30 pm we sat down to a delicious meal. 2 hours and 7 bottles of wine later we headed off to bed.

Easter Table

Dad at the Market

Monday morning or French Easter more commonly known as Paques, we had more mimosas and got ready to head into Aix. However, the website was not very well organized and we miss read the schedule so we had to hang around till 12:30 to catch the bus into Aix. After a cup of tea we caught the bus into Aix-En-Provence. Since it was Paques, not many restaurants nor stores were open so we got lunch on the main street in Aix and did some shopping in the few stores that were open. Around 5:30 ominous gray clouds started creepin' our way so we took shelter and caught the bus home just in time to miss the rain. We bought some white wine and ate chicken and mashed potatoes for dinner. 

Aix-en-Provence

Tuesday morning we woke up at 7 am and headed to the airport for part 2 of vacation. I will post soon about Ibiza, until then, a bientot!

A Jolly Weekend in London!

April 9- April 11

Ello' gouvnah!

 This past weekend I went to London with my friend Hilary to celebrate her 21st birthday and to check out the land of fish and chips. I left Nantes on a beautiful Friday afternoon and made my way to the airport for my 8:50 pm flight. The plane I took was small and had propellers but seemed safe enough and London was only a short 1 hour flight away. Upon landing in Gatwick airport at 9:15 (England is one time zone behind France), I made my way to passport control. After standing in line for about 20 minutes behind a family from French Guiana who's idea of disciplining their two young boys was to tell them they were ugly, I finally made it to the front of the line and gave my passport to the customs lady. For being an American citizen, blonde, and with the last name St. George you would think I would make it through passport control pretty easily, this was not the case. The woman asked me about 20 questions ranging from "How much money do you have on you?" to "Who is paying for your studies in Nantes?" She eventually let me go and I made my way to the easybus that would take me into central London. With some help from some very friendly British folk I managed to find my way to the Underground and to the proper stop that would deliver me to the University of Westminster, where Hilary and a bed were waiting for me. Hilary came and met me in the lobby and we went to our dorm room and went to sleep.

The next morning we woke up bright and early to take advantage of the beautiful weather. Our first stop was Starbucks (there are about as many Starbucks in London as there are in New York!) and then Big Ben, Parliament, the London Eye, and Westminster Abbey. We did not go into any of these places as they cost a lot of pounds.

Big Ben!

Parliament

London Eye

Westminster Abbey

After checking out some of the touristy places we decided to wander around and just explore. We walked through St. James Park which was beautiful and filled with birds and gardens. Around this time it was almost lunch and Hilary and I were dead set on trying some authentic British Fish and Chips. We walked down Regent Street, the main shopping area of London, and found a little alley way that Hilary had discovered the day before and found a cute pub that where we decided to eat lunch. Now, if you have been following my blog you know how I feel about fish but being in France has made me a slightly more adventurous eater so I got fish and chips despite my complicated relationship with seafood. It was delicious and I had a half pint of beer (sounds a lot more than it actually is) with my meal.

Beautiful Garden in St. James Park

A Coot

Regent Street

Having eaten a delicious British lunch, Hilary and I met up with our friend from home Sarah at Harrods, the famous department store. We walked around with Sarah and her friends who were trying to find this frozen yogurt place that apparently was the "Best Fro-Yo I've ever had" according to Sarah's friend Chelsea. We eventually found it and while it was vastly over priced it was, in fact, delicious. After the Fro Yo fix Sarah took us to an eclectic outdoor market that had food from around the world along with clothing, jewelry, and other miscellaneous stands. Tired from our long day, Hilary and I decided to head back to the dorm around 4 to rest and recharge for the London Night Life. Around 7 Hilary and I pulled ourselves together and met up with our friend Peter from middle school and had a picnic dinner in the park with some beers. After dinner, Hilary was not feeling well so she headed back to the dorm while Peter and I headed back to his flat for some wine before meeting up with my friend Sarah and checking out the London nightlife. We went to this pub/bar/club that had three floors: The top floor was for dancing and the other two were more pub/bar atmospheres. After dancing up a storm I took the bus back to the University and went to bed.

The next morning we woke up at 7:30 and decided to get a jump start on our day. We made our way over to London Bridge only to find it out it wasn't really that cool till we looked across the river and saw Tower Bridge which was the actual goal of our excursion and ate some breakfast. Even though everything in London is incredibly expensive, the museums are free so Hilary and I then hit up the London National Gallery which had an amazing collection of art from everywhere in Europe. Around 10:45 we got back on the tube and made our way to Buckingham Palace to watch the changing of the guard. Seeing as it was a beautiful, warm, sunny Sunday, the place was packed with people ready to watch the spectacle. I some how managed to run into my friend Mallory who is studying with me in Nantes who was visiting London with some friends from school. Even though the place was packed and we did not have a great view of the Changing of the Guard, I still managed to see some of it and it was pretty cool. The soldier/band played some Beetles and the soldiers with guns swung them around a bit, good times. After the procession was over, we went to the park and took a nap for about an hour to recharge. 

