Only a few days more

Aaron will be here in 2 ½ days and that is the best part of this whole trip! I am so ready to be done with school and to spend time with the love of my life who I haven’t seen in over a month! I get to ride in the bubbles up to the Bastille and enjoy the sunset with him, take him to Annecy, one of my favorite places, and we get to go stomp around Paris for 4 ½ days together! So now if I can get this paper done for my civ class for my jerk of a teacher, I’ll be good. But here I am avoiding it at all costs!

Last weekend Annie and I had quite the adventure. It started off with missing our first connecting train and having to pay 20 euro more for another trip and getting in 2 hours later. Not my favorite moment. When we finally make it there, it’s dark and all we can really notice is the Ferris wheel (to which we make a note to ride tomorrow) and we go out to eat. And somehow the two times I’ve tried to get steak, it has been absolutely disgusting! This time it was charred and I had to soak it in ketchup just so I could swallow it and not starve. I also had some caramel something or other that should’ve been good was certifiably the nastiest thing I’ve ever tasted! So all in all not my best day. The next day we spent at the beach and even though I thought I was diligent about sunscreen I burned like a lobster. The Mediterranean was wonderful though. It was so warm! We would get in and swim and then lay out and take a nap (no wonder I burned). That night we ate dinner on the quay and watched some street performers. We had the most wonderful time strolling along browsing all the street vendors, buying fun souvenirs, and getting feathers put in my hair. When it got dark we rode the Ferris wheel. It was all lit up and the city was all lit up, it was a beautiful site! The next day was spent on the beach as well but it wasn’t the same with the feeling of having to go home. The trip was long and arduous and I was exhausted by the time I got home.

Last Thursday I got to go to my favorite place Nice Cream Lab to learn how to make macarons! It was super fun! It was really cool because I did lots of research this past spring because I was going to make some for a project, so I knew all the steps. We had an awesome teacher! He showed us exactly how to make them and had us help. He had really neat tricks that I can also use for when I frost cupcakes because you pipe out macarons. We helped him make lemon and walnut macarons. While those were setting up we made the cream for the middle. He had us try all kinds, vanilla, pistachio, chocolate, white chocolate etc etc. He pulled out some raspberry, pistachio, and vanilla macarons and had us put the middles into those to take home. Then I got to take a photo of the recipe! That little store is so awesome! Great ice cream, great macarons! After that I met up with Annie and her friend Emily. We got smoothies and chilled at the park. Then we met up with our other friend Maddie and went and had some delicious Mexican food! Oh I love me some good Mexican food! It’s great that your own two feet get you everywhere because we got to walk along the river to get to the restaurant.

On Monday we had Grenoble tacos. Grenoble tacos are pulled meat, fries, and a garlic cheese sauce wrapped up in a tortilla. It’s ridiculously good. Yesterday I went and had feta ravioli (Grenoble specialty) which was divine with fresh pressed apple and peach juice!

I had a presentation in class on Tuesday on the Pays de la Loire region, found out Jules Verne was born there. I think I did pretty well. She only corrected me on 2 things. It really is quite nerve-wracking not knowing our grade. Not having a syllabus, not knowing how they grade or when, or only having a class for 2 weeks and you’ve done 2 assignments, I really have no idea how it’s gonna work out.

I went to a patisserie tasting yesterday and was so excited only to be disappointed. I was hoping for pastries and tarts and got weird walnuts! It definitely wasn’t my favorite! I will need to go get a tart, especially before I go! Today my friends and I got some lunch and took it up to the Bastille. We chilled up on the mountain taking selfies with a selfie stick (Surah!), in the rain, taking a moment to just enjoy that we’re in France. I have my diner d’adieu tomorrow and then Friday I pack up and Saturday Aaron is here! 

The last two and half weeks...

No, I did not expect to have so little time. Before I left I actually thought I was going to have so much time on my hands I wouldn’t know what to do with it. I was hoping to have time to stroll in the evenings and work on my creative side taking artsy shots but I barely have time to shower, eat, and crawl into bed. And my pictures are pitiful! My pictures are hurry up and snap something or you’re gonna miss it! I’m realizing more and more every day that I live in the outskirts (however pretty it may be) it’s difficult to get downtown or to school. The tram used to take me straight to school but there’s now construction so I have to switch trains which adds some time as the trams have begun to run slower because Frenchies go on vacation in July and August. But it also means lots of “soldes” in the stores. I should probably take advantage of that because I need new sandals so bad!

