I left two weeks ago to chaperone a trip with a teacher and 15 high school girls from KC. Chaperoning this trip was fulfilling one of the career goals on my bucket list, but man, it was a lot of work. The lead teacher and I worked on coming up with an itinerary, attended seminars, and planned the crap out of this whole shindig. But the real work came abroad. While we had fun, it was exhausting and hard to enjoy when your mind is concerned with so many other factors. But on the bright side, I have many more ideas of places I want to see when Rob and I take a trip (hopefully next year!) back.
We started our adventure in Paris, and saw pretty much every major monument/site you can think of: the Louvre, the Musée d'Orsay, Eiffel Tower, the Rodin Museum, Versailles, Sainte-Chapelle, Arc-de-Triomphe, Père Lachaise Cemetery, we went to mass at Notre Dame, and took an amazing Pont Neuf Vedette boat on the Seine around the city. I became a pro deciphering that Metro system, saved the girls from some drunk French boys, and ate crèpes, croque monsieur, quiche, couscous and more fromage than a person should. It was fantastic.
After Paris, we headed down to Avignon where we visited the Palais des Papes (Popes' Palace) and of course, the Pont Bénezet (come on, anyone who has taken a French class remembers that song "Sur le pont, d'Avignon, on y danse, on y danse..."). We enjoyed the "Fête de la Musique" and rested up before we took a bus toward Aix-en Provence, where the girls were to begin a five day home stay with French families.On the way to Aix, we took a bus and stopped by the Pont du Gard, the most amazing bridge I have ever seen (yes, Rob's enginerd ways have rubbed off). We then continued to Arles, which has some gorgeous Romanesque ruins, les Baux de Provence, and St. Rémy.
While the girls did their home stay in Aix, I was fortunate enough to take a train to visit my cher ami, Monsieur Zac and his family in Tournon-sur-Rhône. Now when people usually think of France, they think Eiffel Tower. Tournon is the France I will think of from now on. It is beyond breathtaking. Nestled along the Rhône River, surrounded (and I mean surrounded) by mountains covered in vineyards is Tournon. Zac began my visit with a walk around his town and a delicious meal with his parents and brother. The next morning, we rode bikes to the pâtisserie to buy croissants and pain au chocolat. Divine. We lunched at his grandparents' home and then visited the chocolaterie Valrhôna (I can't think of an adjective to describe this chocolate) and tasted wine at Cave de Tain. I had an incredible time visiting with his family and seeing my beloved Zacharie after a year of being apart. We then headed together to Aix and spent the last two days of our visit exploring the city. We even saw two films: "Omar m'a tuer" and "Balada triste". It was heartbreaking to leave.
After a sad goodbye, the other teacher and I picked up our girls at the train station and we headed to Nice to spend our last two days. We visited the Matisse museum, ate wonderful seafood, enjoyed the beautiful views of the beach, and did a little shopping before we headed back to the good old US of A. Yes, the airport did lose my bag. I am waiting for it to make its way back to me, but I am glad to be home and start a real summer break.
I had a great time with those girls, and it made me remember what it was like to be 16 again. Being able to wear cute skimpy little outfits, have very few responsibilities, steal looks at cute French boys, bend the rules, and being able to eat 6 ice cream cones a day and not gain an ounce - I need to call my mom and apologize for my teen years. :)
I can now breathe a sigh of relief. I am home, in one piece (minus a suitcase), and my cat is purring next to me. This trip was a learning and growing experience, and it was neat to see how different each time France has felt to me. When I was 14, I barely knew how to say "bonjour", and it was a beautiful place that I didn't understand a word of. At 20, I was able to figure out my way around a bit, but I still felt nervous. I learned more on the trip than anything, though. At 26, I felt confident and in a way, very at ease. I didn't have a problem talking to others or figuring out my way around. Hopefully I won't have to wait another 6 years to visit.
Kate Suarez: francophile, mère poule, and exhausted.
