Svensk Jul!

For Christmas Eve and celebration #TWO!, we drive from Malmö to their mother's mother's house- a bit more old-fashioned but very fun with Jonny there. We arrive at 4pm and start with some glögg (pronounced glug) with almonds and raisins. Their grandparents, Karin and Gunnar, don't speak a word of English, but hardly ask me anything anyway. Jonny is super nice and cool- he's 38 with 2 young boys but he's the "cool" uncle. Anci, their mother is in a chipper mood tonight, which is good to get her out of her depression. We start the meal with another smörgåsbord of meats, sausages, fish, eel and gratins. Food is not as good as yesterday...But dinner is fun, I just love Malin and Louise- they're so giggly and lovable and snuggly; Malin is such a sweetheart and Louise is such a snuggly-bunny! Jonny looks and talks a bit like a vampire - his canine teeth is so pointy! And his accent is a bit Italian. For dessert, more rice pudding, and better than yesterday! After dessert, we play the "gift game" where you roll the dice for a 1 or a 6 and have 10 min to steal someone's present- oh, we had a laugh. Jonny and I got so competitive for this little box, which turns out to be clay! Haha- after we open all the gifts, we play again to steal each other's presents, but I wind up with my candles :) Malin was getting so into it! hahaha We did real presents afterward with J as the Santa Claus to hand out gifts. M&L get me a white tee and an adorable vernis black clutch- it's perfect! Jonny was so nice to think of me and gets me some nice hand lotion. We turn on a creole swing dancing CD and Jonny and I dance around, then with the twins! hahah We are all doing the boogie and shakin' thing- even Grandma is doing a little shake of the hands! We laugh and laugh and laugh. Malin and I go for a walk outside and take silly pictures. Off to bed early to go out tomorrow night

CHRISTMAS DAY 2008
Merry Christmas! I sleep until the glorious hour of 1pm- ahhh. I told this week is good for my health! The twins and I hardly move from the kitchen table, we just sit around all afternoon and talk and talk and talk- mostly about the future. I'm seriously considering taking a year off, maybe with Malin. Louise wants to go to New Zealand to work- but she still has a lot of growing up to od. I want to work abroad, maybe Japan or Thailand. We get ready to go to Nils in the late afternoon; coffee and cookies, and old pictures of M&L as babies! so cute! I play a bit on the piano, which makes Nils sooo so happy, even though I sound like a broken record. And my favorite part of the day, the best Christmas present I could have asked for- old movies from
1 9 6 2 of Nils' and Arvid's first trip to the States. I see old clips of Dad running around as a 5 yr old- he is SO adorable, such a munchkin. Nearly brought me to tears, I feel so privileged to see the movies of Grandma back in the day when he was still a stud- so much more than a picture. And Grandpa! I got to see Grandpa! Edmands! Live! He is so so handsome and has such a kind, gentle face and deep, deep dimples. Dad reminds me so much of him. And Jeffrey! He is so adorable and such a little mischief maker- he has the same sparkling, crinkly eyes, even at age 5 :) In the movie, he does that that hand wiggly thing where he puts his hands on his head like a moose and sticks his tongue out! Christie has a deep side part, and Laurie is trying to be a girly girl but you can see her just doing everything Jeff does. It's funny to see her in the little pink dress. And GRANDMA! She is stunning. And radiant! She is straight out of Vogue or something-magnificient; even with 4 kids in tow, she maintains her elegance with a flashy, white smile and high heels. There's all this footage of Grandpa riding around on the old red tractor with the 4 kids climbing alllll over his lap- everybody is happy, carefree; Dad is the little runt in back, falling behind trying to keep up, then op! Falls down! What a cutie...
Next we watch videos from M&L's visit to the States back in 2003, footage that I never ever want to see of myself ever again. Oh god, horrified. Do teenages GET any more obnoxious than me? I kind of had an identity crisis afterwards, not understanding how I used to be that person, and so incredibly rude/loud/obnoxious/....a teenager. Thank god that phase of my life is OVER. Can we move on now ? Sorry Mom and Dad for my behavior in the past-- and for putting up with it. Saints? I think so.
It takes up about 15 min to get out the door with all the hugs and kisses from Nils and Greta. I really tried to pay attention to Nils, even though he sounds like a broken record! M&L have changed SO much since their last visit! And Nils has gotten so much older...
Malin and Louise teach me cute phrases of Swedish translated directly into English; for example, she asked me if this phrase made any sense: "How plenty is the bell?" (meaning "What time is it")or "What are you for one? I don't feel again you!" meaning "I don't think we've met before." Haha! Had no idea what they were talking about at first..
We eat a quick dinner at home of salmon, rice and veggies and white wine to get the night rolling. Swedish Christmas tradition (and my new favorite) PARTY ON CHRISTMAS!!! So hard to leave on time with these girls but we made it on time to catch the bus to Malmö, brought beers on the bus and were chugging them (!) Pre-party at their friend's house, all guys and us 3 girls. Nice. None of them were cute though, although they were all doing lines which really didn't settle well with me and freaaaked me out. Never seen it before and I never want to again. Kevin is the druggie who's tried them all and lived to tell the tale (that's his only purpose in life apparently), Nils is the guy with the hairsprayed lion's mane, Peter and Yann who want to talk with me all night. Christian meets us there and we all drive to ???? nightclub, packed with nearly 2000 people! It is huge and packed, yet the music is PUMPIN and so so good. Louise is already falling all over the place. I tearrr up the dancefloor with Malin, who is so so so much fun to dance with. The music is amazing techno songs- ah, heaven. Since there is a lot of pushing going on, Christian and I hang out outside half the night, where it's more of a party out there! This guy Yann is trying to get my attention all night by waving, and then standing next to me out of nowhere. Unfortunately, I just ignore him bc I'm having WAY too much fun dancing with Christian. Me, Christian and Malin have SO so much fun dancing all together- we owned that dancefloor. Finally have to call it a night around 4am but Louise is gone, disappeared. Malin is worried, but hears that she's made it home safely back to Svedala. We all walk to Max's for late night munchies (and new word that I've taught all the Swedes). Andres gives me a piggy back ride while I try some snooze.

