After France (which was fantastic), I am in Edinburgh to begin semester. Edinburgh is a bit different to France, a bit colder. Its a shame that I’m leaving Melbourne at the end of winter to come to Edinburgh at the end of summer, but both are having the same weather.

So far I have found Edinburgh to be a fairly nice old city, with everything fairly close to each other making walking a viable option for getting around. Climbing to the top of Arthur’s seat was a cool way to see the city and meet some people who know a little more about the city than I do. This being said, I am still fairly lost with regards to the whereabouts of things.

This week is still the welcome week, so hopefully that will aid me in getting acquainted with where things are.

In France, I visited a street trash and treasure market in Lille where there was literally someone selling a kitchen sink. It was really interesting walking around an older french city, especially one from the north where I haven’t been before. Lille was very apparently a rich city before modern times, with quite elaborate architecture. Their I ate mussels, where apparently 500 tons of mussels were eaten over the weekend.

Along with Lille, I visited Bruges, which was similar in parts to Lille, but not quite as grand. Bruges was probably a better preserved old city, with cobblestone streets and large stone brick buildings. It was interesting walking around and noticing all the sweets stores. I think there may have been one on nearly every corner. I think the most interesting was the speciality marzipan and nougat store, serving all different kinds and flavours.

As well as the north of France, I was able to go down to the south, specifically to Cannes. Cannes was a nice town, with a obviously large tourist interest. The weather was great for the beach, being hot and dry, with the beach itself being alright. Its a bit weird for me to see so many people lying in the sun tanning coming from Australia and our heavy anti-skin cancer movements. Overall in Cannes, there wasn’t too much to do except for the beach. The main township was fairly simple, with many high end fashion stores and restaurants, again emphasising the meant for tourist vibe.

I really enjoyed my time in France and am very grateful to have been able to do all that I did. I look forward to going back next time to see even more of the country and continue to practice my french. That said, I am also happy to leave and begin my semester in Edinburgh. The next part of the adventure awaits!