Avignon!

This weekend, I went on a trip to Avignon with all of the study abroad students at my school!  It was a fun and interesting weekend, but went by very fast.  It was especially good because it involved some good food ;)  Also, the weather was absolutely beautiful.  How often do you get to wear a sundress and sandals in late October and not be cold whatsoever?

One of the main things we did was visit the Palais des Papes, or the Palace of the Popes. The Palais des Papes became the Pope's residence in 1309- this period became known as the Avignon Papacy.  The Pope moved back to Rome in 1377, and the Palais des Popes then became the home for the antipopes during the Papal Schism (you can read all about this on Wikipedia or something, this is the limit of my knowledge! haha). 

The view from the top

Another famous thing that we saw was the Pont d'Avignon or the Pont Saint-Bénezet.  (The bridge of Avignon).  Unfortunately, this bridge was a slight disappointment...not only does it not go across to the other side, and is not very pretty, but you also have to pay to go on it!  So, we chose to just take pictures from down below haha.  Apparently, this bridge has had a lot of architectural trouble over the years, culminating in a flood in 1668 from which there was no attempt to repair after (which is why the bridge does not go all the way across the water).

We spent most of the rest of the day walking around the city, seeing the sights, window shopping, etc.

For dinner, we went to a little restaurant called Restaurant Le Chat'touille (which is a play on words of some sort about being tickled and cats).  The food was wonderful, and we had a nice, long (3+ hour) meal.  It was really nice to sit and relax with everyone.

Restaurant Le Chat'touille

Appetizer: Beignets de courgette et sa crème à la ricotta
(Zucchini fritters and ricotta cream)

 

Entree: Raviolis frais aux cèpes, crème, et copeaux de parmesan
(Fresh ravioli with mushroom, cream, and parmesan) 

Dessert: Gâteau gourmande au chocolat et sa glace Stacciatella
(Gourmet cake and Stacciatella ice cream)

An oh-so-attractive photo of Nessy and I

Little fam photo!

The next morning, we walked around some more, and did a bit more exploring before we got on the train and headed back to Lyon!

The town hall

The theater

The cutest street vendor ever, who taught me how to tie my scarf "the French way"!

One of the best breakfasts ever.

Around 2 or 3 pm, we hopped on a train, and had an uneventful trip back to Lyon.  Overall, it was a good weekend!  Very excited for this coming week; I have a friend visiting this weekend, and then will be off to Paris, London, and some other cities in England next week!

Hoping everyone in the U.S. is doing great and enjoying the fall!! Eat some cider & donuts for me! haha.  Happy Birthday this week to three of my favorite people, H.Taetzsch, Jadey, and Stahling! Love you! Bevs

Dinner & Ice Cream

A few of my friends and I decided that we wanted to start rotating maybe a meal or two a week, where we would cook for everyone, and we would take turns doing this.  My turn was first!  I decided to be adventurous and try cooking something new- so I made chicken alfredo.  It went mostly without mishap.  It was a little stronger than I would have liked, but I have to take into consideration that cheese here is much stronger than in the US which is probably why the flavor wasn't what I was expecting.  One other "dilemma"- the recipe called for heavy cream, and I bought some "creme fraîche" thinking that this was heavy cream...when in fact it turned out to be sour cream!  Fortunately, I was able to find some recipes online that used sour cream, so I sort of combined two recipes together.  Other friends brought bread and desserts, and we had a really good meal!

 

The rest of this week has been fairly uneventful (but that is probably a good thing)!  I went out for ice cream with a friend earlier tonight- we went around 8:45, and it is shocking how early most things close here- the place we wanted to go had closed at 8:30, so we found another spot.  I got one scoop of chocolate and one scoop of coffee, and it was really, really good.

This weekend, I am going on a school trip to Avignon!  I am very excited.  If anything exciting happens before then, I will make a post, but if not, see you next week!  Beverly

Midterm Week!

The last week or two has been probably my most stressful and also busiest week since I've been here!  This week is midterms, and it also seems that most everything is due as well, so I have been both studying and working to finish any remaining projects.

