une Canadienne en France

Well, it’s June 17th and I will be back on Canadian soil in only 2 days. As predicted by all, I cannot believe how quickly my 6 months away have gone. While I am sad that my 6 month vacation is nearing its end, as I have seen and experienced so much, I am excited to come home and see everyone I have missed so much.

I am also looking forward to spending a summer at the lake and then starting my “real life” in the fall. While I will dearly miss the student life (and hope to return to it in the future), I am thrilled to be in a position now where I can tangibly contribute to my community and (while cliché) apply the many lessons I have learnt over my 5 years in post-secondary education.

As for the blog – I am very behind in updating the many sights I have seen in the last month and a half. As I am leaving Europe in a day and a half (and desperately do not want to leave my une Canadienne en France chronicles, incomplete), here is a Coles Notes version of my May and June:

• Mom and Dad visit – we attempt to see as much of France in 11 days as we can. We successfully see Paris, the city of love, Grenoble (Rhone Alp region), Bordeaux, the red wine mecca, and Cannes in the beautiful South of France.
• I am so sick I spend two weeks in bed.
• I go to London to meet up with PK before he spends 2 weeks touring through the UK with his best friend Warren. We are both sick and whine at each other like an old couple. We manage to see most of the London sites and regardless of feeling lousy, we thoroughly enjoy London.


A beautiful English garden


Yea! Buckingham Palace!




London Eye – PK and I really did see all of London


Bridge near the London Eye

• I return to Grenoble and frantically try and finish all of the school work that had I managed to put off until the last minute.
• During exam week, I take off to Barcelona for 4 days. I meet up with Dan and Ange (two great friends from Vancouver) and we spend everyday together, along with Ange’s parents who were also visiting, discovering the beauty that is Barcelona. We eat the most fabulous food at every meal and see almost all of the sites. I bask in the sunlight which I have been missing due to foul weather in Grenoble and have the most amazing time.




Barcelona beautifully juxtaposes old and modern art


Arc de Triomphe – Spanish style!


The Barcelona crew – Dan, Ange, Florence, Gerry, and James (our host and tour guide)


After a great dinner of traditional Catalunya cuisine


I say pose and Ange gladly obliges


In front of Sagrada Familia


Dan, Ange and I on the Barcelona City tour bus


Barcelona’s Gothic town – narrow, winding streets


Sunshine! and Beach!


The most amazing meal ever. Honestly – best in this lifetime!

• I return to Grenoble, finish off my exams, meet up with PK, and pack up everything I can fit into two bags. It is a frantic last 5 days and I barely manage to fit everything in. Not to mention the sad parting of roommates and friends. (Good thing Niki is going to come and visit me in Vancouver next summer!)
• PK and I leave Grenoble on May 27th and head to Amsterdam. We visit the two museums, take in Amsterdam’s famous coffee shops and fall in love with the feel of the city. We eat some amazing meals (and some not so amazing meals) and leave Amsterdam wanting more.


Our favourite coffee shop


The most amazing mint tea ever!


The famous canals




One of our best dinners on the trip so far – Netherlands traditional food with a twist


PK in all his glory

• One May 31st, PK and I take the train to Paris. We spend an entire day in the Louvre, visit the Musee d’Orsay and wander throughout the breathtaking city. The weather was very grey, but as Dana has pointed out to me, Paris is almost more beautiful with that backdrop and I can’t help but agree.


PK licking his lips in anticipation of the famous Parisian food




The Louvre – PK and I spent 6 hours there!


The view from our hotel room

• After Paris, on June 4th, we fly to Dublin. The city is a stark contrast to Paris and seems homely (or should I say modest?) in comparison. PK describes the city as “more real and much warmer” than Paris; “It may be uglier, but the people exude a much greater feeling of hospitality.” The reason for our visit to Dublin was to go see Radiohead at Malahide Castle. We see the first concert of their European tour and are blown away by the concert. It is, or course, absolutely spectacular – the music, the band, the lights, the setting…ahhh, everything rocked!

