We have been in France for almost a week now, and I am still trying to convince myself this isn?t a dream. We have already been to Lisieux, Normandy, and just arrived in Paris this afternoon. We have seen the Normandy American Cemeteries and beaches, Mont-Saint-Michel, and did a bike tour of Paris.
I was initially worried about our stay in France because we spent the first three nights in Lisieux where there aren?t many tourists. The locals didn?t seem too pleased to see us and it was extremely intimidating trying to order food in a restaurant for the first time and knowing zero French. However, the town was beautiful, and we spent our days in Normandy where there is more to do. I learned more history about WWII at the Normandy American Cemeteries and beaches than I ever did in all of the history classes I have taken combined.
Once we got to Paris, all of my worries vanished because it was comforting to see other tourists. The people who live here also have been very kind to us and taken the time to answer any questions that we have for them. We had a bike tour of the city this afternoon which has been my favorite activity so far. I enjoyed learning the history of different places such as the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, and Notre Dame de Paris. The city is beautiful, and I can?t wait for the opportunity to explore it more during the rest of the week.
Everything has been planned out for us on our itinerary, so we have been very prepared for every day. It is pretty hectic traveling with almost 70 students, but our leaders have been really good about making sure we all get to where we are supposed to be. Everywhere we have gone as a group people tend to stare and point at us; I assume 70 Aggies traveling together in France is not something they see every day. I am beyond excited for the rest of our trip, we still have about a week in a half left in France and then we head to the United Kingdom!
