Today, since it's Monday, I didn't have any classes. I woke up super early to see if my girl was online but my internet was still not working (it stopped working last night around 5 or so). So after falling back asleep, I woke up again at noon. Even though I have homework and desperately need to clean my room, I spent most of my day reading a book on my Kindle called The Apothecary's Daughter, which isn't too bad of a book. Having my Kindle has pushed me to read so much more than I have as of late. In the past I was an avid reader who would read whatever I could put my hands on. And I've gone through dry spells but nothing like being at college. There's something about mandatory reading that really makes pleasure reading not too pleasant. But being in France, where homework is almost non-existent, with my new Kindle, I've found such a desire to read almost all the time. I downloaded 26 free books on my Kindle, from Machiavelli's The Prince to The Life and Writings of Buddha. And I must admit that I find myself reading every minute of my spare time. I read Aesop's Fables for 40 minutes last night. And that's one of my more exciting pieces. :) But I'm really enjoying it because reading has always been something I adore.
I also spent a little bit of my time today looking into where I'd like to visit while I'm here in France. While I'm so close to all of these amazing European and African countries, I find myself really just wanting to see everything I can of France. Here's my list and it's in order of what I'd like to see (1 being the top on my list):
- Loire Valley (where all of the chateaus of the kings and queens, etc are)
- Abbey at Mont St. Michel
- Lascaux Caves
- Chartres Cathedral
- Somme Battlefields
- Rouen Cathedral and Normandy Beaches
- Chateau d’If
- Monaco
- St. Tropez
- Vineyard in Bordeaux
- Nice
- Arles
- Grasse
- Montpellier
- Avignon
- Pont du Gard
- Reims
- Amiens
- Carcassone
- Poitiers
- Strasbourg
- Vaison-la-Romaine
- Lyons
- Fontainebleau
So I spent some time today trying to figure out how I'll get to all of these places and where I'll stay while there and what exactly I'll do there. :) Which, while it sounds exciting, is actually kind of exhausting once you see the euros count up. And I've come to the conclusion that I will have to do all I can and feel happy at what I've seen. Who knows, I may come back to my beloved France someday and realize I've seen everything....then where would I be?
Jen!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to see you're alive, well, and becoming a travel-aholic. It seem like you're having a blast. My mom has a Kindle and likes it, but is it better than having a book? I would imagine it would be hard to pack a handful of book for France. I need to be on skype more. Talk to you soon!!!
Brendan
Jen,
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear and see that you are doing well and having fun! I hope you have a chance to make to most if not all of the places on your list(did you get your DC list finished?). The open market on the harbor looked awesome. Do you like the Kindle better than books(I can imagine it saves a lot of weight while traveling)? I'll be on skype more so we can talk again soon!!!
Brendan