Tag Archives: france

Extra Gloves? Yeah…We are in the Alps

10 hours after returning from Monte Carlo at 10 P.M. on Saturday night, we left for the Italian Alps and the La Thiule ski resort as part of an IES-sponsored field trip. This opportunity to ski in the Alps was one of the main reasons why I chose to study abroad in Milan as opposed to other Italian cities. I have to say that this trip lived up to my lofty expectations as it was by far the most enjoyable trip I have taken so far. With the summit of the highest peak stretching into the sky at over 2,500 meters, I spent three days snowboarding white powder within a panorama of some of the most beautiful mountains I have ever seen.

As an experienced snowboarder, but someone who had never boarded outside of the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast, I thoroughly enjoyed this experience.

On Sunday morning, we departed from Milan around 8:30 A.M. and arrived at the very underrated La Thiule ski resort, located directly on the border of Italy and France around 11:30 A.M. This three hour bus ride offered some spectacular views of the Alps. After arriving, those who were skiing or snowboarding went directly to the ticket office and purchased lift tickets (81 euro in total for Sunday afternoon and all day Monday and Tuesday). After renting my equipment and getting dressed, I hit the slopes around 1:00 P.M.

With the resort located at the base of the mountain, the summit can not be seen from the bottom as the sizable forest on its side and the cloud cover above block the view. So, when I first got on the lift (which was 50 yards from my hotel!), I had no idea of what what the view from the top would look like. With the first lift reaching over 2,000 meters above sea level, the ride up takes you through the clouds and offers ridiculous views of the surrounding mountains. On the ride up, I was struck with the sheer enormity and size of the Alps, as well as the beauty of the alternating snow-covered and jagged peaks. Even though this initial lift offers wonderful views of the Italian Alps, it was the lowest lift at the resort and paled in comparison to the top-most summit. Here is a view from the top of the highest lift on Sunday:

For the three days I snowboarded mostly with a group of three other guys who were all experienced snowboarders or skiers. So, within the afternoon, we were able to cover the majority of the front side of the mountain. With crystal clear views and virtually no clouds in sight, we were able to truly enjoy the majesty of the spectacular scenery. Overall, the conditions were pretty good, although it was a bit icy in spots.

One of the unique things about La Thiule is its location on the border of Italy and France. At the top-most summit, you have the choice to ski on either Italian or French side and also have a view of Switzerland and the distant peak of the Matterhorn. Our hotel was located on the Italian side, but after having covered the majority of the slopes on this side on Sunday, we decided to test out the French slopes on Monday. Featuring longer, more gradual runs, this side of the mountain offered a bit of a change from the steeper, narrower trails on the Italian side. However, I have to say that the view was just as good, and probably better. The conditions on Monday were the best overall of the three days. With slightly more cloud cover, the peaks were not as visible, but it only improved the unique scenery around us:

The last day was a struggle from the very beginning, offering the most difficult conditions. When we walked outside the hotel and noticed that there was very little visibility even at this relatively low elevation, we knew we were in for an interesting day. That morning, a storm rolled in, and due to our high elevation, cloud cover completely encompassed the mountain. Taking the lift to very top, unable to even see the chair in front of us or the lifts to the side of us, we not only couldn’t see any of the amazing peaks, but couldn’t see each other from more than 15 feet away (It is usually not a good sign when the chair lift operator has to lower the seat for you to board the lift since no one else had gone that high before us). This picture was taken from 15 feet away with the same backdrop as the one from the 1st day!:

Combined with a constant heavy snowfall throughout the day, this thick cloud cover made the entire top of the mountain un-skiable. It took us around 50 minutes to get down from the top since we had to inch out way down following the orange guide poles lining the slope! Good thing we knew the run from the previous day! Even though the conditions were far from ideal, I still had a very fun day. How could i complain, I was snowboarding in the Alps after I was just on a beach in Monte Carlo two days before.

Overall this trip was awesome and definitely my favorite so far among my travels throughout Europe.

Disclaimer about the Snow Conditions:

Although skiing in the Alps is almost always portrayed as white, powder covered runs within huge jagged rocks, the conditions at La Thiule were far more reminiscent of the typical East Coast mix of powder, ice, and manufactured snow than the deep, powder-covered runs of Colorado (particularly the French side). I have no complaints about the resort, but don’t go there expecting to be skiing in conditions typical of Aspen, Vaile, or Deer Valley.

