the unabridged adventures of my semester abroad

Gabrielle | 20 | Canada/France

[from-lille-with-love]

The Return of the Blog

Yeah I know this blog is called From Lille With Love. I’m not in Lille, I’m actually in Montreal. But who cares!!! I’m still gonna use this as my travel blog. 

Well, I got here on Sunday morning after a red-eye flight with Air Canada, during which NO pillows or blankets were provided. I spent $600 for a ticket and they try to charge me $7 for a disposable polyester pillow? No thank you! 

Anyways, I made my way to my hostel, Auberge Bishop, in downtown Montreal, where I dumped my stuff and tried to find a church to go to. There are tons of churches so I ended up walking into a Presbyterian church. The people were super nice, but my eyes kept closing and I was so tired I felt a bit dizzy. Sleeping in church is probably considered disrespectful, so I left partway through. After, I popped into the Musée de beaux-arts, which happened to be free on the last Sunday of the month. I saw a Monet and a Picasso and a medieval Jesus with 6-pack abs, so it was a pretty cool museum. 

I went to check into my hostel and promptly slept for most of the afternoon. I went out later to get Greek salad at Mcdonalds, and then crawled into bed to sleep again! 

The next morning I had a lazy start, breakfast at the hostel, packed all my stuff, and dropped it off at the UQAM west residence. It was raining but that didn’t deter me from exploring Vieux-Montreal and taking a stroll beside the river. I visited the Notre-Dame Basilica, which was beautiful and full of tourists, then I ate a pain au chocolat in a Starbucks to wait out the pouring rain. Later, I visited the little Chateau Ramezay with some antique objects. 

Finally I was able to settle into my dorm room, buy a few groceries and get a good night’s sleep! I’m on the 8th floor with a pretty view of the skyline at night. Today, we had the Explore orientation and got placed into our classes - I’m in class 12, the highest. It’s been good so far but I have to find something to do tomorrow - maybe a park after classes if it’s good weather. 

So far Montreal makes me nostalgic for study abroad, but it just doesn’t hold a candle to Europe. 

[from-lille-with-love]

Canadian culture shock

There are some weird things at home that I’m still getting used to again that would probably be unfamiliar to Europeans. Such as...

“Open 24 hours”

Silver coins (they’re so shiny???)

The roads are like twice as wide as they need to be

There’s little to no garbage on the streets

Fat people in motorized wheelchairs, what. I forgot people actually did this

Huge cracks in the stall doors in public bathrooms, seriously? I always thought it was unusual but coming back home I cannot BELIEVE we live like this

And the toilets that automatically flush; I forgot about those too

Also in Canada we call them “washrooms” for some reason

Buses that only come every 30 minutes

And buses that only go to some areas 2 or 3 times a day (areas that are a 10-minute drive away from my house)

Nothing important within walking distance

You can’t buy alcohol at the grocery store so we have specific liquor stores instead

Pastries that cost $5 - going out to a café is gonna set you back a bit :/

Walking for 45 minutes and only passing 2 other people on the street

Empty lots with no buildings on them

And trees that fill every open space

The gorgeous mountains all around; I forgot about those

The soft music of the ice cream truck in your neighbourhood in summer

The ease of ordering everything in English again

Basically, some weird adjustments since I’ve been back; I think things are actually more expensive here, and the transit is horrific, I can’t leave this town or get around in it and it’s so frustrating. Kinda funny to notice the differences between Abbotsford and Lille, but I miss Europe so much. Just gotta work hard and save up, and maybe I’ll be back in a couple of years. Anything could happen!

[from-lille-with-love]

In all honesty I wish I were somewhere else right now

I’ve written so many positive posts. I’ve always managed to talk about both the good and bad side of study abroad. I’ve looked at the bright side in every possible situation. But here’s the honest truth: I don’t even wanna be here right now. Don’t get me wrong; it’s been great to see everybody again for the past few weeks, I’ve loved hanging out with friends and family recently and getting a chance to wind down. I’m also so happy to get back to my job; I really love working at Ocean Park.

I’m just frustrated because my world got so small again and yet I can’t seem to control it. I don’t know where to get a second job, I can’t even transport myself around the city with the horrible bus system we’ve got, and that limits my options for career-buliding opportunities like French tutoring. I had a ray of hope for getting my laptop back but even more time has passed so I’m expecting to have to buy a new laptop in the fall for hundreds of dollars that I can’t really afford to spend. And I miss being able to pore over photos and videos that I no longer have. I have problems that I have no way of fixing, decisions to make and I can’t decide what to do, and I don’t have the same kind of independence that I had. 

I don’t mean to complain because I did have such amazing experiences that very few people get to have. I know how lucky I am. Sorry if I’m being ungrateful but I WANT MY STOLEN THINGS BACK. I want to be able to go wherever and invite friends over anytime with no questions asked. I know that life was temporary and not realistic but I’m willing to work hard at my job again, of course. I’m willing to work hard at courses in the fall. I realize that I can’t have my study abroad life again, but I wish I could get closer to it. 

Idk, my hometown is always going to have a special place in my heart, of course. But I just don’t think it’s going to have a place in my future. Who knows what will happen, but right now I feel kinda trapped here and I feel like I’m powerless to change my situation. 

Kinda seems like the adjustment once you get back home is way more difficult than when you move to a new home.

[from-lille-with-love]

Study abroad: Top 100 Memories

The reason I took so many photos and videos during my study abroad is that I have a bad memory for details. Already, the experience has begun to fade into a blur, and my 10,000 photos and videos might be gone forever. I’m trying to get over that still, but I don’t wanna forget all the good times I had over the course of 6 months. Writing it down is an alternative way to remember. So without further ado, here are the top 100 memories from my study abroad.