Swedish Christmas!

SWEDEN!!!!!!!!
Malin and Louise were there to greet me at the airport once I arrived in Copenhagen! Ohmigosh they give the BEST, biggest hugs ever!!!

I love Sweden...
M&L and I have so much to talk about on the train to Malmö and the car ride to Svedala. Bengt's house here is SO nice- warm, clean and COZY! (and straight out of Ikea) Eva is Bengt's fiancee and such a sweetheart- she has two girls, Hanna and Elin, who are very sweet. Bengt gives me a big hug when he sees me! I love the hugs here and I am so not used to them after 4 months in France...but it brings me back to the US and makes me feel so so loved, warm and cozy and snuggly. Exactly how you should feel around Christmastime! We make a nice, light dinner, and off to bed in my cozy room out attached to the garage. I love this bed!
Monday morning Malin has to work so Louise and I spend the whole day together. What a sweetheart! She tells me how she's been struggling with feeling a bit depressed these past few months; it started this summer when she lost her voice for a month, and was working way way too much at the airport. Now she's stopped working and studying and is just relaxing until she gets her feet back on the ground. Her mother is also struggling with depression, which doesn't help... But they seem to be much more open here about depression, rather than Americans who are very closed about depression, therapy and medication. Very interesting... I sleep until 1pm, Louise and I just hang out, read through a little of this journal, teach new words and expressions to Louise. We went for a walk through the Swedish woods, and talk about cultural differences. We share a nice hot cup of cocoa and dessert at the little cafe, talk about our oldest ex-boyfriends, hers was 31! UAU! For dinner, we eat in "downtown" Svedala with new friends Alexander and Julia (pronounced Yulia) who lived in New York for a year so she speaks perfect American English, no accent. Blonde blonde hair and reminds me so much of Sophie for some reason. Alex is half Polish, half Hungarian but grew up in Sweden. They are really cute and shy together as a couple but both so cool and nice. Conversation was great actually! They tell me about the military requirement for Swedish men (11 months) and the immigration issues here in Sweden. I ask Alexandr how he feels about building a mosque in Malmo for the immigrants to practice their religion- he said he doesn't agree with it, while Malin and Julia do- I'm not sure how I feel about it. They tell me about the neighborhood in Malmö (made up of all immigrants, from Iraq/ Middle East) that they would never dare to enter, not even the ambulance! Malin tells me she would never wear a T-shirt with the Swedish flag on it- she would get rocks thrown at her! And then there's the issues of Muslims who refuse to assimilate into the Swedish culture, or even allow their children... We all make plans for Thursday evening and watch the Hot Chick to bring back old memories from their visit in 2003.."It's going all over!!!"
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 23rd Christmas Eve Eve
Ooooh what a fabulous Christmas it's been! Going home is overrated-why not taste another tradition for once?! I wake up late today, got ready right away before the guests arrive at 3pm- wrapped all my presents while listening to Christmas music! Nils and Greta arrive, I was so so happy to see him! He's maybe the cutest old man EVER- so sweet and jolly. And Greta is adorable! Malin is always hugging her, like me and Grandma :)
