If you may or may not know, I spent 5 months in France in 2014. In September I’ll be off to Europe again as I’ve accepted a job as an English-Teaching assistant for the academic year in Académie Nancy-Metz. The first time I went to France I made a list of 100 goals to accomplish in my old blog because that’s what my high school French teacher had them do. Those first goals were pretty cute and included things like ‘get on a plane for the first time’. However, I did do most if not all of them some of which I swapped out for cooler things I ended up doing. Now that I’m experienced it’s a little different but I’m also trying to get to things I missed out on and branch out a little more. So here’s the next 100, definitely comment if you have a suggestion and we’ll see if I accomplish them all!
- Meet my German relatives (Cousins of my grandma on my mom’s side)
- Keep blogging the whole time
- Do solo trips
- Do group trips
- Take lots of pictures
- Find a way to do something with ticket stubs and souvenirs
- Find good and not touristy souvenirs
- Actually keep a written journal this time
- Successfully complete TAPIF!
- Teach my students a bit about me, my background and Michigan
- Try the cheese and wine of my region
- Rent a bike in Paris!
- Sainte Chapelle in Paris
- Go to a ‘speakeasy’ in Paris
- Go to Cafe les deux magots- or somewhere that Simone de Beauvoir wrote/hungout
- Bois de Vincennes- Largest public park in Paris
- Bois de Boulogne
- Angelica’s- cafe for hot chocolate
- Go to a flea market/antique market
- Go to an open-air market
- La Promenade Plantée- an elevated park in Paris
- Do the catacombs
- Go geocaching
- Okay fine, actually pay to go up the Eiffel Tower this time
- Go up the Notre Dame (I missed the staircase!)
- Visit at least one grad school abroad
- Visit a brewery in France
- Visit a Winery in France
- See a musical in French
- Go to a concert in France
- Make French friends (for real this time)
- Master French slang
- Get fluent-fluent
- Go to a country where I don’t speak the language!
- Visit the Netherlands- Amsterdam
- Van Gough Museum
- Anne Frank Haus, and more in Amsterdam
- Visit Belgium- Brussels
- See the Manneken Pis in Belgium
- Go to Lindeman’s in vlezenbeek, Blegium where my favorite framboise Belgian Lambic beer is made
- Visit Denmark- Copenhagen
- Visit Spain- Barcelona
- Eat tapas and drink sangria in Spain
- Hagia Sophia
- Visit Strasbourg
- Visit Bordeaux
- Visit Burgandy
- Visit Germany Hamburg, Berlin
- Visit the Czech-Republic (Czechia)- Prague
- Marseille and/or Nice
- Aix-en-Provence
- Pont au Double where they danced in American in Paris and Audrey Hepburn stood in Charade
- Visit Audrey Hepburn’s grave and home in Tolochenaz, Switzerland
- Go to Switzerland
- Visit Kilomètre Zéro again
- Visit Hungary Budapest
- Visit at least one country in Scandinavia
- Visit Italy see what the whole fuss is all about.
- Roman Holiday
- Visit Ireland Belfast
- Go back to London-UK to go see all the things I didn’t see last time
- See a British actor in London
- Find a cafe where J.K. Rowling wrote and buy a copy of Harry Potter there
- Go back to Luxembourg because it’ll be so close
- Become 100% confident with grammar, slang and speaking
- Be reunited with my beloved white chocolate kinder buenos
- Be reunited with my favorite “deluxe potatoes” at McDonalds
- Eat doner kebab for the first time in forever
- Get a giant Kinder Surprise for Easter
- Visit B-Town! Do all of my favorite things in Besancon
- Visit some fellow Broncos Abroad
- Visit some new small, story-book like cities in France
- Visit my host family
- Visit someone from the CLA
- Find a favorite bakery that’s not a chain
- Eat Pizza in Italy (Only because it’s obligatory). Venice, Rome
- Throw a coin in the Trevi Fountain
- Statue of David
- Colosseum/Ruins in Italy
- Finally go to the south of France and go to the beach
- Visit a Vineyard in France
- Visit a real Chateau
- Find le petit triton in the Versailles Gardens
- Visit a Lavender Field in France
- Visit a place where perfume is made in France
- Visit the Christmas Markets in France!
- Go vintage clothing shopping in Paris
- Buy one of the infamous English sayings shirts for fun
- Go to Mont St. Michel
- Avenue Montaigne- Like that movie and the theatre cafe
- Go to a huge bibliothèque (library)
- Museum Georges Pompidou
- Montparnasse Cemetery-where Simone de Beauvoir, Jean Paul Sartre, Serge Gainsbourg
- Monet’s Garden in Giverny
- Go to a museum in Paris I haven’t been to yet like the Rodin Museum
- Celebrate American holidays abroad, Thanks giving, Halloween
- Christmas and New Years (bonne année!) and eat another kings cake (galette des rois)
- Go to some kind of Music Festival
- Continue to not have an allergic reaction to peanuts abroad
- Pack my bags up after 9-10 abroad and come back to the states
- Also decide on grad school….
So there’s a bonus goal in there, but I’d like to here your suggestions. As a more experienced traveler this time, where should I go and what should I do that I haven’t done yet?
June 15, 2016
Hi Elisabeth! Happy to have found your blog! I’m a travel lover too so following you will definitely be interesting!
I read your bio and you really have inspiring experiences! Looking forward to reading more 🙂
http://www.fromdreamtoplan.net/
June 15, 2016
Thank you Lisa! It’ll get more exciting when I’m actually abroad again.
June 15, 2016
My pleasure! 🙂
June 16, 2016
27, 28, 38, 53, 54, 64… LETS! I’ll try to get an intern at Belgium, Luxembourg or Swiss for my next semester!
June 16, 2016
I can’t wait to see you!!
July 1, 2016
These goals are amazing! I’m sure you will achieve all of them. I think this is a fantastic idea for my future travels and for the next two years of my life as I conquer grad school. Thanks for sharing!
July 2, 2016
Definitely! I made my first list for my study abroad because that’s what my high school French teacher had her students do. And you end up accomplishing most of them or even switching them out for cooler things!
September 25, 2016
Liz–I enjoyed reading your new goals–they are so ambitious!! Bonne chance. I know that you will be experiencing even so much more! Je suis fière de toi. Tu es si courageuse. Dieu te bénisse.
September 25, 2016
Thank you Suzie! Gros bisous