Lessons in Layers

Three more or less exciting things have happened since I last updated: classes have started, I went on a weekend trip around Normandy, and we turned on the heating in our apartement. Yes, there is a chill in the air, and so far I have not gotten frost bite, been unable to sleep because of the cold, or splurged on heavy duty ski gear to get me through the difficult weather. No, thank you, I've been just fine. In fact, I think the cold agrees with me. Granted, it hasn't quite dropped below freezing, but it'd like to think the fortitude I'm demonstrating now will be able to conquer any weather in a month or so. I also ordered really warm winter boots online, so I'm feeling ready for anything!

Something else that I'm sure will be a comfort once autumn turns to winter is French hot chocolat. We're not talking Nesquik mixed with some milk in the microwave. No, this is rich, creamy, melt in your mouth, create a heavenly sphere of happiness in your belly, chocolat chaud. Above is a picture of Jeremy sitting at a pink table at Comme à la maison in the Marais. Anytime I get so cold I feel tears of longing for California beaches freezing on my eye balls, I plan on making my way there or to any of the many other wonderful cafes that specialize in hot chocolat made to warm the heart. It's also a good place to meet dogs. This cutie is Eloise:

She already was working on her winter coat, which I know since she jumped all over me before kindly posing for this picture. There were definitely some moments in my trip to Normandy this weekend where I wished I had been as well covered as she was!

The northern region of France, especially right on the Atlantic, was significantly colder than it had been in Paris. Our first stop was the town of Bayeux.

We visited a museum containing the Tapisserie de Bayeux , which depicts the story of William the Conqueror and the Norman invasion of England in the 9th century. Fascinating stuff, I assure you. Before leaving, I had a picturesque lunch of French onion soup and crepes, in an equally picturesque restaurant. How charming!

We then made our way to Omaha Beach to see the WWII Memorial Museum and the American cemetary. Heavy stuff, but by far the best war memorial I've visited.


We didn't get a lot of time to explore the cemetary or the beach at Omaha, but we went to Point du Hoc afterwards. Less memorialized but significantly more surreal, Point du Hoc is a small jut of land with several old, bombed out fortifications left in place. The whole area is covered in deep bomb craters from the war, now lined with grass and other vegetation. The monuments at Omaha make it impossile to ignore what happened there, but Point du Hoc takes on the feeling of a playground sometimes, with easy access to many of the fortifications that were once used as lookout points or to shelter gunman.


The next day, we made our way to Mont Saint-Michel.

It's right on the edge of the ocean, with great views in every direction. Before we got of the bus, the Sweet Briar personnel with us were careful to warn us not to go walking along the beach-- apparently someone dies in the quick sand every year. We mostly listened and only waded out until we lost our shoes.

Here are some photographs from the interior of the abby:




After Mont Saint-Michel, we made our way to the pirate town, Saint Malo, where we ate, walked around, went to the beach, walked around and ate some more, and went to an old corsaire's house (a type of more legal pirate). The basement was pretty neat! It had many different rooms for hiding goods from the tax men, and apparently gets rented out for parties on occasion. There were still chairs and speakers there from a wedding reception!

Otherwise, Saint Malo was pretty calm and touristy. I met a few pirate dogs, the scalywags, pictured below:


This fellow, however, is Ninja. He was in town attending the bi-monthly "Pirates vs. Ninjas" convention. You can guess what side he was on:

We got back in time for me to make it to Sunday dinner with my host family, though I sadly didn't get much homework done that weekend. As I like to remind myself, everything I'm doing is a learning experience! It's not all about the classes after all... :)

All in all, France has continued to treat me well. Everyday I realize more and more of the mistakes I'm making in French, and thus have the bizarre sensation of actually getting worse, while my English spelling is going downhill (I know, I didn't think it was possible either!). Hopefully my courses will help me improve all the more, though I think my volleyball class will probably remain my favorite for the rest of the semester!