Angie's Awesome Americans

That's right, kids.  The rumors are true.  There's a new club in town: Angie's Awesome Americans.  Keep reading to find out more!

Wish me luck; our first club meeting is Tuesday!

Angie

My Thanksgiving Quiz

It's a big week in Savenay: Thanksgiving Week!! Ok, sure, this means little to anyone but me at this point, but my students are going to learn to love it soon! Especially having great quizzes like this one to take:

I'm really just hoping someone answers "dolphin" for #3.  It's the little things that get you through the day.

Happy Turkey Week!

Angie

UPDATE: Someone answered dolphin.

What's for Dinner: Goat Cheese and Lardon Salad

One of my favorite parts of being in France is the food.  I love when others make it, when I make it, or when I walk past it on the street.  So, I'd like to share some of my favorite meals with you, especially when they're cheap ones!

For tonight's dinner, I made a salad (€1 for the whole head of lettuce) topped with a sliced tomato (€0,20), lardons (€0,75 for a whole pack. I probably used a fourth of it for this meal.), and baguette slices (€0,27 for the whole baguette!) on which I put a slice of goat cheese (€1,20 for the log) and threw under the broiler for a few minutes. (Just the cheese logs went under the broiler!). Throw a little olive oil and balsamic vinegar on top et voilà! A wonderful and cheap (about €1 total) meal!!!

Got to love the economic life!

Until next time,

Angie

This French House Is Too Cute For Its Own Good

A Little Look at My New Reality

So is life really that different in France?  In so many ways, no.  People are people, teenagers are teenagers, and teaching strategies work everywhere.  However, there are some key differences that I'd like to bring up.  Some of them are because I'm living in France, some are because I'm living in a school, and some are just because I'm finally living on my own.  

Here's the first picture I'd like to offer to you to explain some of these similarities and differences:

Sure, it might not look like much, but it says a great deal about my life at the moment.  For instance....

- Look at that little electric stovetop deal we've got going on there.  There is, in fact, a real stovetop hidden between the electric one and the oven, but it's gas and has been turned off because we live in the school building.

- Those oven nobs.  Hieroglyphics would be more helpful.

- Check out that lid, or shall we say 'top hat' because it's just so classy.

- If you direct your gaze to the right of the oven, you'll notice the bread tower.  Here you can find out baguettes, brioche (sweet bread that, when combined with the power of Nutella, is arguably the best thing on this earth), and a new addition: donuts. (Note: we only have donuts because they were Natalie's comeback for my brioche purchase.)

- And to finish, my personal favorite: the "turned off??" sign.  This is only up because I, twice in the same day, left our little electric burners on, and nearly burned down our apartment.  What's life without moments to keep you humble, right?

Until the next installment,

Angie

Shout Out to My Roommate!

Just two little assistants in one big lycee!

Although I've thrown love at many a person on this blog, one person in particular has been overlooked for far too long: Natalie, my roommate.

I've now gone potluck on roommates twice in my life: freshman year of college, and freshman year of real life.  So far, both have been out-of-the-ballpark wins.  Eileen, my first collegiate roommate, remains a great friend, even after learning of my ranch obsession, and strange music-major sleeping hours.  And now I have Natalie, my German space sharer, who I knew would be perfect from the moment she saw me wearing my TMNT boxers as pajamas and said "those are great!"  I feel so incredibly lucky to be sharing this year with someone who cares if I'm home or not, who listens to every time that I screw up, and that is struggling through this language right along with me.  So cheers, wait, crap, prost to you, my new buddy. I can't wait to see what the future has in store for us.

Love from France,
Angie

A Quick Trip to the Coast

My wonderful friends Allison and Melina came to Savenay for the weekend to celebrate Allison's birthday, try our hand at the Nantes nightlife, and go to the beach in St. Nazaire!

See! It has sand; it's a beach!

I'm collecting cute Germans!

Note: Allison really was a cheerleader.  Learning from the best.

MirandaSings meets the French beach. Haters back off.

 Love to all!  I hope you're getting excited for my favorite holiday: Thanksgiving!

Angie.

Rail Passes: How the Magic Happened

If you've been catching up on all my posts, salivating over the great pictures of Paris, daydreaming about boat tours in Strasbourg, and wondering "How can I do that?", then this is the post for you.

