France
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The French Road Trip
My journey home from Toulouse to Newcastle!
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A Day Trip To Montauban!
By Sarah Cross, Sciences Po Toulouse, France One of the best things available to us since being in Toulouse, is the €2 train tickets on many weekends. This means that, for such a small price, we are able to take the train around the Occitanie region (of which Toulouse is the capital). It is an initiative to encourage both public transport use, and tourism to the smaller parts of the region. I recently used this for a day out in the town of Montauban, about 40 minutes from Toulouse.
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Weekends and Days off in Toulouse!
by Sarah Cross, Sciences Po Toulouse, France Despite having more classes and a fuller timetable than I’m used to in Manchester (those 8:30am lectures will stop me from ever complaining about a 9am again!), there remains plenty of time to explore the beautiful city and surrounding areas. I’m lucky enough to also have Fridays off this Semester, giving me even more time to explore. I thought I’d tell you about some of my favourite things I’ve done outside of classes and the library in my first two months.
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Bienvenue à Toulouse!
By Sarah Cross, Sciences Po Toulouse, France I’m Sarah and I’m a PPE student studying for a year at Sciences Po in Toulouse. After what feels like countless months of admin, forms and eventually obtaining a Visa, I finally arrived here to begin my placement. The French bureaucracy has meant nothing is straightforward (partially thanks to Brexit!), so it feels great to have now spent three weeks in the ‘Pink City’.
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Dealing with emergencies in Toulouse
By: Eva Kristinova (Sciences Po Toulouse, France) By this point you surely realize how incredibly fun it can be to study abroad. But let’s be real, it might not always be. All the same, know that if you ever find yourself in a less welcoming, stressful, or (God forbid) emergency medical situation, there are places you can go and seek help from. Here are some insights for what to do if you find yourself in need in Toulouse. Physical and mental health support and advice The best place to look for support and advice related to anything to do with health is the University Medical Centre. All you need to…
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Loire-Atlantique – castles, boats, biscuits and wine
By: Eva Kristinova (Sciences Po Toulouse, France) Recently, during our brief spring vacation, I had the opportunity to venture out of the comfort zone of the immediate Occitanie region and visit the very exotic north-west of France: Loire-Atlantique. This cozy département, sandwiched between the unique cultures of Vendée and Bretagne (which also just happen to be historical rivals), is home to a very different side of Frenchness, which is nevertheless as French as can be, perhaps even more French than our beloved Toulouse! And I’m not just talking about the cheese.
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My Parisian Adventure Chapter 4: Christmas is Here
As the days began to get shorter and the air started to become colder, the realisation that Christmas was upon us hit me rather quickly. Upon my return from swelteringly hot Monaco, I was greeted to a breezy chill in the wind, coupled with the littering of towering Christmas trees complete with flashing decorations and beaming lights. It was a rather beautiful sight. All around Paris you could spot these enormous, sky-scraping trees, Christmas markets being set up with dozens of stands, and ice rinks beginning to appear for keen visitors to strut their stuff on the ice. Paris was the last place I ice skated in fact, 9 years…
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My Parisian Adventure Chapter 3: The Beauty of France
Now I’d settled in properly and fully immersed myself in the University life, I vowed to myself that I would explore France and its culture. France is a gargantuan nation, and far larger than most believe it to be. A mind-blowing example is the fact that it takes less time to drive from Paris to Manchester (English channel crossing included) than it would to drive from Paris to Nice on the glittering South coast. From the bustling metropolis of the French capital, often grey and cold, you can travel to other parts of the nation and witness rows and rows of palm trees. Such diversity is unheard of pretty much…
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My Parisian Adventure Chapter 2: Time to get to Work
I unfortunately missed the first week of University lessons due to a delay in my visa process, but come the second week I had arrived in Paris and was raring to learn. The education system there has many similarities and differences compared to what University of Manchester undergraduates are accustomed too, but generally I found the transition into life at SciencesPo somewhat comfortable and straightforward.
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The call to armes – a reflection
By: Eva Kristinova (Sciences Po Toulouse, France) Hello, it’s me again. This post will be a little different from my usual content, but, I hope, interesting nevertheless. What I wish to share with you is something that has become a constant feature of my life in France, something I soon learned was simply an inevitable part of French culture, history and people. Just as a heads-up though, I do not wish to fuel any stereotypes here. This is simply something that I’ve observed, and upon discussion found that my French peers freely, even proudly admit to. So, here are a few reflections on the culture of protest in France.
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My Parisian Adventure Chapter 1: Settling In
The day was Saturday the 4th of September 2021. Months of hard work, research, filling out application forms, searching for accommodation and processing my French visa had led to this moment. Nervous? Definitely.
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The Cafés on the Garonne
By Eva Kristinova (Sciences Po Toulouse, France) With the sun once again creeping into the lovely streets of Toulouse, it is the start of the café season! Not that these quintessential staples of French cultural life should ever complain of not being busy, since the Toulousains apparently don’t care in the least about the weather. Come rain, come shine, come snow, come sleet, the show must go on! And there is always something to be seen in a French café.
