Annoying vendors, amazing food, and breathtaking architecture- my exploits in Rome

The Pantheon

Bonjour a tous! It is time yet again for a new blog post! Before I get into my traveling adventures, I must talk about a momentous step that occurred yesterday.... I bought my plane ticket home. I have three weeks exactly left here in France. It is both strange, sad, and wonderful all at once. A few of my friends who were in a shorter program left this past weekend. It is really hard to comprehend that they are actually back in the States, not just on a trip somewhere else. My study abroad program is coming to an end and in three weeks, I will be back home. I am super excited to see my boyfriend (5 1/2 long months since I've seen him), my family, my friends, my cats, my home. It'll be weird not having to translate things into French. I know it will take time to get used to just speaking in English, but I am going to try and keep practicing so that I don't lose all the progress I have made here.

At the Trevi Fountain

Early yesterday morning, I returned from a week of visiting Rome, Italy and it was amazing. I took a train while my friends were on the bus for 16 hours. My bank was being stupid and wouldn't accept my payment so the tickets were all sold out and I went on the train. Twice as expensive, but WAY less time and more comfortable. I arrived around 6pm Sunday night and we went to our hostel. It was in a great place, right by Termini station, so getting around was super easy. We went to the Spanish steps for the first time that night. We got some gelato and people-watched for a while.

The next day, the weather was horrible: it would alternate pouring rain with beautiful sunshine and then just clouds. It was bizarre. Every hour, the weather switched. Anyways, we went to the Vatican that day, including climbing up to the Cupola and going into St. Peter's Basilica. We were lucky in some respects that the weather was so bad, because the crowds weren't as horrible as they might have been. I still felt like I was in Disneyland, except I didn't have fun rides to go on after waiting in line. It was still really cool to visit. Climbing up to the Cupola was particularly fun, as the stairs got narrower and narrower and the ceiling slanted diagonally as we climbed higher.

Inside St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican

We then had a very disappointing pizza from a place nearby. Seriously, one of the worst pizzas I have had ever. So bland. Luckily, I had other great pizzas in Italy. After lunch, we went to the Trevi fountain. We had stopped by in the morning, but all the water was drained, but when we went back, the water was running. We stayed a while there, which I enjoyed. It is super relaxing and a great spot to people-watch as well.

The next day, we went to the Vatican museums. It was super huge. I didn't even realize how big they were until we were trying to leave. The intricacy and detailing of all the artwork and architecture is just mind-blowing. One of the last stops was the Sistine Chapel. It was rather surreal to really be looking up at Michelangelo's masterpiece. We couldn't take pics inside, which was kinda lame. The room was packed, because everyone wanted to go.

A statue of Artemis in the Vatican museum

After the Sistine Chapel, we went and explored a couple of really pretty piazzas, This would be a good point to talk about the annoying street vendors. They are my least favorite aspect of Rome. They sell all kinds of stuff and some are incredibly persistent  Even if you say no, they'll follow you and keep trying to talk to you. They are several varieties: the overpriced tour guides, the rose sellers, the purse/clothing people, the beer people, the annoying squeaky toy seller, and the laser pointer people. By the Colosseum and the Vatican, the tour guide people were out in force. They try and lure you in by saying you can skip the lines, but they are so overpriced it's not worth it. The rose people give you roses as a free gift and then demand money afterwards. They clearly don't understand the meaning of "Free gift". I hated the squeaky toys- their only demographic is middle school boys and I am surprised they can make enough money off them to continue. The laser pointer people just move the laser up and down your body all creepy-like, which does not inspire anyone to buy anything from them. The most annoying, though, were on the beach. We're trying to just enjoy the sun and every few minutes, a seller would come by. It was super annoying. I am glad we don't have that in the US.

Dancin' in the Colloseum

Ok. Rant is over. That night, we went to an Irish pub, The Fiddler's Elbow. I tried Harp beer for the first time and really liked it. There was an Irish singer who played and sang according to audience requests. He was hilarious, he laughed at his own jokes, and his laugh was infectious. We had a great time there. We were in front so we suggested most of the songs.

The next day, we went to the Colosseum and the Roman forum. I was super excited for this day. As a huge history nerd, especially ancient Roman history, I was geeking out. It was surreal and awesome to be there and to be walking around the ruins, imagining what life was like back then.

