Strasbourg

Our train out there was at 6:50 or so in the morning, which meant that we all had to be at Gard de l'Est (on the northside of town) at 6:30. This meant a good 30 minute metro ride for us, so I was rolling out of bed at the nice healthy hour of 5:30. I'm not really a morning person (clearly) so this was not very fun for me. We took the TGV direct out there, so it was a relatively quick ride, just a little under 2.5 hours.

Once we were there we walked to the European Parliament Headquarters. The EP splits its time between Strasbourg and Brussels (which is really inefficient but has to do with France wanting more importance in the EU), and we were in Strasbourg because the EP was in session there for the week. We were originally supposed to go to Brussels, but had to change when we found out they were in Strasbourg. I was a bit disappointed by this, because it would have been cool to go to Belgium, probably won't legitimately get there now (my train to Amsterdam goes through, but I don't know if that counts).

At the EP we did a question and answer session with Pervenche Beres, the chairlady of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Policy. She is a big deal right now, with the financial crisis and all. The session was really interesting, and topical because we've been studying the Economic and Monetary Union in my EU class. Most of the stuff she talked about had to do with the euro and what the EU is working on to withstand the financial crisis. She highlighted the fact that the EU is a strange case because in the eurozone (countries on the euro) there are 16 separate economies. It's difficult, then, to regulate a currency that effects all of these countries in a time of crisis. Some economies are doing much better than others. For example, Germany is doing better than Slovenia. So its been especially difficult for the EU. But also not difficult because most of the trade in the EU happens between EU countries so they don't have to worry about exchange rates right now. Really interesting stuff, I wish I knew more about economics.

After the session with Mme Beres we got to sit on about a half hour of plenary session and voting in the EP Assembly Hall. The EP currently has some 700 members, so this hall if ginormous. The debate was about agriculture and it was pretty clear that most people had already made up their minds on the resolution on the table, so it was a bit dull. It was cool however, because in the EP it is required that all members speak their native tongue... which means that everything is being translated into 23 languages. We got to wear headsets so we could hear the English, and it was incredibly impressive how quickly the translators worked. The delay was only 2 or 3 seconds on the English... not bad at all. Once long ago I thought about being a translator, but now I see how much work that would have been. The voting was quick because the have a lightboard, so delegates only have to push a button at their seats and it electronically tallies the vote. It's kind of cool to see the result all of a sudden flash up on the screen. Someday I hope all Model UNs have them so we don't have to count placards anymore!

After the EP we walked to our restaurant for lunch. We ate at a really really fancy bowling alley, and it was one of the better meals I've had on my excursions. The first course was a salad and a quiche. I used to hate quiche, but it's been growing on me since I got here. It is very french. The main course was a huge piece of salmon with an amazing sauce and rice. Salmon is my favorite so I was pretty stoked about this... especially because last time we had rabbit which I didn't like. The dessert was an apple strudel with cinnamon ice cream, delish. I had a coffee too, for good measure.

In the afternoon we did a small tour of the Cathedral in Strasbourg (which looks like most of the ones I've seen but wider), and of the old part of town. The tour was interesting but sort of the same as every other one I've done. After we had a bit of time to just wander and do what we wanted. I went with Sara and Felicity to find some bretzles (they're German, but we were practically in Germany and I really wanted one) and to shop around. Strasbourg, I found, is like a bigger and french version of Freiburg in Germany (where I went a couple of weeks ago). I really liked it there. After about an hour we met back up and headed towards the train and 2.5 hours later we were back in Paris and all exhausted! What a day!

(pictures coming soon)