Week 3 in review

Well, today is Friday of week three. I'm done with my classes for the week with only one more week to go. I managed to try tartiflette, which is food dish that has become popular at ski resorts in the Alps. Tartiflette consists of Reblochon cheese (lot's of it), crème fraîche, potatoes, and bacon. It's basically like fondue plus potatoes. I also tried ratatouille, which, as most of you know, was made famous by the Disney movie of the same name. If I think about it, I'll try to post a recipe or two on here for you to try at home.

Speaking of food, I've volunteered to cook my host family a "native" Michigan dish. Due to my Upper Peninsula roots, I have elected to make homemade pasties (for my non-Michigan friends, you'll have to ask me to explain this at some point). I'll let you know how they turn out. I'm not so sure that I'll be able to find all of the necessary ingredients (rutabaga being the X factor), but I'll see what I can do.

As for up and coming plans, I am heading to Lyon for the weekend. I had originally planned on heading to the Loire Valley, however the trip started to look a little impractical for just some light weekend travel. The Loire Valley is not terribly far from here, however the high-speed train lines in France are almost all centralized around Paris. This would have required me to take a train all the way to Paris (4 hours) and then back down to the Loire (another 2 hours). Lyon is certainly a trade-off, but it is a little more practical for a weekend trip, not to mention less expensive.


View Lyon in a larger map
As you can see by the map above, Lyon (marked in blue) is not all that far from Annecy (marked in red). Lyon is the second largest city in France (after Paris of course) and is a fairly important business hub in the southern half of the country. The city is famous for both its food and its production of silk. I'm not sure what is all is going to be on the agenda, but I'm sure I'll find ways to stay busy.

After my Lyon weekend, it's one more week of classes, one more weekend in Annecy, and then it's time to return to the States. Not to worry, I've got some domestic travel business to take care of when I return. Sometimes I feel like I never stop. One day...maybe.