Ancient Roman Stadium

The following morning, we took the tram for 30 minutes to get to the nearby beach. We spent the whole day there. It was relaxing and the weather was gorgeously sunny and warm (high 80's in temp.). I also swam in the Mediterranean, which was my first time ever swimming in the sea. It was so much fun and so lovely. That was one of the highlights of my trip. I might actually go swim in the ocean now that I've done it once and discovered how fun it is.

That night was our last night in Rome, so we went and had some great pasta (my first in Italy). Then, we went back to the Spanish steps one last time. We made friends with three Italian med students sitting behind us and hung out with them for a while. After, we got one final beer at the Fiddler's Elbow.

Swimming in the Mediterranean

Our trip home was super long. Our bus ride started at 11:45AM and we didn't back to Grenoble til 3AM the following morning. We did stop quite a bit, which was nice. At first, we all had two seats to ourselves, which was amazing and comfortable. But later, the bus was too crowded for that. We
actually got in an hour earlier than scheduled. We then had to walk home in the rain with all our baggage since the tram doesn't start running til 5ish.

So, those were my Roman adventures. I had an amazing time, ate great food and lots of gelato, and saw some amazing sights. I had a great time with Meddie, Kaylee, and Ariel. This was a nice break before I have to start studying a ton for my finals (which start in a week). They are spread over two weeks and I am nervous because for my elective courses, the final is the sole grade. I will be studying like a maniac the next few weeks. A bientot, tout le monde!

Livin' it up on the southern coast of France... and crazy improvised BBQ's

If you look closely, there is a cat in the doorway of that facade

Bonjour a tous! I wanted to do another post to relate all my fun-filled adventures that I've had since I last wrote. As I mentioned in my last post, this past weekend, I went on another excursion with my program, this time to the southern coast of France! Specifically, we went to Nice, Orange, and Eze. We visited Orange first. There, we visited this enormous Roman theatre that was very well preserved. My favorite part was the wall of the theatre behind, around, and above the stage. It was very  The facade looked like the ancient city of Petra in Jordan (it appears in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade). There were also a ton of wild cats running around, which made me happy.

The lovely Mediterranean Sea

We ate lunch there and then afterwards, we drove for 4-5 hours to Nice. I gotta say, I missed the sun so much. Grenoble has had an unusually wet and dreary winter/spring, according to all the locals I've talked to, so sun has been very much lacking. However, my weekend with Nice was gloriously clear and sunny. It was also the first time I had been completely warm for more than when I was working out. All of us just basked in the sun the whole time we were there. I also started to get some color cause I tanned a little bit. :)

One thing that surprised me was the Nice's lack of a sandy beach. Instead, it was covered in medium sized rocks that were a pain in the ass to walk on. But, we still enjoyed being on the beach. We had a free night so we were on the beach for a good portion of the afternoon and then I went and got dinner. I had some amazing salmon and then gelato afterwards. I think Nice is the city of ice cream and gelato. Every corner had a gelateria or glacier. I loved it! I had ice cream three times in the 2 days that I was in Nice, twice in one day! My favorite was the Speculoos ice cream. I don't know if any of you have heard of it, but speculoos are these amazing cookies and they have an even better spread of it that is addicting. I am going to buy a jar or two and bring it home because I have never seen it by me, although I do know the US does carry them some places.

Meddie and me, imitating statues like usual

Anyways, Saturday morning, we went to one of the hill neighborhoods that was actually where the ancient people of Nice used to live, which is pretty cool. I am all about history. We went to this old monastery and around it, there were these beautiful gardens and olive trees. Did you know that green and black olives are grown on the same tree? Green olives are just picked earlier. Weird, right? The old palace of Queen Victoria is also just down the road from this area too.

Nearby, there was the remnants of another ancient Roman establishment. Nice has a very long history dating back before Roman times and it was cool to be able to see traces of this during my trip. Also in this same area, there the musee d'Henri Matisse. He was a very famous painter and sculptor who died in 1954, I believe. So, I got yelled at in the museum because I didn't see a "no photos" sign and I took a picture with my friend Meddie with one of the sculptures  It was worth it, though, because the picture was totally cute and funny. The security lady was such a crab, but it didn't put a damper on things.

