Grenoble, France

and now, I'm home

Thu, 03 May 2012 09:06:39 -0400

After my wonderful last weekend in France, spent touring the iconic Chateaus of the Loire Valley, I had one more night to sleep in Grenoble before I headed home to the United States on Tuesday morning. It was a bittersweet goodbye, but as the plane landed in Boston, as I passed through the BU campus on way to my apartment in the cab, I was SO glad to be home! Yesterday was my first full day here, and I spent it catching up with friends and eating at all my favorite places (I’ve already hit 3 restaurants in less than a day and a half, I’m really making up for lost time). It’s amazing to be back here with people I love and places I really feel at home - and it kind of feels like I never left. This semester was an amazing experience, and I am so blessed to have been able to spend my semester this way - meeting new and different people, getting to know a whole different city, country, and culture, and improving my French in a way that I never would have been able to accomplish anywhere but France. I am so thankful for this opportunity, and so glad that I was able to take advantage of it. And now, I am so happy to be home :)

Here, we have arrived at Chateau de Chambord, which was the most...

Thu, 03 May 2012 08:55:48 -0400

Here, we have arrived at Chateau de Chambord, which was the most magnificent of all the castles we visited. It was really incredible. It was built as a hunting lodge, and wasn’t often inhabited - though my favorite part of the tour were the rooms of Louis XIV (of course). The liquor Chambord, named after the chateau, is used to make a Kir Royale, which is Chambord liquor and champagne. Outside of the Chateau, there was a small market selling regional products, which had an undertone of meat-y, hunting products as it was a hunting lodge. We got a picnic lunch here, and then took a long bus ride back to Grenoble.

That night, we went out to dinner in the city of Tours. Some of...

Thu, 03 May 2012 08:52:15 -0400

That night, we went out to dinner in the city of Tours. Some of the buildings had this German feel to them, and I really liked it.

The next morning, we headed to Chateau de Chambord, and stopped on the way to photograph a Chateau that we passed - it exhibits different historical eras through its architecture, which shows just how long these incredible castles took to build.

After wine tasting, we headed to Chateau de Chenonceau, my...

Thu, 03 May 2012 08:43:31 -0400

After wine tasting, we headed to Chateau de Chenonceau, my favorite (so far) of the places we visited this weekend. This Chateau stands over the Loire river, literally over it, and was home to both Diane de Poitiers and Catherine de Medici. My favorite part of this Chateau, besides its beautiful layout and over-the-river structure, was the kitchens. We also found Catherine de Medici’s symbol, two intertwined C’s, and decided that Chanel and Cartier must have derived their symbols from this sign of royalty and power. Who knows if that’s right, but I think there might be something to it!

After the beautiful gardens of Villandry, we went wine tasting -...

Thu, 03 May 2012 08:36:13 -0400

After the beautiful gardens of Villandry, we went wine tasting - we got a tour of the wine-making process, learning particularly how to make bubbly wine (only called Champagne if from the Champagne region!). It was so interesting! We had a light lunch, salad and regional goat cheese and meat spread, and tasted the wines - one bubbly, one white and one red.

Next, we visited the gardens of Villandry - these were...

Tue, 01 May 2012 02:07:08 -0400

Next, we visited the gardens of Villandry - these were incredible, and the grounds were huge. My favorite part was a very large vegetable garden, laid out beautifully - the colors were amazing!

On Sunday, we started by visiting Chateau...

Tue, 01 May 2012 01:58:14 -0400

On Sunday, we started by visiting Chateau D’Azay-le-Rideau, the smallest of the Chateaus we saw but very charming.

This weekend was my favorite group trip of the semester, and one...

Tue, 01 May 2012 01:51:06 -0400

This weekend was my favorite group trip of the semester, and one of my favorite trips in general - we went to the Loire Valley to visit beautiful French castles! We stayed in a hotel in Tours, which is a central Loire location, and took our bus to the castles. On the way to Tours, we stopped in Bourges, to see the Cathedral Saint-Etienne (Stephens), and take a much needed walking break (the bus ride was 8 hours from Grenoble to Tours).

Last Day in Grenoble

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 17:43:19 -0400

Today was my last full day in Grenoble. Tomorrow morning, I’m waking up super-early to meet up with my group at 7:00 AM, get on a bus, and head to the Loire Valley to see the Chateaus and go wine tasting. It should be amazing, I am really looking forward to the weekend!

Today, I ran by the river and Bastille for the last time, finished packing (everything fits! miraculously…), and made gluten-free brownies with Nicolette for the weekend trip. Now that I’m all packed, I am really ready to get going home…I can’t wait to see my family & friends! I have a really wonderful summer ahead of me and I’m anxious to get to it.

At the same time, inevitably, thinking about leaving is so hard…I have been here for 3 months, had the most wonderful experience with my loving and welcoming host family, and am really sad to be leaving these wonderful people and charming place that I’ve become so familiar and comfortable with.

So, it’s with mixed emotions that I start this weekend trip, my last time together with the group and our amazing directors, Marie-Eve and Celine…but I will savor each day!