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The Guinness Storehouse


PK is uber excited – look at that grip on the brochure




The view of Dublin from the top floor of the Storehouse\


This building is much more exciting (and photo worthy) now that I am standing in front of it


Malahide Castle


The massive stage at the concert


VERY excited to be seeing Radiohead


The rainbow kept the rain from dampening our spirits










GREAT concert


The huge crowd


Last look at Dublin before we were off to Prague

• From Dublin, we were off the Prague for 2 nights. Both PK and I had heard amazing things about the city and were excited to see it first hand. Upon arrival, we had a true Czech lunch made up of various types of pork, sausages, duck, dumplings, cabbage and cabbage soup. It was so good, especially with the half-litre jugs of beer served up with it. Prague overall though left us unimpressed; it was overly touristy and the locals seemed mostly annoyed to have so many foreigners in their city. The architecture was stunning and its preservation from WWII was impressive, but we are in no hurry to return.




Huge beers (by my standards at least)


Screens set up in the town square to watch Czech Republic’s first game in the Euro Cup


The famous astrological clock – how cool!


Charles’s Bridge behind me




The view from Prague Castle


PK working at a smile


All of the doors in Prague Castle are much shorter than PK!


Stunning Gothic cathedral



• After Prague, we stopped in Vienna for one night before heading to Salzburg. We didn’t want to make the long train trip in one day from Prague to Salzburg so we though Vienna would be a perfect place to spend one night. We arrive in Vienna at night and spent our time in the “Fanzone” watching two Euro Cup Games. The Fanzone was right in the downtown of the city, next to some of Vienna’s most beautiful buildings. It was absolutely huge with over a hundred food and drink vendor stalls, 10 huge screens and a capacity of 50,000. The Euro Cup atmosphere was contagious and watching the Romania-Italy game and the France-Netherlands game next to fans was awesome.


The Fanzone – Yea Euro Cup!




Soccer mania


PK is addicted to soccer!

• On June 10th, we made our way to Salzburg. We rented an apartment in the city and have loved having a kitchen, and a couch. We have spent our days wandering through the small, but gorgeous old town, watching a tonne of soccer and lazing indoors because of the rain. We are in Salzburg because Greece (PK’s team) has 3 games here. PK went to the first 2 (which unfortunately Greece lost) and is planning to go to their last game tomorrow against Spain. I wanted to go to a game, but with scalped, single tickets going for anywhere between 200 and 400 Euros, it was a little bit out of my budget. Salzburg also has a Fanzone (much smaller than Vienna’s though), where PK and I have taken in many of the tournaments games.


Fans everywhere!


The Swedes march to the stadium on game day (there were thousands of them!)


Greece v. Sweden


Greece v. Sweden


The Salzburg Fanzone


PK proudly wearing the Greek jersey


Greece v. Russia


Greece v. Russia


Greek fans chanting, drumming and building energy for tomorrow’s game. Want more of a first hand experience? Watch PK’s video on YouTube: Ellas Ole Ellas Ole


Rain didn’t stop us – thank goodness for ponchos

• On June 16th, PK and I went to Munich for a day trip. The train ride was only 2 hours both ways, so we couldn’t resist to take in a bit of German Bavarian culture. The weather was less than optimal so we spent most of our time eating German food (pork, potatoes, dumplings and cabbage) and drinking Munich beer. The best part of the trip was our visit to the Hofbrau Haus – this venue is a huge beer hall/restaurant, where beer is served in 1 litre steins and the music, laughter and drinking makes for the most joyous atmosphere.

The beautiful garden behind the Royal Residences

Surfing in the Englisher Garten park – too cool!

Bier Garten in the middle of the park

Hofbrau Haus

Mmm, Weissbier

PK managed to drink 2 of these

The band, playing traditional Bavarian folk music

This is only one of four rooms in the Hofbrau Haus

Marienplatz – I really love the Gothic architecture

Phew! So there you have it; my last two months in a nutshell. I am excited to see everyone when I return and to share more photos and stories that did not make it to the blog.