We start with a traditional drink called glögg: Scottish rum mixed with spices and served hot- then we throw in some raisins and almonds! So good! We all sit around a candlelit table and talk (the Swedes love candles PS). Conversation and sitting with Malin and Louise is so pleasant- they are so huggly and snuggly and always smiling. I think it's been very good for Louise's health to be this energetic. We share old memories from M&L's visit to the States back in '03, and laugh about funny words between American and British: how we say "like", "actually" and the British say "lovely" all the time!! Malin is very bright in English and knows a bunch of expressions, as does Louise. She's always correcting Malin to show that she knows more than her hehe. Nils keeps telling me what beautiful eyes I have, what a good friend Ed was, how they were "the best family in the States!" and how sad he still is that Ed is gone. He sounded like a broken record all evening, says the same things over and over and over again. I suppose that's what old age does! We call Grandma on Skype but it is mostly Nils who does the talking, Grandma couldn't get a word in! He says his trick to staying healthy is a bit of port wine or whiskey, garlic or onions! What a cutie...couldn't stop talking about how nice it is to talk with Grandma, how great Ed was and asking if Grandma is in good health and if she has a good doctor. He seems like he's aged so much since his last visit to the States in '03. But just like last time, every thing is BEAUUUTIFUL!!! He says it ALL the time, it's really adorable. I just love him.
He wants us to come visit in Dalby and show us home videos on the "proyector!" of when we were "joung"! Hehe he speaks with a British accent, a bit like Michael Cain. For Christmas dinner, on a beautifully set candlelit table, we have, quite literally, a smörgåsbord of meats and fish. All types of sausages, Swedish meatballs w/ special mustard sauce, pickeld herring and potato gratin with herring. Christmas hams, cabbage like sauerkraut and SALMON! Only the best... And special Cola called "Julmust". Bengt is so funny- he is teaching me Swedish but gets me to say "Bengt is so handsome!" and gets such a kick out of it. I love teasing him, he's just so lovable. I love hugging him too! What a great dad. Eva is wonderful too- she's so kind and lots of fun; sometimes she lets loose and shows this fun, goofy side of herself, like when she crosses her eyes or dances.
For dessert, we have a traditional rice pudding mixed with cream and served with raspberry or cherry sauce poured on. Mmmmmm so delicious. They put one almond in and the one to get it will get married that year! Eva's mom thought she got it but it was the cherry pit instead haha! For coffee afterwards, we eat friend treats, a bit like crispy donuts. Mmmmm and homemade gingerbread- the best!
Then it's PRESENT TIME! There is a mountain of gifts. Eva and Hanna wear the Santa hats and distribute them, reading the little rhyme that hints what it might be and then "Onskar Papa" which means Best Wishes. The girls love my scarves I give them, the colors fit them both well. I love the turquoise on Louise, it really brightens her face, while the dark green brings out Malin's green green eyes. Bengt and Eva love the wine and the spice bread from France- I hope it tastes good! They give me a lovely pair of earrings, Lill sends me a pair of tights, and new makeup from M&L and a candle from Hanna and Elin- so sweet! It's fun that they hand out all the gifts and then everyone opens them at once, unlike our family tradition where we open them one at a time. After dinner, I talk with Shawna online, and chat with M&L about my passion for Indian culture, and Malin's plan to consider taking a year off, Louise's future. I'm considering taking a year off before I finish at BU. What's the rush? Christian hasn't even started his studies and probably won't until he's 24 or 25; for now, he's working and TRAVELING!!!

