Amiens

Last night the whole group of students went on a mini "fieldtrip" to Amiens. It was an hour and a half bus ride from Compiègne. When we arrived, the bus basically dropped us off on the side of the road in a not so nice area after passing beautiful cobblestoned streets, lively gardens, and a flowing river. Nope, we got dropped off next to a Kebab (a French style fast food restaurant). We then made a right and a left and this was standing right in front of us.

It is called the Notre Dame of Amiens. We went inside for a further look and it was huge. There were a few people looking around when a group of 100 plus kids came barging in. Some people really do not know how to act when they enter a church. It's just a sort of respect that even if you are not Catholic, you know not to be loud and fool around. Aside from that, the cathedral was beautiful. There was so much detail in every face and every hand on every surface. You just don't see this in the US. The ceiling was my favorite part. The sun came beaming in through the windows and lit up the entire inside.

After we left the cathedral, we had five hours to just chill out around the town. Seeing as we had no idea where we were, a group of us decided to go out exploring. The town was beautiful. There were gardens everywhere and lots of stone buildings. 

It is so hard to describe because there is nothing to compare it to. You really have to come and experience it for yourself. We eventually ended up splitting up and meeting up with another group of kids. Kayla and I walked around for a bit by ourselves in between and found the river! We also made friends with a couple of locals. They even read us a story!

For not really knowing the town, we covered a pretty good portion of it while we were there. We made our way to a playground with the best climbing jungle gym ever. As soon as I saw it, I dropped my backpack and jumped up and starting making my way to the top. I literally felt like I was a five year old kid again with the biggest smile on my face. Some of the Brazilian kids made friends with a couple kids playing soccer and they ended up having a four on four game. Unlike normal soccer fields made of grass, this one was cement. There were a few times where I thought we were going to see how French hospitals work, but everyone came out with all their limbs!

Kayla and I bought the most amazing crepes. Literally, the best one I have had since arriving and I have had my share. It was a little red truck and the guy made them in the back. He was super nice and talked with us for awhile. 

He thought we were Italian, because yes, I look Italian. We told him we were from the United States near Boston and he said that he had been to Framingham, Mass. Not exactly the town I would visit on vacation, but they probably say that about their own local towns too, as we are there, camera in hand, and in awe. We enjoyed our crepes so much that we went back for seconds. I had a crepe au sucre (with sugar) and one with maple syrup! Kayla had two with Nutella and coconut. We told Mike about them, and he caved in and bought one too. 

The best was yet to come. We all met up at the cathedral at 22h (10pm) not knowing what was going to happen in a matter of seconds. The whole cathedral went completely black and then there were speakers telling us the history of the cathedral in French, German, English, and Russian. Hard to understand when there are that many languages going at once. Next thing you know, the whole church slowly starts lighting up. The main archway lit up first followed by the two on either side. Ever Saint was illuminated and their clothes looked so luxurious. It was amazing. Bea if you read this, you need to go here and see it! I thought of you while it was happening. The outline of the entire cathedral was illuminated by the end. Again, incredible. The picture does not do it justice. All in all, Amiens turned out to be a great "fieldtrip."