le premier jour

paris, you treated me too well (except for making me ill, but i forgive you!) and now it's onto poitiers i go~ once more, i has to lug all my luggage onto a train and out to the little town that i'll be calling home for the next 5 months. i found my little room in the student accommodation and have used the few small postcards i bought in paris, my new usakumya and the classy mint laduree box to decorate my room and remind me of paris.

i was delighted to open my shutter to see a sunny, green (slightly yellow from the dry weather) mound with lots of pretty trees outside my window. it definitely looks better than the dreary carpark outside my friend's room. having my first breakfast of delicious strawberry jam on a fresh baguette while looking out onto this lovely landscape put a smile on my face. today was the first day of classes and we had 3hours straight of a historical introduction to law so now i'm very drained!

apart from discovering what life is like living on campus in a country half way across the world (enjoying cheap wine and take away pizza in the foyer, playing uno with fellow neighbours over boxed sangria, testing out our rusty french skills), my friend and i decided to go on an adventure exploring the old city centre which is about 15 minutes bus ride from our accommodation. the buildings are all so lovely and old and the roads are all cobbled and worn out. we walked for hours and found some lovely places to dine in.

on our second visit into the centre ville, we discovered a little tea salon tucked away in a small alley. it's called 'le bonheur est dans le thé' (happiness is in tea) and apart from the lovely outdoor setting, they have a kitchy upstairs hang out spot. we're so ready to go in on a saturday and try their brunch set menu~

i decided to try the citron madeleine, green matcha financier and the apple walnut teacake with a refreshing iced agrum tea. the tea was didn't have any added sugar which helped balance out my sweet lunch. i preferred the apple walnut cake most as the other two had a slightly dryer texture.

we've also found a wonderful chocolate and macaron shop called 'fink'. we tried a few macaron shops in the city, but 'fink' definitely has the yummiest! so far i've tried the chocolate, coffee, salted caramel and cassis flavours. and they were all very delicious, a fine shell that was still moist on the inside. the chocolate ganache is quite heavy, but chocolatey in a good way. i will definitely be returning the next time i'm in the city!