bisous from bordeaux 💋

This past weekend, I went on an excursion with the Smith program to Bordeaux and Arcachon. We first took the TGV (train à grande vitesse) to a station (I'm not exactly sure which one). And from there we took a bus to la dune du Pilat. After lunch there, we drove more to the beach at Arcachon which is in fact a basin. And lastly, we settled in Bordeaux for the night until leaving the next day.

The TGV was really nice! I think it's known for being really fast yet silent and stable inside. My only problem was that the seats weren't that comfortable for sleeping and I kept trying to sleep to no avail.

The Dune du Pilat is apparently the tallest sand dune in Europe. It was funny because we knew we were going there, but I don't think most people were ready for the trek it would entail. The plan was to have a picnic at the top which has an incredible view overlooking a lot of greenery and water. To get there though, you had to climb this massive sand dune. Thankfully, there were stairs. But even so, it was not so easy haha. I think most people agreed though that the view was worth it in the end!

The beach at Arcachon was so nice although the water was a bit cold. No matter, I got used to it after a while and it was a nice change to be in a beach setting.

After getting to the hotel in Bordeaux, we had to settle pretty quickly because there was a dinner and wine tasting planned. The restaurant was really nice (I have no idea what it would have cost but rest assured I wouldn't go there on my own)! I... still am not used to the taste of wine, so a wine tasting is not of much use to me. I tried them all though??? Towards the end of the dinner, we could hear fireworks outside. I think they were there as kind of a rescheduling but I'm still not 100% clear on that. Nevertheless, it was fun that they had them!

At the end, some people decided to head back and others went out to continue the night. In an effort to profite bien from my time there, I went with some people to go out. Butttt don't get too excited; in the end I didn't (and I'll explain why). At least not in the traditional sense. The group I went with had a certain place in mind (reggaeton music??) but they said we couldn't go until 12am. Me and my other friend, Ejona, were like ok??? It was already 11pm at that point but I guess that's pretty normal not to go places until later. So we just walked around the city until then. It was really nice because so many people were out. I couldn't tell if it was related to the fireworks but also it was Saturday--probably the both.

Anyways, once it was midnight Ejona and I were unsure if we even wanted to go still. We kinda looked into the club from outside and decided against going in because it didn't even look happening. It was later confirmed by our friend who was maybe going to come with us but in the end stayed that it was mostly older men and the dancing was bad... so I think it's ok that I didn't go. Instead, we headed back to the hotel and ran into another person, Katie, and we all walked back together. We indeed got semi-lost, but I actually liked it that way because, like I said, the night was lively on the streets and we got to see just see and wander. In general, I think I prefer nights like that.

The next day, we had breakfast and were free to do as we pleased. There was a big flea market type situation going on so I went to that with friends. I snagged some pretty cute clothes for incredible prices! So it was success in my books. I definitely need to check out the flea market scene in Paris as well!

After that, we went back on the TGV and I was back home. Overall it was a beautiful time, and it's really nice that things were planned out for us. The group dynamic is interesting because you definitely feel cliques form and sometimes tension. I think I get along with most people pretty well and there are people I can count on which is nice. This week, more of my classes start so hopefully I like them!

a specialty of bordeaux are these pastries called canalés. To be frank.... i didn't like them very much. But i'm glad I got to try. They were a LOT more chewy than you'd expect.