Year Abroad #4

I haven't done one of these in ages, so I thought I'd give you all a little update on my time in France. I'm very nearly at the end of my year abroad, and I have very mixed feelings about leaving. It hasn't been easy living abroad, but I definitely think I'll miss it when I come back to England for good. Since my last instalment, I've been a busy girl. I finished off my exams for first semester in January and I've just found out that I managed to pass enough credits to pass my year abroad altogether. I'm absolutely thrilled, because this means I can now enjoy myself now that the weather has improved.

Château de Tours

Savonnières, a village near Tours

Bordeaux

Bordeaux

Bordeaux

In terms of exploring, I've done a fair bit. I went back to Paris another few times, and I think it's safe to say I've seen most of it now! I also went to Lyon with my friends for a birthday weekend away, which was really great. Lyon is really beautiful, but unfortunately, I took all of my photographs on a film camera, so I'll have to wait to get those developed. 

I also went away to Bordeaux for the weekend, with some other friends of mine. Bordeaux is absolutely gorgeous. I am so envious of the people who got to spend their year abroad there. It is such a vibrant city, with each side street leading somewhere exciting! We did a fair bit of sightseeing, we saw quite a lot of the centre of town, Place Quinconces and the quayside. Our favourite monument was by far the Water Mirror in Place de la Bourse, which also acts as a paddling pool of sorts (you can take your shoes off and go in!). Sometimes the mirror drains itself of water, so you can see the reflections of the historical buildings around it a bit better, and after a couple of minutes, water vapour comes out of holes in the ground, creating a mist.

Rue de Ste Catherine, Bordeaux

Place Quinconces, Bordeaux

Fairies, Bordeaux

In the evening, we went for a meal at a restaurant called Jabu on Rue du Pas-Saint Georges, where we got a set menu for €18. I got beef carpaccio to start, followed by duck breast in a raspberry sauce and then pain perdu for desert. It was really lovely. After, we had some drinks in town, and then headed up to the Bassins à Flot area to the North of the city to a club called Teatro and danced the night away. It was very busy when we got there, and took us a while to queue and get in, but in the end it was a really great night.

Jabu, Bordeaux

Water Mirror, Bordeaux

We made a friend...

Water Mirror, Bordeaux

Paddling in the Water Mirror

At the moment, I'm studying for my final exams, but as I've already passed, I'm not too bothered about them. I hope that I can go and see another city in France before I leave, hopefully La Rochelle, or Marseille if the flights aren't too expensive. To be continued…