Repas de Noël

My last week in Grenoble has been amazing! I've made a list of all the things I love about the city, including the Christmas markets, our favorite cafés around the centre-ville, and Le Mélies Cinéma for old movies. We all went over to Marie-Eve's apartment for our last repas together as a group- Kelly and I got there last cuz we picked up a HA-uge bouquet of flowers for Marie-Eve, filled with orange and red flowers. Chez Marie-Eve, we melted RACLETTE on the stove and poured the hot cheese over roast potatoes, charcuterie and fresh bread. We goofed around with Patrice and Canaan, and Marie Eve made a nice little speech about our AWESOME our group is and how well the semester went. It's sad leaving Grenoble, what a wonderful city. I love being in Centre-ville, but looking up, around the corner of an old building, and seeing snow-capped mountains ringing around, like they're all holding hands and hugging us in tight, the city nestled into the arms of the mountains.
After dinner, we sang Bon Anniversaire notamment to Patrice, our fabulous academic advisor and maybe one of my favorite people in the world (!) For cake, we ate la buche!, like a French version of a yule log hehe it was pear flavored and so so delicious. I took some last fun pictures with group, while Canaan, Patrice and Marie-Eve. We were all so jolly and giddy, mostly to be together again but also excited about the holidays and the future. After dinner, me, Marion, Max, Lauren and Evan went for beers at our FAVORITE bar- "The one with the tree inside." That's the thing with the bars in this city- some of them don't have actual names written anywhere, so we call them by events that've happened there. Par exemple, there's "the bar where Evan fell off his chair"- where, believe it or not, Evan literally knocked over his chair, while still in the chair, and took out some innocent passer-by. And since no one actually knows the name of this great bar, that's become the new name. There's also the "Wine Bar," the "Sand Bar" and the "bar with all the cool flavored shots in it" where Evan and I took FLAMING shots! They light the bar on fire and light the shots on fire, and then you suck it down! Awesome!
Anyway, we went to this cozy little bar and each ordered a delicious, caramel-y, frothy, crisp brown beer and washed it down with bubbly conversation. Evan was telling funny stories from Memphis, TN while Max and Marion made out while Lauren and I bonded on a new level over our love of cats. Yes, cats. I stayed up until 4:30 in the morning painting the platter for Daniel and Françoise, in her little atelier, listening to my kick-ass Beatles mix.
Thursday I freaked my way out through the day, mostly because I had left all my studying for that morning for my Art History exam at 14h. I nearly shit a brick when Anna wrote me saying the exam was cumulative and a whole semester's worth of artists, oeuvres and mouvements. Merde! That's over 60 artists to memorize, and 150 oeuvres. Oh crap. But ça y est, it was OK, I did well in the end. After my exam, quick home to finish my picture collage for Daniel and Françoise. And then, one of the BEST meals I think I'll ever eat. Ever. It was our planned Repas de Noël, a kind of Last Supper with the fam before we're partie, me and Xio. It's different for her because she'll be living with them next semester, so I feel much more sentimental about everything, right down the creaking third stair that I always hit on my way up. I love it! (although it's my enemy when I'm coming in at 4 in the morning).
The table was all decorated with red and white, with the table mats that I bought them in Provence that weekend.
For our apetizer (coincidentally called an entrée here), Francoise made a truffle mousse, eaten with a spoon and oh-so delicieuuuuuuse. Next up, foie gras and salmon, spread on toast with coarse salt and butter..mmmmm. I've acquired a taste for foie gras and now I absolutely love it! Next (so French) were escargot, finally! My French experience is now complete hehe. It was pretty legit too, the snails looked like the ones in Dad's pond, and we scooped them out from the inside with little forks. Francoise actually called it a bête (critter) , and I yelled that's dégueulasse! Next was probably the most amazing dish I'll ever eat, I don't even know how to describe how rich the flavor is. It was a gratin Dauphinois, from the region, with sliced, roasted potatoes and foie gras between the slices to give it so much flavor. I was in heaven, and just couldn't get enough! This is my favorite though- Francoise cooked the piederot bird that we plucked back in September. Daniel went hunting one weekend, and comes back with two tiny birds that kinda look like pigeons, called pedrots. Francoise was sitting down, plucking the feathers and preparing to cook it- I couldn't resist so I got my own bird to de-plume! And she finally cooked it for our last meal together, very appropriate. It had a strange but rich taste. Like nothing I've ever tasted before, but delicious at the same time. Finally, for dessert was la buche, it's not a Christmas meal without it. Afterwards, we opened presents; Francoise gave us each a beautiful necklace and earrings, right in a homemade box. I gave them the handpainted platter, and gave Daniel a little ashtray bowl, where I painted "N'Importe quoi Daniel! Inadmissible!" because he always says that! hehe he loved it, made him chuckle. From me and Xio, we gave them the picture collage with a pic of the two of us as a centerpiece. It came out very well, I'm happy with it.
Out with the crew afterwards, first to Bukana for tequila shots and dancing to good ol' American music. My man Farid was behind the bar and was very generous with the free shots :) Around 2am, me, Lauren, Max and Marion chased each other all the way to Le Vieux Manoir for some kickass dancing to really fun music. By the end of the night, vers 4am they were playing old revival music, like "It's Rainin' Men" and "Freedom." Said goodbye to Max, he's off to Africa next semester, to Niger! So I wished him safe travels and er, good luck. Marion is off to Brazil for a summer New Years, but I'll see her in a MONTH cuz we're living together in Paris (!!!!) And Lauren is pure awesomeness, and she'll be here in Grenoble next semester.
Friday was great- I got to close my shudders, which block out any trace of light and SLEEP IN. Oh, what a treat. I watched Love Actually with D, F, Xio and Anna Friday night. Packing was a bit overwhelming, but I talked with Mom and Dad for over an hour and heard how COZY and sweet the house is-- last night, they were baking gingerbread cookies while the snow was piling up outside. How darling! I miss home...but ready for new adventures! Off to Paris for the night tomorrow, and then off to SWEDEN!

