Adventures in Boulogne-sur-Mer!

Hi everyone!!! I know it’s been a while since I’ve last posted, but since the last entry I have returned to the U-S-of-A! Grace and I landed on the 16^th and I have since moved back to my school to work and have an internship. So, it’s been really busy and thus the slow blog entries!

Just an FYI: I still have at least two more entries to write, so don’t forget about this blog yet!!

This blog entry is about our May 4^th trip to a town on the English Channel called Boulogne-sur-Mer (Boulogne on the Ocean). Our International Relations department took us for a day trip to this city, which was only about two hours away from Arras.

Our day started with a tour of the old fort/city, which was started by the Romans (and wooden walls instead of stones). It was then changed a few times over the course of the years, being remodeled in the Middle Ages and again in the 1800s (I think- it’s been a while since the tour!). We had the opportunity to see the different evolutions of the walls while we were inside the courtyard.

Courtyard

Chateau

We then exited the courtyard to see more of the grounds. The coolest part about this chateau was the fact that THERE IS AN ACTUAL MOAT AROUND IT. Yeah, I was pretty excited too. These paths led around the original walled fort, where you can still see the outlines of the towers. The English Channel is visible from these walls, despite the couple miles of town between the old city and the water.

Moat!!

Old wall

The English Channel from the wall

A street in the old city

Our tour guide made a big deal about the belfry- so we had a chance to walk up the scary, narrow, spiral (of course) steps to the top of the tower. Before we climbed the steps, however, we were able to walk around the town hall that houses the belfry. Several pieces of modern art are displayed in the hallways, which contrast with the more imperial red conference rooms that boast large murals from the 1500s. At the base of the belfry’s steps sit a pile of English cannonballs from the many wars between France and England, a jail, and a layout of the town hall. The view from the belfry was beautiful, and totally worth the workout-inducing steps.

The belfry

Cathedral from the belfry

English Channel from the belfry

Lunch was eaten on the beach, which was absolutely huge. It took about 5-10 minutes to walk from the middle of the beach to the water that was obviously at low tide. I was able to see a bunch of little crabs chilling out in the shallow wave-less water, as well as the huge flocks of birds in the water. The water was actually quite cold, so we didn’t spend much time playing in it.

The beach!

Crabs!

The true treat of the day was our trip to the aquarium that sits right on the beach. For the record: I LOVE AQUARIUMS. And this one was pretty boss. Live, huge tortoises were light bathing in open air, you could look down into certain tanks, and the layout was rather confusing but created a sense of adventure as we explored everything. Grace’s favorite part was the shark tank, featuring pretty large sharks; mine was the exotic fish tank; and we both really enjoyed the (“Frenglish!”) sea lion show! We oooh-ed and awed as much as the French children!

Giant tortoises

Shark!!

Frenglish sea lions- they spoke both French and English