9/14/2023 0 Comments Ten french faux pas![]() ![]() Although getting lost in 652,300 feet of museum was pretty scary, Abby and I discovered many interesting and intricate pieces of art that we never would have thought to go look at. So after wandering from painting to sculpture to statue, we finally found our way back to the meeting point on time. We could have asked someone for directions but didn’t want to cause offense with our poor French again. With five floors and an infinite number of exhibits, the Louvre is not an easy place to find your way out of. We found our way to the Ancient Egypt displays and became lost in history, figuratively and literally. We decided that the painting was overrated and began to search for something new. We all but ran to find the “Mona Lisa” and were soon swallowed by the swarms of people gathered around Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece. ![]() Given our track record for getting lost, Abby and I were given strict instructions before being let loose. The famed inverted glass pyramid is a must-see for anyone visiting France. My tip to anyone visiting a foreign country: Watch where you’re walking it is possible to run into anything!Įvery year the Musée du Louvre welcomes more than 9.7 million visitors. I not only got an up close and personal view of his front, but to this day, I still cannot un-see the sight of his backside as he rode away from the accident scene. Okay, well not completely naked he was wearing a man thong, but still I classify that as naked. While shopping in one of the many squares, I turned a corner and collided with a man who happened to be riding a unicycle … naked. I did have a pretty awkward encounter, though. Before leaving our group, we made sure to map out directions and set an alarm to remind us when to start back. Upon our arrival, Abby and I were ecstatic to explore. Filled not only with history, but farmers markets, antique shops, and quaint vendors, the atmosphere is special. The cobblestone streets in this small village are lined with bright flower boxes hung on the sides of medieval mansions. One of our first stops was the town of Rochefort-en-Terre, in northwestern France. Everyone gets lost, and it’s basically required that you say something wrong in a foreign language, but not everyone does it as well as I did. One could argue that my whole abroad experience was a cliché. The next 60 odd days in France continued to be marked by more unexpected surprises – getting lost and having awkward encounters with locals. The phrase I believed meant “I love your city” actually turned out to be “You smell like horse.” I may have accidentally insulted the whole population of Alsace. My second mistake was trying to speak French. Instead of returning to our tour bus on time, we ended up two hours late. Turns out that instead of taking a left, we were actually supposed to take a right. That day marked the first two of many mistakes I would make during my time abroad. ![]() While my first day in France was very much one to remember, let’s just say that it didn’t turn out quite as I had expected. I greet each person I pass with, “Bonjour! Vous sentez comme le cheval!” I was excited to use my newly learned French. “I think you take a left up here!” My best friend Abby and I turn onto a cobblestone road, crêpes in one hand and cameras in the other as we explore the streets of Alsace. ![]()
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