The weekend after Annecy, Annie and I did a little shopping on Friday night, went to Love and Mercy with French sous-titres, and out to dinner. On Saturday we took the bus to La Bois Français, a local lake. We met downtown and found a bagel place and I got a toasted Nutella bagel to take to the lake for lunch. And every day that we go somewhere we always have to stop by the marché en plein air and get fresh fruit. Annie gets her peaches and nectarines. I get strawberries. I got strawberries to go with my Nutella bagel. On Sunday we hiked up up up to the Bastille and le Grottes de Mandrin. Wooeee, was that a hike and half! At least for me!

Class has kind of been the sore spot of the whole trip. Our teacher pretty much sucks. She is not really good at talking and phrasing her sentences (her sentence structure) etc. for students. She does not give clear direct instructions for any work in class or homework. All of this adds up to a very very difficult situation that was already difficult. But I’m figuring it out. We also have an elective class after our grammar which unfortunately I chose Expression Orale that she taught as well. It was a difficult 2 weeks. Especially since my friends and I took Expression Orale hoping it would help us with speaking and it was the most random assortment of busy work that had nothing to do with nothing, pretty much a waste of time. But the elective class only lasted 2 weeks and then we could choose another one so now I only have her for grammar. I made the mistake of saying to my friend that the class was very difficult for me to understand one of the first days (after her strike) to which she heard and tried to tell me to go down a level. To which I responded with, well actually once I got used to how mixed up she speaks and had my program director explain what the heck she was doing, I’m doing just fine in class. I chose Civilisation for my second elective and I think it’s working out much better. I like the teacher. He’s got a dry sense of humor and a very hip way of talking except that today he told me accent was so hard to understand so he basically did my presentation for me. L  So that lead to me practicing pronunciation today with my program directors. I found out that because I’m very articulate in English that makes it very very difficult for me to pronounce my Rs in French. So we practiced and practiced until I was just coughing, spluttering, and downright embarrassed lols. Then I went home and told my host mom I was practicing so she was helping correct me tonight as well.

Last week on Tuesday was Bastille Day. Most of us went on an excursion to le Château de Vizille et le lac de Laffrey. This is the national museum for the French Revolution. We got to eat in a lovely park (strawberries and watermelon) and then tour the Château. We also got to cool off in the lake and visit Napoleon’s statue and take his route. Again before we left my friends and I met up and went to the marché en plein air for fresh fruit and to get some lunch (pastries, baguettes).

This past weekend I went out with Annie again on Friday night and on some excursions. Annie and I went and ate more delicious burgers with gruyere cheese! We then walked to Le Cafe de la Table Ronde. Before I came, I did a little research and had a small list of things to see/do in Grenoble and this was on the list. It is the oldest coffee café in Grenoble and one of the oldest in France having opened in 1797. We sat and chatted enjoying the ambience and food. My friends and I also went there for lunch yesterday and I had some DELICIOUS! raviolis with cream and basil. Raviolis are a Grenoble specialty! On Saturday I went on an excursion to Chartreuse: the mountain, the city, and the famous alcohol. We stopped for lunch and toured a church and ate lunch surrounded by the Alps. We then hiked up to the monastery (wish we could’ve gone inside!). Last we toured where they store and make Chartreuse, down underground in HUMONGOUS barrels! And boy does it stink! And the distillery smells even worse! Some pretty cool history though. The monks were given this recipe as a recipe for long life from the King in the 17^th century. Then there was a tasting which was completely wasted on me lols! I just wanted to eat the ice out of the shot glasses because ice is a rare commodity around here! Next was the excursion to Vercors. The grottes de Choranche were absolutely one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen! I just wish we weren’t so rushed! So yeah look forward to those pictures once I get them done! Our excursions are so fascinating because we end up stopping in these little towns and seeing the most incredible things! Like the charming village of Pont-en-Royans!

During the week, our program directors do research and have us do some really neat local things. We went to this little shop called Nice Cream Lab. They make ice cream from fresh ingredients and liquid nitrogen! I had the best ice cream ever! I’ve already gone back there twice. I plan to go again and I will definitely be taking Aaron when he gets here! So deliciously yummy! We are also set up to do a pâtisserie tasting! Oh yes that’s happening!

This weekend Annie and I head to Saint Raphael and the coast! We are so looking forward to having a relaxing weekend, because it is just go go go around here. I am getting used to the slow pace of eating. Where you sit in a café for hours and waiters don’t bother you and you get to just chat with friends. There is that time that just kind of slows but then we’re up and off to the next thing. I am very grateful that so many of us have become such good friends. It’s really made this trip so worthwhile. Shout out to you awesome people! Surah, Annie, Maddie, Alex, Rebecca, Chris, Dallon, and Katie! You rock! Grenoble 2015! 