I want a garden like this

For lunch, a few of us got things to go and ate on the beach and sunned. We then met up with our tour guide again and went on a tour around old Nice. I wasn't too interested and I just wanted gelato the whole time. We went into a church that was really pretty. I also just realized that I cannot even remember how many churches I have been in because I've gone to so many. My favorite part was our last stop, which was to see this museum that used to be an old house for some nobility. It was super fancy and it was fun to imagine living there back in the day.

Afterwards, we got ice cream and hung out at the beach some more. Then, dinner, ice cream (again!) and then beach again. That was our MO for that weekend, apparently. We all just were so excited to be at the seaside that we spent all our time there.

Gorgeous Eze

The next morning, we checked out of our hotel and went to Eze. It was a 25 minute bus ride down the coast. We toured a parfumerie and got to try a bunch of perfumes which was pretty cool. I bought a bottle of nice perfume for myself since I've never owned nice perfume. I always use the cheap Victoria's Secret stuff. I also got some nice gifts for people. I am trying to work on that since I only have a month left and I still want to find presents for quite a few people.

In Eze, there was also the cutest Medieval style village that curved up this hill. It was so beyond adorable and French and I loved it. There were some great views of the ocean, too.

Couldn't resist a little ballet in Eze

Unfortunately for me, my trip home was not fun. Firstly, the air conditioning wasn't working and so we were all melting in the back. Then, I started feeling sick and I realized I had food poisoning. By the time I got home, I could barely stand because my stomach was in so much pain. I was sick for two days. Just my luck. Overall though, my weekend was amazing!

This week, I also had another noteworthy event. My host brother had the great idea to do a BBQ so we hiked up to a park near the Bastille and made a fire and cooked burgers, sausages, and hot dogs and, of course, S'mores. It was really iffy at first because the winds that night were crazy strong and I was freaking out about starting a wildfire. But it was all good. It ended up being one of the most fun nights and I am so appreciative of all my awesome friends here.

My crazy group of friends and me, celebrating a successful BBQ

Well, that is all for now. I am heading to Rome tomorrow for the week. I am taking a 10 hour train trip. Fun. Haha. Then my bus home is even longer. I am taking the train by myself because I couldn't buy the bus ticket in time to go on the bus with my friends. Lame. But I am so incredibly excited to go to Rome. So expect a blog post and pics in another week. Have a good week, everyone!

Adventures in Strasbourg and my first (slow) trip on the autobahn!

Little France in Strasbourg

Hello, everyone! I figured it was about time that I updated my blog. Plus, since I have been sick yet again the past two days, I felt like I needed to do something productive. Wow, I am about a month and a week away from my return home. It feels really surreal. I know it's coming, but I've gotten so used to my French life here, it seems strange to imagine me going home. I guess I'll do some reflections first before I talk about my most recent traveling adventures.

We make good statues

Firstly, I gotta say I am going to miss my host family so much. My host mom is the sweetest woman and has really been like a second mom to me, even while she's been going through some really difficult, stressful, and emotionally-trying times. She always checks to make sure I am alright and I have really appreciated her constant concern for me and making sure I am happy. I have also bonded so much with my host bro Alban. It is amazing how tight we are; he has truly become like a brother to me and that was something I didn't expect. Even though he can sometimes be a harsh teacher of French, he also compliments me when I do well and pushes me to become the best French speaker I can, which I appreciate. Although Rudy and I aren't close, he is still nice and I won't forget how helpful he was when I was super sick with the stomach flu.

Niki and I

I have made some amazing friends as well. Since almost everyone comes from places other than the Pacific Northwest, I've been learning a lot about the rest of the country though the stories my friends tell me and when they describe their homes and lives. I love that. Not only am I learning about other countries (most especially France), but I have learned to both appreciate and critique my own home more. It will be sad leaving everyone, but now I know I have some great friends across the country that I can visit.

