Grenoble
I was up and out of the house around 9:30 to meet other students at Pain et Cie for breakfast and homework. The sky was grey, there was a breeze, and rain was falling lightly. I ordered a hot chocolate that came in a bowl and finished my bookwork for the semester while I chatted with some classmates. I was amazed because Eva made our professor Cathy a card in watercolors while we sat there! It was gorgeous. We ended up staying to have an early lunch. I shared some eggplant tartines with Ruby. It was so tasty! I didn’t know that I would actually like eggplants.
When everyone had finished their snacks we moved across the square to French Coffee Shop where we could continue to work in peace. We passed the little market by my house in full-swing for Sunday. I got a latte and a small cinnamon roll.
Ruby and I decided that we wanted to take advantage of the rainy day, so we headed over to the Grenoble art museum we had visited with the art visual class. We started off with a visit to the modern art exhibit. I found the entire thing to be creepy and disturbing. I felt almost sick to my stomach during some parts. One piece included five black and white photos of a naked man hung upside down by his feet. Another was a sculpture that resembled a person from one side and a sick cancer on the other. One room was painted entirely black and had a flashing lightbulb at the center, the room pulsed as the bulb flashed. Before the exit, one had to pass through a dark hallway and room full of fog from a smoke machine.
We left the exhibit for those we actually enjoyed. There were Monet paintings, Matisse, and other impressionist works. I enjoyed more historical portraits and sculptures.
When we were finished with the museum we returned to the center of the city for a walk. I enjoyed our conversation about politics before she left to catch the bus home.
I returned to my own house to wait for dinner and do some work. I was thrilled because that night we had duck, potatoes, and yellow beans of some type. I was so so good! I thought it was really adorable, I had mentioned a couple weeks ago that I like duck and my host parents turned to me and then each other saying “she likes duck.” They were really excited to cook it for me because it is one of their favorites. I thought Gilbert did a great job cooking it. They told me that they had gone out for the day because it was so easy to fall asleep on rainy days and they didn’t want to waste the beautiful weather.
Over dinner we talked about my trip to Italy. They warned me about the counterfeiters there and said that it was good we plan on staying in hostels because you get to see more of the area. They asked if there were any recipes I liked or would want them to make before I leave and I told them I loved everything they made here.
Mary-Est-En-France 