New Years’ Eve in Paris.

Making silly lipsynch videos on our first few nights in the wifi-less apartment.

Taking a day trip to Amiens and climbing the cathedral.

Orientation week at Sciences Po, where we visited Gare Saint-Sauveur, Musée de la Piscine, had a party for Galettes des Rois, and more. 

When we didn’t have a toaster yet so I made a grilled Nutella sandwich. 

Simple meals of baguette slices and cheese. 

Taking dumb mirror selfies in Ikea. 

Getting a phone plan from Free Mobile and going all the way out to Henin-Beaumont.

That girls’ night where me, Kelly, Laura, and Kealie all somehow ended up singing along to the Mamma Mia soundtrack at the top of our lungs. 

A January day alone wandering the streets of Paris. 

When I found out my door was too big for the door-frame and I had to call Jake to help me get out of my room.

Crossing the border into Belgium and exploring the tourist-free town of Kortrijk. 

Buying discount fruits and vegetables at the sketchy Wazemmes Market.

Super cheap chocolate letters at Hema.

Visiting Eden and getting rained on in Reims.

Entering the snapchat world. 

Finding out just how weird Mykolas is in Luxembourg. 

That night at La Boucherie.

Finally meeting Jess for the first time in Braunton. 

Navigating the Tube in London.

Seeing Harry Potter filming locations in Oxford. 

Hitting every charity shop in Bristol. 

Staying at the “Rock n’ Bowl” hostel, a combination hostel, bar, and bowling alley.

Visiting the Jane Austen centre in Bath.

The Marina and the Diamonds concert that I went to all by myself.

The Musical Instruments Museum in Brussels. 

Cassie’s party.

Staying over at Solène’s house and visiting Mont Saint-Michel, St-Malo, and Dinan with her family. 

A glorious day on the Île-de-Ré.

Squished macarons at the train station in La Rochelle. 

Drinking wine in Bordeaux.

A picnic supper with Kelly on Barceloneta Beach.

And that time we splurged and got paella and sangria at a restaurant to celebrate her 20th birthday.

The orange trees of Valencia.

My 10-day break in Canada.

Staying up until all hours of the night and eating pizza while trying to finish essays.

Finishing my last essay the day of the gala, and then going to the gala with the best friends and going for kebabs and fries after.

As well as all those times we got Sensas (too many).

Exploring the Louvre with my dad.

Climbing the Arc de Triomphe.

That time I just wanted to fry some apples with cinnamon, but Kelly decided to bake a whole pie.

And when we were determined to make homemade poutine.

When Jake hid easter eggs for everybody to find. 

And when we did the final Maplemite photoshoot.

Getting lost in Lille on the way home from the club, and walking for an hour in the middle of the night. 

Going to the Magazine club with Priya, and getting in free because we’re Canadian.

Surviving a night at the airport outdoors in freezing weather watching movies with two random girls we just met.

Eating pizza and gelato every day in Venice. 

The Colosseum and the Forum.

Meeting nice Italians when we missed the last metro in Naples.

Making it on time to our flight at the Bari airport! 

When Kelly cut my hair and gave me bangs. 

Eating johannisbeerschnecke in Berlin.

And basking in the warm sunlight at the top of the Reichstag.

Watching the kites fly overhead at the abandoned Templehof airport. 

Everything about Prague: the castle, the churches, the streets, the trdlnik, the music...

The ivory flowers and glittering jewels displayed at the Kunsthistorisches museum in Vienna.

Getting the VERY LAST standing room ticket at the Vienna State Operahouse, and standing for three hours until my feet got numb, to watch the show.

Sitting serenely in a Bratislava cemetery. 

And getting a crepe with bryndza (Slovakian sheep cheese) and an infused drink for only 3,90. 

When they let me touch extremely old books at the National Library in Budapest and I felt like I was in the Hogwarts library.

And when I accidentally stumbled across a castle beside a fairytale pond at the end of one whirlwind day in Budapest.

Surviving the worst 6-hour bus ride ever.

Watching people doing cool skateboard and bike tricks at the festival in Zagreb.

Pondering through the Museum of Broken Relationships.

Rowing a boat solo across Lake Bled to the island with the church.

Getting caught in the rain at Bled castle.

Taking pictures of the alternative art scene at Metelkova in Ljubljana.

Going for crepes at Repaire de Lion, so many times.

Being a tourist in my own city and finally checking out the Musee de beaux-arts.

Returning to Paris with my mom and seeing a beautiful rosy sky over Place de la Concorde.

Climbing the Eiffel Tower again, and seeing sunset, dusk, and nightfall, as well as lightning in a nearby storm.

Going back to Versailles a second time and getting to go through all of it, even Marie Antoinette’s hamlet and the Trianons.

Revisiting the old centre of Lyon.

Dancing on the Pont d’Avignon.

The window-boxes of Arles, overflowing with flowers.

And the Van Gogh foundation with a special exhibition of his works.

Lavender at the market.

The view from Notre Dame de la Garde overlooking the port of Marseille.

Finding seaglass in Menton.

The baby clownfish and jellyfish at the oceanographic museum in Monaco. 

Making friends at my hostel in Lisbon.

And making friends who took me out for tapas on my last night there.

Going to the beach and finally making use of the swimsuit I’d been carrying around for months.

Castle-hopping in tropical Sintra.

And standing on the edge of the world at Cabo da Roca.

Meeting up with Johanna again in Hamburg.

And visiting the Miniatur Wunderland.