Tower Bridge

Changing of the Guard

After our lovely nap in the park, Hilary and I grabbed a quick bite and headed over to the British Museum which contained artifacts from every continent in the world. It was a huge museum and I am sure I did not see everything but what I did see was incredible. My favorite section was the Egypt exhibit that had mummies and real human remains, it sounds kind of morbid but it was cool. We headed back to our dorm to relax and get ready for our last night in London. Around 6:45 Hilary and I decided to get Tapas for dinner and found a relatively inexpensive but classy establishment on Regent street which was only a tube ride away from the University. We split a pitcher of Margarita Sangria that was delicious and the meat lovers tapas menu which was composed of 7 tapas dishes that were all delicious. Full and a little buzzed from the sangria I met up with my friends Sarah and Peter for a drink at this pub near the dorm, we drank this yummy hard cider and discussed our abroad experiences. I headed back to the dorm around 11 as I had to wake up at 3:30 to make my way to the easybus stop, then to Gatwick, then back to Nantes. I got a little lost find the night bus that would take me to the easy bus but I eventually found it and got to Gatwick 2 hours before my flight. I landed in Nantes around 9:50 am and was exhausted. 

I had a wonderful time in London and would like to thank Hilary for inviting me on this excursion with her as well as Peter and Sarah for showing me a great time! Here are some more pictures of London. I have a lot of work this week and lots of traveling to do as my time in France draws to an end. Until next time, Cheerio, mate!

KSG

Excursion en Normandie

March 26 - March 27

Bonjour mes copains!

I have just returned from my excursion in Normandy (see title). We left from IES at 7h45 Saturday, March 26th and started the 4 hour 15 minute drive to Caen. We originally thought the weather was going to be cold and rainy but it ended up being sunny and in the low 60's. 

Caen

We arrived in Caen around noon and had a little over two hours to walk around and get lunch. We were dropped off in front of this giant castle so we decided to go check it out. The inside was not actually that cool but we saw the ruins of Guillaume the Conqueror's chateau. Guillaume was the Duke of Normandy and the King of England until his death in 1086. Mallory and I went and explored this church that was right near the castle and it was pretty cool inside. It was the Saint Pierre Eglise

Chateau 

St. Pierre

We then got back on the bus and visited two of the big abbeys in Caen that were built at the beginning of the 11th century. Guillaume and his wife Mathilde built two abbeys: l'Abbaye aux Hommes (The Abbey for the Dudes) and l'Abbaye aux Dames (The Abbey for the Chicks) where they are both buried respectively. We then went and visited the Caen Memorial that had a museum built into it that talked about the 20th century, specifically the Second World War and D-Day.

l'Abbaye aux Hommes

Tombeau de Guillaume 

l'Abbaye aux Dames

Tombe de Mathilde 

We then arrived at the hotel around 7 pm and had a delicious buffet dinner. Since daylight savings time was Sunday morning at 2 am, we went and got a glass of wine and then went to bed. Harkiran order this local drink called Calvados which is basically a very alcoholic apple liquor. It was nasty. 

Les Plages du Démarquement 

We left the hotel at 9 am and headed toward Bayeux, Omaha Beach, and la Pointe du Hoc. On our way to the little town of Bayeux, we stopped at Arromanches where the British built a temporary port to help them land on the beach. 

False Ports

Bayeux

We then drove to the little town of Bayeux to see the Tapestry of Queen Mathilde, a 60 meter-long tapestry that tells about all the conquests of her husband Guillaume. Mallory, Sarah, Harkian, Julia, and I ate at this adorable little creperie and then went and explored the Bayeux- Calvados Cathedral, one of the most amazing cathedrals I have seen. 

Cute little Creperie 

Cathedrale Bayeux- Calvados 

Inside of the Cathedral 

Bayeux

Omaha Beach and the American Cemetery 

We then drove to Omaha beach and the American cemetery where there are almost 10,000 headstones for American soldiers who lost their lives during WWII, especially D-Day. On D-Day alone, 6,000 American soldiers died, 3,000 of them at Omaha beach. 50 million people lost their lives during WWII, 5X the amount that died in WWI.

Pointe du Hoc

La Pointe du Hoc was a strategic point between Omaha beach and Utah beach that the German's originally occupied. On D-Day, 225 US Rangers were charged with the task of sneaking up on Germans and steeling la Pointe du Hoc from them. Unfortunately for the Rangers the got a little lost and had to traverse 3 miles of beach under enemy fire and then climbing up the cliff with specialized ladders and grappling hooks. They managed to get to the top of the cliff and destroy Germany artillery while holding back the Germans who were desperately trying to get the point back from the Allied forced. Two days later at the end of the whole ordeal, only 90 of the original 225 Rangers were still alive. La pointe du Hoc is still littered with huge craters left by bombs and there is a memorial to the Rangers who valiantly risked their lives to kick some Nazi ass. 

The uh...monument 

We then headed back to Nantes. Normandy was beautiful and I learned a lot about WWII and Guillaume  the Duke of Normandy. The weather is getting warmer and my time in Nantes is passing too quickly. In April I will be visiting London, Marseille, Aix-en-Provence, and Ibiza. Until next time, A plus tard! More Pictures of Normandy

KSG