What an experience! My time in France is just about over. I’m writing this while on a train to Paris where I’ll stay before my flight back home, so sorry but this will be a sappy/reflective post. I just feel so lucky and so grateful. It’s been amazing to live with a family that welcomed me as one of their own; I feel so comfortable with them and am so fortunate that they let me into their life! Now I’ll always have a connection in France (just like they’ll always have a connection in America). It’s crazy how I was placed with a family with most of the same values and hobbies as me: they love to read and learn, walk in the mountains, and they’re laidback and relaxed. It’s been especially nice to get to spend a lot of time with Catherine. She studied physics in college, worked in Switzerland researching the acceleration of subatomic particles, lived in Italy for other research, speaks Italian and English, and now teaches math to young adults. She loves to learn and is a natural teacher, so she’s been so helpful and patient in helping me with my French. Now after I go back home, it’ll be great to stay in touch with her and the family, and hopefully reconnect in France or America (or even Namibia–who knows!). The six weeks have flown by, but I feel like I’ve known the Gullon family for so much longer! That’s one of my favorite things about traveling; connecting with people around the world so that it feels like I have a home everywhere.
I don’t think an experience like this could have gone any better. We both had to take a chance; although the Gullons and I were connected through a company, there was no guarantee that this experience would have worked out. But I couldn’t have expected anything better! It’s funny how life works when you reach out and make yourself vulnerable, usually the most learning and good comes from it. My mom told me as she was driving me to Denver before I left that she thought this experience sounded amazing because she didn’t think she would have the courage to do it. But I disagree, because she’s one of the people who taught me to be open and understanding of differences in others, and to always see the best in people. So with that mindset, the world doesn’t look so scary. And since I just finished The Alchemist (in French, woohoo!) and it always speaks to me differently when I read it, this time it was this quote that stuck with me: <<La plupart voient le monde comme quelque chose de menaçant et, pour cette raison même, le monde devient en effet une chose menaçante.>> or “Most people see the world as a threatening place, and, because they do, the world turns out, indeed, to be a threatening thing“. Yes, there are bad things that happen; yes, life can be dangerous. But are our fears real or are we making the fear of the thing bigger than the fear itself? (I know there’s some famous quote that says that better). I am fortunate in my life to have many privileges that have allowed me to feel like this. But in my life experiences so far, I’ve found every reason to believe that the world and the people in it are good and wonderful. Though there are exceptions, of course, I’d rather try to look positively at the world. At the core, we all want the same things: to be safe, to be happy. This idea gets complicated for many different reasons, but when I go travel and see the world, I crave for this human connection, this exchange between one life and another. It’s been so amazing to cultivate this connection in France, and I hope to continue to do so at every place I find myself. [Wow, this train made me feel very philosophical. Must be these last stretches of French countryside that I don’t think I’ll be seeing for again for a few years!]
On to more abstract things: how did I spend my last few days?
We really planned our trip to the cabin perfectly because the afternoon we returned home and the entire next day it rained and rained; it even snowed higher up in the mountains where the cabin was. It was a nice sign of things coming full circle though: it snowed when I arrived, and it snowed again as I was leaving. It just wasn’t a nice sign for exploring things outside. But the days were good nonetheless! We spent part of one rainy day in a church/museum where an artist from Grenoble spent his life painting the entire church, for free. He had a very unique style, particularly for a Catholic church, especially one in Europe. I loved his colors and he even designed the stained glass windows for a basilica (or cathedral; can’t remember…what’s the difference, anyway?) in Grenoble that we got to see the next day! The basilica is only half-finished but it was Gaudi-esque in terms of the color (and the fact it isn’t finished).
On my last night, the Gullon’s really spoiled me. We had an outstanding French meal. Aperitifs: vin de noix, that Catherine’s mother had made, something flowery from Italy I forgot the name of, and a Chartreuse (Side note: have you ever heard of anything described as the color of chartreuse? It was one of those colors I always had to Google; turns out the color is based on a centuries-old liquor made at a monastery right in the mountains around Voreppe; there’s something like 300 different types of plants used to make it and the recipe is a secret: only 2 monks at a time know the recipe. It’s also the only liquor to naturally obtain this crazy green color. And after trying the chartreuse right where it’s made, it’s not a color I will ever need to Google again). To go with all that liquor, I dined for the first time on foie gras, which I loved. For all my family reading, it’s basically a fancy version of pasztet (so Danielle, you would love it; we’ll find some when I get home). After, we had an entrée of quenelles lyonaises. It’s a regional dish typical of Lyon, with gnocchi-like pieces of pasta (but softer and better tasting) smothered and baked in a tomato sauce with mushrooms and olives. It took Catherine two days to prepare the pasta dough, and you could just taste all the love and home-cooking. So good. With the entrée and the rest of the meal, we also drank a delicious white wine (I forget which).