Then meeting Mykolas in Copenhagen.

Taking a canal tour.

And making the actual best pasta.

Checking out some free Danish museums.

And eating jumbosnegl like every day.

One last day trip to Ghent on my way back to Lille.

And one last day of wandering through Grand Place, Vieux-Lille, Republique-Beaux Arts, and saying goodbye to my hometown.

Finally climbing the Beffroi like a true tourist.

Saying goodbye to my home and handing over the keys for the last time.

The last dinner, in true Nord-pas-de-Calais style, eating dinner in a stone basement in a restaurant where everything comes with fries, your food will probably be cooked in beer, and vegetables are for the weak.

Sitting outside Elise’s apartment at night and telling stories.

Flying home and reflecting on all the wonderful things in the past and what to look forward to in the future.

[from-lille-with-love]

Things I learned from studying abroad

When you live in a foreign country, on another continent, for 6 months, you’re bound to learn a thing or two. Especially when you make mistakes!!

Don’t trust the general public. EVER. No matter how many lovely, kind, trustworthy people you may meet, there’s always going to be that ONE person who is actually malicious, greedy, conniving, or possess any number of negative character traits. And if it’s only that one person, then you’re lucky. Anyways, what I’m saying is, I got too trusting, and assumed nobody would steal my locked suitcase if I left it in a hostel locker room for the day. I can’t even tell you how many tears I cried over that stupid suitcase with my precious laptop inside (full of thousands of irreplaceable photos) because some asshole came along and decided to steal it. By this point there is almost no chance of ever getting back anything that was in there, and I regret my mistake every single day. SO. Don’t be like me. Don’t ever leave anything you care about even in the SLIGHTEST out of your sight for a second. Lock it up, take it with you, ask your friend to guard it... Seriously. You don’t want to imagine how it feels when probably the most valuable thing you’ve ever owned gets robbed. 

On a more positive note, experiences like these are gonna bring you closer to God. Honestly, one of my goals going in was to figure out that part of my life a little bit better, and it wasn’t really happening until 5 days before I left, when my stuff got stolen. I realized that I not only got too trusting of the general public, but also way too reliant that I’d just be fine and I could handle every problem that life threw at me. Wow, was I wrong. There is still physically no possible way for me to get back those things that are lost, and moreover, the only reason I didn’t get robbed from EARLIER was because God was protecting me from the consequences of my dumb actions (I’d definitely left my luggage in more sketchy hostels than this one). So after this I definitely started praying harder than I had in a long time; I’m still wrestling with God on this one because I’ve learned a lot of valuable lessons from this experience but I know that if I never get my photos back it’s something I’m going to regret even in 5 or 10 years. Whatever. Maybe I deserve it or something. All I know is that “everything happens for a reason” and sometimes I guess that reason is “I’m an idiot.” Maybe I should start praying for some brains instead of my stolen stuff back :P

Know when to spend money, and when to save it. Instead of just trying to save money on everything, spend it when you know it’s gonna be worth it. (For example, protecting your VALUABLES!!!!!!!!). Also sometimes you just have to yolo a little bit, like when I rowed a boat on Lake Bled. Cost me 20 euros but I regret nothing, that was an amazing experience. Sometimes you just have to buy cookies. Whatever, don’t feel guilty about it. You’re travelling so you’re going to end up spending a lot of money anyways - so make the most of your experience. 

Spend as much time socializing as possible. I made some very good friends in Lille, but I still wish I would’ve spent more time with them. I can remember some weekends where I just stayed inside, cooked food with my roommates, and probably watched some dumb TV shows. It’s okay to do that sometimes, but looking back I wish I would’ve done it less, as there were more things around the Lille area I still hadn’t done. I should’ve invited friends over more.

Get out of your comfort zone. Speak French with your French friends; try a new food even if it sounds like you might hate it. Visit a new club or bar with friends; try local drinks. It’s always a good time to try something you’ve never tried before! (Except drugs, don’t do drugs kids). I found so many new foods that I liked - my tastes changed so much I don’t even care anymore what toppings come on a pizza or a burger, I just eat the food. Not even picky anymore. And I realized that clubs are just a fun time dancing with your friends, just like back at the high school dances. I like cider, I like sangria, and it’s totally awesome to find new things that you like. It helps you to solidify an experience in your mind. 

Anyways, I learned all of this, and much much more, so if I think of more, I’ll add them. I’m still learning from this experience even though it’s over, and I’ll continue to figure out new things as I get older. It was truly a life-changing experience.

[from-lille-with-love]

Things I missed about Canada, and things I already miss about France

It’s good to be home and get back to:

Cheddar cheese

Clean streets

The best tap water

The most gorgeous mountains

Skippy peanut butter

The greenest plants

A TV

A sofa

People I love

But I wish I didn’t have to leave behind:

French bread

The most convenient transports

Patisseries 

Everything important within walking distance

My apartment

The most chill school ever

Student/under 25 discounts

My SUITCASE/CLOTHES/LAPTOP/PHOTOS :( :( :( 

People I love

Post-study abroad life goes on. It sucks a little bit, I’m feeling the loss of my computer like a phantom limb, and without a car I can’t go ANYWHERE. Why are Canadian transits actually on the same level of a third-world country. I keep telling everyone I’m glad to be back but you know, the gladness is kind of outweighed by all I lost and all I left behind. Oh well, whatever happens happens. I’m just gonna keep praying that whoever has my laptop is gonna find it in the depths of their heart to try and return it to its heartbroken owner. Please, God, fix my stupid mistake.