Fête des Lumières, Round 2

So apparently I didn't see merde when I went to the Festival of Lights on Saturday... good, because I found it was overrated anyway. My friend Benjamin (who is still pretty cool...haha there you go Ben!) who lives Lyon invited me to see the real Fête des Lumières on the official day, the 8th of December. In retrospect, I'm really glad I went back to see the real festival that is celebrated all over the region to commemorate La Vierge Marie, the Virgin Mary. I took the train late Monday night and arrived just in time to see the festivities starting all over the city of Lyon. Right as we got off the bus from the train station, there was FIREWORKS! over the river Rhône. The best part though is that on the 8th, everyone lights des petits bougies, little candles, outside their windows...so the whole city is flickering with candlelight. Up on the hilltop overlooking the city is the famous basilique Notre-Dame-de-Fourvière with a huge golden Marie perched on top and a lit up "Merci Marie" sign across. We promenaded a bit in the street, enjoying the light installations and decorations everywhere. The theme this year I guess is la mer so it has a bit of an underwater theme, with weird watery music playing in the street and ocean-themed light installations. I was confused at first, wondering where in the hell all the CHRISTMAS music was??? But Ben explains ça n'a rien à voir avec Noël- it has nothing to do with Christmas. Oh. Huh? I guess I'm used to everything Christmas-themed during the month of December, but then again, Americans don't really have old religious festivals... In the street, there were a bunch of drummers playing and marching bands. I think the best part though was there were fewer people and a big difference from Saturday- they were all Lyonnais, rather than tourists. So it was quaint and lovely, rather than overwhelming. Ben and I found a little restaurant near his place that was serving Lyonnais food tapas-style. I chose the boeuf et carottes, which was delicious...the best though was my chocolate tarte after, which was so yummy (although, not according to Ben...) I think I learn most of my cultural differences from Ben- for example, I think everything is great and pretty and jolie and awesome, whereas he tends to critique more, French-style. We exchanged stories though- I told him a little quip that Juliette told me that explains well the difference between French and Americans....using fruit! She said the French are like coconuts- they're hard on the outside and difficult to break into, but once you do, they're soft and sweet; whereas Americans are like peaches- super nice and sweet on the outside but there's always that hard pit that you can't crack into, so you never really really get to know them. Ben told me about his professor (from Boston) who taught at his university in Estonia, and who always used expressions like "At the end of the day", "You know whatta mean" and "Baaaasically"- for some reason, the French find these words so funny. Kind of like how I find it funny when they say "Baaaaaaan" all the time and "Eeeein?" But I realized I do use these words all the time in English, like "Definitely! Totally! Seriously! Honestly? For real!" Ben also told me about how his American professor explained another cultural difference: Americans use the word great or grand or big to describe or sell things, for example "Come get a nice big hot cup of cider!"; whereas, the French love using the word petit. For example, in the streets of Lyon, all the vendors were yelling out "Allez! Un petit vin chaud! On y va!" And they love that word! Un petit mot, boire un petit coup ensemble, un petit café, une petite rue, while we Americans love our word great. Another difference between the French and Americans- we're naturally friendlier! Ben ran into his old professor of French back in high school, and I tried to make conversation with her- they call it tutoyer, which is basically to employ the "tu" form in conversation to make it casual. He found it a bit strange that I would be making conversation with a complete stranger and use the "tu" form rather than "vous"- I forgot! Oops! I swear by the time I leave France, I'll remember to use the "vous" with my elders...I guess it's not common (or worth it) here to try and be friendly with strangers...they just don't do that here?
After dinner, we walked over to the vieux quartier to the cathedral St. Jean all lit up with crazy lights, and to see the light show at Hôtel de Ville - with the light effects, the story was a little kid who pretended to throw paint all over the townhall and dunk it underwater. All across town were lights shows and funky music. Some vin chaud to warm us up and then back home to warm up cuz it was so cold out!