Greetings from Annecy

So after my adventure climbing down a mountain in the dark, I needed a day to rest and do some laundry. So I slept in and relaxed on Saturday, packing for my stay in Annecy (Ann-see). My host mom graciously told me the trams don’t run often on Sunday so she drove me to the train station super early Sunday morning. She is so nice! It’s a new feeling going somewhere with just the pack on your back and your feet to take you places. And your feet take you places! The most beautiful places in the world that you couldn’t have even dreamed up! Annecy is one of the most charming, picturesque, and quaint towns! From the train station we walked to Annecy Hostel. We couldn’t check in but we left our stuff there, then we headed for the lake. On the walk to the lake you walk through Vielle Ville. There are tons of shops and patisseries and on Sunday there is a marché en plein air. At the market my friend Sarah and I shared the most delicious strawberries! Think of the best strawberry you have ever eaten ever and then times it by 10. And I’m so not kidding! These strawberries were made by the gods and fell from heaven! I could live off food purchased from the market! Because not only is it arranged beautifully but everything is so fresh and local and great! We enjoyed strolling the market and buying sandwiches on fresh baguettes. We went down to the lake and I soaked my feet in the cool refreshing water. For dinner my BFF Annie and I found wonderful American food i.e. cheeseburgers, fries, and Dr. Pepper! It was scrumptious tasting something from home. Annie taught me how to play rummy and we sat at bar along the canals in Vielle Ville drinking juice and Orangina playing! We also watched a street performer who had these goblets that he played with like yo yos with a jump rope. It’s so hard to explain but it was pretty interesting! They get so creative! I’ll try to post the video! The Vielle Ville is charming all lit up at night! So I stayed in my first hostel which felt a lot like a hotel since I paid for a private room and bathroom. I just had to rent a towel because I didn’t bring mine. I even had my own balcony.

The next day we went and ate crepes for breakfast, by the canals feeling very French, that were just divine. We rented a paddleboat with slide and took it out on the water. We busted out Nicki Menaj and had a party out on the lake. In the park next the lake there is a lovely gentleman who sells fresh pressed juice. (Which is a thing here and it’s 100% delicious!) I enjoyed a lovely mixture of honeydew, pineapple, and cantaloupe! We whiled away the day enjoying the beautiful scenery and soaking it all in. I enjoyed some spaghetti bolognaise for dinner. After so much walking and sun exposure it was nice to get home and shower and rest up.

For the first day of class my professor was on strike. Yep strike. So they took us down to a museum. I guess that’s not too bad because at least I don’t have homework. So I rested up today because my feet are definitely not used to all this walking but I am loving it! I still have tons more photos to post if y’all aren’t opposed once I get them off my camera and edited! So for now we’ll see what the second day has in store for me…À bientôt!

Adventures in Grenoble

Just as we’re getting used to how things are, it’s all going to change next week. Only 2 groups from the United States were at CUEF this week doing some review practice French. Our Professor says that the U insists we do 5 weeks instead of 4 because 4 is not enough time, so we get this extra week at the beginning. Starting next week hundreds of students start the program that we’re doing. So instead of there being like less than 50 of us that all speak English there will be a lot more and the only common language will be French. This will be interesting! The heat is still utterly outrageous! But now I have a ventilateur! It doesn’t really help though! Just blows the hot air around.

I thoroughly enjoyed my trip to the Musée dauphinois! You ride the tram into the old part of town and walk across a bridge that dates back to Louis XIV which has Roman dates as well. This is how everything is here. It goes back to Louis XIV and has Roman foundations. Crazy cool! So yeah you cross and bridge and you hike a bajillion and a half stairs and the whole time it’s absolutely picturesque but you’re also out of breath and lagging behind everyone else! The musée is built into the side of the mountain and you can walk out onto these gardened terraces that give you a view of the entire city! It’s so peaceful and quiet and you can hear the birds. I enjoyed the view so much I didn’t even check out all the other exhibits. After we went to lunch at La Tartelline. You eat in a brightly lit cave-like room. It was nice and cool for once. I tried my very first quiche I guess it was. It had chicken, lemon, and mustard. I love mustard but this had too much. I also had freshly pressed apple and peach juice, which was super delicious. I still struggle with getting enough water on a daily basis and it drives me absolutely bananas that the French don’t believe in cold drinks! Especially since every drink I have at home is full of ice first then some drink. I want an icy ice cold drink so bad!  