 Missing my study abroad pals like crazy, please come and visit BC soon! In the meantime I’m gonna work like Rihanna so maybe I can come back to Europe within the next few years. You darlings, stay in touch with me <3 

[from-lille-with-love]

My home and native land

Well, I'm back. Fitting that my first day home is on Canada Day - my country is welcoming me home :) I already spent time with my family, grandparents, and Kelly (we got Canada day temporary tattoos and went to Tim Hortons). Pretty fun stuff. Gonna be perfectly honest though, I thought I would be happier to be home. Although I was so happy to see everyone again and I'm excited to see my friends tonight ... I'm not in France anymore 😭 I won't go back for years now and I won't see my European friends for such a long time. It's straight back to work and real life next week. It'll be good for me to start making money again, I'm definitely excited for that first paycheque to hit my bank account! I had a great end of study abroad though. I flew out of Copenhagen on Tuesday morning, arrived at Charleroi airport and took a shuttle to Ghent, where I spent half a day exploring the old town and the castle. Definitely more beautiful than Brussels! I've heard it's the most beautiful city in Belgium and I believe it. Surprised I didn't go before, since it's only 1 hour away from Lille by bus. After that, I returned to Lille and went to Elise's apartment, where I could (finally) change clothes and take a shower (after all my stuff had been stolen....) What a lovely and comfortable feeling. Elise had work the next day and I slept in a bit, picked up my other suitcase and said goodbye forever to my apartment (not without a few tears), closed my EDF account, met Frida and Antoine, and then bought some local Lille products at Carrefour to bring home. We walked the streets of Vieux-Lille one last time and climbed the city hall tower. That night we had a lovely dinner at Estaminet la Vieille-France with Élise, her colleague Grégor, Antoine, and his roommate. It was a typical north French restaurant, cozy stone cellar decorated with baskets and the food was mostly cooked in beer. Every meal comes with fries, but vegetables are scarce! Elise, Grégor, and I sat outside after for about an hour and told stories, it was great. Then Élise and I stayed up even later :D I woke up early to say goodbye to her the next morning and thank her for feeding me, clothing me, and taking me in. She's an absolute life-saver. So sad to say goodbye, but it's just a see you later! Then with suitcase in hand I walked to the metro station and went to Gare Lille Europe to take a bus to Charles de Gaulle airport. 14 hours of flying later and I was back home in beautiful British Columbia! Anyways, so I'm experiencing some study abroad withdrawal right now. I think I'd feel a lot better if I had my laptop so I could pore over all my memories again. What I've got now on Facebook and Instagram is so limited :( My dad did get a call from Denmark the other day, but picked up and no one answered. It's a call from skype so we can't call back, and they never called again. Mysterious, but at least a good sign. I think tomorrow I'll call the Copenhagen lost and found to see if they've received anything. Still in prayer that it'll come back to me - I know it's not a big deal in the grand scheme of things but it means a lot to me both monetarily and sentimentally. I'll write more later; I still have more to say, but I'm typing this on my phone which is inconvenient :/ Until then, this is what I've got!

[from-lille-with-love]

Let's just pretend like it's Thanksgiving

A holiday that my European friends don't celebrate. A holiday that's still like 4 months away. But when your luggage is stolen, well, all you can do is try to find that stuff back and look at the bright side. There always is one. The damage: number one thing is my laptop. Not only can I totally not afford to buy a new one at this point in my life, but I have about 10,000 pics and vids on there that haven't been backed up. On like anything. (Curse you iCloud for only giving me 5GB storage for free. But also curse my own stupid self for not backing those up on google photos, which gives unlimited free space). Basically, those photos are priceless to me. They capture so many memories, experiences, and moments. I can obviously live without them but it's gonna be really, really, really hard to swallow if I can never retrieve them. Then there's also the new sweater Mom bought for me, the one I wanted for months. My high-waisted shorts. My paisley t-shirt. My purple converse. The lavender honey I bought in Provence, as well as the lavender soap. Then there's replaceable but necessary stuff. Like for example I only have the clothes I'm wearing right now. But I really just want my pajamas. Also my face cloths and soap. Also my shampoo and conditioner. Kinda need that stuff. Anyways, I made a dumb decision - I didn't have any Danish kroner, didn't want to go to an ATM and come back, and generally didn't even wanna pay for an entire day of luggage storage. So I just .... didn't. And my luggage disappeared just like that. Kinda my own fault, but I also don't know why a hostel traveller would want to ruin somebody's day so much by stealing all their stuff. Okay! Enough self-pity though. The things to be thankful for are: I still got my phone. My little baby, my lifeline. What would I do without it? I still have my passport, which I need to fly out of Copenhagen Tuesday morning, then an international flight on Thursday. Still got all my cards and IDs, my camera and its charger. Also, this is such a small thing, but I still have my hairbrush, toothbrush, toothpaste, and makeup. So happy about that. And you know, I still did enjoy Copenhagen. It's a beautiful city, great weather, I got to spend time with an awesome friend, and do some cool activities. My study abroad is finally coming to an end. If I don't find my luggage back the end is definitely kinda tainted, but I mean, it's just material stuff. What matters the most is my experiences, my attitude, and what I learn from my mistakes. Wish I could've just NOT made the mistake in the first place...... but the past is in the past so I have to let it go :D Now time to sleep, try not to regret everything, and set my alarm for my early date with the police tomorrow. Travel goals, for sure.

[from-lille-with-love]

I love Denmark because I could literally just wave my wallet around like "who wants this" and they'd be like "nåh m8 I'm okay thanks"

[from-lille-with-love]

Brb, changing my blog title to “From Lisbon With Love”

4 nights in Lisbon; the longest I’ve booked in any one city so far. I did it so that I could take a day trip to Sintra, but I was really blown away by everything that I saw in the area. I guess it wasn’t that there were so many amazing sights, but more the atmosphere and the culture was so open and warm. The weather was fantastic the entire time, I didn’t see a cloud until this morning. 

