Celebrating Europe's culture: weekend du Patrimoine

Fountain in front of Palais des Beaux Arts

Today is the last day of the European Heritage Days or Les Journées européennes du Patrimoine.

I was part of the 27th annual celebration of Europe's cultural patrimony this weekend. Every third week of September, more than 12 million people take advantage of the free guided tours, exhibitions and performances across Europe. I walked for about six hours yesterday en découvrant Lille and visited le zoo, le Palais des Beaux Arts et l'Odéon, musée de la musique.

Granted the zoo is always free and about five minutes walking-distance from my apartment, I still went. I not only had a guided tour with it but was given a souvenir--a piece of le poil d'alpaga, alpaca's wool. Yes, the farm animal's natural fiber... I thought it odd too.

Here I am asking the guide, "Qu'est-ce que c'est?", what is it?




Then, I asked her exactly, what I would do with it haha I hope it was not impoli of me. I decided it was time to leave and explore Le Palais de Beaux Arts de Lille.

Once inside, I took part of an art activity using color chalk. I drew and colored a platter of vibrant vegetables that was on a stool in front of me. Well... the tomatoes I improvised haha



While I worked happily on my masterpiece along les enfants, I interviewed the artist in charge of the activity during the patrimoine and also made a petite friend.

Here is a short video of my drawing and interview with Vincent:

A walk through the biggest market in Europe

Mussels and fries or moules-frites are part of the special menu in the biggest flea market in Europe.

It is the Braderie de Lille.

Hundreds of restaurants along les rues had outside tables for the visitors offering them special menus of kiches, sandwiches, drinks.

I am eating moules-frites at Flunch. (Photos by Mayra Resendez)



I experienced the tradition of the Braderie, which takes place on the first weekend of September, right before schools starts. I walked through the crowded streets while groups performed musical acts and danced to Latin music.

My friends, Mayra, Morgan, Pierre and I stopped at Flunch, a cafeteria chain in France for some moules-frites, jambon et du vin.

I wanted to test my reporting skills in French, so I set out on my quest to find a busy restaurant.

The journey was short thanks to my roommate Mael. He works at a petit restaurant, Tout et Bon, and his managers gave him the green light for an interview.

The patrons, Benoît Bonduelle et Marc-Antoine Toulemonde, gave me a quick overview of the restaurant's specialties and granted me an interview. Merci :)




Here is the a video of the interview with a short introduction to the Braderie.

CNN iReport: Proud to be a Latina in the U.S.

I did a 30sec video for CNN iReport about what it feels like to be a Latina in the U.S. (ironically from Lille, France).

Hola soy Gitzel Puente y estoy orgullosa de ser Latina en los Estados Unidos. Gracias a mis padres, primeramente, por venir a este lindo país pleno de oportunidades y querer perseverar. Soy estudiante de periodismo en la Universidad Estatal de Arizona y gracias a mi educación ahora me encuentro en Francia por un cambio estudiantil. Saber dos idiomas, Español e Ingles, me ha llevado lejos pero quiero continuar con el Francés para ver donde más me puede llevar. Gracias a ASU por darme la oportunidad de viajar y aprender otras culturas… Go ASU!