Aero: Alaina Steensma – France 2018 – City Life
Aero: Alaina Steensma – France 2018 – City Life
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Alaina Steensma
City life in France is largely different from a large American city for many reasons the first being that the height of the buildings are almost all relatively short compared to a larger American city like Las Vegas, New York City or even Rochester, for that matter. As well as once you reach the smaller cities like Vitré the streets are far more narrow due to them never reconstructing them since they were first built. I really enjoyed this aspect because it adds and extra element f charm and history to wherever you are going just by walking down the street. I am confused as to why they never remodeled them though. Perhaps it’s just not a big deal to them and they are fine with walking, Americans; not so much.
The houses and architecture in these cities is also very different from America its still very much older than anything in America from the cathedrals and churches that are everywhere to even just the houses and some stores that have been converted it seems to have stayed almost intact from a much earlier date, they seem much less focused on updating and becoming more modern than we seem to be here.
The coffee shops bars and restaurants are all one of my favorite parts of France the quiet atmosphere of the coffee shops was really a relaxing and rewarding experience after a long day of walking around all day being able to sit down and unwind with a hot beverage and maybe even a cigarette if you sat outside was something that you often wouldn’t find here. Simply because of the amount and variety of them.
The stores i saw always seemed to be more of the boutique style rather than the larger more commercialistic ones you find in America. the Monoprix was the biggest single store i saw and that was just like a condensed target that spread out for three floors. Another thing that i was really impressed by was the menu outside of the restaurants i thought it was not only courteous to people that may not be able to afford to eat there but also helpful so you could see what they even had and if you wanted anything on the menu without having to go in and ask multiple questions and waste everyone’s time if you don’t end up eating here.
The use of public transportation throughout France really reminded me of New York City but only in the sense that its more efficient in New York City. In almost every other area that is not a central hub there is no subway and sometimes not many options for public transportation besides buses. So i was really impressed by their efficient and green way of travel even in areas that were not heavily populated like where i stayed in Chateabourge there was still a train station to get to Vitré.
Alaina Steensma
Study Abroad – France 2018 @ FLCC
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(Click here to browse the entire FLCC @ France 2018 Gallery!)
