Bonjour!!

I finally made it to France! After a day of flying I have arrived safe and sound in Yssingeaux, France where I am participating in the Johnson & Wales spring session Ecole Nationale Superieure De Patisserie (ENSP) internship.  
My journey began on Wednesday March 13, 2013 in the evening when my mom and sister dropped me off at the Logan Express Bus Station in Framingham, Massachusetts. It was an emotional time as I said my good-byes to both of them, but especially my twin sister who has been by my side through all my ups and downs. I checked in at Delta airlines and dropped off my luggage without any issues! I finally met up with my friend Kristen at security, who is also in the same program as I am. We made our way through security without any problems!

My flight left at 7:30 Wednesday evening and I arrived in Amsterdam at 7:30 Thursday morning. The flight was 6 hours long and we were served dinner and then a couple hours later breakfast to get us accustomed to the time change. I was lucky enough to get a few hours of sleep while in the air so I would not be jet lagged and tired when I arrived in France! I had over an hour to wait in Amsterdam and decided to call my sister to let her know I was okay and have landed safely. I got free Wifi in the airport so I decided to text her until my next flight. I am so lucky to have such a great sister, especially since she woke up in the middle of the night (her time) to talk to me! It was 3 in the morning there! From Amsterdam, my flight left at 9:30 Thursday morning where we flew to Lyon. This is where I would meet the rest of the students and the bus driver. This flight was much shorter! It was only an hour and a half!  

Lyon-Saint Exupery Airport

When I arrived in Lyon I picked up my luggage and met the rest of the group! We hopped on the bus to where it would be taking us to live for the next 2 months. From the Lyon airport to the town of Yssingeaux, where we would be staying it took us an hour and a half to get there. At Lyon it was beautiful out and sunny and by the time we arrived at Yssingeaux it was snowing!!! When the bus stopped, we were all hoping that we weren't staying here, because it was too much like camping. The apartments were down a dirt road and were colorful and bright looking flats. But the inside was definitely nothing like camping! It was beautiful. It was a nice, small room for two which was fully furnished with electricity and internet. I met up with my roommate, Kelly and we started to settle down and unpack. We had Friday and the whole weekend before classes started on Monday. This gave me and others the perfect opportunity to explore and get to know the town that would be my home away from home.
 
Friday we had orientation all day at the Castle as they call it where classes will be held. We learned everything about the school, the town, places to see, and how to get around. On the weekend it was very mellow and laid back. We were going to go visit Le Puy en Velay, a small town not too far from Yssingeaux, on Saturday, but... that quickly changed when the bus never showed up because we were giving the wrong times. So instead, we adventured out in our small town to figure out where everything was and went grocery shopping. We walked everywhere we went and oh let me tell you, it sure is hilly here. However, it is a great workout! I woke up the next day with sore calves!

Apartment 19


I hope you all check back later for my first post about classes and my many adventures I plan on taking! Au revoir!