Je suis allé au Lyon aujourd'hui

Lyon was the destination for today, on this cold and windy Saturday. The sun was promising, but I knew enough to bring my warm, Canadian, down vest. It took an hour and fifteen minutes to get to the second biggest city in France, where my host family and I would take our guided tour of Vieux Lyon (Old Lyon).
As we arrived at noon, we parked the car alongside the street adjacent to the river, and ate our picnic lunch in the car. An idea I thought would be terrible, turned out to be very pleasant. I happily at my sandwich, yoghurt, and cookies as Anita placed Bounty bars in front of me. I saved one for later.
We met our tour group - a group of people who work for the same agency as Anita my host mom - in front of a large cathedral, which we would spend 45 minutes in. The tour started at 1:30 PM, and ended at 6:30 PM. It was a walking tour, in French, of historical details about Vieux Lyon. After a good hour or so, my mind was fully finished with translating historical French facts, and I was fully finished with any sort of attention span I might have had in the beginning. I was happy to be seeing Lyon, but not happy at all with the tour. I'm not a fan of tour groups.
It reminded me vididly of the previous week, when Nick - my friend from New Zealand - and I had paid to go on a walking, guided tour of Chambery. It was the same situation, all in French, and filled with historical facts. This is a fine concept, as long as it's interesting, and has certain time restrictions. Nick and I were interested in the promise of getting to see the famous Chateau de Ducs du Savoie, which by the way never ended up happening. What we were shown for THREE HOURS were various sets of dimly lit stairs, dating back from the 11th century until the present. WOW. Yawn. After about 30 sets of stairs that were hidden in corridors, courtyards, people's apartment buildings, and behind big, wooden doors, Nick and I could help ourselves no longer...we ran away. As our tour group went straight, we dodged left, and ran down the street, away from that boring, boring, tour.
The Lyon tour that I participated in today was just the same. Although, I didn't have the chance to run away. I can officially say I have seen every staircase in Lyon, France. Why are the French SO fascinated by staircases? It baffles my mind...I have no answer for this odd obsession.
The tour, as all things in France have been (school, vacations, tours, shopping), was way to long. 3 hours (or more, I didn't finish it!) for the tour of Chambery, 5 hours for the tour of Lyon, 10 hours per day for school - I have but one thing to say: The French don't know when to end things. France is the party guest, that you can't get to leave.

Gloomy Day

Today I was truly happy, partly due to the weather. Even though it wasn't by any means a beautiful day outside, I enjoyed everything about it. The sky was overcast, the temperature warm and comfortable, and the sun wasn't shining. I could feel that at any moment the sky would rumble and pelt down rain on me, and yet I decided to leave the house for a brisk walk. I need to get out for a while.
I often take this route now, the only semi-flat route around this mountainous area. It holds so much to discover each time I walk. I find bubbling streams alongside the road, open wells dated with numbers like 1882, blonde cows grazing on subtle hillsides, foals and their mothers beside forests that look misty and enchanted, grape vines that release a sweet intoxicating smell, children playing in their gated yards, and red tulips pushing their way up from the ground. I'm always so amazed at these things, I often stop on the side of the road and gaze at them for minutes.
When my mother asks me each and every night in Canada if I'd like to go for a walk with her, I almost always decline the invitation. The idea of walking half of a country mile of pin straight road with nothing but grass and trees on either side makes me cringe. I get bored so easily, even my music can't keep me entertained. But here...here is a different story. The sights, the sounds, the looming mountains dotted with different coloured trees - they make me stare in wonder. It's enough to keep me going for walks as often as I can. I love this about France.
And so how does the weather fit into my ramblings? Why did the weather make me love today so much? Even in Canada, I've loved the warm calm before a thunderstorm. In the summer when the sky is dark and ready to crack with rain and lighting, I love to sit on the porch and wait for it all. There's something magnificent about it, the humidity, the dark sky, the waiting.
Just as I arrived home and settled down on the couch, I watched the sky open up and begin to rain. It was a perfect day.

Vacances de Printemps

Ahh the springtime, the translation of which is actually 'vacation'. No. I lied. It would make more sense though, as I have three weeks left of my France exchange, with only 2 days of school left. "How does that work?" you might query, scratching your head and pondering the reasons. I'll promptly tell you why: The French love their vacations. And actually take them. Often.
And so that brings me to today, the start of my Vacances de Printemps (Spring Break in North American terms) during which I'll spend my 17 lovely days under the sun in the East of France - the Alps, if you will.
Even though the end of April is just starting to come around the corner, already I've experienced my First Sunburn of the Year. I'm throughly shocked at how much more effective the sun is in Europe than in Canada, and can't wait to test this revelation with my new black-with-coloured-polka-dots bathing suit I bought at Roxy (thank-you Vincent!)
Tanning, however, is not the only activity I plan to indulge in. Today, with the help of Bonnie and Nick I purchased a skipping rope to play outside with, and maybe get a little exercise at the same time. I didn't do a great job of starting on a healthy streak, as earlier in the day we hit up French McDonalds to see how it's burgers stack up (haha I love puns) to the North American version. Of course, McDonalds was founded on our great continent, and thrives in our fast food obsessed culture. Clearly the winner was the North American Mickey D's in the Great Continental Burger Debate. It's a well known debate, don't you read?
In celebration of the start of the Vacances de Printemps, I plan on staying up late tonight, sleeping in until noon tomorrow, and soaking up as much European sun as possible. Voila!