The view of Petite-France from the covered bridge

Ok, enough philosophizing. Now to describe my trip! I went with the lovely Niki to Strasbourg. She has a friend, Erwann, there who did an exchange at her high school a few years ago and lives there. We stayed with him and his four roommate, all guys. They were all really cool dudes. We got in about 11pm Thursday night on the train. Erwann picked us up and we dropped off our luggage before he took us on a walking tour of the city center of Strasbourg. Sadly, I left my phone so I don't have any pics of our night walk. One thing I'e noticed about cities over here in Europe tend to have cool uplighting on a lot of buildings, which makes things uber beautiful at night here. Then, we met up with two of his roommates who were already out and I had a great local beer.

Grand Cathedral of Strasbourg- still not complete after many years

The next day, we went to Erwann's school because he had a meeting. After his work was done, he took us on a tour of some parts that we hadn't seen as well as showed us the sections we had seen only at night. We saw the Conseil d'Europe which is where the European Union is located. They had some cool buildings, especially the Parliament building. Niki, Erwann, and I also did one of our favorite past-times there: taking a picture mimicking a statue. Always good times. Haha. That night, we went to happy hour and each got a litre of beer for only 5 euros. I wasn't really listening when we talking about what we were ordering and then Erwann came over and dropped this huge thing of beer in front of me. Some of Erwann's friends came out and we hung out there for a while. Afterwards, we went to a local brewery and tried an Alsacian specialty, flamekouche. It is basically pizza with a different crust. It reminded me of a thicker tortilla. The traditional toppings are onions, lardons (small pieces of bacon), creme fraiche, and cheese. I had it without the onions. It was delicious!

Parliament of the EU

The following morning, Niki and I wandered around the centre-ville area and found some food. I gotta say, I know I am going to miss the really nice food places France has. You can get a lot of really good, local food for cheap here and that is awesome. Anyways, we had time to meet Erwann because we were going to go Germany after he was done with class. So we tried to walk over to him. But somehow, we ended up going the exact opposite direction of where we needed to go. Some nice Frenchman noticed us standing regarding the map and gave us directions. We then wandered for a really long time, getting frustrated because we couldn't even find the tall cathedral, which we were trying to use as a marker to find our way. Eventually, we navigated back and met up with Erwann.

Enjoying a yummy beer in Strasbourg

Next, Germany! We went on the Autobahn (my first trip), but unfortunately the part we were driving on had construction. So we only went like 65mph. Lame!!! Anyways, we arrived in Baden-Baden (which literally means Bath Bath, which makes me happy). They are known for their hot springs and
baths. There were fountains all over the place here, which I loved. Baden-Baden is a very wealthy, ritzy place. I felt so poor. Haha. We mostly just wandered around here; we had no agenda, which can sometimes be very nice. My only goal was to try an apple strudel and I was finally successful, although it probably took 30 minutes to find a place. I also had this amazing white chocolate hot drink.

Baden-Baden fun

I gotta say, like in Italy, it sucks going to a country where you can't speak any of the language. I really felt like a complete idiot. At least in Italy, I could figure out certain words and had an inkling of pronunciation  That was not the case here in Germany. I have no clue where to even begin. Luckily, Erwann knew some German so he was really helpful and was able to talk to the waitress since they didn't really speak any English and definitely no French.

One really sad thing was I saw more evidence of the effects of World War 2 on this trip, since these two cities were more impacted than the Grenoble area in some ways. For instance, while wandering lost in Strasbourg, Niki and I found this huge plot of land that was a lovely garden on the waterfront. That was where the great synagogue stood, before the Nazis razed it during the war. There were some pictures there of what it used to look like and it was amazing. In Baden Baden, they also had these little individual plaques on the sidewalk in front of houses. They have the names of the Jews who used to live there and showed where they ended up and which

One of the many traditional hot spring baths

concentration camp they died in. It was super sad to see. World War 2 has become so much more real since I came here, for obvious reasons. Every French town has a memorial to WW1 and WW2 in it, for example. I feel like WW2 is so distant from most Americans, since we didn't have our civilians affected, just our soldiers. One thing I've loved about my history class has been learning about France's experience during WW2, which I've never really learned about before.

Well, this week, I am going on one of my last excursions to Nice and a few other cities in the south. I am super excited to go where it is going to be warm! At last! Blog post and pics to follow in the next week. A tout a l'heure!

