Just now got back from being out and about all day (it's 8:30pm here). I left the house this morning around 10:30 to meet some friends at Les Halles, the big indoor gourmet market. There was supposed to be a food festival there this morning, but the square is under construction at the moment. Oh well. We enjoyed walking around Les Halles just the same. I had to resist buying this eclair that was calling my name ever so softly. Little tease.
After that we literally walked ALL DAY. It was fun though, and we sat down to enjoy various gardens and such now and then. We took the tour of Palais des Papes, got a little history/architecture lesson, then meandered about various streets and alleyways. One of the girls lives down the street from the Center, and I live just outside the city walls, but the other two are way out in the suburbs. Oddly enough, even though I'm not the closest to the middle of town, I seemed to lead the way in our little walks. My internal compass is coming in handy here. But we explored the whole west side of the city, passed through Place Crillon and out to the river. On our way we encountered a gay pride parade--very fun, lots of costumes and dance music. With a thumping techno beat to accompany us we made our way across the bridge to the island, Berthalasse, where we sat on the grassy banks and chatted away for some time. We had long since switched to English. We figured one day out of the week wasn't that bad, and it helps us get to know each other's real personalities because in French our vocabularies are still limited enough to hide this insight.
Around 5pm we headed back across the river via the ferry and went to the touristy Place de l'Horloge for dinner. There we were met yet again by the gay pride parade! Having as much fun as they were several hours ago, which must have been exhausting. With this backdrop we sat down for dinner at Le Lutrin, a cafe a little removed from the square. Dinner was sauteed eggplant, beef stew, and caramel and chocolate mousse for dessert. This was delicious, of course, and much richer fare than my host mom, Corine, normally prepares. Don't get me wrong, I love Corine's lean cooking, but it was a nice change of pace. Usually dinner chez Corine consists of a small salad of fresh veggies, cheese, and an olive oil/soy sauce dressing, some kind of soup, a bowl of fruit, a main dish which usually involves rice, and for dessert some fromage blanc (which is a little bit like plain yogurt) mixed with sugar and lemon juice complemented by fruit, preserves, coulis, or what have you. Very light and fresh with lots of raw fruit and vegetables, since she's lactose intolerant and allergic to gluten. I really like it. Plus I get to help prepare it, and thus absorb some French kitchen wisdom.
All in all, it's been a really good but really busy day. The girls (which includes Caitlin, Gloria, and Emily) and I happened to discuss possible weekend trips. We're thinking of doing day trips to Marseille, possibly Fontaine de Vaucluse, or other cities in Provence. It's all up in the air right now but I'm glad to have already made friends who I can travel with. It'll make everything a lot easier, I think.
Missing everyone back home,
Natalie
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment