ktwells27

Jan 21, 20208 min read

vacances de noël.

Joyeux fêtes, tout le monde!

And a happy 2020!

I can’t believe it’s February (whoops), as I have officially passed the half way point in my time in France (roughly, as I still haven’t bought a return flight).

These past couple weeks have been very busy as we’ve wrapped up the semester at school and I went on my Christmas holidays!

Sometime in the last few weeks of December, Rose and I took advantage of the surprisingly gorgeous weather (notice a mere denim jacket in the picture and Rose was wearing shorts!) as we ventured out into the countryside of Franche-Compté. Rose showed me a super cool spot called La Source Bleue, as well as the fortress on the opposite hill of the Château de Joux! This led to some gorgeous views as well as the sunset behind the castle.

Then came the Christmas holidays! I managed to sneak a quick two day trip up to Strasbourg to meet up with a fellow assistant and catch the tail end of the marchés de Noël and they did not disappoint. Strasbourg was extremely charming (although very busy and rainy) and I hope I can venture up again to explore some of the nearby towns that inspired Belle’s village in Beauty and the Beast.

I returned back to Pontarlier on Christmas Eve and had Christmas Eve dinner with Rose’s family! I am so grateful for them and how they’ve semi-adopted me while I’ve been here. We had a lovely time eating and exchanging presents (they got me pajamas after I had mentioned it was my family’s tradition to receive PJs on Christmas Eve) and then I headed home to do last minute prep for Aurora, my friend from back home who was coming all the way to Europe to spend the holidays with me!

Christmas Day was mainly spent at the church. After a quick FaceTime with my family back home and opening up presents that my mom had wrapped and packed away all the way back in September, I headed up to the church to have a Christmas lunch with a couple families from church. It was a lot of fun, as they pulled out griddles so we could cook our meat and veggies right in front of us — not to mention all the different sauces. So yummy!

Then it was time to pick up Aurora from the train station! This led to an interesting chain of events as she left her backpack on the train. She thankfully had everything important, but Rose thought it would be best to head to the final destination and see if the bag had been dropped off. So after a quick snack at the church and checking the train schedule, we headed off to Neuchâtel, Switzerland! Naturally, this was only a thirty minute stop as we ran into the station, came up empty, and turned around and headed back to Pontarlier, but at least Aurora can officially cross off another country!

The next day, we said goodbye to Pontarlier and headed to Lyon. Due to the grèves (strikes), we had many hiccups in our travel plans (cancelled train, non responsive BlaBlaCar driver, and the SNCF essentially saying, “just get on a train and hope for the best”). But we made it to Lyon in one piece and met up with Laure! We gave Aurora a very quick tour of Lyon, before heading home to get some sleep before our 7am bus to Barcelona!

– B A R C E L O N A –

Barcelona surprised me in many ways. I was expecting to enjoy it, but not nearly as much as I did. Aurora, thankfully, speaks Spanish, so we were able to get around fairly easily. We managed to get into Sagrada Família for free during their Sunday mass which threw me right back to my elementary school days. The windows were stunning and I loved how each window illuminated as the sun shone through the clouds.

Aurora and I both agreed that our favorite spot was the Barcelona Cathedral. While the Sagrada Família is unique and one of Gaudi’s most famous works, it’s simply not my style. Now… a cathedral made in 1300?

Yeah. That’s for me.

We also headed up to Montjuïc Castle, which was used as a fortress, a trade post, and now a museum! On that same hillside was the National Museum of Catalan Art. Again, not necessarily my style, but it was a stunning building with gorgeous views of the city.

One of our main goals in Barcelona was to dance along to the many songs that had to do with the city. We risked international embarrassment in front tourists and locals alike at the Arc de Triomf, National Museum of Catalan Art, Jardins del Doctor Robert, and the international airport — all so we could get some fun videos of us dancing and singing to Cheetah Girls and Ed Sheeran. Soon enough, our time in Barcelona ended and we were on a plane to Porto!

– P O R T O –

Everything about Porto was dreamy, except the hills. The tiled buildings and streets, the pastel de Natas, and the Douro River were all exceptional, but the fact that to get anywhere, we were walking up and down and up and down. Distance wise, we did not go far. However, every day we were doing nearly 45 floors worth of stairs.

Aurora and I arrived the day before New Year’s Eve, which was a good thing because many stores and museums were closed early for the holiday. We explored old churches and ate way too many pastel de Natas (egg custard tarts). We off-set the pastels by hiking the city, so it’s okay.

Finally, Laure and her boyfriend, Corentin, arrived for our NYE celebration! We made reservations at a yummy restaurant near the main square which was a great idea, because the square was hosting a Ano Novo concert! Initially, when I heard there was a concert happening, I was worried it would be heavy club music and everyone would be out of their minds on drugs and alcohol or whatever. Imagine my pleasant surprise when it was one of the most fun concerts I’d ever been to (which doesn’t amount to much because I’ve been to maybe three concerts)!

