les bulles!

Today we went up the mountainside to the fort de la Bastille in the "telepherique"  (cable car), but we just call them "les bulles" (the bubbles).

This was pretty fun, a little scary, especially since it was windy today. The little bubbles start near downtown, take you across the river, and up the hillside to the fort. There is a restaurant there and a gift shop, but not much else that we could tell. there are lookouts for photos, so we took a few and walked around a but. there were paths around the fort but we didn't go out on any of them.

Before going up in the bubbles, we ate lunch at a creperie! I had une gallete du jambon/fromage (savory crepe with ham and cheese) It was great, but I didn't get a crepe au sucre, so I need to go back, so I can see if the crepes in Genoble can even attempt to compare to those of Bretagne!

Tonight we will have dinner a little bit early because the Chinese student, Suxu (sooshoo), staying with us will leave for Rome, then Paris. He got in trouble with Mme Cottave a few nights ago at dinner for not consulting her before making travel arrangements. Apparently, he naively thought it would make sense to take the train to Lyon if he was leaving from the Lyon airport. However, the airport is between Lyon and Grenoble, so this requires taking a bus to the airport from the train station. What he should have done had he any sense at all was just take the shuttle bus from Grenoble to the airport, its so much more efficient and cheaper!! I would have done the same thing...poor Suxu! This means when I make my travel plans for the end of my trip, I will definitely consult Mme Cottave, as to not get scolded for doing something stupid. 

The dinners here are pleasant, there is always at least 5 of us at the table, and I understand things when I am directly addressed...other conversation, not as much. I am not always the biggest fan of the food, I miss the American way of having a separate meat as part of the main course. Here it is usually one or two dishes of various mixed up foods. So obviously in my opinion, the best meal so far has been the one where we had "Gratin Dauphinois" (Au Gratin potatoes-the regions signature recipe) and pork chops. The other meals have been less palatable, but it will just make me more excited for my mom's cooking when I return home! And there is always bread to look forward to.

Thus far I have not gone into great detail about other meals. Breakfast is very good for me because it is just bread with butter or jam. They also almost always have a hot beverage with breakfast, coffee, tea or hot chocolate. I usually have hot chocolate, as to not become reliant on coffee in the mornings. I make my hot chocolate with powder and milk. The milk is very rich here, probably more fat, I think it is great for hot chocolate, but probably not as great for drinking or cereal. For lunch we eat whatever we want, I usually try to find a meal for 5 euro or less. There are probably thousands of sandwich shops in this city, so that is always an option for a fast lunch. If you want a hot lunch you must have a bit more time, to stop at a pizzeria or creperie, or another cafe. They do have a lot of middle eastern quick places selling Kebab, which I think is sort of comparable to a gyro. Pasta Via, is like the Noodles and Co of France in my opinion, you can choose from many sauces, it is ready right there, and it is very good!

Tonight I have a lot of homework, so I better stop procrastinating and get to it.

A plus tard! (See you later!)