Friday there was a campfire by the lake where we met up with some other international students. I had to get up at 6 to cqtch a train, so didn't stay very late. I was scared about mixing up the train connections on Saturday, so I only got about an hour of sleep.
We had Monday off of Pentecost, so this weekend I met up with Timo and Antione to go to Antione's grandparent's beach house at Merlimont on the English Channel. The town has 3000 people in the winter and around 20000 in the summer (and most of these vacationers dress like sailors in blue and white striped shirts). In order to not have to pay for a fast Thayles train to take me to Paris and then back north, I had to change trains a lot (5 different trains). I mean it saved 50 Euros (each way) and I was not in a hurry. I learned that France is really agricultural, at least near the railroad tracks. I left Louvain La Neuve at 630 and met up with the guys around 3. Once the guys picked me up in Compégne, we drove to paris so Antione could look at some jetskis, then headded to the beach.
It stays light pretty late so after dinner we walked around some massive dunes. Then we went to Le Touquet-Paris-Plage with Antione's friend Oliver. I thought we were just going to pub, but it ended up being like a pretty hip/posh clubbing town. If felt kind of awkard because i wasn't really dressed properly (almost everyone there had a collar to pop). By this point, I was about to fall asleep standing up, but still managed to get my dance on (a little).
Sunday we made Brie and tomatoe omlettes, watched some of the french open, then loaded up the kayak and skimboards and hit the beach. The water was really cold and i was wearing a wet suit, but it was still fun to be out in the water. We went back to the dunes armed with a sled and a homemade sandboard (plastic sled with the sides cut away and with bolted on foot straps). It wasn't as fast as I had anticipated, which is probably good, and was really fun. After a yummy dinner of salmon, sauteed red peper, and a mystery fish that looked pretty, tim made crepes that went wonderfully with strawberry ice cream and the belgian chocolates I brought.
Monday morning we ate, cleaned, and raced to Amiens, where I caught my train with 5 minutes to spare!
Went to Antwerp this weekend and shopped in Belgium's fashion and antiques capitol. I bought the bikelock I've been eyeing for over a year, some acessories, and something else that I bought as a gift, but i really like, so I might just keep it for myself (this happens rather frequently and is a habit I would like to try to break). I also witnessed the end of what appeared to be a mustashe parade. I don't really know what it was all about, but there was a large flag with a mustashe and marching men (some mustashed, others not) in funny hats.
