A night-time cityscape and the discovery of all good things

This week I did an array of activities that were considerably interesting and picturesque, which is why I have so many photos on this post. Last Tuesday there was a welcome party at the Bastille for all of the (many) international students. We all got a free ride up the mountain on the cable cars and were then given a tour of the Bastille as the sun set in the valley. Afterwords, there was a band and free food and wine, which will attract any sort of student. It is easy to distinguish the historic district from the newer ones just by the rooftops. I thought it was especially cool to see how the city changed as night fell on Grenoble.

The city in the evening
the historic part is in the foreground and the more modern part characterizes the background

...and the same spot at night

So, bear with me; this is just a thought.

Imagine, if all the city lights were actually stars and the sky was a country landscape, it would look like this:

Anyway, today I went with a group of students north of Grenoble to Chambery for a little breakfast and then Annecy for the late morning and afternoon. Chambery was very calm when we got there seeing how it was a Saturday morning. The vendors selling antiques at the flea market were just setting up their tables of old postcards, pottery, and various furniture. We were in Chambery long enough to walk through the market, see an elephant fountain, and sit at a cafe munching on a nice pain au chocolat.

Let me just go on a tangent and discuss the beauty of pain au chocolat. For everyone who doesn't know, it is basically, but not simply, a croissant wrapped around little two or three little bars of chocolate. It is not a simple thing, pain au chocolat, because the experience of a pain au chocolat is a complex. The enjoyment is about the place you are in, the company you are with (even if it is a newspaper), how fresh it is, and the quality of the ingredients used to make it. Enjoying a pain au chocolat from Monoprix on the tram is an entirely different experience than enjoying one in a cafe with a cup of coffee. Another great thing about pain au chocolat is that is it low calorie, just like all the food in France. Wait...

Antique silverware at the market in Chambery

We arrived to Annecy and thus one of the most interesting experiences yet for me in France. Today was the "Fete des Alpages," an annual festival that marks the end of the harvest season. It was a very nice introduction to autumn, and I now I am considerably happy with the change in season. The first greeting I got was from a pen of brown cows with huge bells around their necks and a vendor selling cow bells of every size. Also, there were masses of people, and by masses, I mean that it was difficult to walk through endless streets of vendors. As I made my way into the crowded street, I was astonished by all of the local artisan work. There was so much beautiful food, music, and crafts like I have never seen or heard before! It was so amazing. Most vendors were also dressed in traditional alpine or countryside attire.

Oh, the masses

Artisan crafts included: cow bells, painted ceramic figures, baskets, wood carvings, pottery, hats, sweaters, lace, scarves, paintings, taxidermy (yes, it is true), jewelry, Christmas ornaments, flowers, wool, and so much more!! Everything was handmade and a lot of vendors were fabricating their products at the market. For example, I saw people making lace, spinning wool, painting, and throwing pottery. Also, one vendor was selling different types of chickens and bunnies.

Cow bells for sale!

You could take your picture with the local breed of dog the St. Bernard Shepherd with a donation to charity

Music included: lots of accordion players, a few people singing, and people playing those long wooden bell shaped instruments that I think are Austrian (they actually sound super cool). The sound of the market was very defining, even outside of music from instruments. People spoke lots of different languages, there were chickens, pigs, dogs, and cows making their respective noises, and the sound of the vendors dishing out tartiflette (I will get to this), pressing apples, sawing wood, and the sounds of all the people strolling the streets.

Trying to get through the crowd around these accordion players was a difficult task because there were so many people. If you love people, come to Annecy for the Fete des Alpages!

Food, of course, is a very important thing in France. Regions take pride in the different types of local dishes, cheeses, and wine that is made there. Food for sale included: countless types of sausage, HUGE wheels of cheese (countless types as well), honey, cider pressed at the market, tartiflette (a popular local dish with a specific cheese, ham, potatoes, and onions), diot (a regional sausage), pizza, wine, pastries, apples, bread, and more. There were various vendors selling each of the mentioned food.

Women rolling out dough that was later deep fried. A lot of people were munching on the final product. In the background, people were deep frying the dough and pressing apples to make cider.

A young vendor discussing honey with some curious customers. Can you see the box of live honeybees?

When it comes to tartiflette, people get aggressive. This was only one batch that they sold. You wouldn't want to be around when they ran out.

Diot de Savie, a regional sausage. I ate one of these on top of polenta. It was indescribably delicious.

Cider by the cup or the bottle

After a couple hours at the market, a small group of us made our way to a Baroque cathedral, a sharp contrast to the noisy, colorful market.

Plants crawling up the buildings was already turning a bright red for fall, this was on the way to the cathedral
Baroque cathedral. A perfect day for the festival and a visit to a quiet cathedral

But of course, when we left the quiet of the cathedral, there was a parade of people with animals, carts, and instruments were making their way through hoards of people who lined the street. It was literally impossible to get anywhere, and the parade lasted a couple hours. This woman is leading a group of goats that made a pleasant clanking as they walked from the bells they were wearing.
The procession of goats through the crowds of people
A little girl leading a small pony in the parade

Finally, after making a break through the people lining the street watching the parade, we headed to the waterfront. The city of Annecy is right on a lake where lots of people find pleasure in boating.

The canal off of the lake

Clear lake water, boats, and mountains

J'adore la France

One last thing: I made and exciting purchase this week at a bookstore in downtown Grenoble: a map of France!!!!! I love France! I love maps! Perfect.

Proof of black swans

Today I went to a chateau about a 20 minute drive from Grenoble. It was a perfect day...I was actually too hot a for a while. It is so cool how there is so much history and old structures in Europe. Most of the people on the lawns of the chateau were either French families or couples. Apparently this is where the French Revolution started, not at the Bastille as I, an ignorant American would think. It was so serene and beautiful there today!

