General Chat / Cork's France Study Abroad Trip Report Thread

EDIT:

Well, I reorganized my site and accidentally deleted the photos I had hosted.

Fortunately, I've been meaning to archive my TR's anyway, so rather than work on my thesis paper today, I procrastinated and made a web site archive for my reports.

Many hours later, I've finished transferring everything to web page form, so I'm proud to present:
Corkscrewed's France Study Abroad 2006 Trip Reports Site

Besides the cities I've already covered, there are also sections for Bordeaux, Barcelona, Valencia, Port Aventura, and even a little skiing action in the French Alps!

Here's some eye candy:



























I should note that each page is pretty graphics intensive. This is an archive, so I didn't feel like limiting each page to a reasonable number of photos and starting a new page if each city had too many photos. The result is that some cities have over a hundred photos in them. So um, maybe make yourself a sandwich if you need to wait for it. They load pretty quickly on my connection, but I have fast DSL at my USC apartment.

That hotel has a wicked view!

Hey Cork, looks like ya got a nice view for the next couple months... can't wait to get over there myself one day.


Stay safe over there man.

Nice read, and nice pictures too, makes me wish to go back to paris . And the you're staying is also nice, a typical southwestern town . Are you gonna visit bordeaux too, since you're quite close to it? (Great place to go shopping, and there are some amazing churches too )

Yeah its nice, however it is still France, you don't want to be there for too long... *shudders at thought*

Come to England! Its way better! =)

-X-

Those photos are gifts to my eyes.
It is also good to see that you exist in real life.

Great pics (thanks) and Welcome to good ol' Europe

Love how you describe the buildings and atmosphere, while for us in Europe those things are just common and daily routine, but Paris is special, I fully agree!

But how come I always thought that you were a Belgian by origin (while here you wrote you were born and raised in CA?). Must really have been mistaken then...

Anyway, enjoy your stay and the experiences!

Oh.......and around Bordeaux it's rather flat......renting a bike is a cheap way to see a lot of the surroundings whenever you want...

Nice report Cork...
Those images are amazing...Paris looks great, the buildings and shops style is pretty nice, I'd love to visit that city. The photos you took show the different, but pleasant atmosphere of Europe.
The pics of the place where you're staying are also nice...Personally, I like more modern places, but the "historical" atmosphere of that little town is nice...although it looks kinda dead.
Anyway, I wish you luck with everything there, and keep us updated about how are you doing, please.

i felt instantly reminded at my 2week paris study in january...

i think what you kinda described and what i remember really wowed me, is how quick you can comprehend why this city has influenced the world's overall cultural developement so much.

you haven't seen charles de gaule etoiles yet? make sure you take metro1 and leave at that very station then take the exit to champs elysées.
such an impressive moment when the escalators take you out of the ground and that HUGE monument is all you see.

i don't live very far from the french border and well, paris isn't so far from the german border either. if you happen to get to germany, for whatever reason, let me know

i haven't been to saintes but it's amazing how much it looks like southern french with those rooves.
really lovely.

Very cool, Cork. Looks like a beautiful city to be living in.

LOL @ all the hatchbacks on that road.

The first picture of Saintes is really cool looking, and your room is like half of a dormroom . I didn't think they made anything smaller.

Yeah its nice, however it is still France, you don't want to be there for too long... *shudders at thought*

Come to England! Its way better! =)

-X-

Lmao yeah

Why does everywhere look so clean and tidy though? Seriously, take a picture over here and make it look nice.






I'm depressed My cars got no engine My gearbox don't fit my new engine

Proof that I exist: we went to some garden on Saturday morning, and I had someone take a picture of me because apparently, I take too many non-people pics.

I think that's a trait of all architects! I don't take pictures of people I know. Getting locals in a picture doing their thing is different. An instructor of mine said her husband who is an architect waves family members out of his pictures because he wants just the building.

Well, duh. Who wants annoying people cluttering up a picture of a building?

HA...so thats why when I put Eric in charge of taking vacation pictures there aren't any people shots
Sounds like a great opportunity for you Cork to design some buildings in France. I think Eric might be going to New Zealand when he goes abroad...not sure yet.

damn, this makes me want to go to france so bad. luckily i'll have a chance this july, i just gotta scrounge up like $2400 to go.