My first day in Lisbon I got in around 8 am after sleeping in the Porto airport (”sleeping”). Naturally, I didn’t have much energy, especially after dragging my luggage up an extremely steep hill and several flights of stairs. But I still managed to get out and see the National Tile Museum (air-conditioning, yay) and the Sao Jorge castle that night, a great spot to overlook the city and ocean although the well-worn stone steps can be VERY slippery. (No one saw me fall though, it’s all good my graceful reputation is intact).

My second day, I woke up, had a relaxing morning at the Ajuda national palace, which I’d say is decorated at a level on par with Versailles, but smaller and more manageable. It was used quite recently so the rooms are much more organized and true to life than the rooms of Versailles, plus it helped that I had the place almost completely to myself. The staff were acting almost like tour guides, telling me facts about the objects and rooms, so that was super nice of them. Then I didn’t know what I wanted to do after that, I looked at my map, and just spontaneously decided to take my day trip to Sintra (even though it was already like 11:30 am). Still wish I would’ve had a bit more time there, but the time I did spend was incredible. I just wrote several paragraphs about my time there, but then remembered I already made an entire post about it. That’s how good it was, I was prepared to write about it all over again!

The next morning I went to the Jeronimos Monastery, a free art museum, and the Belem tower, all in the district of Belem. From Belem tower you can see this red bridge which I swear, looks almost exactly like the Golden Gate bridge. I’m serious, Lisbon is the San Francisco of Europe. Fight me on this. It’s got steep steep hills, a cold coast, trams everywhere, and then there’s that bridge. Anyways, I was exceptionally lazy this day, went back to the hostel and cooked some pasta with Sacha, a girl from Quebec. Way to SAVE MONEY!! :D 

On my last full day I got up late AGAIN (noticing a pattern here?) and went on the walking tour with Sacha, starting at like 10:30. IT WAS SO HOT. And guess what, I wore a tanktop and didn’t cover my shoulders (scandalous!) and I didn’t have sunscreen. So I got that classic tourist shoulder blush going on. The tour was great though, the guide was really passionate about Portuguese history and she was really engaging, like I actually learned a lot. We were so parched after the tour, we just went back to the hostel and finished the leftover pasta. Then Sacha headed off to Porto and I went back to a few places we passed by on the walking tour: this old ruined convent with no roof, and then the oldest bookstore in the world :O 

And finally, after dragging my stupid bathing suit all over half the world, I finally used it. The beach was really nice, water was pretty cold but the waves were fairly large and it was sandy. There weren’t any lockers, so I just tied my stuff to the back of a chair and prayed that no one would steal it (because how am I supposed to live without my phone?). No one did. Shoutout to the general beach-going public for being decent human beings. 

After my little jaunt at the beach (and getting knocked over by a wave, gotta love that saltwater burn as it goes down your throat), I wanted to spend one last little bit of time in the Alfama district, the oldest part of Lisbon that was not destroyed in the great earthquake. It was all lit up in the evening, full of music, and I climbed the stairs to a lookout point where I asked a girl to take a photo of me. She took like 10, it was awesome, all different angles and everything, so I offered to take a picture of her and her friends. We got to talking, and they invited me to hang out with them, and they took me to a tapas place - it was great. They recommended Portuguese foods to try (for only 1 euro!!). I stayed out later than I intended, but it was so fun, I’m really glad I got to meet them :)

I got back to my hostel and knocked on the door, not sure where my key was. I dumped out both of my bags like 3 times and couldn’t find it, so I was freaking out because I had a 10 euro deposit on that thing. 10 euros!!! That’s like, a lot of money!! So I went upstairs to the hostel staff guy all upset, told him I did something super dumb and didn’t know what to do, and guess what??? He gave me a new key??? What a champ!!!!! I felt like that guy in the Bible who was forgiven from a debt of like 100,000 sesterces or whatever the currency was. Seriously. 

Then I got up early this morning, had some breakfast, and went to the airport, where I forgot to empty out my water bottle before security and had to chug it on the spot (or go back, dump it out, and wait in line again, ew no). Classic airport security guard, making sure people are hydrated :) That was fun, and then the air traffic controllers are on strike apparently so we took off an hour late. Now it’s late afternoon, I’m at my hostel in Hamburg talking to this weird Chilean guy who asked if I’m from the States (and then when I said no I’m from Canada, he was like “It’s pretty much the same thing.” TRIGGERED). 

Gonna wander around a little bit tonight, and then meet Johanna tomorrow, yay!! I actually love Germany, so I’m excited to be back here. 

[from-lille-with-love]

"Breakfast is the most important meal of the day." Especially when it's served for free by your hostel.

[from-lille-with-love]

So many jaw-dropping sights, you might as well just leave your mouth open all day

This is a lesson called: get an early start on the day. But also, if you don’t, it’s not the end of the world. 

Of course, I was late out of the hostel because:

I stayed in bed 25 minutes after my alarm. 

I ate breakfast at a glacial speed. 

I was socializing.

All valid reasons which led to me finally shoving off at like 10:30. Conveniently, it had already reached a comfortable temperature of about 28 degrees outside. I lived in the north of France for 5 months!! I’m not used to this! I’m burning alive!!