Here is view of the famous Mount Blanc from the summit:

Location: La Thiule, Italy

Monte Carlo

Beaches. Casinos. Harbors. Extravagant Yachts. Crepes. Champagne. Crystal clear water. Giant rocky cliffs surrounding and encompassing the city. A Bentley, Ferrari, Rolls Royce, Maserati, or Lamborghini in every parking lot. That pretty much sums up the beautiful coastal town of Monte Carlo. On Thursday, my friends and I (7 in total) traveled by train to the tiny country of Monaco (might as well just be France) to experience the beauty and splendor of this famous coastal city.

Taking the train from the Centrale station in Milan, it took approximately 4 hours to reach our destination. Using cheap airlines EasyJet and RyanAir on my previous trips, this was my first time utilizing the European railways. I was very pleased with how punctual and easy the train system was throughout our trip. Arriving late Thursday evening in Monte Carlo, we took a taxi from the train station to our hotel / apartment (However, there is no reason to ever take a taxi in this city due to its small size). After settling into our rooms, we walked down to the casino and the harbor for dinner. Seeing this city for the first time, I was completely overwhelmed by its beauty. Reminiscent of an ancient Greek city in design, due to the fact that it is built into the side of a rock face and features rows upon rows of stone and adobe houses, I could truly see why this city has become a playground for the world’s rich and famous. From the recommendation of a friend, we went to a place called “Stars and Bars,” an American-themed sports bar, for dinner. But, even though the food was decent, I would not recommend this place to anyone traveling to Monte Carlo due its overpriced menu and extremely small portions.

During the day on Friday, we decided to walk around the city and saw all of the sights. After leaving our hotel, we walked down to the harbor and ate lunch under the sun, surrounded by multimillion dollar yachts (complete with one or multiple hot tubs on each one!) Then, we continued our walk around the harbor and headed to the Oceanographic Museum and Aquarium. While it was basically just a typical aquarium, with the main difference being its emphasis on Mediterranean fish and marine history, it was worth the 7 euro entrance fee (remember your student ID to get the discounted price!). After the aquarium, we walked up a giant series of steps (I really don’t understand the French love of stairs) to reach the Prince’s Palace. Fun Fact: Still arranged as a constitutional monarchy, Monaco has a sitting prince located in Monte Carlo. Although we were a bit unfortunate that there was currently construction on the palace, its architecture and the view of the city it offered was still impressive. After walking around the city for a few more more hours, we decided to make dinner and head to the famous Monte Carlo Casino.

The Monte Carlo Casino is one of the most impressive pieces of architecture that I have seen so far in Europe. Located in front of this grand structure are several marble fountains and bridges, as well as hundreds of imported flowers, palm trees, and cacti.

From first setting foot in this casino, it is quite obvious that you are not entering some cheesy Las Vegas establishment complete with flashing lights and loud bells and whistles. Instead, the inside resembles a elegant, royal banquet hall, the waiters all wear tuxedos, soft classical music is played in the background, and jackets are required for men. Requiring a ten euro entrance fee, and with the cheapest blackjack table featuring a 25 euro minimum bet, it is quite evident that the regulars here are loaded. With patrons such as Jay-Z and Beyonce, according to a waiter we spoke to, some serious money is dropped here nightly and it is no surprise that this location wass chosen for the filming of Casino Royale (there are even the 500,000 euro chips featured in the movie!). While playing roulette, since the minimum bet was only 5 euro a game, a man walked up next to me and dropped $4,000 on a single spin and walked away since he was playing 3 tables simultaneously at that amount! Before we could lose too much money, we left after spending about an hour walking around and gambling.

On Saturday, since we had yet to actually see the beach, we walked down from our hotel to the water. Although the water was freezing, the view was incredible and the weather was gorgeous.

After eating our obligatory crepes and French pastries, we got on the train and headed back to Milan. Overall, I had a great time in Monte Carlo and would recommend this trip to anyone studying within a reasonable distance of this city. Featuring breath-taking views and beautiful weather, it is a great weekend trip option. However, I would not plan on spending more than 2 days at this location because you will run out of sights to see or things to do.

Travel Tips:

For anyone looking for a painless way to reach relatively close destinations, I recommend taking a train. Costing only 60 euro round-trip, the train was surprisingly comfortable and easy to understand the necessary transfers. However, for further trips, not only does the train take away valuable time that could be spent at your intended destination (especially week end trips), but is very pricey. Also, unless the train leaves very infrequently for your destination, simply purchase the a one-way ticket before your departure and a one-way ticket before coming back. Not only is there no monetary advantage to buying in advance, but the ticket is not refundable if for some reason you can’t make it at that time.

