Pictures
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| Last Month in France |
Lacanau
Lacanau is on the Atlantic coast, close to Bordeaux. We went, with 25 other friends, to spend a long weekend at the beach. We stayed in little mobile homes and had barbeques. The weather was a bit cold, so no bathing suits, but it was fun watching the guys surfing.
Skydiving
As a birthday gift, Julien got me a certificate to go skydiving tandem (attached to a trained professional) in Montargis. It was AWESOME. The first 30 seconds of free fall was the best part. I can't wait to do it again.
Mont Saint Michel and Saint Malo
The second most visited tourist attraction in France is a huge cathedral built on a little island in Nothern France. It was gorgeous, we were lucky to have nice weather, and we strolled around. We found a little campsite in Cancale overlooking a beautiful harbour and ate dinner in the city. The next morning we headed to Saint Malo, a cute little coastal town with ramparts and forts.
Ardeche
Ardeche is in southern France, a beautiful region of gorges. We set out on saturday morning to kayak 32 km through the gorges. We played around a lot and acted foolish, so the usual 4 hour route took us 8. We camped at a location halfway down the river, and woke the next morning to torrential downfall. Despite this we continued kayaking down the river and were granted with beautiful weather. The first day, almost everyone fell out of their kayaks on rapids except me. So it was their goal to tip my kayak, and were successful. Luckily bad weather brings warmer water temperatures, so it wasn't too bad. I have never done something like that before, kayaking so far, but when we finally made it to the pick-up point, I felt like I had really acheived something. I was really sore for the next few days, though.
Weddings, Birthday Parties, and Concerts
I went to two concerts, a free one in Paris with Common, and a free one in Baule that displayed big bands. Numerous birthday parties as well, and a marriage party for friends on a huge estate in Sologne (the forest) with tennis tournements, fishing, and ltos of dancing. This was the weekend right before I left, and that was a really nice ending to my 9 months here.
So, tomorrow I am on a flight back to the US and I have no idea how to feel about it. I am a little worried about having to speak English all the time but excited to see friends and family. Nine months away from home is quite a long time!!
