A Saturday Adventure

District 1510 is rather strict with its exchange students traveling by themselves. They are only allowed to do so under three conditions - they speak French well enough, they earn the right to do so, and they tell their host family and club counselor all their plans.
When my Australian friend in a town further south than me (Niort) invited me to visit him, I really wanted to go because I wanted another Rotary kid to talk to. (My town doesn't have another one, whereas the town just north of me has four. I found it rather unjust.) So I asked my host parents' permission if I could take the bus down, and they agreed to let me go! Barely a week of living with them, and they trust me enough to let me traverse the French countryside by bus for an hour on my own. It must have been the fact that I sang and played the ukulele for them...
Of course, I was very excited to go off on a mini excursion, getting a taste of how the French travel around their region.
I woke up bright and early Saturday morning.

I walked about ten minutes to the train station (gare), very close to my house.

I waited for bus 12 to arrive, the bus that would take me straight to Niort. It only costs 3 euros round trip, and the drive through the French countryside is absolutely beautiful. I'm afraid the following pictures don't do it much justice, but it's just so you get an idea of what it looks like and how isolated my town is.

As the bus drove into Niort, La vie en rose by Edith Piaf started playing on my iPod, and I found that so horribly cliché I almost skipped it. Almost, I let it play!
Joe the Australian showed me around the city. Here are pictures of the market and of the castle.

All in all, the trip was a much needed break from the stress of school! I can't wait to explore more of France and its scenery.