Helping out a vineyard, cave exploring (YODA!), and day-trip to Switzerland!

The girls enjoying the sunshine and wine

Hi, all! I figured it was about time that I updated my blog. These past two weeks have been pretty awesome. Classes are going well and I've been busy with stuff with my program and with my friends. I mostly just can't believe it is the end of March already. Where did the month go? Now, I am down to about a month a half left year. It is a crazy thought. At a risk of sounding cliche, sometimes it feels like so far away and other times, so soon. I have had such a good time thus far. I have the most amazing host family. I have made some great friends. And I've discovered social dance in France finally! Ok, well, I will start with last Saturday.

This photo is shamelessly stolen from Niki, but I didn't take any pictures

I participated in a volunteer project with my program called "tirer les bois". It literally means to pull the wood. Basically, it entailed pulling and cutting off the dead wood on the wires for the vines. It was for a local vineyard, located about 15 minutes away in a small village. The spot was on a hill with a beautiful view of the mountains. There were about 30 or so volunteers in all and we worked the whole day, clearing a big section of the vines. It wasn't uber strenous or difficult work, but it was a really fun experience and it felt good to help the people out. Plus, we got wine breaks, with their wine and fresh-made grape juice (BEST GRACE JUICE EVER!). We also tasted a wine they make that is made right by Mont Blanc (the highest mountain in Europe). This wine is the only wine made at this elevation and it tasted delicious. Plus, it was a warm day (for once) and the sunshine made the experience that much better.

Alban and me, being our cool, normal selves

This past week, I finally discovered where I can social dance for free. It only took me 2 1/2 months, but I found it. Well, not me. Niki did, but whatever. Details. I am now going to be dancing Monday and Tuesday nights. It's a new style for me (rock), which is a type of swing. It kinda reminds me of cowboy swing a lot, just with some slight differences and no country music. I also learned two line dances to current popular hits over here. Yay for dance!

Really fine stalactites

Thursday night, I went out with my friends. Not unusual for a Thursday night (don't judge- I don't have class on Fridays. haha), but that is to come. You see, one of our French friends showed us this old music video from a French singer, Claude, who was crazy popular in the 60's and 70's. Seriously, all the adults we've talked to about him knew him and were thrilled that we knew him. The link is here if you want to check out the majesty of this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=AbXBdlLiac8. Be prepared for awesomeness. It has this silly dance that they do and anyways, my friends being how they are, we learned it and are planning to film it in all our favorite Grenoble spots. Anyways, we went to our favorite bar, Bukana, where the guys working there love us. And one of them got that song played and me, Ariel, and Niki did the dance in the middle of the club. We are that cool. Haha. I felt like a doofus, but it was still fun.

Favorite picture that I took

Friday, I went on an excursion with my group to the Grotto at Choranche. This is a set of caves that were discovered in the mid 1800's at some point. I took a ton of pictures, but you can see those in my facebook album. I will just put a few in this post. We had a guide, although I didn't listen very closely. Mostly, I just looked around and took a ton of pictures. The coolest part for me was we went into this one big cavern. It wasn't lit up, so all around was pitch black. We emerged out of the tunnel onto this seating, bleacher-like stands. We had no clue what was about to happen. Suddenly, a crash of thunder was heard and this really cool light show happened, with different lights showing off different aspects of the giant cavern. It was really nifty and so surprising.

Yoda?? Are you there?

The lighting overall was really interesting and beautiful. They had all kinds of different colors and that made the formations just look that much cooler. Another aspect I loved was the super fine stalactites here. They were so thin and densely packed on the ceiling. I had never seen anything like that. My favorite thing, though, was the random rock formation that looked like Yoda's hut from the Star Wars movies. Seriously, it was awesome.
Unfortunately, the lighting doesn't it do it justice in this pic, but the resemblance in person was pretty dang uncanny. I kept expecting R2 to just suddenly pop out.

Famous fountain of Geneva

Yesterday, I went to Switzerland for the first time. I went with my host bro Alban, Niki, Meddie, and Kayley. We decided to randomly take a day trip to Geneva. It was the first time any of us had visited the city and we had a great time exploring it. We started wandering across the bridge into the old part of town. I gotta say, I am really going to miss cobblestones when I go home. They just bring so much charm to a place. Anyways, we saw the grand cathedral that used to be Catholic, but became a Protestant church during the Reformation. The architecture was great (resembled the other cathedrals I'd been to), but it was sadly bare because they obviously had taken all the Catholic artwork down. Just not the same. We went up the two towers and got some great pictures up there.