Checked the map and spontaneously decided to go to this palace called Ajuda. First of all, air conditioning. Heavenly. Second of all, beautifully decorated and furnished - it was in use until 1910 so everything is in fairly good repair, and very organized. The rooms are still all furnished and set up according to their original purposes (unlike Versailles, where they had to do a lot of guesswork and sometimes randomly put mismatched furniture in an extra room somewhere). Then, another big plus was that I was almost the only person in the palace (Monday morning). Albeit not nearly as big as Versailles, I’d say the decoration and overall beauty of the place are almost on par, it was that good. So I basically had the place to explore by myself, and the guards were super nice and chill - asking me if I had any questions, telling me facts about the rooms and objects. The route was super clearly laid-out, and the place was just enjoyable - plus the student price was only 2,50. Score! 

I got outta there by maybe 11:30, then I looked at the map. I’d gone to most of the places I’d favourited on google maps, and some stuff was also closed today because it’s Monday. I couldn’t decide what to do but I didn’t feel like being out in the heat. That’s when I decided to go to Sintra. It was going to be a day trip for me; well, it turned out being about a half-day trip because I spontaneously decided to do it today. 

It took ages to get there, lots of train transfers and stuff, but I got there just after 2 and went straight to Quinta da Regaleira. See, about 2 or 3 years ago I’d seen this amazing picture of a mossy spiral well on pinterest, and put it on my travel board. The caption was “Sintra, Portugal.” So I’d always wanted to see this well - it kinda symbolizes Sintra for me even though it’s not the biggest attraction there. Anyways, I accessed this big complex of gardens, tunnels, and grottos, including the amazing well (which drips chilly limestone water on you while you walk up its slippery staircase). 

After this bucket list item was checked off, I had to make a tough (but super fun) choice: which palaces to see. There are probably like 8 palaces in Sintra. How. How does this small town get EIGHT and Abbotsford has maybe like 2 buildings over 100 years old. ANYWAYS. The main two I was considering were the Moors’ Castle, or the Palace of Pena. Both had good reviews - a combined ticket was an option but the tourist information lady told me it cost 20 euros. Ouch. 

I could see the Moors’ castle from lower Sintra and knew it’d have a drop-dead gorgeous view. But I could also see the colourful Pena Palace on a hill just behind, and thought that if I could see a cool palace AND get a good view, it’d be better. Not sure which one really is better, and I won’t know for a long time, but the Pena Palace is beautiful, all done up in primary colours and tiled. You can do a terrace walk around the palace and the views are STUNNING. Does Portugal even have clouds? I swear I haven’t seen one since I’ve been here. Where does their rain come from?? 

I wouldn’t go inside the palace again, because I’ve already seen a lot of the same sort of stuff, but the outside was great. The park is included in the ticket price, but I wandered around there for like 30 minutes trying to find stuff and it took forever, was super hilly and I just wanted to go to Cabo da Roca. So I took the bus down the hill and then hopped right onto another bus to the coast (paid for a 4,10 bus ticket all in change, thank goodness I had enough because it was a little stressful counting all those coins).

It was a chill bus ride for about 45 minutes, then I hopped off at the last stop and was immediately slapped in the face with a wall of wind. Whoa. Yep, it was a bit chilly on the coast, thanks to those prevailing winds sweeping over the Atlantic with nothing to break against (but me). Walked to the edge and my jaw HIT THE FLOOR. Just the bluest sky you’ve ever seen, not a cloud in sight, melting into the turquoise ocean dotted with glittering whitecaps soon to be dashed against the steep and imposing cliffs at the end of Europe. As far west as you can get on mainland Europe, and I really don’t blame the ancients for believing that the Earth is flat because it honestly looks like that from the Cabo da Roca. You could easily believe that you’d come to the end of the earth, and that you’d just fall off the end if you travelled all the way to the horizon. Luckily, you’d actually bump into Canada. After that you might cross the border into the USA and ACTUALLY reach the end of the earth, entering instead into a sort of dystopia. 

No but seriously, this is why I’m glad I listened to the advice of former travellers. I only heard about this Cabo da Roca place from this Russian guy I met in Budapest, and ever since, I’ve wanted to go. Thanks little blin for the best advice. This was the BEST day. Portugal played it coy for the first few days, it took awhile to win me over, but once it did.... Well, that was one of the best travel days I’ve ever had. 

And I’m just gonna end there, suddenly realizing I didn’t even write about the stuff I did yesterday but who cares about that, I’ll add it to the next post. Until next time readers. (Probably tomorrow, I know you all are on the EDGE of your seats in anticipation of my next post). Quality content right here.

[from-lille-with-love]

Porto, city of dancers (I got 3 vids to prove it)

Porto’s just a fun place. I’m gonna be honest, travel fatigue is hitting pretty hard right now. After travelling to Italy, being home for a week, going to Eastern Europe for 12 days, going home for 4 days, and packing up my apartment, I’ve now been travelling since June 5th and tonight is the 18th. I’m still loving it! But just taking it a little slower now. 

So I feel like I didn’t do a ton of stuff here, but I still had a great time. Yesterday I got up a bit late, went to the Bolhao market right next to my hostel, and bought the BIGGEST grapes you’ve ever seen. Then I sat at a nearby cafe and ordered some weird random egg tart and pecan tart (they seem to love the egg custard pastries here) and had a good breakfast. Then I checked out a few churches, most importantly the Sao Francisco monument church which is decorated and gilded and filigreed within an inch of its life; absolutely incredible. I spent the rest of the day around town in the Ribeira area, checking out the pretty tiles, the Douro river, and the bridges. 