Now, think of all the typically French dishes you know of and try to guess what we ate for the plat principal…
Croques-monsieur? No, not for dinner, silly!
Ratatouille? No, not that.
Crêpes? No; been there, done that.
Foie gras? See the aperitif.
Escargot? Getting warmer…
Cuisses de grenouille? We have a winner!
What is cuisses de grenouille you ask? Why frog legs of course! I mentioned I had never tried them, so Catherine and Lionel decided it was time I (and the children) did. And they were surprisingly difficult to track down for being such a stereotypical French dish (I’ll spare you the tangent about stereotypes here and just keep talking about food), and when we finally did they didn’t even come from France, but Indonesia! Regardless, we ate the frog legs both cooked in just butter and then also garlic and marjoram. Although they are a “delicacy”, you just eat them with your fingers. When they are cooked, the legs spread out and it really looks like the headless frogs are going to jump off your plate. A little bizarre, but delicious! We also had an assiette de fromage (cheese platter) after; Catherine and I splurged at last Friday’s market and bought cheese from a vendor who has won tons of accolades across France and the world for his cheeses. There was the chèvre with framboise (raspberry), the one with truffle oil, the one with hot pepper flakes, and the one of brebis (sheep). They were amazing. I will miss French cheese so much. To top the feast all off, Célestin and Laurette made a saucisson du chocolat (chocolate sausage) which I know sounds funny but was delicious! I forgot how they made it, but I think it’s just melted chocolate with butter (and maybe cream) and crushed biscuits, then rolled into a sausage to cool. I’m hesitant to describe it as a Tootsy Roll because it was so much better than that, but that is the closest thing I can think of to describe it.
The best part of the meal, however, was everyone surprising me with a gift! It was like my birthday: Catherine printed a group photo of us from one of our hikes, Célestin carved my name into a plank of wood and put on his favorite pictures from our time together, Zoé made me these delicate origami star earrings and used my favorite photo I took in France (a very difficult choice; she asked me a few days before but I didn’t know why) and made a painting out of it, Laurette decoupaged a wooden cat for me to look like my cat Szary, and Lionel got me two books in French: one on quotes from French writers and another philosophical one on the self and happiness. I was so touched, and it was such a surprise! A perfect night to end this experience.
The next day, after one last lunch and café at home, Catherine drove me to Lyon to catch my train to Paris! We had a few quick hours to speedwalk around the old town and hike up to a basilica that overlooked all of Lyon. It was only a glimpse of the city of Lyon but I loved it! It was so nice to enjoy one last promenade with Catherine, and it was hard to say goodbye. I’ve had such a wonderful time here in the mountains of France, and I hope I can one day come back. Or next time host the Gullons in America!
I started writing this in France; I’m ending it in Germany at the Munich Airport. Plane travel is amazing. Now all there’s left to do is listen to my Bridget Jones’ playlist, do some crosswords, and watch 8 hours worth of French films. After, I’ll be back home (almost) to spend a weekend in Breckenridge with all the besties! La vie est belle, n’est-ce pas?
Au revoir France!
[P.S. Hope you didn’t mind my long saga on food; I just can’t help it.]
See you all soon! (Or at least talk to you soon from the same time zone again)
Stained glass by Arcuba, the artist from Grenoble.
More works by Arcaba
Foie gras! Nom nom.
Before
During (I forgot an after in my haste to eat!)
Just look at that beautiful array of cheese!
Old Lyon street
After hiking to the top to the basilica, we noticed a bunch of people dressed in uniform. We thought it was the French military, but after listening a little closer I thought it sounded too familiar to be French; the little Polish flags on their right shoulder confirmed they were some military/government group from Poland! No idea why they were there, but there was a statue of JPII in front of the basilica as well, and when there are big Catholic churches and things dedicated to the beloved Polish pope, it tends to draw all the Poles (including me, I guess!).
Lyon has two rivers flowing through it, forming a big peninsula in the middle where most of the old town is located.
This basilica was built in honor of Mary in hopes to prevent the plague from ravaging the city of Lyon like it had the rest of Europe (it worked).
The inside of the basilica was one of the most unique I’d ever seen!
Basilica view from down below.
Last Parisian sunset for a while!
A bientôt France!