Week-end of Wine and Dine

This weekend I went on an excursion to the Burgundy region, and visited Dijon and Beaune. Many of you are probably familiar with Dijon mustard- the city is known for their mustard, escargots, and beef burgundy. It was a three hour bus ride from Grenoble to Dijon, and we had a tour once we arrived. Dijon is known as the 18th largest city in France, what an accomplishment. The Notre Dame Dijon was horribly vandalized during the French Revolution because during the Reign of Terror, the Sans Coulettes descecrated anything having to do with the Church. They rampaged against churches and cathedrals, chipping away sculptures of religious symbols, and even cutting away Jesus from the Virgin Mary's arms. The entrance way to this cathedral is completely rid of all its religious sculptures, and Mother Mary is missing her arms on the chapel alter. However,the church has devised a cloak/veil to put on her, and one cannot notice that she does not have arms. As a historical loving person, I think it is sad and unfortunate that so much artwork was lost at the hands of a such a bloody ordeal. On another note- there is a tradition on the side of Notre Dame that involves on owl. One of the corners of the church has an owl; rub the owl with your LEFT hand while making a wish, and the wish will come true! Yes, I made a wish, but I'l never say what ;). For dinner that night, we went to a traditional Dijon restaurant offering Boef Burgundie (beef burgundy). I had an amazingly delicious hamburger, the beef here is just so much better! There were caramelized onions on the bottom of the burger, and topped with cheese, tomatos, and pickles. Not that French- but it was pretty darn delicious, and I think that is all that matters. Sunday morning we left Dijon and headed to Beaune, a small French town really known for their wines. Upon our 11 am arrival, we went to a wine tasting. We were led down to the stone and damp cellar, where we learned how taste wines. This was a really interesting experience to partake in because I got to learn a little about different types of wine and how they taste and are grown. After, we were free to do as we pleased, and my friend Ali and I walked around for a bit. Beune is the most picturesque French possible. Imagine: narrow, cobble stonded streets lined with houses made of stucco or the "old European" wooden beams. We visited a hospice which has been around since 1493, and the last patient left in 1984. I think it is really extraordinary becuase this building is in almost perfect condition and has survived the French Revolution and two world wars, among other disasters in Europe. The hospital was intended for the poor, but the nurses and the care were so renowned, that the middle class and even nobles began coming for care. Theses two classes eventually began giving donations to the hospital, which helped presereve it to what we know today. After another 3 hour bus ride home, I returned to Grenoble with fondue for dinner. Score. Cheese(one of my favorite foods) + bread(another favorite)= one very satisfied Aleigha! Not to mention we had white wine along with. This was a great weekend, and I am super glad I had the chance to get out of Grenoble for a bit. It was really interesting to see another region, and have some food and wine to represent that region.

Home is where the heart is

France is wonderful, and I am having the time of my life here. I will absolutely return here one day. But on the other hand, it is not home. There is only one place that will ever be home- and that is my North Carolina. I love traveling, and I definately plan on seeing more of the world, but at the end of the day, my permanent address will always have an NC postal code (or maybe Va, SC, or GA). I don't want to sound ignorant at all, so readers, please don't interpret this as me saying that NC is the greatest place in the world. Il be the first to say that there are far more interesting places to live. But its home, its the place where all my firsts in life have happened, made friends, everything. Home is different for everyone, and some eventually redefine what "home" is for them. I used to think Id move to New England, and spend my "grown up" life there. But after being away for a while, I realized that I really do love the south. Here my top 10 reasons that this will always be home (no matter where my travels may take me) this list is in no particular order
1. Girls like to wear pretty dresses (to church, football games, wherever suits their fancy)
2. Sweet tea. Say what you like about it, but I love it.
3. Manners
4. Hospitality
5. Southern gentleman- yes, I do like my door held open for me. It doesnt mean Im submissive
6. Biscuits
7. Front porches and actually sitting on them
8. Very traditional based universities- everything from Cornhuskin' at my Meredith college, to drinking from the fountain at UNC, and all the others)
9. Big, old houses with lots of history
10. On Sundays we prais Jesus then watch football.
I may be a little nostalgic since Im so far away, but these are some things about home that when I sit down and think about, I really do love. As much as I love the stylish French woman with her chic and effortless layers of gray and beige, I think I prefer my pink sun dress at the end of the day.

