Category Archives: France

October 31, 2012 · 12:57 am

Episode Seventy Three – Basler Papiermühle

Hello again.

 

Well, posting those pictures a couple of days ago reminded me of how much I’ve missed being here. So even though it’s late and I don’t have a lot to say today, I do have some photos that I took several months ago in Basel when I visited the paper museum there. As you know, I have a bit of a thing for paper and books and things, so the day before I left Strasbourg to come home to Edinburgh, I hopped on a train and went to Switzerland for one more look at the beautiful town of Basel and this fascinating museum.

Other museum-goers’ creations, hanging up to dry

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May 26, 2012 · 2:56 pm

Saturday Spotlight Twenty – Things I’ll Miss

Well, well, well. Look what we have here: the last day of my year abroad. Weird, huh? Especially for those of you who have been following my journey since before I left home for Costa Rica last July. I’m feeling a little sad to be leaving the semester (and the year) behind – but also eager to get started on the next stage of my life: my final year of university and a great job! (At least, I’m confident that it’ll be great, though I haven’t started yet).

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May 23, 2012 · 4:21 pm

Episode Sixty Five – Faisons un pique-nique!

As my last few days in France float by, it’s fun to look back on some of the most fun days I’ve had here, with Grant by my side, holding my hand and taking all the pictures alternately :P The spring weather has been all over the place, but I’m pretty sure the longest stretch of non-stop beautiful sun was the week when Grant was here :)

The swans come out to bathe in the sun, all perfect and white.

Good weather is always – well, good. But it’s especially advantageous when you’re travelling on a budget, which as a long-distance couple we always are. Why is good weather our best friend? Because it means picnics instead of expensive lunches in cafés; it means wandering through the streets and admiring the buildings instead of museum entry fees; it means getting around on foot instead of buying tram tickets.

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May 21, 2012 · 10:31 pm

Episode Sixty Four – Wandering around Strasbourg

Hey, remember when Grant visited me in France while I was studying abroad? Probably not, because I never got around to telling you about that part yet. Our fun trip to Luxembourg was regrettably short, but all the same we weren’t all that bummed out to be returning to Strasbourg to continue to hang around in the sun and eat macarons. Continue reading →

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May 9, 2012 · 10:20 pm

Episode Sixty Four – A Wee Update

Hi everyone! It’s hump day!

Well, not for me because Wednesday is the only day I work, but it’s still a fun thing to announce at the start of a blog post.

I’m taking a break from my stories to bring you all up to date with various new things going on in my current life. Exams may be over, but I’m still busy – kinda – doing some things I’d like to briefly share with you. Continue reading →

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May 7, 2012 · 10:10 pm

Episode Sixty Three – European Sundays

Hello lovelies! I hope you all enjoyed the weekend and are refreshed and ready to face the week…

As for me, the two are barely distinguished from each other, except for the fact that the weekend contains Shutday, by which I mean Sunday, and I have to plan my days accordingly. Over here, it’s every man for himself on the Lord’s day – you have to make your own entertainment. Generally, though, my days consist of job searching, watching tv, sewing and reading magazines. And blogging, as you can tell! Today I have some more photos of Luxembourg for you :) Our first day there was fun and ridiculous (did you see the photos?), but we didn’t formally visit any of the historically significant sights the country has to offer, so on Sunday we did just that. The weather was still gloomy and a little damp, but not enough to send us running for cover like we had the previous afternoon. Continue reading →

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April 30, 2012 · 9:27 pm

Episode Sixty Two – I Don’t Speak Luxembourgish

Did you know Luxembourgish is a real language? I guess it says a lot about my blundering approach to travel that I didn’t even research what language they speak in our weekend destination; but aside from the fact that the official language is not French as I had assumed, doesn’t it seem like it should be called Luxembourgese or Luxemburger or something instead?

Whatever they choose to call their language, we got along fine without it: gesturing to your camera and pointing at yourselves tends to get the message across.

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April 28, 2012 · 5:47 pm

Saturday Spotlight Sixteen – French Onion Soup

Remember how my room is really tiny, my kitchen has no facilities, and as a result I more or less confined myself to salads as my evening meal? Then remember how I posted about my cours de cuisine which was helping me break that habit and start cooking real food? Well, further to that, I thought it’d be nice to start posting about what I’ve been eating since arriving here. I’ve been making an effort to try to take advantage of French food, but my more pressing criteria are definitely budget (my weekly earnings quickly dropped from 51€ to 26€), speed (I prefer to spend as little time in that grubby communal kitchen as possible), and ease (more because of a lack of equipment than a lack of cooking skills, of course. Although I do lack both). So just so you know, any recipes you see on here in the near future will likely cost less than 3€ a person and be perfectly possible to produce using only a stove top and a toaster oven. That’s right, I don’t even have a microwave. Pity me.

Ok, so I'm new to food photography, but this looks appetising, right? Right?

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April 26, 2012 · 11:16 pm

Episode Sixty One – Millin’ Around in Milan

My, my, I am doing well with these plays on Italian city names, aren’t I? Well, here goes: the final leg of the adventure, which doubled as one heck of a scenic route home. Although, travelling exclusively by land from Rome to Strasbourg, is there any other kind of route?

I know, cathedrals aren't my strong point. If anyone has any tips on photographing huge, ornate buildings, they're more than welcome.

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April 24, 2012 · 4:57 pm

Episode Sixty – Rome Antics

PREVIOUSLY ON ‘A TRAIL OF BREADCRUMBS’…

Before the trouble began...

So our schedule was this: Saturday-Tuesday in Florence, Tuesday-Friday in Rome, overnight train to Milan to spend our Saturday urban camping before our overnight bus back to Strasbourg. We finished up Wednesday last time, where I hinted at a complication involving Nicole’s health following my own iffy spell: we hadn’t exactly been treating our bodies right, sightseeing and budget taking precedence over such trifles as, you know, nutrition and sustenance. But while a solid dinner and a good night’s sleep healed me up good and proper, Nicole woke feeling unwell. I’m sorry to say I brushed off her first complaints with a “You’ll be fine once we’re up and about,” but it was more than that: Nicole was ill for real, not just queasy.

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