I’m no longer in Paris, France.
Yesterday, I walked through the Notre Dame area, bought gifts for friends and family, and then had my final Arizona in Paris group event. The group met up by Pont Neuf and ate at La Contrescarpe. I had an incredible vegetarian salad, a too-soft piece of salmon, and amazing chocolate. Afterward, the group took a boat tour on the Seine. Half of the group broke out into song, and annoyed tourists from other European countries could only scold my fellow UA classmates for so long before laughing.
We went out to the American Cocktail bar for the last time, and Ava and I went home before 2 a.m. We got up early and my host dad saw me off.
I had some drama retrieving my TGV ticket at the Gare de Lyon, but once I asked for help, I found out that it’s normal for the ticket machines to reject ticket confirmation numbers if the ticket was purchased with an American credit card. That would have been nice to know beforehand. Good thing I got to the train station early.
To kill my five-hour train ride to Cannes, I read through The Reader and three magazines, US Weekly, Look, and Elle, none of which really captured my interest. I’m tired of reading about Michael Jackson and his bizarre parental decisions, and I wasn’t that captivated by Elle’s story on Emma Watson’s wardrobe. I just thought I’d immerse myself back into US culture.
I’m staying with my French UA friend’s family in Cannes. My friend couldn’t make it to Cannes this summer, but her family was eager to invite me over for a few days.
I’ll post pictures soon. Cannes is absolutely gorgeous. I felt right at home as soon as I drove past the beach. Cannes is like the French version of San Diego. It’s a hot tourist spot like Paris, but fewer people speak English. It doesn’t see nearly the amount of American tourists as Paris. I feel like I’m back in California. I love the scent of the ocean, and the cliffs are beautiful. A lot of people take advantage of the nude beach. That’s all I’ll say about that.
My friend’s mom is so unbelievably nice. She drove me all around Cannes, Juan-les-Pins, Antibes, and the area. We switch from English to French a lot because she speaks English pretty well. This is definitely the most welcoming French family I’ve met in France, although I did love my host family in Paris.
I feel bad for my friend, who is feeling homesick and sad that I’m staying at her house while she’s alone in Tucson. In a way, we switched countries. I felt pretty alone this summer, and I guess she’s experiencing the same thing because most of her friends left Tucson for the summer. We’re both just itching to be with our closest college and home friends.
It feels good to relax in France. I’m definitely a beach person, so I can’t wait to explore it some more tomorrow. I do, however, miss my French host family and their apartment. I teared up on the train over. I have a feeling I’m going to have an intense culture shock when I’m home in seven days.
On the bright side, I’ll eat my favorite Los Gallos burrito, see my dog, and be in California in exactly one week. I’m actually really, really pining for home right about now, mostly because I’d like some familiarity before I can really muse about this summer.
Great blog. for some reason I really like this one.