I haven't arrived in France, and already I am planning vacations. My last "brown package" (as my mother calls them) from the Fulbright had my official, stamped contract from the Ministère de l'Education Nationale de Montpellier. In it, I learned that my lycée was part of Zone A for vacations. (France, you may know, is split into three "zones" and are on completely different vacation schedules; this works out quite well) So, here are my vacation times (if you'd like to come visit):
Vacances de Toussaint: Saturday, October 25 - Thursday, November 6
Vacances de Noel: Saturday, December 23 - Monday, January 5
Vacances d'Hiver: Saturday, February 7 - Monday, February 23
Vacances de Printemps: Saturday, April 4 - Monday, April 20
Yes, the French really know how to vacation!! So, here are some ideas for trips that I am thinking of already:
Trip Idea #1: Basque Country
- Toulouse –
Lourdes –
Pau –
Biarritz –
Bayonne Trip Idea #2: Absolute Mediterranean Paradise
- Aix-en-Provence – St. Tropez – Nice – Corsica
Trip Idea #3: Going North
- Paris – Brussels – Bruges – Luxembourg
Trip Idea #4: Return to the Familiar
- Bordeaux – Poitiers – Futuroscope – La Rochelle – Ile de Re
Other places I'd like to visit:
Eastern France: Colmar, Dijon, Lyon, Grenoble
Outside of France (to the South and East): Andorra, Barcelona, Florence and Venice, Corsica, Greek Isles
Outside of France (to the North and East): Brussels and Bruges, Luxembourg, Switzerland, London (by Eurostar)
We'll see how many of these trips actually happen. Until then, I will have fun daydreaming!
