Playing a Quick Game of Catch-Up

Many things have happened in the past week. So many happy moments and cool experiences, that I don't want the week to pass without noting them somehow. So here goes nothing, a collection of memories from this week.

On Friday of last week, I spend the afternoon alone and it was actually quite glorious. It was my first Friday in the history of my school career that I was class-less. Most everyone else had SLM (i.e. French class for foreigners) so I decided to set out on a relaxing stroll around Lyon. First I went to a coffee shop that Sara and my friend from Berkeley, Danny, and I tried out last Sunday when Danny visited.

Oh, yes. That was another thing. This entry is really going to be curvy and topsy-turvy, I can tell. Danny, my friend from the Berkeley French department, came to Lyon for the weekend two weeks ago I believe. We ate lunch at Epicerie (again….) and strolled around, enjoyed the Saone, went to this café called (La Boîte à Café) and also went to dinner with Sara and ate moule-frites (fries with mussels cooked in a broth until they pop open) which was surprisingly good (I am not a fan of oysters). Danny is doing the TAPIF program (Teaching Abroad in France Program) in Saint-Étienne, which hopefully means I will get to see him again soon!!

Anyways, back to my solitary Friday. So I went to this café, proceeded to order a latte, and sat down outside to read a book for my 21st century lit class. Then, being the very American person I am, the guy made a latte and I went up and asked if it was mine. He seemed surprised but said yes, take it. Then I sat down realizing that 1) you don't go up to the bar in France to get your own food, they bring it to you and 2) I had stolen this other guys' drink in doing so. After getting up some courage, I went back in to get sugar and asked the barista if I had stolen someone one's drink. He kind of laughed and said "No, it is fine. Normally we bring it to you. But that is not a problem that you took that one." (which translates to yes you took someone else's coffee, but that is okay because I will humor your obviously foreign ways). I laughed in return and explained that I was from the U.S. and normally you go get your coffee.

After this funny encounter, I read my book for a two hours and then headed off to Vieux Lyon for no reason other than I felt like it. Once there, I stumbled upon a cute little souvenir shop (which was, admittedly a bit pricey, but where I found some possible gifts for people), bought postcards for some friends back home, and then treated myself to a Praline Brioche (the same thing my host mom gave me the first day in Lyon!). I sat in the square in front of Saint-Jean for about 20 more minutes, soaking in the rays and reading another book (the play, Cyrano de Bergerac). I realized how many young children take the metro/tram/bus everyday to school, without their parents. I saw groups of 8-10 year-olds walking home through Vieux Lyon and even some as young as 6 or 7 by themselves. To me, this is really bizarre. You can walk home if you live nearby, but in a city like Berkeley, children never would take Bart or the bus alone.

Sitting in Front of Cathédrale Saint-Jean

Vieux Lyon 

La brioche praline—PINK

After Vieux Lyon, I took the metro to Part-Dieu (which is the mall of Lyon). It is pretty crazy and reminds me of an American mall only more crazy. There are people everywhere all the time. Anyways, I looked around and found a really cute big black purse in a store called Pimkie. I decided to splurge and I am really glad I did because it helps me carry all my important stuff. I also went grocery-shopping because they have supermarkets in the mall here! which is another interesting thing.

Finally, that evening I went out with girlfriends to a club called Cosmpolitan and we had a great time dancing! We even ran into a few other Americans there!

Saturday (last weekend): I enjoyed the last rays of sunshine in Parc de Tête d'Or (a large park in Lyon that includes a zoo, rose gardens, and a little pond), with friends, music, and picnics. We ate à la francaise, with bread, cheese, saucisson (salami basically) and grapes. I also grabbed a drink ("boire un verre") with my mentor from my university, Lyon 2 (the mentor is called my "marraine" which means godmother in French). We had a great conversation and I successfully spoke in French and learned a new French word ("les paillettes" means glitter, if you ever had a need for that word).

Relaxing in Parc Tête D'Or

It looks like fall is coming!!

Completely unrelated BUT there is a carnival in Croix-Rousse

Sunday I got the pleasure of seeing my first European soccer match! I have played soccer games and have watched a high school game once before (go Amanda!) but I have never seen a professional soccer game. It was Olympique Lyonnais vs. Lille and Lyon won handily, 3-0. We watched one of the players, Alexandre Lacazette, score all three goals (which I learned from a fellow Californian, is called a "hat trick" and is rare to see!). He even headed one of the goals in which I found pretty awesome, seeing as my background extends to my old team, the Folsom Roadrunners from ages 10-14. We did not see many headers at all, let alone goals scored by someone's head. The atmosphere was alive and the stands were full. I really enjoyed the game and I would love to see another one. The cool thing about soccer is that it is shorter than football (haha) and so it was fun to watch throughout.

The match in action!

The only other thing to report is that today was Sara's birthday (WOOO happy 20th!!!) and, after our salsa class, we went to drink some really luxurious hot chocolate. We went to Angelina's, which is actually inside Les Galeries Lafayette which is inside Part-Dieu. It is a famous chocolate shop in France. Addie and I actually attempted to go to the one in the Louvre the one day we were in Paris and it was closed. Anyways, we also tried another hot chocolate place two weeks ago called Bernachon. It was yummy but Angelina's was even richer. We got a chocolat chaud (hot chocolate) à l'Africain (no idea what that means, but I think it has to do with the type of chocolate used, some type from Africa?), a chocolat frappé (same as the hot but iced and blended), and 4 macarons to split (pistachio, vanilla, raspberry and caramel). It was the thickest hot chocolate I had ever had and it was so rich, I felt a little sick after. I think we could have gone for one or the other drink but it was so worth it!

Birthday girl: We eat a lot of yummy things together and she is always ecstatic! 

Chocolat frappé 

Crappy picture of the chocolat chaud—SO RICH

Tomorrow, we are off to the south of France, praying that the weather holds out. We are going to celebrate Sara's birthday on the Côte d'Azur—the French Riviera. I think it will be divine. Look for more pictures soon :)