Also, when traveling in groups, it is not always necessary to stay in hostels in order to save money. For this trip, we managed to book an apartment for the weekend at the cost of only 250 euro in total for all seven people (approximately 35 euro per person). Our apartment had two bedrooms with two beds each, two couches, two pull-out beds, a very spacious living room, and a complimentary cleaning service. It also contained a kitchen complete with an oven, stove, refrigerator, freezer, and a complete array of cooking utensils. So not only were we able to stay in relative luxury for both nights, but cooked our own dinner on Friday night to avoid paying the outrageous prices in this incredibly expensive city.

Oh, and i just couldn’t resist when seeing a black Aston Martin outside the Monte Carlo Casino:

Location: Monte Carlo, Monaco

Chantilly

On Saturday IES hosted an excursion to the Ch�teau de Chantilly, a castle in the Picardie region outside of Paris. Although some parts of the original buildings are no longer standing, the castle was constructed in 1560 for the princes of Cond�. Today the castle is more of an art museum, hosting the Mus�e Cond� and its collection of paintings that’s said to rival the Louvre. And of course, Chantilly is home to the famous Chantilly cream, lace, and racecourse.

Location: Château de Chantilly, France

A Night at the Opera

A couple months ago, I was looking through my grandparents’ old house. While shuffling through dusty piles of letters, papers, and family photographs, I came across an envelope full of little pictures. They were photographs my grandfather took during World War II when he was stationed as a soldier in France and sent home to my grandmother. On the back of each, he wrote dates, names of people and locations, and often a comment. He wrote on the back of a picture of the Palais Garnier, where the Op�ra National de Paris shares its home with the legendary Phantom, that he would have loved to see a performance there, if he ever came back. He was a musician himself and he loved classical music and opera; it would have meant a lot to him. He never got that chance, so I decided that I would go instead.

Last night there was a salon of classical music – a string quartet played Schumann and a string/woodwind octet performed pieces by Hindemith, a more contemporary composer. While the music was good and the musicians extremely talented, I enjoyed seeing the Palais Garnier more than anything. The ornate decorations, the balconies, rich red curtains, and paintings on the ceiling made it feel like stepping back a hundred years or so. The building is immense, too; you enter through two grand halls before even coming to the theatre. Of course, I came in through the backdoor with the rest of the poor students buying last-call tickets ten minutes before the show. But still, it was cool (and worth the 10 euros).

And although my imagination was working hard and wishing for it, the Phantom didn’t show up. Maybe he only makes an appearance for actual operas.

Palais Garnier

Location: Place de L'Opéra, Paris, France

Amsterdam!

On a whim, I went to Amsterdam this weekend. I had never really imagined going to Holland, but I’m glad I did. Traveling in Europe is so easy – there are trains, planes, and buses that leave at least once a day with reasonably priced tickets, and hostels in every major city. We opted for the train, so we had three hours to see the countryside of northern France, Belgium, and the Netherlands (it looked pretty similar to central Pennsylvania, but maybe a little greener, a little older).

Amsterdam is a beautiful city. Meandering over the canals, dodging the bicyclists, and walking through the small streets was amazing. We got to see the Van Gogh Museum, with an exhibition on naturalism in painting and photography, and an outdoor market at Albert Cuypstraat. The public transportation system was efficient and easy to figure out, even though I don’t speak a word of Dutch. The food was great too, although the only real “Dutch” dishes that we could find were pancakes (in an adorable tiny restaurant decorated with teapots hanging from the ceiling), fries with mayonnaise, and stroopwafles (my new favorite food). We also tried some delicious Indonesian fare, since there are quite a few Indonesian restaurants in Amsterdam because it was once a Dutch colony.

It was difficult to pinpoint what was specific to the Netherlands in Amsterdam, beyond the coffeeshops, Red Light District, white and blue porcelain, and wooden shoes. As the city’s tourism website claimed, everyone speaks English (although I can see why, with how difficult Dutch is). Amsterdam is incredibly multicultural, which is great and also inevitable in the era of globalization. I was just curious to learn more about the culture of the Netherlands, since I didn’t know much about it. But the city’s atmosphere of tolerance and friendliness was refreshing, and I feel much more confident about living and traveling abroad after getting around so easily there. Here are a few pictures; enjoy!