In the last two weeks, I've been to the doctors twice, and also twice to pick up perscriptions and get blood drawn!  Fortunately, neither were for me, I went with friends (and hopefully, we'll keep it this way throughout the semester!).  The medical system here in France is very, very different than that in the United States (mostly do to the fact that here it is socialized).  When you go to the doctor, the cost is only about 32 euros (less than $42) if you have zero insurance- and even with that, if you submit it to the government, they will re-imburse you for a substantial portion.  So, it is very, very cheap.  But, I must say, you get what you pay for- I'm not convinced that the doctors here are as thorough as they are in the US.  And I can't imagine how much the French pay for taxes if this is all paid for by the government!!  One of my friends is still not feeling well and she isn't totally sure why, so if you could be praying for her that would be great!

The other day, Michelle (a friend of mine from Siena) and I went out to dinner at a nice restaurant in Bellecour.  If you haven't caught on by now,  I love taking pictures of my food...so here they are :)

Three cheese pasta, garnished with olives and walnuts- not like any American pasta dish, cheese here is so much stronger! So good!

 

Michelle's dinner- ham risotto

 

My dessert.  You can never go wrong with dessert in France.  This is a chocolate cake, filled with melted chocolate and topped with chocolate fondue.  On the side, that is coconut flavored marscapone (a kind of cheese).  The coconut marscapone was probably one of the best things I've ever eaten.

 

On one of my trips to the doctor we stopped at McDonalds to get something to eat, since we left at 8 in the morning, and hadn't eaten, and wouldn't have time to go back to get something in our apartments before our 11 am class.  I got the McBaguette since I thought it was quite amusing...I thought this sandwich involved cheese and lettuce, but apparently it also involves hamburger which I couldn't tell from the photo...and picked off because it did not look very edible. 

 

By far, the worst thing I have EVER eaten in France.

 

The bread was decent, but the cheese, lettuce, mustard, and hamburger remnants were absolutely terrible.  I don't think I'll be going back ever unless I have a really bad craving for French fries.

 

Anyways, that's all for now!  Hopefully I'll do something interesting this weekend! Until then, Beverly



 





Weekend (Part 2)

Here's the chronology of what I did on Saturday!

First, we woke up early to head over to the Parc de la Tête d'Or to take photos with the OnlyLyon statue.  Since it was a little chilly and rainy out, there was nobody else at the statue, which was perfect, because we didn't have anyone else in our photos!

Porte des Enfants du Rhône, Parc de la Tête d'Or

Me with the OnlyLyon sign

A wonderfully flattering photo Colleen took hehe

Close-up view

 Colleen and I!

The famous Rose Gardens

After that, we went to the farmer's market and got some stuff for lunch and dinner.  After eating lunch, we went back to Bellecour to get some more Starbucks.  While there, we got out of a metro exit that I had never used before, and saw some cool artwork!

After that, we got off the metro at Vieux Lyon (Old Lyon) to see some of the historical sights.  That section of the city is really the best, and I have decided that when I get some free time I'm going to go up there and do some exploring.

Cathédrale Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Lyon 

Sipping some Starbs!

Some of the architecture is crazy

Roman ruins overlooking the city

Le Basilique Notre-Dame de Fourvière 

 

After that, we went back to my apartment for dinner. On the way, we stopped at a local patisserie to get some desserts.  The window was so pretty I just couldn't resist taking a photo or two!

Colleen and Barbara cooked dinner...I'd love to say I helped but that would basically be a lie haha.  But let's face it; my cooking skills are quite limited! hehe.  I can honestly say that it was the best dinner I've ever had in my apartment.

Salad, bread, and pasta with chicken, zucchini, and peppers

Desserts we split three ways! Pineapple, raspberry and blueberry, and chocolate. SO GOOD.

After dinner, we went to the Pathé theater in Vaise to see a movie called "Ce que le jour doit à la nuit." It was probably one of the best movies I have ever seen.  I was also really surprised that it was completely in French with no subtitles, but I understood the majority of what was happening!  The confusion was mostly due to the fact that I wasn't very familiar with the history behind the movie, which took place during the Algerian Civil War.  Here's a link to the trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-uuHimmQ3I.  The movie is based off a book, so as soon as my debit card comes in the mail, I'm thinking of buying it.  I think it would be a great way to practice my reading skills in French!

I would say that I had a great weekend!  On Sunday morning, Colleen and Barbara left super early (we left for the train station at 5 am).  On the metro on the way back, I was the only person!  It was pretty funny.

Hopefully you aren't completely bored!! I had so many pictures, I just wanted to include as many as possible haha.  Until next time!