The music was fun and we were surrounded by people of all ages from all over the world. We danced and tried to sing along and I attempted to help a group of Portuguese ladies assemble their disposable champagne glasses. All in all, a success.

Then the clock struck midnight and the fireworks exploded right behind City Hall and it felt like the whole city woke up. Right away, there was a new band on stage and we stayed out dancing (more like awkward hopping, considering the crowd) until 1:30am. Finally it was too cold and we were too tired, so we headed back to our hotel.

Our last day in Porto was pretty relaxed. We all got to sleep in a bit and have a leisurely breakfast at the hotel, before heading out to explore the few options that were open on January 1st. That included a port wine cave tour and climbing up church steeples. A pretty great day if you ask me! But we were back early as the next day let to Lisbon!

– L I S B O N –

Aurora and I left Laure and Corentin behind in Porto and took off for Portugal’s capital. We only had a day and a half in Lisbon, so we were determined to make the most of it. The first day was pretty relaxed. We checked into our hostel and then wandered aimlessly around town which led us to an excellent ramen restaurant, more pastels, and the beach! We ended up finding three churches and two old bookstores that were tucked away in alleyways — needless to say, Aurora and I were living our best lives.

Day two of Lisbon started off with a walking tour through Alfama which is the historic district of Lisbon. The tour was interesting and the weather was pleasant, which led us to our next destination: Jerónimos Monastery and Belém Tower! The tram ride there was chaotic as we had a very crowded car and there was a group of tourists who were incredibly obnoxious (Aurora and I genuinely couldn’t tell if they were trying to put on a show or if they had no common courtesy on public transport), but we eventually made it. We were unfortunately too late to go inside the monastery, but we were able to go inside the chapel which was ancient and gorgeous, but Belém Tower was even more so! Finally, it was time to head back to town, get some food, and go to bed, because the next day was Paris.

– P A R I S –

So the day after Lisbon was supposed to be a half day in Paris. Our flight was supposed to land by noon, we could get to our hostel by 2 or 3 and wander around the surrounding area for the rest of the day. Malheuresement, that was not to be. Due to strikes (both in Paris and Lisbon), bad weather conditions, and a late incoming flight, our flight to Paris was delayed three hours. Then, upon arriving in Paris, we had to deal with the metro strikes. We were able to take a bus into Paris and yet another bus close to our hostel and still we had to order an Uber to get us there the whole way. We ended up getting to our hostel close to 9pm. By this point, we were too tired to wander out for food, so we ended up splitting a granola bar and going to bed.

The next day in Paris was incredible. As it was the first Sunday of the month, many museums were free! The only downside was the metro being mostly closed, but we managed to go to the Arc de Triomphe (Aurora prefers the arc in Barcelona, I preferred Paris… honestly, did not surprise me) and the Musée d’Orsay for free and we went inside the Opéra Garnier with hardly anyone else there! I had never seen Paris so deserted and I was loving it. Not to mention the entire Champs-Elysées was closed for auto traffic, so we were able to walk down the middle of the road. It honestly made it significantly more enjoyable than past times I’ve been.

Our last (half) day together consisted of Notre Dame and the Louvre! Well… we could only see Notre Dame from afar as it’s still highly obscured with fences and scaffolding and cranes. I’m eager for the day reconstruction is finished and I can go back inside. The Louvre was also fairly quiet in comparison to other times I’ve visited. Of course, it is the largest art museum in the world and the top tourist attraction in Paris, so it’s busy. But much less busy than when I was here with my mom in September, so I rather enjoyed myself. We also wandered in to an exhibit I hadn’t visited before, so that was fun! I’m sure the more I visit, the more I’ll discover, but I might need to wait another four years before I go back inside. It’s a lot to handle.

Eventually, our time together came to a close and we headed to the train station to say our goodbyes. Then I was off to Pontarlier and Aurora was on her own for the evening before her early morning flight.

– P O N T A R L I E R –

Since being home, I’ve begun the downward slope of my time here. It’s weird to think I’ll be home in a few months (again, still not sure when because I haven’t bought my ticket), so I try not to think about it. Instead I’ve filled my time by going to raclette evenings and trying galette des rois (I didn’t become king) and making brunch (which is truly a foreign concept here) and, lastly, petting every single kitty cat I come across. It’s been a successful mission, especially hanging out at Rose’s house as they have four cats.

Classes have been passing more or less smoothly. Actually, now that I’m entering a nice rhythm with most of my kids, classes can be a lot of fun — even with minimal preparation. We’ve done fairytale writing exercises and Indiana Jones themed Kahoots and watched videos on Harriet Tubman and had debates on superheroes! As far as I can tell, they’ve enjoyed it and so am I.