Une mois~ One Month

I have been in France for a month now. It is crazy hard to believe how quickly the time flies. It feels like it was just yesterday that I was in 308 Brewer panicking about whether or not I would get accepted, would I have enough money, how am I going to choose what clothes to bring, what if I chicken out at the airport, etc,etc. If I have learned anything from this experience, its that everything, somehow or another, works out in the end, and it was senseless to panic to the extent that I did. Being abroad has really taught me quite a bit in just the past month. I have really evaluated what I want to do in life, at least the next 10 years or so. Which is that I want to return to France after college graduation for a couple years. Then return to the states for grad school, which will be in historic preservation. From there, who knows. I would like to receive my PhD in a more specific field (undecided at the moment) of history and work for museums. If not museums, I would definitely love to be a professor. I would especially like to be able to facilitate study abroad, and maybe even teach abroad. We will see. It really took getting out of the country for me to see how big the world is, and how short life is. Seizing the day, and really making the most out of each one is really important. This doesnt nescecarily mean going out and being crazy and living like that there is no responsibility. I simply mean that I want to make the most out of my days, whether home or abroad.
So today I experienced my first French strike, or protest. The French are notorious for these strikes. For the particular one today, it managed to shut down the tram system. I went into a store and bought a candy bar- by the time I returned outside, there was a giant group of people marching. They took up the entire street. I think that it was teachers protesting, but Im not sure. I have honestly never seen anything like this. And its normal. When I was at the tramstop, they announced that there is a protest in town, and because of it, the trams would not be going into "centre-ville". The annoucement was just like weather- today we have partly cloudy skies, with a chance of rain, oh and a protest. C'est la vie en France!

Je ne regrete rien- I regret nothing

I just came back from a great, much needed run this run. I know that no matter what continent or timezone I may be on, a good run will always be the best way to end the week. Today was absolutely gorgeous- perfect (Carolina) crisp blue skies, and the mountains were in full view today. It has been cloudy and a little on the dreary side this week, so it was refreshing to have a sunny day. I had a lovely afternoon with Abbie and Ali, two of my API friends. We met up for lunch and went to a panini/sandwich place- I swear, the sandwiches are soo filling here. I had a veggie and chees sandwich on baguette, and it was delicious. My favorite sandwich though is called the Parisien and it is ham and butter on a baguette. Healthy choice of the year, I know. After our satisfying sandwiches, we went in search of dessert. We went to a little place Ali and I found a couple weeks ago. Its called Noir Foret, and it is a little shop of just desserts. It is a teeny slice of heaven here on Earth. I had a chocoalte eclaire this time, the last time was a vanilla eclair. Both I must say are far more delicious than any kiss i have ever had. The cream was light and fluffy, and just spilled out of the pastry when I cut into it. It was chocoately without being overly rich,and the lightness of the cream mixed with the crunchy of the pastry made for fireworks in my mouth. I have always been a lover of food, but that love is just deepening to a whole new level here in Europe. Whenever people ask what is the best part of my experience, food is my first choice reply. I love to eat, and luckily so do my friends. Life is too short to not thoroughly enjoy a pastry on Friday afternoon. There are many uncertainties about study abroad- but one of them is that Italy will be the BEST four days of my life. Those days will be spent consuming pasta, bread, gelato, pizza, wine, repeat. Sure, Il probably put on a couple pounds. But you know what? I have my entire life to count calories and watch carbs. I am only a student in Europe once. I was thinking about this fact while on my run today, and I was a little saddened knowing that I will never experience France the same way again. Even if I do return, it will be different. I will have new experiences between now and then that will shape my mentality, I will be with different people, and be here for a different purpose. So what I experience now can never ever be replicated, and there is something sad and beautiful about this.
Last week, I went to Switzerland, and it was gorgeous. I had a great time there. The lakes and rivers are gorgeous, they are a dark turqouise color. The water in the lake was almost perfectly clear. As for Geneva, it was fun, but probably not somewhere I would want to return. Seeing the UN was really awesome, but otherwise, Geneva was just a city where people work. I felt like it was the equivalent of visting Atlanta- big city, a few things to see, but not overall that interesting. However, I am planning a weekend trip to London in March, and I am super pumped about that! England is definately somewhere I have always wanted to visit, and so while I have the chance to do so fairly cheaply, I might as well!
This weekend I plan to keep it chill and have a low profile by climbing the Bastille with Ali and possibly museum visiting in the afternoon. Tomorrow evening and Sunday I would like to catch up on some reading and journaling, and just relax. Hopefully the weather will be nice, and I can sit in the park for a bit.