As I write this, it's Wednesday morning and I haven't made it to class because it's snowing lightly outside and my bed is way too warm and cozy to leave the house! And my Christmas music is playing.....But eventually I'll make it outside the house and venture out in the snow to do mes cours and go shopping at the Christmas market in la place de Grenette.

Fête des Lumières, Round 1

Interesting weekend- had it's ups and downs! All day on Saturday, the CUEF planned a trip to Lyon to enjoy La Fête des Lumières. I associated it originally with Noël, but it's a celebration to thank the Virgin Mary by lighting little candles all around the city. Only thing is, Saturday was TOURISM DAY! And therefore, pretty unenjoyable. In addition, it was freeezing and rainy all day, and we couldn't find a restaurant to eat some lunch for over an hour since everywhere was complèt. At night, around 5pm, the lights came on around the city- light shows everywhere! It was super! The crowd was HUGE all over the city, I've never seen so many people in one place. There's a big Christmas market, where the vendors sell ALL sorts of trucs and where they have all sorts of goodies to choose from. I spent the day with Marion and Kelly; we meandered around, testing out all the vin chaud (hot wine) around the city! I took the train home on the early side with Anna because I was getting up early to ski the next day!







SUNDAY, DEC 7th
Up at 6:30am (ouch) to catch the only bus to Chamrousse ski station. Sasha was supposed to come with me, but didn't have the motivation to get up at the ass-crack of dawn like me. So I waited and waited and waited in the bus station, only to find out that out of these 100 people...there's only one bus. Merde. Fortunately though I run into a girl from my language class at the university- Katherine (who's from Dover, MA! Weird!) is there with, like, sooo many Americans girls. I was just wondering: where they hell did they all come from? Apparently they all go to Davidson in the South, but the 7 of them are studying in Europe- one in Paris, Madrid, Grenoble, Florence, Prague. So that would make me the 8th person, perfect since we need two taxis to take us to Chamrousse. Prices aren't actually that bad-€20 for the taxi, €17 for rentals and only €11 for a lift ticket IN THE ALPS- I mean, come on. It works out perfectly though because we split off 4 and 4 for the day; Katherine, Emily and Eleanor are all super good skiiers and appreciate the view of the mountains as much as I do ! We ski a LONG-ass day; 10 in the morning until 4 in the afternoon! But the mountain is so huge and just keeps going and going and going ...We just hopped on different chairlifts and different trails and wound up in a new place (unlike Loon Mtn, where every trail leads to the bottom). Another thing about ski stations in the Alps is there's no lodge down at the bottom to warm up, each lunch, hang out. Nope. Just snow and the Maison de Tourisme, where you're not allowed to pique-nique.
We got off this one trail where it hasn't been groomed yet, so we're in full powder, surrounded by glades- it was amazing ! The view at the top of the téléferrique was unreal- just mountains everywhere you look. Later in the day, the clouds moved in over Grenoble way down there in the valley, so it looked like we were skiing down into a sea of clouds. So cool! By the end of the day, I catch the ONLY bus out of Chamrousse back to Grenoble. Quick shower at home, and although I'm exhausted and my legs are shot from skiing all day, I meet up with Marie-Eve and some studiants for some fondue at this really cool restaurant in the quartier on the other side of the river L'Isère. It's down this little street and barely has a sign outside advertising it, but is all very well-known. It's called A Confesse and is Halloween themed and very quirky. Both times I've been there, they've played Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon" for a weirdish atmosphere. I sat down with Kelly, Geoffrey and Anna and we literally laughed our asses off all night. I get along so well with Kelly, we both have the same ridiculous sense of humor. The cheese fondue was delicious, as was the chocolate fondue dessert. Geoffrey ordered this dessert called "Jekyll and Hyde" and had gummy eyeballs and rats in it ! Gross! But kinda good!

