Paris! Here we are! Arrived this evening from Strasbourg. And Strasbourg! Strasbourg was wonderful.

Arrived in Strasbourg on Saturday morning via Offenburg (a small city in Germany), where we stumbled across some kind of carnival that happens once a year (where all the 'crazy carnival people' come). There were people dancing, costumes made with masks, felt and bells, music playing and general frivolity. All-in-all quite an interesting spectacle to come across.

With Juliette in Strasbourg

We met Juliette at the train station (for those who don't know, Juliette came on exchange to Tasmania and was at Hellyer College for the first half of my year 11) and she showed us the sights of Strasbourg including the magnificent cathedral and astronomical clock, and the beautiful Petite France area with its lovely old buildings and cobble-stone streets. She also took us to a slightly alternative cafe where we sampled strawberries and plums with some kind of mint and pepper sauce, as well as bread with toppings of chocolate and a lolly banana; strawberries, almonds and melted hard-boiled lollies; and a cinnamon French toast. We also visited her school and student accommodation - they have their own (albeit, small) bathroom in their room! It was so lovely to see her.

Today we explored a little more of Strasbourg on our own. We climbed to the bell tower of the cathedral - which was quite amazing and so high (with a fantastic view), and wandered around the streets before catching the train to Paris, and here we are! We did try to catch up with Elodie (she stayed with my auntie and uncle in Hobart), but we arrived in Paris too late and missed her as she was heading back to her school for the week.

The view from our hostel room in Frankfurt

A cute little touristy square in Frankfurt

However, I missed the last day in Frankfurt. So.....that day was museum day. I think it is safe to say that Frankfurt is the capital of museums. We passed at least 10 without specifically looking for them, and on the map we saw that there were 31! There was a great value 'museum surfer' ticket (€8 for students) that gave you admission to all of the museums and paid off by seeing just two. Our first stop was the Architecture Museum - amazing. So many models that were meticulously put together and really great displays. Next was the Museum of Modern Art - just missed the Andy Warhol exhibit. A lot of the work there was video art and quite strange. Last was the Stadel Museum. Unfortunately the modern gallery was closed so we viewed the older collections quite quickly, but the shop was great. Back at the hostel was crepe night which provided us with a free dinner!

And so now to explore Paris.....



Cześć, Fiona