Phew! It's already the end of December, and I'm wrapping things up to come home over Christmas break! This is everyone's last week of class before vacation, so we're obviously learning Christmas vocabulary and listening to songs. I'm using all my free time to get myself packed, shop for those few remaining Christmas presents, and go to Christmas parties! On Saturday morning, I'm heading to Lyon early in the morning, and by 8:30 at night (give or take a time difference of 7 hours) I'll finally be back in Nashville! After 3 months here in Valence, I'm so excited to see my family, Alex, and all my friends in the US!
Here is my friend Carey and me being a little touristy in Valence after a night out for dessert. After taking care of classrooms full of 7 and 8 year olds for hours, you have to treat yourself to a little glace (ice cream) or mousse au chocolat from time to time. That photo was taken before everything changed here in Valence for about a week, and after....
My little little, Kate, came to visit with another Vandy girl for two nights, and they brought the snow with them! On the evening they arrived, it had just started to fall, and by the next morning we were covered in over a foot! We went out with several of my assistant friends and played in it for as long as we could stand, then we had to come home and warm up and dry out. It was so great to have the girls here visiting- we had a relaxing time, and it was the perfect taste of home!
Here's a pic of Kate and me sharing a little TriDelta love in Valence and another in front of the Kiosque with Margaret!
And my assistant girlfriends:
On Friday after the girls left, I hopped in the car with Cloé, Nicole, and two of Cloé's friends (Franck and Dimitri) to go to Strasbourg for the weekend! Strasbourg, FR is in the very northeast of the country right next to Germany, and my friend Susan is an assistant there. Being so close to Germany (and at several points in recent history, belonging to Germany), Strasbourg has a different feel and architecture from the rest of France, but more importantly, it's home to some world famous Christmas markets! Here's a picture of Susan and me at the entrance to one of them:
Strasbourg explodes with Christmas during the holidays! Seriously, every street is filled with decorations, lights, and people too. It's a beautiful city, especially when it's dark and all lit up for Christmas. There is even one street that has actual Baccarat Crystal chandeliers hung in huge mesh cages every 20 feet or so! It was an awesome weekend because I got to spend some quality time with my roommates and with Susan. We packed 5 people into a tiny french car on Friday afternoon and made the 5 hour road trip up there. We went directly to a restaurant that Franck's brother owns. He set us up with a great table in the front and some desserts so that we could rest for a while after our trip. After that, my friends dropped me at a crémaillère (or house-warming party) for one of Susan's friends. The next day, Susan and I explored a bunch of the markets, drank vin chaud (hot mulled wine) to stay warm and had a huge lunch with my friends at a traditional Alsatian restaurant!
I took the train home on Sunday, and we had a pretty run-of-the-mill week here at rue de la Cécile. On Friday, I headed over to Lyon to see my friend Halley Anne and the city's famous Fêtes des Lumières (Festival of Lights)! We spent the afternoon Christmas shopping, and once it was dark, a few of my other girlfriends from Valence arrived and we wandered around the city watching all the light shows!
I've seen some spectacular things over the past couple of months, but nothing will be like Nashville when I get off that airplane!