Here's the step-by-step process of how I made a rail pass save me loads of euros.

1. Compare Rail Europe passes to Eurail passes.

In the past, I used a Eurail pass to travel to 4 different countries with 12 days of travel.  And what a great deal that was!  However, as I was country browsing, I realized that Eurail did not have a one-country pass for France.  Wah wah. So, Rail Europe won for this trip!

2. Decide how many days you want to travel.

In talking with my sister, we knew that we definitely wanted to see at least 3 cities.  So, we knew that we needed at least 4 days of travel on our passes.  However, we really liked the flexibility of adding one more day to our trip, so we compared some options:

3. Choose your pass.

In the end, we decided on a 5-day travel pass for France in 1st class.  There were two reasons for traveling "en premiere": 1. Because we can, and it was only a $35 difference per person. 2. It would give us many more booking options, as I knew we'd be making reservations within a month of our first travel date, and there are a certain, limited amount of bookings open on the TGV (fast train) for those traveling with a rail pass.

4. Choose your cities.

If you look through other blog posts that I've written, you'll see that we stopped in Mont-Saint-Michel, Paris, Strasbourg, and Lourdes.  And we had a few great one- or two-hour layovers in other cities like Bordeaux, Montpellier, and Rennes.

5. Book your trains.

I did all of this at an SNCF (French nation-wide railway company) ticket booth, but you can do it online as well.  (Note: I just discovered this booking online through the RailEurope site, so I can't help too much with it, but I'll definitely be trying it out in the future!) 

Depending on how long you take to make these bookings and what kind of trains you're looking at, this step can test how rapidly you can adjust travel plans, how kindly you can speak with French ticket clerks, and how willing you are to spend all day traveling to see a city.  But hang in there, the results are worth it!

6. Breathe. You've accomplished an incredible amount.

7. If you're staying overnight in a city, look at booking a place to stay!  I've been really happy with airbnb, but more on that in another post!

8. Enjoy your work! I know that I did!

Congratulations, it's time to travel.

--Angie

In the Steps of Bernadette: Lourdes

As a Catholic, I grew up watching movies about Lourdes, Bernadette, and the holy water that springs up out of the ground there.  I was lucky enough to have visited this city one time before with a good friend as I was studying abroad, and I was not about to say no when my sister asked if we could go back.

At the holy water spickets

The town of Lourdes cracks me up because it is so plainly obvious that this was just a little country town buried in the mountains until it became a pilgrimage site.  You walk off the train, and immediately see nothing but hotels, restaurants, and places to by holy water containers, rosaries, and other souvenirs.  However, once you arrive at the grotto, you understand why this city has been able to be built up around this holy site.  There is something so beautiful about all of these people from different countries coming to pray to Mary. Pretty stinking cool.

Know that you were all in my thoughts and prayers while Juliana and I were there.  We were lucky enough to be there on All Saints' Day, so we found a mass, and a candlelight rosary that evening.  We also lit a few candles for you all and left them alongside the prayers of everyone else who had visited Lourdes.

Much love to all,
Angie

The Land of Our People: Strasbourg

Having recently found out that my father's side of my family came directly from Strasbourg, my sister and I knew that we had to make a stop there on our tour of France.

Look at me! I'm an Alsacien specialty!

We really had a great time just roaming the city.  We took a boat tour, walked through the cathedral, and ate lots of Alsacien foods!

Beautiful.

I loved all the signs in French and German.

This city made me giggle because it absolutely felt like a place I could belong.  Being of German descent, I've always wished that I could speak just a little German to be able to connect with people that still live where my family once did.  However, being in Strasbourg solved that problem.  I was able to roam the streets that my great-great-great (I think that's enough?) grandparents did, while also conversing with the people I ran into.  Great stop, and I can't wait to go back!

-Angie

Where else than Paris?

As I take you through my three days in Paris with my sister, I thought it'd be easier to navigate in pictures.  Very few things we did were out of the ordinary on paper, but the fact that I was able to do them in great company made them each new and entertaining again.  So, here goes...

Trying to remake the classic ESQ picture that originated when I went to Paris with my 5 fellow music majors.

Inverted pyramid inside the Louvre. Classic.

She's so purty.

Just so much love.  So, so much love.

NERD ALERT: Found Stravinsky's fountain!

Life goal: Accomplished. Baguette sword duel in front of the Eiffel Tower.

