Exploring the City

7 September 2012

Today was another mini-orientation for our CEA group, this time moreso a tour of the city than anything else.  We started the tour at a gorgeous garden by the river called Jardin de Ville. It was so pretty, but also sort of strange! Since Grenoble is towards the south of France, the weather can get very Mediterranean and hot, so there are plenty of small tropical trees and other tropical-esque, vivid, bright plants in the garden, but when you see those and the snow-peaked mountains behind them, it is very interesting!

After visiting the park we went into town and Patrick pointed out important places like the tourism office, the travel office in case we want to buy train tickets to visit other places in France and the rest of Europe (which we of course will!), some grocery stores and department stores, and the post office, where I bought plenty of international envelopes so I may send post cards and letters to my loved ones back home! =)

Once we became a little more familiar with the city (mostly downtown, which is where I live, by the way!), we decided to stop by a place called Nabab Kabab for lunch. I fancied myself a panini chick'n avec des frites et un coca. We all ordered our food and walked a bit to find Victor Hugo park where we sat down and enjoyed both our lunches and the beautiful park!

Me taking pictures of people while they aren't aware

After lunch all of us went our separate ways for the evening. When I got home, I enjoyed a lovely French dinner with Fadila, her daughter, and Fadila's friend Dan who enjoys cooking, and he cooked us up an amazing lamb and rice dinner. The dinner itself was fantastic, and oh-so-very French. The first hour we spent drinking wine and having a conversation, the second hour we spent eating the delicious lamb and rice, the third hour we spent enjoying a fantastic tarte aux pommes made by Fadila (it's just like an apple pie, except much more pastry-like), and for the fourth and final hour we enjoyed more wine, some bread and cheese, and cigarettes. Well, they enjoyed the cigarettes. I enjoyed the wine, bread, and cheese, and observed all of the French-ness that was happening around me! =) A four hour meal! It was so pleasant, the time just flew by! Definitely an evening to remember.