My name is Lisa, I've just finished my senior year at RWU (I'll officially graduate after this trip) and during my time at RWU, I've studied marine biology, French language, and environmental science. This is also my third study abroad trip; 1 trip to Bermuda and it's my second time here studying with Prof. Hollingsworth and Caroline in Rouen/Paris, France. Prior to meeting up with the group I spent 2 weeks traveling around Europe with my twin sister and best friend from back home (you can read our summer-long blog here if you're interested (there will be a lot of repeats, FYI)).
But back to the present. I’m currently in Rouen, capital of Haute Normandie, where Monet painted a series of cathedral paintings and where Jeanne d’Arc was tried and burned at the stake. It 's also our base of operations while we're in France.
During the first few days Caroline and Tony gave us an intro to Rouen and France including some time to explore and a guided walking tour throughout Rouen. It’s incredible how much history and charm one city can hold (generally true for all of the towns and cities I’ve visited so far), yet it's wonderful to come back to Rouen. I loved it 2 years ago and it's just as beautiful as I remember.
To make this trip different from the last (apart from being 2 years older and with a completely different group of students), I vowed to travel as much as my bank account would allow. However, this is the summer holiday for many Frenchmen, so my desires to catch a last minute train to somewhere exotic were crushed, but Daren and I learned of the most amazing deal Haute-Normandy has to offer: the weekend regional pass. A group of us jumped on a train and headed to Dieppe, a town on the coast, to explore more of Normandy and to go to the beach! Unfortunately it was insanely overcast at the beach (which is made of pebbles, not sand), so after dipping my feet in (other side of the Atlantic!) we went to tour the château-musée, which was full of maritime history, ivory statues and carvings and impressioniste paintings. Even though we couldnt travel as far as we wanted, Dieppe was the perfect little day trip!
Today was really nice—started with a French, catholic mass at the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Rouen (a bit of culture shock there to an American, Lutheran girl), but it was definitely worth the confusion to attend mass in a medieval cathedral! Afterwards, we went to the outdoor market—soo many fresh fruits, vegetables, fish and other things! It's a nice tradition. Everyone has been so kind and helpful, and perhaps even amused by us! It's been great :)
In the morning we’re headed to the D-day beaches and memorial, then south to Mont Saint Michel where we’ll walk to the island!! That being said, bonne nuit tout le monde!
Bisous !
Lisa
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