This morning I didn’t get out of the hostel until 10 (lol) and then I toured the Palacio da Bolsa, the old stock exchange. Well. It puts Lille’s Vieille Bourse to shame, that’s for sure. I later checked out the Livraria Lello, a fancy old bookstore with a red staircase, and then the park surrounding Palacio de Cristal. There was a sweet food truck area there, didn’t try anything though because I wasn’t hungry. I finished the day by looking around for this other church forever, then I finally found out it was closed. But no big deal, I just walked across the bridge for the views, then sat by the river for awhile. Saw an awesome old man doing I don’t know what kind of dance on the street. Props to him for being willing to look like an absolute dork - I couldn’t even judge him because that takes serious confidence. Another old lady was just blasting her tunes from inside her shop, she got like Queen, Bon Jovi, then she flipped to some more dancey tunes - this lady was her own DJ and she was working it. People here know how to have fun. 

I was definitely jealous of some people’s drinks, too. I saw some mojitos and some sangrias that looked like heaven in a glass. BUT since I’m here solo ..... what’s the point of drinking. Kelly get back here with me RIGHT NOW I’ll buy you a drink any day. Sounds like a good deal right? 

Now because I’m poor and also didn’t want to pay for a hostel that I’d only spend half the night at, I am staying at a lovely 0-star hotel called the Oporto Airport. It was a great deal, I booked it on the internet for only €0,00 and I have unlimited free wifi and my own booth at Costa Coffee. Since this is the real world, and not France, cafes and shops are actually open until reasonable times, like the middle of the night. Anyways, we’ll see if I actually get any sleep before my 6 am flight tomorrow, but right now I’ll just try to catch up on blog posts and maybe (MAYBE) post some photos. 

Peace out Porto. I’m ready to check out the competition. 

[from-lille-with-love]

SoFra - South of France

Anyways, that leg of my trip is finished, and I can tell you one thing - it’s not called the Côte d’Azur for nothing. When the sun is shining, you’ve never seen bluer water in your life, you’d swear they put like dye in there or something. But nope. All natural! Same goes for those crazy cliffs. After living in the flat, cool north of France for 5 months, the hot rugged south seemed like another world. I had to keep reminding myself that I was in France. 

Unfortunately, we didn’t get to go to Chateau d’If (the inspiration for the count of Monte Cristo) because it’s on a rocky island and it was too windy while we were in Marseille. But we went up the hill to Notre Dame de la Garde and saw an amazing view. It’s also a great way to escape all the obnoxious football fans down below ;) 

But we were both happy to get to Nice, which is still a little bit third world but decidedly prettier than Marseille. I don’t know what it is about French cities; no matter how glamorous, beautiful, and sophisticated they are, they ALWAYS have gross parts of town. Most cities try to hard the gross parts for the tourists, but in France, they are always easy to find. Walk down the wrong street and you’ll be hit with a stench so strong you’re almost transported back to the Middle Ages when indoor plumbing didn’t exist. It does now, but sadly, many people don’t seem to take advantage of this modern technology :( So, always steer clear of mystery liquids on the ground - it could probably be anything, but it’s most likely pee or spit. (Why do men spit so much? I don’t understand...)

But let’s look at the good side. Nice has a fantastic beach beside Promenade des Anglais, it has a cozy Old Town, and a great view from Castle Hill. It’s also got great buses going all the way east to Menton and west to Cannes, which cost only 1,50 per ticket. So on our second day in Nice we headed up to Monaco. 

A place I recognized from the movies, Monaco is the playground of the rich and famous. I think their favourite game is “who’s got the biggest yacht?” Spoiler alert - it’s probably Prince Albert, the current reigning monarch. We visited the palace where we learned a lot about the Monégasque monarchy - kinda cool because it seems a lot like the fictional country of Genovia from Princess Diaries :) A similar thing happened for Grace Kelly, an American movie star - she married Prince Rainier and now her son is on the throne. Sadly, she died at a fairly young age when she had a stroke while driving. We visited the church where she and her husband are now buried. 

After that, we used our combined ticket again to visit the Oceanographic Museum. Ever since I was a little kid I’ve loved fish, it’s kind of a weird thing but I used to have a Siamese Fighting fish and then later I had a hand-me-down aquarium. So I still remember some names of fish. The highlights were probably the hundreds of baby clownfish (probably the cutest thing you will ever see) and the beautiful jellyfish. 

After Monaco, we headed to Menton for a few hours, where we pretty much just ate lunch and relaxed on the beach. I saw gorgeous pictures of colourful houses in Menton, but we were a bit tired so we didn’t explore too much. Oh well. 

The next day we tried to visit Cannes; however, the weather didn’t cooperate with us. It was grey and cloudy in the morning, but by midday it was cold and rainy. Classic unprepared me, I didn’t bring a sweater and was just wearing shorts and a t-shirt. What can ya do. We tried to shelter in a museum but it was closed for a 2-hour lunch break (gotta love FRANCE) so we just went back to the hotel. It kept raining, but we went to the mall and Mom bought me this SWEATER that I wanted since like 4 MONTHS AGO. Can’t believe the store still had it, but it’s this little burgundy number with “IMPERTINENTE” across the front. You better believe I’m impertinente. Otherwise I wouldn’t even be here. 

So thanks Mom for a great trip, an awesome sweater, and just general good times. Hope your first trip to Europe was super memorable! The thing about Europe is, there’s always more to see, so it gets a little addicting. So we’ll probably both be back here pretty soon anyways. 

[from-lille-with-love]

i’ll do anything for CAF money. anything

[from-lille-with-love]

Somehow we made it from the north to the south

We started in Lille - my mom stayed at my house for two nights, helped me pack up all my stuff from my room (which was a little depressing) and I gave over my keys to Pierre. We wandered around Lille, I finally got to the Musée des Beaux-arts, and we visited my favourite crêpe place (Le Repaire de Lion). 