Let it Shine

Nowadays, everyone has MP3 players. They're not just for teenagers anymore - goes to show EVERYONE likes listening to their favourite music on demand. What a concept. Ho-hum. And of course, I'm a teenager who loves to listen to her own music all the time - as an escape from the loudness in a café, to add some enjoyment into doing homework, to sleep to on the bus, to write poetry surrounded with my favourite lyrics and sounds.
Today I found myself contemplating a conversation I had on the weekend with a friend, and I needed some good music to accompany my thoughts. The insightful lyrics of David Gray came to the rescue, and summed up my thoughts exactly. This is such a beautiful thing when it happens, a song speaks directly to you - like David Gray knew all about my issue. And so I've posted the lyrics to Shine by David Gray here, so you can see the song that Captures Life for Me Today:

I can see it in your eyes,
What I know in my heart is true,
That our love it has faded,
Like the summer run through.

We walked down the shoreline,
One last time together.
Feel the wind blow our wandering hearts like a feather.
But who knows what’s waiting in the wings of time.
Dry your eyes, we’re going to go where we can shine.

Don’t be hiding in sorrow,
Or clinging, let ‘er pass.
With your beauty so precious,
And the seasons so fast.

Hey, no matter how cold, your eyes appear,
Or how far the first night, when I held you near.
We’re going to rise from these ashes, like a bird aflame.
Take my hand, we’re going to go where we can shine.

And for all that we struggle, for all we pretend,
You know, you know, you know,
It don’t come down to nothing,
Except love in the end.
And ours is a road that is strewn with goodbyes,
And as it unfolds, as it all unwinds,
Remember your soul is one thing you can’t compromise,
Step out of the shadow,
We’re gonna go, where we can shine.

Lookin’ through windows of midnight,
the moon full of silver.

The Chambery Adventures

The past three days I have soaked up culture like a sponge. Making productive use of my 19 hours per week of free time during school, Bonnie and I visited 3 stops on our 3 week long tour of Chambery - doing it the way tourists do. While yes, we are tourists, we're here for an extended stay which upgrades our status to that of the 'semi-permanent citizen', and we have to make that special effort to take full advantage of all that Chambery has to offer.
The first stop on our tour began at La Musée des Beaux Arts, a museum of art very near to our school. I was awestruck as I walked through the gallery, the paintings had been painted 500 or more years ago. I have never been within inches of something that old. Someone had conveyed a message that lasted 500 years, and now I was on the recieving end. It blew my mind.
Thursday brought the the trip to La Musée d'Histoire Naturelle de Savoie. I'm glad I arrived without expectations, because if I had, this museum would not have filled them. It consisted of 4 rooms: shells, minerals, animals, and insects. All of the rooms had very little to do with Chambery. Even if they had, it was not explained. There were cases of shells and mineral rocks with labels indicating they came from Afghanistan, Brazil, and on occasion Savoie. The insect room really was no better, showcasing Monarch butterflies from Canada that migrate to Mexico every winter. Who's brilliant idea was that?
The animal room was by far the most entertaining. I was horrified and sad to see a room filled with dead, stuffed animals. There were angry foxes, snakes in coils, eagles with their wings spread, and a mountain goat too. So after Bonnie and I finished being shocked, we pulled out the camera, posed with some of the animals, and had a good laugh over how ridiculous the museum was. Then we got the hell out of there.
Friday allowed us to experience the bus system first hand. We took a city bus to La Maison d'Energies - a house built to run solely on solar power. At first we ended up in the wrong place, about 10 minutes too far from where we wanted to go. After arriving, we had a private tour with a very informative guide, and learned about the placement of windows, solar panels, natural insulators, cooking using the sun's rays, and gardens on the roof.
Making our way home was not so pleasant. We got lost on the bus, ended up at the opposite end of town from where we wanted to go, I left my coat at a bus stop and had to go back to find it, took another bus, used 5 bus tickets, and FINALLY arrived at the city centre.
Nevertheless, our day was hilariously fun and informative. And now, I look forward to the last 2 weeks, of our Chambery Adventure.

Pictures, anyone?

I had a gut feeling this afternoon that there would be a package waiting for me when I arrived home after school. Even though it wasn't to arrive until mid-week, I still had that tingling intuition that there would be a brown envelope sitting on the counter, the kind I've come to love. Each day as I sit in the car, waiting in the driveway for Anita to collect the mail, I have my fingers crossed hoping there will be something for me. Not that I don't talk for at least an hour a week to my family (and on occasion 3 hours to my friends!), it's just that I can visually see the love, sent flying through the air and over the Atlantic ocean, into my hands - by mail. J'adore the mail!
I knew exactly what this package contained - a way to show my family and friends I'm still alive. No, it's not as drastic as all that, but my USB cords had finally arrived. Maintenant, I can share my photos with everyone in Canada! So without further adieu, I present to you, Michelle en France:















This is a lovely cake that Zhers didn't put enough sprinkles on, so I added some extra. This is clearly my Bon Voyage Michelle/Happy 50th DA party the weekend before I left : )















My 5 day ski trip to Meribel, a ski station about an hour and a bit away from Chambery. See the pretty chalets and large mountains?? Oriane and I smile for the camera.















Bonnie and I grin at O'Tac on a Friday night. Roseanne's head makes a brief appearance in the background.




















At 3pm on a weekday, Bonnie and I eat a 'typiquement Français' lunch, complete with a baguette, cheese, and of course red wine!















The view from Bonnie's balcony in Chambery. Yes, this is Chambery, but only the residential apartment part at one end. Look past, however, to see the mountains that surround the town. I like the pointy-snow-capped ones.