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Published: March 18th 2012
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Hello All!
Its spring time here in Grenoble, and the days are getting nice and hot already!
Since last I wrote in my blog, I’ve been enjoying life here in Grenoble, going to classes and hanging with friends.
I got my marks back from first semester and I have passed all my classes, which I am very happy about. I am still waiting on one more result from my economics class (it takes ages to get your marks here) but I think that there’s nothing to worry about and I passed that one too.
Lyon A couple of weekends ago, I went on a day trip to Lyon with some of my friends. Lyon is one of the oldest cities in France, going back from the time of the Roman occupation. It is now the second biggest city of the nation, and is home to a big art scene that I already checked out last semester, as well as a famous light show that happens around Christmas time.
It was a great day. We toke a train early in the morning and got there around 9. We then spent are time walking around
the city, checking out the markets and then hiking up to the huge Cathedral to take some pictures of the views.
In the afternoon we checked out Vieux Lyon, the oldest part of the city that is filled with all sorts of nocks and interesting shops that we explored. There were shops of all kinds, sweets shops, puppets shops even medieval shops where you could buy 16 century frocks and swords!
We found a really nice restaurant to eat in, where we could get a warm goat cheese salad, an entree and a dessert for only 12 Euros. I of course got the chocolate mousse which is my favourite.
After that we went to the Grand Place which is a big square in the center of the city to visit some more shops. We then had to get back to the station to take a train back to Grenoble.
Lyon is a nice city, but a bit too big for my liking and I prefer the scenery and the mountains of Grenoble way more.
Weekend in the Vercours
In Grenoble, there are three mountain ranges that encircle the city; The alpes, Belledonne
and the Vercours.
The Vercours is a very wild mountain range and is also where the monks of the region make their famous Chartreuse. This is a very strong alcohol that has been famous for centuries. I went to the Chartreuse museum with my boyfriend a couple of weeks ago to learn how it was made.
The monks have a secret recipe of herbs that make apparently an “elixir of life” that gives good health. The Chartreuse is made with about 20 of these herbs and has a bright green colour and a very strong taste that burns the mouth a little. I personally prefer the Yellow Chartreuse as it is less strong and has a sweeter taste. The monks still live in their Monastery in the mountains and they live off their profits of their alcohol, as well as the Elixir that you can buy in their store. Talk about profit making!
The Vercours is also where I went last weekend with the International student’s group Integre.
We stayed at a Gite which is a world for a little hostel and set off right away for a day of snowshoeing. It was great being outdoors
in the nature, even though it felt a little bizarre to be waddling around like a penguin in our oversized shoes!
We were on a vast plane, hiking up and the wind was pretty powerful up there. After we took some time to do some sledding which was a blast too. Needless to say we were pretty tired and cold when we got back to the hostel.
That night we ate well, the traditional Tartiflette (potatoes & cheese) and some good Savoyard sausages. We then got back to our rooms to get ready for the party. The theme of the party was to dress up as something/someone that starts with the letter E. I decided to be an enfant (Kid), and others were Eden, esclave (slave), encient (pregnant) etc. It was a really fun time and we danced until late in the morning.
The next day we went to the Museum of the Résistance. The resistance was a movement against Nazi run France during the Second World War. It is a part of France’s dark history where the Regime of Vichy run by Petain collaborated with the Nazis for the extermination of the Jewish people. I recently
watched a film about this topic called the “Rafle” which portrayed this horrible event. Charles de Gaulle who fled to London at the time, called up the French to fight back but in reality the Résistance involved only a minority of the population. The Vercours was where the résistance was the strongest and the region that had the most casualties against the Nazis. That is why the people of the region are so proud and is why they have a lot of Museums commemorating their efforts and the sacrifice they made.
After the museum we started our journey back home. It was a really great trip and I am glad I went because I met so many amazing people from around the world, and we are sure to get together in the near future to do something fun.
In the coming weeks...
I will be snowboarding for the last time in the Alps next weekend with some friends. It is getting so hot here that the snow will not last for long after. We will be also staying at a hostel, so It will be fun at night too I’m sure.
Other than that, eater break
is coming so I am trying to organize a little trip somewhere not that far from Grenoble. And at the end of April my parents are coming to visit me so I am very excited about that!
Still loving life and Smiling
Your travelling girl,
-Rebecca
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Robert Purdy
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What a wonderful adventure
Rebecca, you are having an adventure of a lifetime. We can't wait to see you in april. Love Dad