Then we took a TGV to Paris, where the Seine had overflowed its banks and spilled onto nearby roads and docks. For this reason, the Louvre and the Musée d’Orsay were closed, so we spent most of our time outdoors visiting a lot of lovely attractions that I’ve already seen, like the Tuileries, Notre Dame de Paris, Jardin de Luxembourg, Latin Quarter, and Sainte-Chapelle. We went up the Eiffel Tower, watched the sunset, and stayed up there until it got dark. We did the walking ticket, so that was some great exercise :D On the last day I got to go to Versailles again, and we actually did the FULL DEAL including the Trianon Palaces and the hamlet of the queen. An exhausting day, more so because the RER wasn’t running due to the strike (thanks SNCF love ya). Then we picked up our luggage, took a bunch of train connections, and took a Ouigo to Lyon, where we got in at like midnight to a weird Airbnb and had to drag our luggage up four flights of stairs. 

Being in Lyon again was awesome; I’d been for only a day on my first trip to Europe, and we’d gone to two museums so I missed out on a lot of the atmosphere in the Old Town. Not this time! I got to return to the Roman theatre and the Gallo-Roman museum, which were still as impressive as they were 2 years ago. That night, we returned to our weird Airbnb; they had strange friends over and some guy sleeping on their couch. I took a shower in their bathroom and they had one of those shower heads that’s supposed to hook onto the wall - only they didn’t have a hook. There was literally no place to hang the shower head so I just had to sit in the bathtub and hold it the whole time?? Super. Lame. It was almost like sitting on the lawn and spraying yourself with the garden hose. Anyways, that was an experience.

But I was nice and clean and ready for the next day, my 20th birthday, which we spent in Geneva. The bus ride was scenic and the city was beautiful - the mountain air and breeze were so fresh it reminded me of Whistler. Of course, Switzerland is insanely rich, so everything costs an arm and a leg. At least they have free bathrooms? And they use those riches to keep their city squeaky clean, which I appreciate after spending so much time in trashy France (sorry but it’s true). We took a ferry across the lake, and went up to the Place des Nations near the UN complex. I’d love to go in (even though some online reviews said it was boring) but mom isn’t very interested in politics. Oh well, I’ll do it someday. After we finished sightseeing, we splurged on sorbet near the lake (it was a birthday treat!). In general, a great day. 

The last night was the worst. The window in our room didn’t close properly, and we’d already gotten a few mosquito bites from the nights before, but that night we got eaten alive. Worse, you’d wake up every once in awhile with a familiar whine right in your ear - I don’t know why but it’s probably the most disgusting sound that exists. That was pretty traumatic and I’m still covered in red spots like I’ve got a pox or something, ew. 

We spent the following day in Avignon at the bridge, Palace of the Popes, and an old fort across the river where I broke my flip-flop. After all we’ve been through together, they had to go into the garbage can. They were such good shoes, they deserved better than that. RIP. But anyways, at least I finally got mom to try something new - we ate tartine at a street restaurant. It was a memorable experience! 

But Arles, wow, we kinda just found a cheap train ticket and decided to go there, but it was so adorable - just the typical French small town you might see on pinterest or something. From the huge Saturday morning market to the Van Gogh Foundation to the Roman amphitheatre, there’s such a huge variety of what you can do. And the lavender souvenirs everywhere are so adorable and fragrant. The climbing jasmine too; it covers the sides of tiny pastel houses and frames the doorways. We stayed a little longer than we meant to because our train this morning was cancelled by the SNCF strike - the website said “don’t worry! trains that are cancelled won’t be available to book on the site!” Well don’t believe everything you read. Apparently we have to book every train the day before, and that’s when they finally know the schedule. Thanks again SNCF, take that time off, kick up your heels, you deserve it. 

But we arrived in Marseille a little later than expected, planned to go straight to Chateau d’If which is a castle on an island that was the inspiration for the Count of Monte Cristo. Sounds like heaven, right? But, it was too windy today so the boats couldn’t land. We just went up the hill and got a panoramic view of Marseille, and then walked through the trashy lower town surrounded by drunk British football fans singing/shouting “God Save The Queen.” In any case, the south coast is still beautiful, no matter how many half-eaten baguettes get thrown into the Vieux Port. 

Sorry this post isn’t that funny, I’m a little tired and just sort of quickly summarizing what’s happened so far. I promise I’ll be at the top of my game for the next post; hope I didn’t scare you off with too much boring commentary. Cheers.

[from-lille-with-love]

10 French Laws You've Never Heard About

1. Every city with a population of over 10,000 people must have a Place de la Republique. 2. French cashiers must take at least 5 minutes to complete every transaction. 3. A cup of coffee must not be larger than a thimble. 4. Each meal must be served with bread in some form or another. 5. In Paris, cars always have right of way, and pedestrians must dash across the road when there is a break in traffic. Crosswalks mean nothing. 6. If you are an EU student under 26, you can do anything. You can get into anything for free, you can rob a bank, you can do whatever you want and the world is yours. 7. At least once a year, the SNCF workers must go on strike. This cannot be avoided. 8. At malls, museums, and other public places, security guards are required to "check" your bags, which involves a quick glance and a wave of the hand. 9. Every city, no matter what size, must have something named after Charles de Gaulle. This may be a street, a square, a statue, an airport, a garbage can... 10. It is strictly forbidden to argue about whether to call it "pain au chocolat" or "chocolatine," as this will surely lead to a civil war and the destruction of the French Republic.