Preview of Paris

Monday, December 1st
What a great way to start off the month of December- Paris for the night! My friend Gabriel (from Venezuela, also studying at the CUEF) asked me to join him for the night to visit Paris and see the City of Lights. We hop on a train around 6pm at night, after classes, and catch the TGV from Lyon to Paris. We are so silly at the bar at the back of the train, laughing and joking around over a beer - but after no dinner and two beers later, we get off the train at Gare de Lyon in Paris with no idea where to go! Soon his cousin Hugo (from Venezuela, but lives in Paris now) comes to pick us up at the station. We take the metro over to St. Michel, right near Notre-Dame Eglise in the 1st arrondissement of Paris. What a beautiful little quartier..It's filled with quaint little streets and loads of restaurants. We walk by shops, bars, pubs and loads of ethnic restaurants, and finally settle on a Savoyard Fondue place down some little rue. The food and wine is delicious, as is conversation. Hugo's wife Carla does humanitarian work all around the world (is in Colombia right now), and does independent consulting for organizations like the Red Cross. Immediately, I want to meet with her to learn more about the work she does.
Around 22h30, we all take the metro to the 2nd arron to meet Juliette for drinks in her neighborhood. She is Meredith's lovely daughter, now working at Warner Bros studios in Paris. She shows us around Montorgueil, another great area filled with Christmas decorations, little shops and people! Another Venezuelan friend Isabella joins us for drinks. Ironically, Isabella, Gabriel and Juliette are all into FILM- either working or studying it...so they have lots to talk about. Meanwhile, Hugo makes me laugh so much! He's so chubby and lovable- love him! We all order vin chaud at the bar and talk about Venezuela. Later, we catch the bus back to Hugo's studio near la Mairie de Lilas on the onze.
Next morning, Hugo's up early to do work but Gabriel and I aren't too stressed to get out of the house. We all enjoy a very French breakfast of cafe, hot chocolate and croissants with apricot jam. Gabriel and I start our adventure with Montmartre- Hugo, who could not be any nicer, accompanies us to the right train stop and leaves us to explore. On the train, some guy who is very nicely dressed (but still reeked of alcohol from the night before) talks our ear off about decibels or some crap like that... ha!
Soon we find Le Sacre-Coeur, right on the hilltop of Montmartre, overlooking all of Paris. It is magnificient ! Just like in my favorite scene of Amelie.... We take some fun pictures, and then explore the square with all the Montmartre painters. Their favorite thing to paint? Oui, la Tour Eiffel. We take the metro from Anvers to Trocadero- coming out of the metro is like BAM! Cuz the Eiffel Tower is right there in front of you- so gorgeous. I feel the same way about the Eiffel Tower as Lillian does about Il Duomo of Florence- I don't think I'll ever tire of it and could stare at it all day. We spot some (real-live) models (in their natural habitat) doing their little catwalk thing right in front of it- I mean, could you be more Parisienne?
But, the highlight of our day was not so much the touristy bit, but opening a bottle of wine on a bench right in front of the Eiffel Tower and slowly sipping it for about 2 hours and just enjoying life. We bask in the sunlight and crack jokes about how French we feel right now.
Next stop- Arc de Triomphe! It's fun because we have a mutual friend at the CUEF, from Dubai, who half brags all the time that he has an apartment on Champs-Elysees...so when we're there, the two of us joke around shouting his name, going "Faisal! Ou est tu?!" The Arc de Triomphe is naturally magnificient, as is Champs-Elysees - all decked out in Christmas decorations. We go into the Peugeot car boutique and admire all the beautiful new designs coming out. Next stop: Louis Vuitton- pourquoi pas? It is...unreal. An experience. Luxury at it's finest, but it's a bit overwhelming. We walk alllll the way down La Seine, past Place de la Concorde, to the Louvre and Musee d'Orsay to admire the beautiful architecture, the glass pyramide and Notre-Dame in the distance. We hop on the metro again to meet another cousin (I swear, that's how every story starts with Gabriel: "I have a cousin...") Pierre at Rambuteau, in the 1eme arrondissement. Pierre is half Venezuelan, but grew up in France and lives in Paris now (and about to become a papa!) We have a drink all together and talk in French, then I'm on my way to catch my train home from Gare de Lyon.
It's a short visit, a taste si vous voulez, but I can't wait to come back and explore some more.