What an adventure last night was! I rode in the iconic bubbles of Grenoble up to the Bastille. The bubbles are A LOT smaller than I thought they would be. I thought it would be more like riding the London Eye but these bubbles hold 6 people and that’s really all the space there is. You fold down this tiny little bench and sit down while it moves slowly then everyone gets to know each other really well and you ride up the mountain. And yes it’s a little nerve-racking for someone who’s afraid of heights. I just said if you’re going to drop me then please drop me in the river so I can die cold and not sweating hot! Please! But we all make it up there alive, just a little more sweaty (if that’s possible) from being confined in a bubble. The view is amazing! The restaurant and bar were closed so we just ended up watching the city fade into the night. Even though I purchased a trip down in a bubble I got talked into hiking down the mountain. It was quite the adventure, hiking an unknown trail down the entire mountain in the dark! But I made a great friend and we talked the whole way down! The trail was a bunch of switchbacks but then sometimes we would enter a tunnel and walk down stairs. By the time we made it to the bottom I had only stumbled once but I was dying of thirst! The trams don’t run as often at night and I had to make 3 transfers to get home. So I waited 20 mins for 1 tram got on and went down a couple stops, waited 20 mins for the next one and then down a couple stops, waited 20 more mins and then rode all the way home and then walked 10 mins home. Probably took me more like 20 mins to get home because I was dragging my feet and dying of thirst. But it was a great adventure! Tomorrow is another adventure! I leave for Annecy in the morning by train and I stay in my very first hostel! 

My first days here in Grenoble

I made it to Grenoble. After much confusion at the train station trying to find who was picking me up, people not answering their phones, having no data (I fixed it later), Aaron calling some lady who was picking me up instead of my host family, I arrived at my home for the next 5 weeks! And then me and Zoe both took a side and hauled my luggage up 3 flights of stairs! So it was just like home ;) The French do not believe in elevators (which I kind of agree with in a way) or AC for that matter. Which incidentally the weather is what will kill me! Pour water on me and I will melt! I am constantly just soaking wet all over. I haven’t experienced this kind of humidity since Cancun! Hopefully I adjust because I’m currently learning the breaststroke. My host family is super laid back, my host mom makes me breakfast and dinner and does my laundry! Yeah it’s weird! I told her I was washing my underwear though! I don’t need those blowing in the breeze as yes they also don’t believe in dryers or shower curtains either. It’s back to good ole college days sharing a bathroom with 3 other girls. We’ll see how that goes! I have my own shelf! However there is no soap so as which to wash your hands with…don’t want to think too much about that, I just use sanitizer and wet ones FTW!

Once I got here my host mom fed me pain du chocolate and beaucoup de l’eau. I'm not 100% sure what I ate for dinner last night and tonight but most of it was good. Last night was tomatoes and some yellow fruit or vegetable not a pepper with olive oil, cantaloupe, and couscous I think, and some chicken. Tonight looked like boiled egg salad with olive oil, cantaloupe, and something with hot dogs, potatoes, and cooked vegetables. Whatever it was, it was pretty dang good. My host mom had to wake me up for dinner as I came home and died. Which is exactly what I did to Aaron yesterday, poor guy! I got here yesterday, took a shower, Skyped Aaron and apparently fell asleep. I woke up to a message, “You fell asleep, love you! Talk to you later!” I do have my own room complete with mosquito zapper, desk, bed, closet, dresser, chair, and screen.

I enjoy a lovely walk to the tram. It’s my absolute favorite part of my day! I live in a super quiet, private, residential area nestled right against the mountains. The walk is so peaceful! There is so much green, I could never get sick of it. I really did luck out on location for my host family! I am so in love with this little oasis that is my home! Which again my host family is so chill. I found out today that all these really cool paintings in the house my host mom did! She said, “Il est ma passion!” I also had another really delicious meal tonight and found out she also used to own a restaurant! It’s working out well!

We heard more about our excursions today. They all sound super interesting! You’ll find out more when I do! Definitely the most yucky is how ridiculously hot it is here and how humid it is. You are NEVER dry! EVER!!!!!!!!! That word is gone from your vocabulary! Don’t even think it’s a possibility because it aint! I finally got my money exchanged to euros which was a super hassle! *Note to self: next time just order them at home! I’m learning that fruit with dinner is a thing. I’m loving it! Fresh cantaloupe or watermelon every night! My host mom also says, “I don’t eat very much.” I tried to tell her, “Le chaud fait moi ne mange pas.” (The hot weather does not eat me!) Which is completely incorrect, to which she corrected me but I got my point across. The heat makes me not very hungry! So here it is day #3 and I live! More like I swim but hey ya know same thing ;)

The ramblings of a weary traveler...