Edited by tracidEdge, 06 September 2006 - 05:53 PM.

damn corky these pictures are great! i went to france last summer and stayed in paris and bretagne for 2 weeks; it was so beautiful. tu parles le francais bien, oui? i hope thats right lol.

VOLUME 2: AROUND SAINTES

Okay, I lied.

Last time, I said I wouldn't post another report until after the Paris/Netherlands trip, which starts next Monday. Well, I've had a few days to explore Saintes, and frankly, I am falling in love with this beautiful, charming town. Saintes was originally founded as a Roman settlement in I believe the 4th century B.C. During the Middle Ages, it took on a distinct medieval character that still exists today, and the small town charm has continued through the present time. Saintes is, quite simply, rich and alive with a tremendous sense of history. It's evident in the two iconic cathedrals of the city, St. Pierre and St. Eutrope. It's evident in the city's arch de triumphe, the Arch of Germanicus (which was rebuilt from the original stones after it was torn down in the late 19th century, during the French Revolution, when they tore down anything old). It's evident in the Roman amphitheater west of where I live. It's evident in the random ruins I might come across along the banks of the Charente River. It's evident from the tight, cozy houses packed tightly along narrow, winding roads paved in cobblestone and old gravel.

There's a different culture here too. People walk. A lot. Cars make do with the narrow spaces. There are lots of dogs, and what's better, they're quite well behaved. There aren't as many ammenities as in the U.S., but people make do. In some ways, we're rather spoiled. Here, they have an ingenious (well, sort of; it'd be ingenious to us, but it's rather logical) system at supermarkets where you put a coin into a cart to take it out, then get the 1 euro piece back when you return the carts. You buy plastic bags, then reuse them when you go to the supermarket next time. You work to live, not the other way around, so it's no hassle that all the shops close at lunchtime, after 7:00 PM, and on Sundays. That American culture where everything is there to serve the consumer? Not here. Here, you work a little more. You give and take.

Rather than blabber on, here are more pics:


There's a history museum in Saintes that's been getting limited funding for the past six years, but they did open specially for us to allow us to learn the history of the town. Here's the garden courtyard in the back, which is simply lovely.


From the top of the garden area, you can glimpse various rooftops in the town. The rooftop texture in Saintes is like something out of a storybook.


A nice, huge [chestnut?] tree I saw and liked.


Another view shows a fountain in the foreground.


This is a view from our project site. The site is a hospital complex that will move in the near future. It is situated on a nice plateau that yields some breathtaking views of the town. The tall building is St. Pierre.


Here's another view. St. Eutrope can be seen here. It's pretty cool that you can see the two town icons from the same spot.


A closer view fo St. Eutrope.


Some more neighborhood ambiance shots. I love the winding streets. They encourage exploration and have a sense of mystery. What's behind the corner?


Another shot. Frankly, I could take a million of these and still not adequately document 1% of the city. I'm honest.


The Arch of Germanicus, built in 20 A.D. There used to be a Roman bridge that crossed the river, but it was torn down in the 19th century to allow maritime traffic.




Here are two pictures of the Charente River. I messed up the file naming system.


Here's me by the Charente again! Isn't it lovely?


A closer look at the triumphal arch.


This is an example of how prominent the town churches are. St. Pierre rises up above the buildings even on the other side of the river. It has a very dominant presense on the town.


Saintes isn't all medieval architecture. There are several commercial corridors, such as Cours Reverseaux, shown here.


I liked this shot. It shows the terrain around our site, which rises dramatically on the east side.


A courtyard in the municipal library... there are lots of little courtyard gardens in Saintes, although most of them are private residential ones.



There's also a pretty big supermarket called E LeClerc (don't say the first 'E') that's basically like a Super Walmart, but with more emphasis on groceries. It has pretty much anything I'd need, though, so that's pretty awesome.

Also, cooking for 16 people is really hard. Two other friends and I did that tonight. It took us an hour 45 minutes, and that's turned out to be the best time anyone's done this week.


This semester promises to be a very intense one, with lots of work crammed into little time. I'll do my best to send more of these, since I think it's kind of nice to visit places vicariously. I'm definitely having a blast, however, and I definitely love France.

Great photos...looks like a peaceful place

How the fuck are you going to watch S3 of Grey's Anatomy?