best 5 euros i've ever spent
but i think i shall have to back track a bit, actually quite a lot...
friday we ate lunch with a friend and it turns out that her step mom wrote a recipe book. she used to live in paris and went around all the little known bistros to find the best of french cuisine. after chatting away over an amazing meal, she gave me a copy of the book! it's beautifully made with cute watercolour illustrations... unfortunately some of the recipes call for very specific french ingredients and i'll have to translate some of the text, but it was really a very beautiful gift especially from someone who i'd only spent a few hours with! looks like i've got some cookin' to do...
when i said that we were spending the weekend in the middle of the boonies, i meant it! saturday we drove to a tiny town called dornas in the province of ardeche. when i mean tiny, i mean you can walk the entire town in about 5 minutes! it's really cute in the middle of the mountains with a waterfall and a sweet swimming spot where all the youngins hang out. (unfortunately the water was way to cold for us to swim) i think it was sophie's great grandmother who first owned the comfy townhouse, which is now about 200 years old. when you are staying in the middle of nowhere for a few weeks every summer, you need some hobbies or activities to do which why jean-pierre and olivier have motorcycles. i got to try riding one for the first time! we visited another little town about 20 minutes away where is population is a grand total of 26 (5 children.) we walked past an elderly man checking his stew in the big stone oven, and he actually did tell us his life story (with a bit of french history mixed in). it was interesting but i have to admit i zoned out a little... i guess it's exciting to see new faces in a village like that. the view was truly stunning. we spent some time with friends of the family and ate some more classic french cuisine. (anyone ever tried "oeufs a la neige" or "galette de roi"? ohhh baby!)
we drove back monday and caught the last day of the fair. ok so it's no canada's wonderland but some of the rides were really good. it was surprisingly a little empty so sure you can say it lacked a bit of ambiance but hey, no line ups! we were hanging around deciding which ride to go on when a guy who worked at the fair offered us 5 free tickets to "shake dance" or some terrible name for a ride, and free tokens for the bumper cars! i think we saved a total of around 40 euros or something, yeah the rides are pretty pricey. BUT there was one ride that was worth a ticket. yes 5 euros for "oxygen" the maybe 40 meter tall twirling, flinging, diving ride that makes you laugh like a loon! (maybe that was just me.) for a few seconds at a time you get to enjoy all the flashing and blinking lights of the fair behind you, or the city of grenoble... best view i've yet to see. we bought cotton candy (or "barbe de papa") of course and did a few more rides. it was a little 'lax' and "carnie"ish but the great part is that the rides lasted for at least a minute and a half or two minutes. good luck if you ate before you came!
the weather was absolutely beautiful for my last full day in france. a few of us had a little picnic in grenoble and then went back to watch the rocky horror pictures show. it was awesome! (but i really don't want to know what soph's friend's mom thought of it when she slowly walked past the living room) i finished packing and the fam and i shared a classic fondue (but with meat not cheese) and yes two slices of the best gooey chocolate cake. i can't believe that this time tomorrow i'll be at home, in canada... back to my normal life.
well that's not totally true. this exchange has taught me many things. being away from home puts a lot into perspective and i think that i have taken much away from this truly unbelievable trip. i am going to miss everyone that i've met on this journey and i sincerely hope to see them again. this has been more then i could have ever hoped for, an experience that has a permanent place in my heart. that is what i'll be carrying with me, applying it to my not so "normal" life - anymore
i look forward to seeing all my friends and family again, and spending time the auberts this summer. yep no reason to cry yet!
so à la prochaine mes amis...
friday we ate lunch with a friend and it turns out that her step mom wrote a recipe book. she used to live in paris and went around all the little known bistros to find the best of french cuisine. after chatting away over an amazing meal, she gave me a copy of the book! it's beautifully made with cute watercolour illustrations... unfortunately some of the recipes call for very specific french ingredients and i'll have to translate some of the text, but it was really a very beautiful gift especially from someone who i'd only spent a few hours with! looks like i've got some cookin' to do...
when i said that we were spending the weekend in the middle of the boonies, i meant it! saturday we drove to a tiny town called dornas in the province of ardeche. when i mean tiny, i mean you can walk the entire town in about 5 minutes! it's really cute in the middle of the mountains with a waterfall and a sweet swimming spot where all the youngins hang out. (unfortunately the water was way to cold for us to swim) i think it was sophie's great grandmother who first owned the comfy townhouse, which is now about 200 years old. when you are staying in the middle of nowhere for a few weeks every summer, you need some hobbies or activities to do which why jean-pierre and olivier have motorcycles. i got to try riding one for the first time! we visited another little town about 20 minutes away where is population is a grand total of 26 (5 children.) we walked past an elderly man checking his stew in the big stone oven, and he actually did tell us his life story (with a bit of french history mixed in). it was interesting but i have to admit i zoned out a little... i guess it's exciting to see new faces in a village like that. the view was truly stunning. we spent some time with friends of the family and ate some more classic french cuisine. (anyone ever tried "oeufs a la neige" or "galette de roi"? ohhh baby!)
we drove back monday and caught the last day of the fair. ok so it's no canada's wonderland but some of the rides were really good. it was surprisingly a little empty so sure you can say it lacked a bit of ambiance but hey, no line ups! we were hanging around deciding which ride to go on when a guy who worked at the fair offered us 5 free tickets to "shake dance" or some terrible name for a ride, and free tokens for the bumper cars! i think we saved a total of around 40 euros or something, yeah the rides are pretty pricey. BUT there was one ride that was worth a ticket. yes 5 euros for "oxygen" the maybe 40 meter tall twirling, flinging, diving ride that makes you laugh like a loon! (maybe that was just me.) for a few seconds at a time you get to enjoy all the flashing and blinking lights of the fair behind you, or the city of grenoble... best view i've yet to see. we bought cotton candy (or "barbe de papa") of course and did a few more rides. it was a little 'lax' and "carnie"ish but the great part is that the rides lasted for at least a minute and a half or two minutes. good luck if you ate before you came!
the weather was absolutely beautiful for my last full day in france. a few of us had a little picnic in grenoble and then went back to watch the rocky horror pictures show. it was awesome! (but i really don't want to know what soph's friend's mom thought of it when she slowly walked past the living room) i finished packing and the fam and i shared a classic fondue (but with meat not cheese) and yes two slices of the best gooey chocolate cake. i can't believe that this time tomorrow i'll be at home, in canada... back to my normal life.
well that's not totally true. this exchange has taught me many things. being away from home puts a lot into perspective and i think that i have taken much away from this truly unbelievable trip. i am going to miss everyone that i've met on this journey and i sincerely hope to see them again. this has been more then i could have ever hoped for, an experience that has a permanent place in my heart. that is what i'll be carrying with me, applying it to my not so "normal" life - anymore
i look forward to seeing all my friends and family again, and spending time the auberts this summer. yep no reason to cry yet!
so à la prochaine mes amis...