le week-end!

This weekend was busy, and they are just going to get busier. I had no time to write until now, so here goes: Friday through Sunday, I'll try not to ramble.

Friday: A night on the town turned a night at our usual cafe.
Several of us wanted to explore the nightlife of downtown Grenoble and visit a few bars. However, with a combination of the winding streets of Grenoble, the unfamiliar appearance of everything at night, and the fact that it is really difficult to distinguish a bar from a cafe or restaurant made that nearly impossible. We stumbled upon one bar, saw that cocktails were 9-11 euros each, and opted for wine, which is like a substitute for water here. We split a huge bottle of Rose between the 7 of us and only had to pay 3.60 euro for the equivalent of about 2 1/2 glasses each. Leaving that bar wasn't a brilliant choice, because we wandered around town trying to remember which windy street the London Pub was on, until we finally gave up and went to our cafe, nicknamed "the mist" for the misty fans they use on hot days. By this time we had only 45 minutes until we had to leave in order to take the bus home, which stops at midnight. So we ordered crepes and gaufres and had a lovely midnight snack!

Mon crepe beurre sucre (butter sugar)

 Maryel's Nutella gaufre (waffle)

As a newbie with the Noctibus system, I of course missed my stop...and then the next stop, and finally got off in a deserted, sort of scary area and decided to run and speed walk home with my finger ready to dial 17 (like 911) at any moment. Won't let that happen again!

Saturday: Relaxation, forced procrastination and interesting experiences.

I slept in until 10am, woke up, had my bread and an apple for breakfast and went back to my room determined to be productive. I signed onto Ctools (U of M's course website) and realized the site was down, it said it would only be until 5:20 am (11:20 here) So I waited and cleaned my room. Then at 5:20, when it still wasn't working I read that sometimes they have to do maintenance until 7 am, so I waited and found other things to occupy me. By then it was time for lunch, I met Maryel at "the mist" and we shared a pizza (again, I know, not creative, but it is so good!) She offered to email the reading to me if it was still down. It was, so by the time I got the email it was nearly 4pm and I was tired and not feeling at all like reading. So I just read a few pages. Dinner was at 7, afterward I met a few friends at the internet cafe and printed some of my readings so I wouldn't have to read them on my computer. Then we all went together to a huge park for "Silence, On Danse!" Which is a silent outdoor discotheque (nightclub). We rented headphones, our drivers licenses as collateral, and listened as the DJ's played a variety of dance songs to hundreds of people, in silence! Of course the French like old American songs too much to not sing along, so it wasn't completely silent. It was a very interesting experience though, and I am glad I went.

Freedom-George Michael

Me, Suzanne, May and Maryel

 The stage with the DJs

Sunday: A day in a Medieval Village

We spend Sunday in St. Antoine-l'Abbaye, a tiny medieval village near Grenoble. The architecture was very beautiful, and I will have many photos to show upon my return, but here, I really want to display our amazing lunch, and maybe one photo of the Abbey.

Our yummy salad with strange little hollow ravioli things on top

 

Pork in a sauce,
Gratin Dauphinois (regional specialty-Au Gratin potatoes),

Tomates a la Provencale (tomatoes cooked with breadcrumbs on top) 

Delicious cherry tarte in vanilla creme sauce

L'Abbaye!

It was a wonderful weekend, spent in the most wonderful places, with the most wonderful people.