ready to leave, but not ready to go

I'm reaching the end of my last full day in Béthune. I still have to update with posts from Paris, London, and most likely some reflections.

For now... I can't believe that these 7 months are up.

23 à Pahree [première partie]

Easter weekend = 3 day weekend

Perfect for a weekend trip, right?

My 23rd birthday = Good Friday

And yet another reason for a weekend trip.

I had only been to Paris once- for one full day when I first arrived on this side of the pond back in September. Back then, I was trying to fight off the jetlag and ran around to get my pictures of all the tourist hot stops- Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, etc. I knew that I would have to return to Paris at least one more time before the end of my contract. Plus, I could easily get to Paris from Béthune with the TGV. I figured my birthday/Easter weekend was a good time to go and actually see Paris... actually do things, right?

I've heard some French say that they think Paris is overrated. I can understand why they think that. For the most part, when anybody thinks "France," they automatically think "Paris." But France does not equal Paris. Paris is not all of France. Paris is touristy and a big city, and as far as I know, it's nothing like Béthune.

That said, I still love Paris. I love all its touristy monuments, museums, boat tours, etc. And I haven't even seen all of it yet.

Living in a relatively small town, I still get slightly caught off guard whenever I'm in a big city, with all the hustle and bustle. Nevertheless, I love it (although it sucks when you have foot problems and do have the right shoes).

The Louvre at night

First stop, the Louvre. Luckily, I'm younger than 26 and I have a long stay visa, which means free entry to most major museums/sites. Of course, it being my first time in the Louvre, I had to be a typical tourist  and see La Joconde (Mona Lisa) and Venus de Milo. There is just so much in the Louvre, so I decided not to linger too long at every single piece of art. I love art museums, so I'll have to go back in the future and check out the other rooms.

One of the many halls of the Louvre

My big head got stuck :(

Up next, Petit Palais-- free entry anyway, so why not? Another art museum, but I got to see more decorative arts (is that what they're called in English?) such as jewelry, jewelry boxes, and other objects.

Next up on the agenda: the oh so touristy bateau mouche! It's a good way to see some of Paris, learn something from the audio guide (maybe), and relax our feet while cruising around the Seine. Plus it wasn't raining or too cold.

Unfortunately, we made the mistake of going all the way to the back of the boat. Not only did the noise of the motors drown out the audio guides, but a school group decided to join us. A very loud school group. They kept singing... who knows what. And the Asian tourists on the boat seemed to love them. They took videos of them and took pictures with them, only encouraging their obnoxious behavior. Honestly, groups like that make me really question wanting to be a high school teacher. Or just a teacher in general. My sister told me that I need to develop selective listening skills. I guess I should work on that. And of course, the precious few minutes when the group was silent, the audio was silent as well. *makes noise with mouth*

After a little pause at the hotel while snacking, we headed to Café du Marché, a restaurant recommended by another assistant, who had heard about it from Parisians. It was a nice little café for my birthday dinner and relatively cheap! Alas, I didn't get my mojito, but it was still a delicious meal with good company.

We finished off the night with some wine and cheese (although not really the stinky French kind). Overall it was a good birthday (and just the beginning of the weekend!). I was glad to have spent my 23rd in Paris. :)

Bisous x
N

(I will update soon with the rest of the trip!) 

Brussels

About a month ago, I went on a weekend trip to Brussels, a mere 35 minutes away from Lille (shorter than the long train from Béthune to Lille, thanks to the TGV). All in all, it wasn't super exciting compared to other trips.

When emerging from the métro when we first arrived, I didn't get that overwhelming feeling, that "wow, I can't believe I'm actually here!" The hotel we stayed at was closer to the financial district, so my first impression was just a bunch of tall buildings. Seeing the architecture in the Grande Place was nice, but of course, it's basically the same as the towns around this region.

Being insanely poor after winter vacation, we wandered a lot. Chocolate was literally around every corner and I don't know how I resisted. Of course, I had the Belgian waffles (gaufres), fries, beer, and a little bit of chocolate, so I figured I had everything covered. The rest of the trip, I will just tell in pictures...

Just a small portion of the pre-Easter chocolate display

La Grande Place

Cathedral

A little market near the Grande Place
 

La Maison et Musée des Brasseurs Belges (Belgian Beer museum)

 

Manneken Pis dressed up for St. Patrick's Day (had to see this,  as requested by my dad)

Inside the Musée des Bandes Dessinés (Comics)

Schtroumpf (smurf)!

Frites... got nothing on Chez Pepito though...

Vous venez d'où?

Where are you from?

This question is often followed with an "Umm..." Sorry, I mean "euhh" if I'm speaking French.

I never just say I'm American because I'm not here as a tourist, travelling and backpacking around Europe. I have a work visa, so I say, "I'm from the United States, but I live in France." The typical response to that is "Oh, are you studying abroad?" Nope, just teaching English. "Oh, that's cool!"

Whenever I get asked this question in a hostel, I just say I live near Lille. However, tourism offices and museums around here always ask where we're from, for statistics I suppose. If they ask for the postal code, it's easy, 62400. I don't really think there can be hesitation with that question.

"D'où venez-vous?"
"Euhhhh... nous venons des États-Unis, mais nous habitons à Béthune." (We're from the US, but we live in Béthune.) For statistics sake, I just respond with that, they can choose what they want to mark down.


This past weekend, I received the funniest reaction.

"BETHUNE?!"

They were so shocked that Americans would come to France and live in Béthune in all places. To come from the US to a small town like Béthune? Oh là...

But honestly, it could be worse. At least there the TGV stops at our train station. At least there are some bars, a club, and a hypermarché. Recently, they've had a big fair with ride and games taking over the town. I could've been placed in an even smaller town with no other assistants, with absolutely nothing to do or nowhere to go.

Oh Béthune, you've been my home for the last 6 months. I'm used to life here... walking down the same roads to go to work, to church, to the grocery store, to the gym... I have a routine.

It's really weird to think that I only have 2 more weeks left of teaching. Before you know it, I'll be leaving on a jet plane...