In case you couldn't quite see the details.

Hey, look! The Arc de Triomphe!

Hello, Versailles! You'r'e looking quite elaborate today!

OMG Selfie in the HOM!

When the fountains dance, so must I.

Marie-Antoinette's house was almost as beautiful as we are.

Snack time! Macaroons and fancy hot chocolate, anyone?

Giving our art opinions.

We made it to the top of the Eiffel Tower!!

Quick stop at the Moulin Rouge.  Note: no dancing here.

All in all, this was a great 3-days stop on our journey.  I don't think there's any big site in Paris that we didn't see, or any pain that my feet didn't feel, but it was all very worth it! And there will be a blog in the very near future on how to make it all worth it without spending too much of your hard-earned cash flow.  All of the important things!

Lovesies to all,

Angie

Making the Most of 1 Day on Mont-Saint-Michel

Hello, interwebs!

You have one day on Mt.-St.-Michel.  Weather conditions: chilly, but dry.  Budget: as cheap as possible. Objective: kick that one day in the butt. GO!

Stop 1: Just get a view of that beauty.

Check this guy out!

Can it get any better? Ok, time to go home...

I mean, seriously, people.  Just seeing this abbey/prison/"Wonder of the Western World" is worth making the trip.  Upon seeing it for the first time, my sister gasped.  Literally gasped.  Maybe it's just because we learned about this beauty in French 1, and it's stuck with us ever since, but this was like seeing the Grand Canyon for the first time.  You can imagine its beauty, but then you see it and realize your musings ain't got nothin' on reality.

2. Climb up, catch your out-of-shape breath, and realize that people actually live up there.  What?!

Nice back garden, bro.

Apparently there are 30 residents up there.  Or so says Rick Steves.  Nothing says "good morning" like hundreds of tourists outside your window in the morning.

3. Attend a mass in the abbey.

You'll get a free sticker!

As a Catholic, attending this mass was unreal.  The music was heavenly.  There was something so effortless about the way that the religious were singing clean, simple harmonies that anyone, regardless of background would enjoy.  And then you realize that people have been saying mass in that exact space for over 1000 years, and you feel wonderfully unimportant and incredibly blessed.  I'm telling you, people, go hear these voices.  You won't forget it anytime soon.

And if nothing else, going to mass gives you a free ticket into the abbey!  Well, ok, sure, they give you these silly stickers to keep you out, but there were a ton of people just chilling after mass, long after they were intended to be.  (Luckily, my sister and I fell under the "gratuit" category because we're both under 26, and temporary European residents. Woohoo!)

4. If possible, tour the abbey.

Or just go to mass, and then take your sticker off afterwards...but you didn't hear it from me!

You'll get to do cool things like this...

Get stuck in the jail for idiots!

BONUS: Stumble across a free concert.

As we were winding down our day, we noticed music stands going into the smaller, parish church.  And where's there's music paraphernalia, there's a music teacher. So, we sat down and waited to see what was happening. It turns out Orquestra, this Brazilian (I think..), youth string ensemble was playing an hour-long concert as a stop on a tour.  The players were all between 12 and 21, and it was some of the highest-quality, most-entertaining string music I've ever heard.  So, when you all go to the Mont, keep an eye out for music stands!

The quality is terrible, but you get the idea....

And there it is, take the shuttle bus to the train station and head on your way.  (And if you have an extra hour, get a couple drinks with other young travelers!)

Mission Mont-Saint-Michel: Accomplished.

Where to Start?

After a week of traveling France with my sister, knowing exactly where we had to be each day, I'm not sure that I'm ready to go back to my daily routines just quite yet.  I loved knowing that every day we'd discover a new city, new food, new people, knowing that we'd get lost at least thrice (until I was finally smart enough to let Juliana take over the directions), or just be able to chill together in beautiful French cities.  So, here it is.  Today's our last day together, and rather than spending it blogging, I'm going to spend it hanging out with my bestie.  But know that this is a promise that I will update the cyber world of our travels, although I'm not quite sure where to start.  So, how about here?  With one of my favorite pictures from the trip.

Just two sisters and a tower.

I've been lucky enough to take many wonderful trips in my life, and this was certainly one of them. So, cheers to sisterhood, cheers to family, and until next time...

Peace,
Angie