And then to Boston…. :)

The Last Week

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 14:19:03 -0400

This coming Tuesday marks my last week in Grenoble. I’ll be flying from Lyon to Boston on Tuesday, May 1 - it is so soon, and the days are flying by. I am content to finally be going home, and excited to see my family and friends, and spend my first summer in Boston! As happy as I am at the thought of all things American, the closer I get to leaving the more I think, “just a few more days…” Just to eat a few more macaroons from Foret Noire, to get more ice cream at Glacier Gonzalez, to eat a bit more Camembert and Brie, to hike up to the Bastille a few more times…So, I’m making a list of all the things that need to happen just one more time before I head home:

1. Foret Noire (multiple times..) for the amazing macaron framboise and hot cocoa;

2. Gonzalez to try the white chocolate ice cream, and to get another round of pistachio and honey ice creams;

3. One more florentine from Bochard, the best chocolatier;

4. Hike up to the Bastille on the days when it’s not raining this week;

5. Get a teapot from my favorite Moroccan shop as my last souvenir.

And then I’ll go home fulfilled :) Last week, here goes…

Back in Grenoble, 2 weeks left (I’m coming back to the...

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 14:09:00 -0400

Back in Grenoble, 2 weeks left (I’m coming back to the States exactly 2 weeks from today!). I’m trying to take advantage of every French thing that I possibly can in these next two weeks - starting with today’s butter purchase. I was doing my errands, and I went to the amazing fromagerie (called The Fromagerie) that’s right down the street from my apartment to get some Brie, and found butter - the most unique selection of butters I have ever seen. I got just plain butter and vanilla butter, and both are amazing! They also had a spiced one, an algae one (what?) and a fleur de sel one. Only wish I had a cooler to bring home butter and cheese…

When we got back from the wine tour, we went to some cute...

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 15:12:00 -0400

When we got back from the wine tour, we went to some cute boutiques and shopped around, then went back to Molly’s to get ready for dinner at Acqua al Due, an amaaazing restaurant. They have one in Florence, D.C., and San Diego, and it’s one of the best restaurants I have been to in recent memory…they have blueberry steak, for one. I got a tomato salad and mushroom risotto, and got to taste the blueberry steak - Molly’s friend Sarah got it. It was such a fun and good meal! After that, we were so exhausted and gave up on going out in favor of sleeping.

On Sunday, we got up in the morning and go out to breakfast and gelato at Vivoli (recommendation from Tina, and she was SO right - I got pistachio and coffee, both amazing) before I had to go. I was so sad to leave! I loved Florence from just the little I saw of it, but there were so many other things I want to do and see there - I just hope to be able to go back to Florence, and also to see other places in Italy, someday soon!

Molly and I in Tuscany!

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 15:00:21 -0400

Molly and I in Tuscany!

Scenes from Tuscany

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 14:56:52 -0400

Scenes from Tuscany

After the Duomo, we went out to lunch (Caprese salad for me -...

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 14:47:12 -0400

After the Duomo, we went out to lunch (Caprese salad for me - amazing mozzarella) and then took a wine tour at a castle in Tuscany! We stopped in a little town to see a small church and take pictures, get coffee, etc., and then went on to the castle (the tour took us on a bus), where we had a tour of the castle, got to know the history of it (it was a place known for conspiring against the Medici family) and of the family who lives there know, and runs the winery as well as an olive grove. We toured the wine cellars, and then tasted the wines - we learned how to hold the glass (by the stem only), to look at the color of the wine and swirl it to see the consistency, to smell it and try to tell what fruit it resembles, and finally to taste.

We also learned a lot about the olive oil, and what extra-virgin actually means, how the olives are pressed, etc. It was so interesting!

It was so much fun, and Tuscany is breathtaking!

Us at the top of the Duomo! (and DG lovin’)

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 14:27:00 -0400

Us at the top of the Duomo! (and DG lovin’)

Views from the top of the Duomo

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 14:24:42 -0400

Views from the top of the Duomo

Outside and inside the Duomo. We climbed the stairs to the top...

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 13:46:00 -0400

Outside and inside the Duomo. We climbed the stairs to the top of the dome to see the views of the city - quite a climb, and quite worth it!

Saturday (my one full day in Florence) morning, we...

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 13:38:00 -0400

Saturday (my one full day in Florence) morning, we got cappuccinos at Molly’s favorite cafe (SO good), then passed through the leather market, where I got myself a really cool belt, on our way to see the Duomo cathedral.

Last night, I got home from my weekend trip to Florence....

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 13:25:47 -0400

Last night, I got home from my weekend trip to Florence. Florence was one of my FAVORITE places that I’ve been so far - two favorites have been Paris and Florence. It was my first time in Italy, and I hope to go back someday! I didn’t get to stay in Florence for very long, but the short time I had there was SO worth it! The train rides were a bit of a nightmare on the way there - late trains, missing connections, unable to speak Italian…but I was thankful for all the English-speakers and that it is actually not that hard to understand written Italian after having so much French. However, the stressful train ride was forgotten the moment I got to Florence - it was beautiful! I stayed with my friend Molly, who is studying abroad there this semester, and her friend Sarah, who is in Rome this semester and was visiting this weekend also. The three of us had a blast!

One of the more amazing things about Florence was the food. The first night, we went out to dinner at an incredible restaurant. We got a Tuscan cheese platter with honey sauce to start, then I got Risotto with shrimp, and we finished with a classic Tiramisu (no translation needed) as well as strawberries and ice cream.