Amsterdam

Location: Centraal Station, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Comparative Education

Today, the fall semester at the Universit� Paris IV (La Sorbonne) began. It seems strange to be starting so late, but that’s just another of the many differences in the French education system as compared to its American counterpart. I’m excited (but extremely intimidated) to be taking a literature class there. The Sorbonne is one of the oldest universities around – prestigious, old, and terribly confusing. Classes and locations often aren’t announced until the day the classes begin, professors may just not show up, and announcements are posted on a bulletin board (no convenient e-mail notifications). Professors are government employees, and I’m told that many of them have no interest in speaking with students, or in hearing students’ opinions. They also don’t hold office hours. Courses are run in two parts – a lecture, or cours magistral, with the professor for 1-2 hours a week, and a discussion section with a graduate student (called a travaux dirig�) for 2-3 hours each week.

Universit� Paris IV - La Sorbonne, Centre Malsherbes

It takes about 45 minutes for me to get to the Centre Malesherbes, the building where my class is located. The Sorbonne’s classes are all over the city – there’s no real “campus,” although the oldest building, what one traditionally thinks of as the Sorbonne, might count. Of course, the secretariat, where students go to check their class locations, is closed until Monday afternoon (my class starts at 8am). My TD was bigger than I was expecting, with a heavy syllabus (or programme, as it’s called). But luckily, the professor is letting the exchange students avoid a few of the assignments (score!). The cours magistral was today as well, in a huge auditorium (a lot like the Forum). The professor was the archetype of French professor – old, a bit haughty, yelling into the microphone about the definition of literature. But I think it was worth getting up before sunrise (and it was still dark when I got there).

The classes at the IES Center have helped me prepare for this new environment, somewhat. Our professors are all French professors or professionals; several of them have a PhD from the Sorbonne. My History of French Cinema instructor is actually a filmmaker, so he’s able to provide a lot of interesting information and angles on the material. I’m also taking a class about immigration in France, and it’s fascinating to see the daily repercussions of France’s immigration policies and understand why the French react to les �trangers the way they do. Because there’s such a strong sense of national identity and the need to protect it, the French hold their culture sacred, and anything from outside is a threat (except trends from New York, apparently). For example, there’s an institution here called the Acad�mie fran�aise, consisting of forty men and women called the Immortals, created a few hundred years ago for the preservation of the French language in its truest and purest form.

Postcolonial theories and ideas barely exist here; the Algerian war for independence was only about forty years ago, and the wounds are still fresh on both sides. The status of immigrants, especially those from France’s former colonies, is ambiguous. France wants them to become integrated, to become French, but at the cost of effacing their self-identity, religions, and backgrounds. The government’s recent legislative activities (deporting the Roma, passing new and stricter immigration laws, Sarkozy’s racist comments against North Africans) aren’t helping the situation either. But it’s definitely helpful to get a better understanding of the underlying tensions here.

Location: 108 Boulevarde Malesherbes, Paris, France

Introduction

Bonjour 🙂

My name is Aarti and I’m a sophomore at Penn State. I’m majoring in Supply Chain and minoring in French and International Business. I’m studying abroad in Rouen, France for the fall semester of 2010.

Rouen is about an hour west from Paris (I used Paris as a guideline because this seems to be the only place everyone knows in France), and it is a charming little town, forever enshrined as the place where Joan of Arc was burnt in 1431. Having analysed and read Joan of Arc several thousand times for IB English in high school definitely makes this an interesting point of reference, and I can’t wait to explore the cathedrals and old buildings that still exist in Rouen.

Besides living in another country (this will be my third, since I am an international student from India), I’m looking forward to immersing myself in French culture. I’ve taken French lessons for the past 7 or 8 years and it’s a bit tragic that I still choke sometimes while having an actual conversation with someone, especially if their language skills are clearly far more superior than my own. So, my main objective while studying abroad in France is to achieve fluency and gain more confidence in speaking the language without any inhibitions.

I am also excited to travel all over Europe on my own and with my friends (thank you, Schengen visa), since all my previous travels have been with my family. This will effectively be the first time I’m traveling abroad by myself (I don’t count coming to Penn State under traveling abroad since there wasn’t a language barrier and it wasn’t a significant culture shock for me) and I’m a bit apprehensive, but mostly just super excited.

More to follow as we come closer to crunch time!

Location: Penn State University

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