We then went to a memorial wall commemorating the Reformation and religious peace and tolerance for all.

ERMAGHERD! A BEHR!

We had a picnic lunch in the park (luckily it wasn't too chilly, although it definitely wasn't warm). Then we walked to find the natural history museum. There were lots of stuffed animals, including some beavers. Represent, OSU! My favorite picture I took on this trip, though, was the polar bear. Now, some of my readers (aka my parents) will have no clue what I am talking about here, but one of my favorite memes out there is the ERMAGHERD face ones. And this polar bear has a serious ERMAGHERD face. I must show you this picture. Seriously, look at his face. Not going to lie, this is my lock screen background on my phone right now. I am such a nerd and very easily amused but there you go. We also saw the oldest and most complete ancient human skeleton, Lucy. The museum also had a animal poo exhibition going on. I am not kidding. It was pretty hilarious. Luckily, nothing smelled like it, so it was all good.

Evolution of man

Anyways, we also went into this beautiful Russian Orthodox church. Definitely one of the prettiest churches I've been in and we couldn't even go into the church itself, just the entrance-way. Everything was gold and silver and it was beautiful. We also couldn't take any pictures, so sad face for that. Another aside, the lack of pedestrians in Geneva was really weird. I mean, certain areas had a lot, like by the train station and the lake-side. But other than that, pedestrians were few and far in between. Tons of uber nice cars (like a Mercedes taxicab! WHAT?), but no people. There were times I felt like I was in a zombie apocalypse. Just tons of cars and no people. We came to the conclusion that no one lives here, they just work here. Weirdos.

We then walked all the way to the United Nations. It was really far, but worth it. Niki and Kayley were totally nerding out about it. Unfortunately, we couldn't go in and take a tour because it was a Saturday. During the winter, they are only open Monday-Friday. But we took some pics in front of it.

My primary goal was getting me some Swiss chocolate and I succeeded. I bought some truffles for me and a few gifts for people. Overall, it was a great, fun, quick trip. I love traveling. I need to start planning for my next vacation, which is the end-ish part of April. Au revoirs, mes amis et ma famille!

Owls, snails, and cats... visiting Beaune and Dijon

These burned down all the time, which is why most are gone

Bonjour, tout le monde! I figured an update was in order after my weekend excursion. I went with my group to the beautiful region of Bourgogne (or Burgundy, for you anglo-phones). This is an area in central-ish France and is celebrated for its wine in particular. I was quite excited to visit. We started our trip in Dijon. I loved this city! We had a hotel right in the center of old Dijon, so it was surrounded by some very beautiful, old architecture. The buildings in the city center are a magnificent melange of different styles, from the Middle Ages until the end of the 18th century, before you get to the modern stuff on the outskirts. I really loved seeing the old, Middle-Age houses. The city has been restoring them, since most were destroyed over time, and they're so unique and quaint.

The famous Hospice at Beaune- a great example of the beautiful roof tiles

This region is also well-known for the colored tiles of the roofs. Especially for the houses of the nobility or for the churches, the good clay in this region allowed for some beautiful, glazed tiles. There are all kinds of different patterns. An interesting fact is that the tiles are much bigger than what we see- 2/3 is covered due to the overlapping and only the small part that is shown is glazed. The old tiles are ridiculously heavy. Nowadays, they don't make them quite so heavy since that obviously isn't practical. The slate roofs were actually more expensive than the tile roofs for a long time since they had to bring in the slate from the northern part of France. Now, since the tiles are so famous, it is much more expensive to have the tile roofs.