Picnic lunch at the chateau

The chateau and part of the manicured garden

Just imagine...the revolution started here

A view of the park that extended far past the chateau towards the mountains.
There were a ton of swans that were really beautiful, but pretty aggressive when it came to bread.
None of the birds at the chateau were malnourished thanks to all of the people with bread.

I didn't even know there were black swans until today. Here is proof!

Me and some people from my class!

Inside was la Musee de la Revolution Francaise

Some art inside
View of the park from the chateau

View of the chateau from farther down the park under a willow tree

House on the grounds of the chateau

Back in Grenoble, there was a huge march of protesters and the trams were running really late

I love France! This was near Place Notre-Dame in le centre ville.
Can you see the cat in the window?

Public Transportation

I am doing a course through Willamette where I have to respond weekly to a question about being abroad. This week I had to go to a certain place for 2 to 3 hours, observe, and write about it. The following 5 paragraphs are what I wrote for the assignment. I thought it might be interesting y'all to read. I have also been a bit lazy about actually writing (opposed to just posting photos), so I thought this might be a nice change.

Grenoble is a small city located in a valley near Switzerland and Italy in the French Alps. It has already snowed in some of the mountains. Because of all the snow melt, the two rivers the Drac and the Isere flow through the valley. There is no underground metro system as there is a very high water table. Instead, the city uses an above ground tram and bus system that both students and business people use alike.

I have used the tram quite a bit since I got to France and thought it would be a good place to write about because I have already spent well over 2 to 3 hours on it. When i first started using it, I didn't pay as close attention to how interesting the tram really can be because I was preoccupied with making sure I got off at the right stop. I have come to discover that the tram in Grenoble is a place where a variety of people with different jobs, social classes, religions, ethnicities, and nationalities all come together.

On the tram, I have seen dressy black suits, Italian leather shoes, t-shirts distictly representing Armani or GUESS, spiked hair, men with purses (it is a new fashion in Europe), lots of Converse shoes, floral dresses, burkas, suitcases, sweater skirts, scarves of every color, strollers, bicylces, walking canes, leather breifcases, antique style high heels, studded sandals, colorful African dresses, tasteful and not so tasteful sweaters, and studded belts. I see people from Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Europe, and the Americas and hear various languages including Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, English, German, and French. For the most part, people are very polite, but I have also seen people who were far from sober and/or smoking on the tram. People travel alone, in small groups, and as families. Sometimes I see children traveling alone.

To pay for the tram in Grenoble, you have to buy a daily, monthly, or yearly pass. Before you get on the tram, you scan that card that you bought at a little machine at each stop and then get on the tram when it arrives. Of course, it is incredibly easy to hop the tram without buying a pass, and more likely than not, you won't get caught. There are tram officials who occasionally take the trams and check that people have been scanning their cards, but I have only seen them twice. As far as I can tell, most people do pay for tram passes, but the system allows people to use the tram who might not use it if they did have to pay. I have no idea who pays for the tram every time and who does not, but I think the system allows people to be honest or dishonest, or allows people who may not be able to afford the tram a way to get to work. Sometimes I wonder if the system is set up so that there is that margin where people can get away without buying a tram pass.

In conclusion, the tram is truely and interesting and diverse place. I feel as though public transit where I have lived in the United States (Seattle, Salem, and Hood River) is not used as commonly or does not have such an effective transportation system. The Grenoble tram (as well as what I saw of the Paris metro) is very effective and convenient, and therefore more people use it. It seems that public transit reflects a lot about a city and the various people who live and visit.

A tram arriving at night

Inside the tram

A bus and the Bastille

Snow in September

France is still beautiful! It rained really hard for a few days last week, and there is already snow in the mountains.

Snow in September

Patricia and I decided to do some actual cooking outside of bread and cheese (as good as it is). So, we made bow tie pasta and spaghetti sauce instead.

Patricia cooking dinner. I made the pasta.

Me and some pasta Patricia and I made dinner

For class, we did a scavenger hunt downtown to find various historical fountains. It was a nice break from French grammar.

Christian and Danielle on the tram ride from campus

the tram is always fun

Street in Grenoble

One of the many fountains we found
The lion represents Grenoble and the snake represents the Isere River

Obesity in France

For samia. There is couscous named after you.

Bikes, paintings, and flowers

I have been pretty busy with class and other various mini adventures in Grenoble, first of which was buying a bike from a local bike shop called 'un p'tit velo dans la tete.' I could be practical and rent a metrovelo bike from the city that is ready to ride, has lights and a basket, and only costs 10 euro a month, but that isn't what I did. Instead, I excavated a dirty but beautiful bike from the bike shop in downtown Grenoble. It is white and has a Tour de France sticker. My bike needs a little work (it doesn't have brakes or a derailer), but it was only 15 euro. There are so many beautiful bikes in Grenoble and I really miss mine from America, so I thought it would be worth it. I am super excited to be able to ride my bike.

These are just over half of the bikes at the bike shop.

This is my new bike. 15 euro. Yes.

Some other beautiful bikes in Grenoble:

I wanted a Peugeot, but I got a Tour de France

Patricia and I went to the Notre-Dame Musee after class this week. We were two of the few people in the museum, which is a big difference compared to when I was at the Louvre a couple weeks ago. There was everything from religious paintings from the Middle Ages to very modern work.

I like this one

Older paintings

A newer painting

Patricia and I thinking very deeply about art

Me trying to figure out why someone would put this violent painting in their house. Angels with no bodies

Me and a statue

I like this one also

Here are a couple views of the downtown part of the city:

Place Notre-Dame

Flower stand in the city