May 23rd: The Heart of Troyes

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Today was the day following the big Gala here at UTT. For other people, it was probably a rough day, although many people, including myself, seemed to have been very responsible the night before. As a quick overview, today we were going into downtown Troyes to first have lunch, they take a tour, and finish with dinner. After that, we were to head back to UTT to get ready for our big day at the lake on Monday.

Our scheduled departure time for downtown was 12:00pm. I went to bed at 3am following the Gala, and due to the lack of an alarm in the morning, my roommate and I woke up at 11:55am the next day. Obviously this didn't give us a lot of time to get ready, so I just threw on some clothes and headed downstairs. So far, showering here has been optional as we've been very busy and very tired. Disgusting, I know. Anyways, we met the entire group (about 50 people) downstairs to ride the bus downtown. Considering about 35 or so of us had to purchase a bus pass (in French, nonetheless), it took us quite a while to board the bus. Once we got on, it was about a 10 minute ride down to city hall, our stop. When we got there, I was really surprised. I had the expectation, although I'm not sure why, that Troyes was going to be a very small town that wasn't very attractive. On the contrary, it turned out to be a gorgeous, quaint French town with a lot to offer. The buildings, even on just opposite sides of the street, ranged from a very modern, Parisian style to an older French look. By city hall, there was even a carousel. It was beautiful.

After we met at city hall, we walked about 2 minutes off the square to our breakfast restaurant. We split into two groups, but for whatever reason they made us all go to the same restaurant, only half of us sitting inside and half of us outside. I was in the outside group. Because there were so many of us, getting set up, ordering, and bringing our food out to us took forever. If I remember correctly (which I may not; it's been 3 days now), the meal in its entirety took 2.5-3 hours. I know the French are leisurely, but this was nuts. Everyone ordered their food, but due to the sheer number of people, the waiters weren't able to keep straight who ordered what, so it was kind of a free-for-all when they brought out the food. They walked up and down asking whose food was whose until they found the right person. A lot of people even finished their meals before some people got theirs. I'm not complaining, though, as it was a fantastic day outside weatherwise. I ordered a steak crepe, and it was delicious. The French give smaller portions than in the U.S., so it was a bit less filling than I'm used to. In the end, it all worked out, although a lot of people were looking for more.

Next we moved on to see 4 out of the 9 churches/cathedrals they have in Troyes. I don't know any of the names and I couldn't venture a guess if you were to ask me, but they were all very pretty. The most fantastic one was a certain cathedral where the king ran out of money to finish building the second tower, so only one was constructed. Apparently, this cathedral is very famous and distinct because of this, so someone reading this blog may be able to provide me with the name. Anyways, it turned out to be a very long walk around Troyes, which was bigger than I expected. I got a lot of good pictures, though, as I figured taking pictures on a tour of Troyes would mean I wouldn't have to bring my camera with me on future visits to the city. As you all my find out when I can finally post my pictures (in the U.S.), it's a wonderful city.

Once the tours of the churches had concluded, around 5:45pm, we were given free time. Four of us decided to branch off from the majority of people and go for a crepe. These people, as it turns out, are who I've been hanging out with the most... Lee, Parin, and Luis. At first, we had the hardest time finding out where to go to relax for an hour because everything is closed in the French countryside on the weekends. Finally, we were able to find a nice little crepe shop owned by a very friendly couple that spoke a bit of English, too. We all ordered a beer and a crepe with dinner. My crepe consisted of vanilla ice cream with cinnamon, cinnamon apples, and caramel, along with the crepe. Obviously, these are not the rolled crepes we have in America. I think Google Images is a good way to look up what I'm referring to if you don't know already. It was the best crepe I've ever eaten! We had to rush through our meal, though, because we had to be to dinner by 7 o'clock.

We were able to make it to the rest of the group on time, and all 50 of us went off in one big group, again, to dinner. This time, it was a much better setup, which I expected because it was our "welcome dinner." When we got there, the director of the International Center chatted with us briefly, welcoming us all here and telling us a bit about the program. Then, she released us to the food. The food setup was much different that what I've had before. It was a series of courses, with great variety I might add, with small samplers of different foods, rather than an entree. I tried pretty much everything, and I only came across one thing I absolutely did not like. The best part was dessert, which consisted of chocolate mousse, strawberry mousse, pineapple and passion fruit mousse, and creme brulee (yes, I like to eat). Following the conclusion of the meal, we all headed back (on bus, yet again) to the dorms. A small group of people stayed behind to visit some of the city bars, but today was not the day for me to do so. I was POOPED.

Upon my return, I think I may have updated my blog and talked to my mom for a while. Once it got too late, I began to crash and went to be. Besides, we had to be up at 8am for a day at the Lac de Orient tomorrow, so why not go to bed at a reasonable hour? It was a nice, relaxing day with a good introduction to the town, so I was satisfied. Up next: another day of doing nothing at the lake!

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Comments

[Dad]

What a great day!
Dear Patrique, You certainly have had an active and fun-filled couple of days upon your arrival. It seems that you are discovering your "inner frenchman" especially in regard to the food ! It is delightful reading your day-by-day account of thee first few days. I'm glad you are off to a good start and having a really good time. My census work ends tomorrow and then I can go back to being unemployed/retired. It's been a good experience but I'm glad it is almost over. Bon nuit (did I get it right? probably not...) Lots of love, Daddy