C'est La Vie

Bonjour mes amis!

I have been super busy lately -- my sorority sister Rachel came to visit Clermont with her boyfriend Julien the weekend after Valentine's Day. It was so good to see them -- I definitely missed having some friends around me during my weekend!!

We went shopping at Centre Jaude and ate croissants in the mall. After we went shopping, we tried to go to Puy-de-Dome, the big mountain/volcano in my town. The drive wasn't too long, and Rachel & I chatted the whole time.

Hang gliders at Puy de Dome

When we got to the top, there wasn't any space for parking, but I did take some pictures of hang gliders. We stopped at a random spot on the side of the road to take pictures, and then we stopped again at an overpass and took photos.

Quaint little road

Clermont Ferrand from above

The big Cathedral!

Clermont, surrounded by mountains

 After Rachel and Julien left, I had the Sunday to myself and went about my week.

For Mardi Gras, Megan & Allie invited me to their apartment to have dinner. I met Allie & Megan at the grocery store a few weeks before, and I exchanged numbers with them. They were going to Bordeaux, and promised to get in touch with me when they returned. We had enchiladas and king's cake for dinner, and it was delicious. I met their roommates, Thad & Peter, who I thought would be girls -- whoops. Apparently there are 7 of them total in the program from USC, and they are others of them in different countries.

That Friday night, we went out to dinner at L'Arbre a Vin and I had escargot and duck for the first time. It was delicious. I met Deanna, another student, and since Peter was six, Thad took the four of us girls out to dinner. I had such a good time with them, they are very nice and fun people, they always keep me laughing! They are also filling me in on what they learn in class, and I am learning new verbs and French ways. They taught me the correct way to order in French and I definitely used that in Paris. After dinner, we dropped Deanna off at her apartment and went to the Gossip Lounge, a bar next to their apartment, and had a few drinks.

The next day, Saturday, we met up again at Place de la Victoire, next to the cathedral, and had a few drinks. We then went to another restaurant and had appetizers : two flatbreads and a charcuterie and cheese plate. It was DELICIOUS. I decided that I only like Cantal type cheeses... the other one's are just slightly decent in my opinion.

After that, Allie, Megan & I went shopping at some places - I bought some new clothes for Paris and a super cute dress for a date with James when he comes in May.

After shopping, we met up with the boys at an australian bar, drank again, had dinner at a restaurant, and then I went home... too much food, too much alcohol, not enough sleep.

This past weekend, I went to Paris!!!

l'Arc de Triomphe

I finally got to see Kayla last weekend in Paris... we did SO many things!! Champs Elysee, l'Arc de Triomphe, Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, and we went on a night dinner cruise ship and it was WONDERFUL!!! The meal was delicious and we had great wine and great service... it was a wonderful last evening in Paris!

Saturday night I spent time with Allie, Megan & Deanna, and met Audrey and Cecilia, Megan's French friends from her second time in France. We had raqluette, a type of cheese fondue, and afterwards we went out to a bar! It was a wonderful girl's night out and I hope to do it again soon!!