The First Week and a Half in France

For the last six weeks of my Year Abroad, I was supposed to be working at a animal park in Brittany. However, once I got there I realised that the job wasn't what I was expecting. So I moved on to Paris to look for work and accommodation there, but wasn't successful. But I did get the opportunity to see lots of sights around the city, which was great! I'd only been once before for a couple of days for my 18th birthday, and I'd wanted to go back ever since. I had hoped to spend a bigger part of my Year Abroad there, but it wasn't to be.

Here are some of the things I saw:

Jardin du Luxembourg

Notre-Dame de Paris

Moulin Rouge

Le Café des 2 Moulins (This is the café featured in one of my favourite films of all time, Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain.)

Mur des je t'aime

Sacré-Cœur

The Eiffel Tower, of course!

Arc de Triomphe

The Chilean Embassy (I came across it while exploring the city and just had to take a photo!)

Versailles

Place de la Concorde

Tuileries

Bois de Boulogne

It was really fun spending a week exploring Paris and the surrounding area. Aside from the attractions in my pictures, I also visited other interesting places, like the Musée d'Orsay, Roland Garros and Le Parc des Princes.

It hasn't been easy adjusting to life back in Europe after being in South America for so long. I was really happy with my life in Chile, and didn't particularly want to leave. But I had to complete the Year Abroad (not to mention the final year of university)! So I tried to make the best of my time in France, and overall, it went pretty well. I had the chance to visit plenty more places, and I'll be writing about them very soon...

My Last Month in Santiago

My last month in Santiago was brilliant. I saw so many interesting places all around the city with my boyfriend. I actually did more sightseeing during those last four weeks than I had during the previous few months!

These are some of the places we visited together, and a few I saw by myself:

Parque de Esculturas

The church and park at Los Domínicos (this is where I used to get off the metro and take the bus each morning to go to the university, but I hadn't previously taken the time to look around the area properly)

Outside the UDD (my university)

A lovely evening at Parque Bicentenario

Museo Palacio Cousiño

Paseo Bulnes 

Cerro San Cristóbal (This is probably the best known touristic sight in Santiago. You can hike up to the top, but there is also an old funicular railway which goes up and down).

Templo Bahá'í (One of only two Bahá'í temples in South America. It's quite a steep walk to get to the top, but it's worth it to see such a beautiful building.)

Estación Mapocho (a former train station which now has art installations inside)

Mercado Central

Palacio de Tribunales de Justicia

Ex Congreso Nacional

Museo Histórico Militar

Parque O'Higgins (This is the second biggest park in Santiago after Parque Metropolitano. We went out on the lake in a little boat, which was really fun!)

Santiago doesn't have much of a reputation as a touristic city, but it actually has plenty of things to see. There are lots of parks, museums and monuments. It's also a great place to live - it's relatively safe, easy to get around, and has all the facilities you'd find in Europe or North America.

I was really sad to leave Chile and miss living there. The time I spent there was absolutely amazing, and I'm planning to go back as soon as possible. There are still so many places I want to visit!