A week in the life of my France study abroad trip
May 5, 2025
Nothing is better than falling in love with a country after spending years learning the language. Over spring break, I had the opportunity to attend the France Sites of Memory 2025 study abroad. This experience was life-changing. I was able to connect with my professors, students, and even the locals. Those long hours of translating for French 408 finally paid off. As a student with eight years of experience learning French, here's a day-by-day rundown of how my journey went.
Day One: Bonjour Paris
Our first day in Paris was short but fun. We landed at the Charles de Gaulle airport around seven in the morning. Afterwards, we headed straight for the hotel. Once we arrived, the rooms were not ready yet, so we headed to a nearby caf茅 for a coffee and lunch. I ordered a BLT with fries and everything was so fresh and amazing. After our petit lunch, we headed to see an antique chapel that was quite extraordinary and a graveyard where some of the most prominent French writers were buried. To top the night off, we headed to a quaint restaurant that had the best French onion soup I鈥檝e ever tasted in my life. It was warm, rich, and delicious.
Day Two: Bienvenue au palais de Versailles
During our trip to Versailles, we learned a lot about why the palace is built the way it is. Although the palace is 356 years old, it still holds its glory today. With an astonishing 357 mirrors in the hall of mirrors alone, Louis the 14th created a space that resembled the true French identity. For the duration of my visit, each and every corner of the palais left me in awe. From the jardins to the private estates, Versailles won my heart. With the Greek and Roman influences the palace has such a rich historical connection and display. The Sun King (Louis XIV) really demonstrated his power and achievements through the 357 mirrors in the 鈥渟alle de glace鈥 (hall of mirrors), which reflected the painted walls that displayed his achievements through Greek, Roman, and Christian references. One day was not enough to see everything that Versailles had to offer. To end the day, we had lunch at an Italian restaurant with authentic, fresh Italian pizza.
Day Three: Paris, Je t鈥檃ime toujours
Our third day in Paris was magical. We started our morning with the most perfect petit d茅jeuner (breakfast) that had croissants, fromage (cheese) and assorted fruits. In one word, it was parfait! After breakfast, we headed to the Louvre, which had so much art history about France and other countries. Here, our guided tour provided stories behind these great works of art, one of which was the Mona Lisa. Before leaving the Louvre, we were able to stop at the iconic Laduree Patisserie, which had the best macarons and cutesy gift items a person could imagine. After our trip to Le Louvre, we visited this quaint area in Paris that had small cafes, shopping, and plenty of sightseeing. While in this area, we had a movie-esque outdoor lunch with a view of the quaint streets of Paris. Once we finished our lunch, we headed to the Latin Quarter, better known as le Quartier Latin, where students of Paris have studied for many years. In this part of the voyage, we were able to witness beautiful architecture that was hundreds of years old. Afterwards, we had dinner at the most gorgeous restaurant called 鈥淟es Noces de Jeannette鈥 (the weddings of Jeannette). This restaurant has every bit of elegance and composure that one could have imagined. The restaurant, located near the Opera, had timeless decor that brought the scenery to life. Finally, when our night came to an end, we took the metro to the Eiffel Tower. The tower is embedded with approximately 20,000 lights that sparkle over Paris. Every student that attended this part of the trip was blown away. We were taken aback by its beauty, by its culture, and by its history. All in all, day three was most definitely my favorite!
Day Four: Les Ch芒teaux
Day four was a sweet memory as well. Monday morning, we woke up early and headed to Tours, France, where we went to tour the castles. Upon arrival, Provost Gabriella Scarlatta gave us the historical background of the castle we visited. After the guided tour, we had lunch right outside the castle on the premises. Then once we were finished, we headed to our second castle, which was, in one word, magnifique! It had the most gorgeous small chapel on its grounds as well as a beautiful view from the top of the castle that overlooked the town and river. For dinner, we went to a fun and elegant restaurant called Bistro Rossini, where I ate a chicken and potatoes dish that went along with a tomato sauce on top. When the day came to an end, we headed to our hotel, aptly named Le Grande Hotel De Tours. A hotel that was, in fact, grand.
Day Five: St Malo
Day five is another one of my favorites. We started the day early and took a walk around the city of Tours, where we saw this ancient building that was still intact. Then, after visiting a few hidden gems, we visited our last Castle, which was one of my favorites. It had a beautiful, serene stream running through it and a gorgeous, petite garden all around. The castle itself was small, but had a demanding presence. After our tour (which had a guided speaker phone), we headed to St. Malo, which is where we saw the sea. This was my first time seeing the sea, and I have to say it was magnificent. As the day was winding to a close and the sun was setting on the horizon, it was a moment I will never forget.
Day Six: Mont Saint-Michel
Day Six was probably one of our busiest days. We headed to the tidal island of Mont St. Michel, located off the coast of Normandy, to visit the monastery, which is hundreds of years old. The monastery was massive and currently houses ten monks and ten nuns. The building has had many uses since it was first built, including its original purpose as a monastery and as a prison cell in the 17th century. This gothic site of memory left many students astonished. Also, in order to visit the monastery, you must walk up the steps to the top, and once you leave, you have to pay to return. Although this site involved a lot of cardio, it was still a cool experience. To end the evening, we had dinner in an old farmhouse and finished off our feast with a game of Uno.
Day Seven: Bayeux
For day seven, we made our way to the Utah Beaches located in Normandy, where WWII took place. Here we had a tour guide who took us through this historic building and gave us a historic lesson on what happened during WWII, and the Utah Beaches, specifically. Our tour guide even gave us time to look inside the building, which had various WWII machinery and artifacts. We also had a chance to actually visit the Beaches themselves, which were gorgeous. After our trip there, we took our bus to Bayeux. Since we only had the chance to spend half a day and the night in Bayeux, we stayed in this beautiful hotel called Lion d鈥橭r (which several celebrities stayed at). After we received our rooms, we headed out for lunch and went to visit this very ancient cathedral (during lent). The cathedral there was one of my favorites because it was so dark and medieval, yet it still had so much history behind it. To end the night, we separated into three main groups. Those who were tired could rest at the hotel, those who wanted to visit more historical sites, and those who wanted to go shopping. I was in the shopping group.
Day Eight: Au revoir 脿 France
Our final day in Paris was divided up between travel and exploring. We took a bus from Normandy, France, down to Paris. We arrived around noon, and strolled the streets of Paris and ate lunch near the Eiffel Tower. After our lunch, we headed to the catacombs, which is its namesake. Although the experience as a whole was quite intriguing, it was probably my least favorite. We walked 100 steps underground to reach the catacombs. It's so far down that it is underneath the metro. You also can't return the way you came in, you must continue straight out of the underground. Since the last day was unlike the rest, we did have more time to go shopping in Paris, where we went to the Opera shopping district, which was exhilarating. Finally, to end the night, we had an 鈥淎u revoir鈥 dinner at this amazing Italian restaurant, and we watched the Eiffel Tower sparkle one last time.