There is special kind of endurance required for this kind of travel. Where you are traveling so far out of your own time zone that by the time you reach your destination, you are ready to crash into bed and where you’re at they’re getting up. The kind of endurance it takes to lug 70+ lbs of luggage for over 20 mins to a train station and lift 70+ lbs into said train and into a luggage rack and then do the same thing again when you switch trains all on about 5 hours of sleep. I’m not saying it’s not worth it, but there are the ugly sides of travel. Speaking of which, waiting at the train station, it makes you think of romantic movies or catching the train to Hogwarts and train travel is the only way to travel right? Well it’s also a really good way to murder birds I guess... Being too perceptive for my own good and the train is pulling into the station and what do I notice? All the blood and guts on the front of the train. Gross! But here I am riding a train through the French countryside. It’s quiet and smooth riding the TGV, trees blur past, and you want to just capture everything you see so you can remember when you’re no longer here.

It was tricky trying to get everything I needed in 1 piece of luggage under 50 lbs, a carry-on, and a personal item. As it was I didn’t even think about that my bag would be over 50lbs and it was. So I had to take stuff out and shove it into my backpack which was already full to bursting so as to avoid a $100 charge. The flight to Dallas was uneventful. The layover went longer as the flight to Paris (with accent) was delayed. The one time I try to use the restroom the guy in front of me breaks it and I have to go to the back of the plane and wait in a huge line where some snarky flight attendant decides there’s too much turbulence and orders us to go and sit down. So I stood in line waiting for the restroom for 20 mins and never used it and then the guy who broke the restroom, I watched him use it 5 times! Some people! However while waiting in line I met and had a lovely chat with a lady who was going to France with a group of high school students. They were getting to go for 2 weeks and being a Catholic school are going to mass at Notre Dame. I sat next to one of the students and we chatted as well. It was quite lovely seeing as I met these people because a nice gentleman gave up his aisle seat.

The most anxious I have been was waiting for my luggage, hoping and praying they did not lose it. You’re watching the conveyer belt thinking “Yes, I did pack an extra outfit with my carry on but what about all my other outfits, my shampoo (I wanna be clean again!!!), my cute hat, etc etc. But then a miracle happens and a bright green piece of luggage comes around the corner and you yell “I’m safe!” (also to which you are grateful that you picked a neon color that stands out the most) to which the lovely lady you met on the plane chuckles and wishes you a good trip.

I’m seeing cathedrals and buildings older than anything we have as I look out the window! Très cool! 

Pictures and more on my first days here to follow…in other words to be contd…

Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars

 

 

Crust:

1 C flour

1/4 C light brown sugar

1/2 C butter, room temperature

Cream Cheese Filling:

1 (8 oz) block cream cheese, room temperature

1 tsp vanilla extract

Cheesecake Filling:

1/4 C sugar

1 egg

Apples:

2 Granny Smith apples, diced (I used 1 Granny Smith and 1 Pacific Rose) 

1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice 

1 T sugar 

Streusel Topping:

1/2 C packed brown sugar

1/2 C flour

1/4 C old fashioned oats

1/4 C butter, room temperature

Caramel sauce

 

Preheat oven to 350°

In a 8X8 pan combine crust ingredients, flour, brown sugar and butter. Using a fork combine the ingredients until they make a coarse crumb and press mixture firmly in the bottom of the pan and bake for 12-14 minutes until lightly browned.

Meanwhile, in a mixing bowl, combine cream cheese, vanilla, 1/4 cup sugar and egg. Beat until combined and smooth. Set aside.

Dice apples and sprinkle with the 1 T sugar and 1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice. Stir until coated evenly. Set aside.

Make streusel by combining all ingredients, brown sugar, flour, oats and butter and stir with your  fork until evenly mixed. Set aside. I used extra melted butter because it was dry. I also added a dash of cinnamon.

When crust is done baking, spread the cream cheese mixture on top of warm crust, top with diced apples and finally with streusel. But back in oven and bake for 25-30 minutes, until center is set. Let the pan cool on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes and then place in refrigerator to chill for approximately 2 hours, or overnight. Cut into squares when ready to serve and drizzle caramel sauce all over the top.

 

Recipe from: The Inspired Dreamer