The most popular church- the church of the people

We went on a walking tour of Dijon before having the day to ourselves, which was nice. This trip was much more relaxed and less time-constricted than the one to Lyon. Having two full days definitely helped. In Dijon, I got to see great examples of old Medieval churches alongside the Duc's Palace, which has buildings from the Medieval style until the the 1800's. For the tour, my group broke up into two groups. I went on the English-only tour, mostly because everyone wanted to be over-achievers and go on the French one and I prefer small groups. My guide was hilarious. When we first started the tour, I said to my friend in French that "I could've gone with the other group, but now I can practice my English" as a joke. Since that was the first thing she heard me say, she asked me if I was Canadian, which cracked me up. Apparently, I have a funny accent, but not an American one when I speak French. Ah, wells. Anyways, she kept joking every time the other group came by us, saying that "We must go! They don't speak English" or "We don't speak French!" haha. She also was using American slang that one of the guys in my group taught her. They said, "Let's kick rocks" means "Let's go". I don't know where this originates, because I have never heard it. My API manager also said "Let's bounce" multiple times, which was hilarious to hear in her Parisian accent.

Isn't this the cutest owl?

Anyways, another random fact about Dijon is that they love owls and cats. Seriously. That, and polar bears for some reason. As you walk through Dijon, there are these cute owl plaques on the ground that indicate something of historical or cultural significance is there. I loved it. Plus, on the side of the church that is pictured above, there is this little owl statue on the side that has been worn down so much by all the people who touch it. It is a good luck charm. You touch it with your left hand only and make a wish. All the students, in particular, do it so that they pass their exams.

Dijon is also known for the mustard that shares its name. Seriously, they invented it. I went into a mustard show and got to try some good mustard. American mustard has nothing on French mustard. It's just so much more flavorful and complex. They have all kind of flavors, like Gingerbread mustard, truffle mushroom, pesto mustard, green pepper mustard, honey mustard, tomato mustard (Provencale), ancient grain mustard. Seriously, the list can go on forever. It was fun to taste these different flavors.

The room for the poor at the Hospice at Beaune

I got to try some of the specialties of the area as well. Beef Burgogne, commonly seen as a stew, but not always, was invented here, as was coq au vin (Chicken in a similar wine sauce), escargots, and of course, Pinot noirs and chardonnay wines. I didn't try coq au vin, but I had the rest. I've eaten escargots before and they are actually yummy. One of my friends can't get over the texture, but I think the French do a good job cooking them. It is all garlic-y and buttery deliciousness. I also loved the beef borgogne. The one time I had it in the U.S., the red wine was so overpowering and sour that it didn't taste good. During the dinner where we had these things, me and two friends drank 9 pitchers of water. Seriously, the waiter was laughing at us. It was a good time for sure.

Wine tasting!

Most people went out that night, since it was one of my friend's bday, but I didn't want to. I got a good night of sleep so that I would be awake for Beaune. This town is much much smaller than Grenoble. When you think of France, you think of this kind of architecture. I loved the small town atmosphere. We visited a very famous hospice that actually had the first trained pharmacists EVER in the whole world! How cool is that? They were nuns who worked at the hospice and provided some of the best medical care in Europe. Another awesome aspect of this hospital was that there was a beautiful room for the poor people, so that they too could get treated. There was a chapel at the end so that they could hear the mass as well.

Pretty fountain in Dijon

After this visit, we went and had a wine tasting. We tried a rose, a chardonnay, and a red. I loved the red. You really can tell the difference between good wine and bad wine. It is almost sad how you can buy a 3 euro bottle of wine here that is better than our $40 wines, easily. I also learned how to taste and savor the wine to fully appreciate all the different flavors. Interestingly, I didn't know this, but pinot noirs and chardonnays are made with the same white grapes, it's just the skins that are added to the pinot noirs that gives it its color. Chardonnays are also stored for a much shorter time and only keep for a few years at most. The wine tasting was a nice way to finish the weekend trip.

Cute little French kids playing in the Liberty Square (formerly Place Royale)

This weekend, I am doing an API Gives Back Event, basically a community service project called "Tirer les bois". It means pull the wood or basically, trim the vines. We are going to a local vineyard to help with some work. I am very excited. Apparently, it's on the mountainside so the view is incredible. I will definitely post some pictures. In addition, I now only 10 weeks left in my experience. That is such a crazy thought. I can't even believe it. My second week of vacation is creeping up on me so I need to get to work planning that. I also need to get my butt working on my thesis. Anyways, that is all for now. Later, everyone!