Author: Abigail Hopper

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to take a week away in Bordeaux in southern France. In all honesty, I really didn’t know much about the city other than the abundance of wineries. However, the trip ended up being one of my favorites abroad so far.

Firstly, this is the longest I’ve been able to spend in one location, as we had the week off of classes for All Saints Day. So, a few of my friends and I decided to plan a budget-friendly, lowkey stay in Bordeaux. We didn’t make too many plans going in, with the intent of kind of just following whatever we feel like doing. I think this trip structure really changed my perspective on traveling. I am generally someone who really enjoys planning trips down to the minute, making sure everything is figured out before traveling. However, I found that being able to make choices on a whim made for a way less stressful travel experience.

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For example, my favorite day of the trip was when morning of, we decided to book a last minute wine tour at St. Emilion. We booked the trip at 10 and had to be at the meeting spot by 2. When we arrived for our tour, our group ended up being the only people who signed up that day, so we essentially got a private tour. It was also our guides very last tour of the season, so he was very excited and willing to answer all our questions. We took a car to a one of hundreds of vineyards and got a wine and cheese tasting – where I learned for the first time that people don’t just swirl their wine around in the glass for aesthetic effect. We got a gorgeous view of the vineyards as the sun started going down, and headed into the nearby town where we saw some gorgeous architecture and learned how the wine barrels are stored underground. Our tour guide even stayed an extra hour with us after the scheduled tour just showing up some of his favorite spots. All of which I would’ve never been able to plan in advance, and became my favorite day of the trip!

I also was able to really step out of the idea that every minute of a trip needs to be jam packed with sightseeing and experiences. A lot of this trip was spent soaking up the last bits of sun at the park, and “cafe-hopping,” drinking coffee and reading and chatting. And I look back at those moments just as fondly as I do the tours and grandeurs.

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This trip also happened to fall on the week of Halloween, and after a thorough Google search, I found a “vampire ball” event Halloween night, with a loose description to come dressed as vampires and in the Halloween spirit. The event turned out to be SO fun. We dressed as “vampire princesses” (had to get a little creative with our thrift store costumes) and ended up having a blast. It was the perfect mix between lowkey but there were also performers and really good music.

Overall, I came out of the trip feeling refreshed, closer to my friends, and incredibly content. I love France!!

Thanks for reading 🙂

As study abroad has continued to speed by, I’ve found myself in a whirlwind of emotions and feelings about the whole experience. It seems like every time I blink I’ve been here another 2 weeks, and all of the trips that had been bucket list items for so long are finally coming to surpass. It has felt a bit like I’m living in a far off fairytale-esque world where there are no real implications to anything going on around me.

However, a lot of this came to a head while I stayed up through the night watching the election unfold back home. As a public policy student, I have a strong vested interest in U.S. politics. Both on a personal level and a professional scale, the outcome of the election feels like it will dictate a lot of my life over, at the very least, the next four years. As I sat up watching everything unfold on my tiny yellow couch, I knew that there was something I’ve been missing about being in France. Though international politics and French history are an interesting subject, there is a bit of my heart and so much passion that remains in my studies in the U.S. So, post election, I made a decision I had been sitting on since the beginning of my arrival here that I couldn’t quite pull the trigger on, and have shortened my stay from the year to just one semester.

In a way, making the decision to come home early has made this semester so much lighter. I’ve stopped worrying about my life plans so much and about the “real world” back home, because I know it will still be there when I get back. And knowing I’ll be back so soon has made me stop and take in every moment here. Since I made the decision, I’ve taken two trips and planned 4 more. My pain au chocolats taste a little better, and my room became a little cozier. I’ve been able to stop worrying about my abroad friends leaving and just enjoy them here, knowing soon I’ll be home too.

I would never say that I regret my initial decision to come for the year, and I would strongly encourage anyone to take the opportunity to do so if they’re able. However, for myself, I’m incredibly content with the experience I’ve had so far and am absolutely ecstatic for what I have coming up in my last few weeks here, and know that going back to Denver makes the most sense for me. Even so, Rennes has undoubtedly become another place I call home, and I will always look back fondly.