Since our arrival in France, the Exchange students in my region have been anticipating the Paris-Barcelona BusTrip 2012, an 8-day ride that would take us to the capital of France, then south until we reached Barcelona, and back again.
Arriving by train in Paris the 17 of February at 10am, we were off: 37 teenagers from around the world stuffed into a single bus and colored seven shades of Heaven because of it. It began in Paris. In three days we had climbed the Eiffel Tower, crowded the Mona Lisa in the Louvre, and snapped (albeit 'illegal') pictures of our country's flag in the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles. After a night spent in the south of France, we were due west, for Spain.
The memories of the stay in Barcelona are a blur; I can't tell you what we did when without consulting my journal. For three nights we stayed in the fanciest hotel I've ever been in; huge pool (though we weren't allowed to swim...) buffet for breakfast and dinner, and there was a nightclub, too! Besides that, evenings in the hotel were spent dancing and ambushing an unassuming Exchange Student in the hall; consequently robbing him of entire macaron collection. The days were spent in a Soccer Hall of Fame (forgot the name), two art museums (The Museum of Picasso and the Museum of Dali, both of which I ended up enjoying more than the Louvre), at a Hard Rock cafe eating my first burger in 6 months and wearing a t-shirt outside for the first time in what felt like forever. Returning to the cold of France was about the worst part of ending the BusTrip, second only to saying goodbye to the other ESs. But I wasn't done travelling yet.
Most students on the bus went on home after returning to the Paris train station, but Cassandra LaMarche and I had the good fortune to spend a couple extra days with a parisienne family. That was brilliant, getting to know the city with the aid of a local, as opposed to a tour guide. The days were packed. We rode the metro, strolled about the Red Light district, browsed a couple shops on the street across from the Notre Dame, watched the Eiffel Tower light up from a bridge over the Seine, drank chocolat viennois at le Chat Noir and went out to a party with kids in the neighborhood.
Upon returning to Dinan, I was tired, had a LOT of laundry to do, and was generally happy to be home. I have done so much living in this past month, though. The voyage was great, now it's over. But the experience... Even as memory fails and photos fade, I will carry it with me always. :) Vive le Bustrip 2012!!
