Chocolate Mousse, Sailboats, and Au Revoir

I have officially returned to the States and this is officially my last blog entry. My mom and I are driving to Georgia for my cousin’s graduation right now and as I write this, it’s hard for me to fathom that it was simply two years ago that I was graduating and since then, I’ve been to France and back!

The weekend after I returned from Greece, I met Colleen and Clare in Paris. It was my first time to be in the heart of Paris and I fell in love with the city. I trekked from the southern side of the city to the northern side (where our hostel was located) while waiting for the girls to arrive. And as I walked, I fell more and more in love with it. The three of us agreed throughout our weekend that Paris was definitely the most magical city of all those we had visited. It seems to me that we all have this preconceived notion of Europe – it’s beautiful, magical, and luxurious, everything we’ve ever dreamed of seeing. And it is. But it’s nothing like the movies (at least not when you’re backpacking through Europe on a very low budget). So while I’ve enjoyed all the places I’ve visited, I’ve become slightly desensitized to the glory of Europe (unfortunately). However, the minute I began walking through Paris that warm, fuzzy feeling of wonderment returned and Europe was once again magical. Perhaps it’s the fact that Paris is truly the epitome of European culture or perhaps it’s just the fact that the Eiffel Tower really is all that it’s made out to be. Perhaps it’s the chocolate croissants and the beautiful architecture or perhaps it’s because the city’s been overly romanticized. Whatever the reason, we fell in love.

Friday night we made our obligatory visit to the Louvre, which really was awesome (although apparently it would take you months to see everything inside)! We grabbed dinner and then walked back to our hostel. Colleen and Clare were sweet-hearts and allowed me to teach them a lot of the French culture that I have learned. In all honesty, it was fun ordering food for them and asking for directions. And surprisingly, almost every Parisian I talked to responded to me in French! Our hostel was located in an older neighborhood called Montmartre. We had our own room which was absolutely lovely and the people there were sweet. Saturday morning we ate breakfast for free at the hostel and then walked and walked and walked! We saw Sacré-Coeur, the Luxembourg Gardens, ate lunch at a creperie, saw Sorbonne University, the Panthéon, Place de la Concorde, Champs-Elysees, Arc de Triomphe, and the Eiffel Tower by night. We picnicked in our hostel room with baguettes, cheese and wine. Très français. We also went on a wild goose search for chocolate mousse. I have a friend in my program this semester who did a summer program in Paris. So I naturally asked her for some good recommendations. She gave me the address for this restaurant that apparently has the best chocolate mousse ever. I, stupidly, did not write down the directions but simply took a quick glance at the map to see where we were going. We wandered in search of chocolate mousse for close to two hours. At the end of our search, we were deliriously hungry and began running the streets searching for nutella crepe stands. It was quite hysterical (minus our lack of chocolate mousse)! Sunday morning we saw Notre-Dame and then went on another fruitless search for a department store that was, of course, closed on Sundays. Overall, though, we had a very lovely time and it was hard, yet again, to say good-bye to Clare and Colleen. Who knows, though? Perhaps the magic of Paris will lure us back…

The next Friday was a vacation day for all of Paris which meant… no classes! My host family invited me to go to the beach with them (we’re less than an hour from the coast). I of course agreed because who could pass up a tour of the coast? Days with my host family have become somewhat comical for me because I never really know exactly what’s coming. For some reason, I’m never fully clued in on what’s happening. So I was told we were leaving at 10 on Friday morning. It ended up being just my host parents and my host brother, Thibault. My host sisters had a Scouts event (more on that later). We began the day at a little town called Guérande. It used to be a medieval fortress and it had all these cute little shops and creperies. We spent some time perusing a second-hand book shop (one of my favorite things to do) and just walked around taking in the scenery. I would most definitely love to visit it again. We then hit the beach! My host mom had prepared a sweet little picnic with sandwiches, chips, cake, and hot coffee! How very French. Anyway, we had a nice, slightly chilly, time eating. We then made a stop at a rest stop (that was actually more like ONE toilet). I went in and used it and my host mom followed. While she was inside we heard screaming and my host dad went running over to see what the problem was. Apparently, the automatic cleaners had turned on while she was in there and all of these spouts began spraying water everywhere. She came out looking quite damp, but laughing all the same!

They then took me to La Baule, which is evidently Europe’s largest beach. If someone asked me to picture a European beach, I would have pictured this beach exactly. It looked like a little town straight out of California or something. There were some beautiful neighborhoods nearby, though, and I couldn’t help thinking how fun it would be to stay in one of the gorgeous hotels we saw hidden in these neighborhoods and be seconds from the beach. Dreams, dreams, dreams… We then drove a little ways to Préfailles, which is the little beach town my host family stays in when they vacation. It was cute because my host mom turned to look at me and said, “Now when we Skype you and tell you that we were at Préfailles, you’ll be able to picture it in your head.”

After our visit to Préfailles, we went to Pornic – another little town situated right on the coast. There, my host parents offered to take me and Thibault to a creperie for dinner. It was a day and evening I’ll always remember not because of the good food but because of the good company. The whole day had led me to feel much closer to my host parents and to appreciate all they had taught me and shown me during my time in France. After dinner, we headed to the Scouts event where Marie-Emmanuelle, Tiphaine, and Adelaide had been all day. They had a big production in the evening that all the parents were invited to come see. I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned French Scouts in any of my previous entries, but the French take Scouts much more seriously than Americans do Girl and Boy Scouts. It’s a very different program (with a greater religious emphasis) that many French students decide to follow for years. Throughout my semester there, I’ve picked up on the various ideals and rituals of French Scouts. That night, however, opened my eyes to a whole new world of this amusing extracurricular activity. If I had to sum up the event in a few words, I might say that it was a Finding Nemo themed talent show gone wrong. Unable to follow what was happening (what with the crazy amount of noise), I was at least able to decipher that three boys dressed up as fish heads (no, I am not kidding – please imagine flashy fish costumes) were on a mission for a giant bottle of nutella (we’re talking human-size bottle). See what I mean? If any of you are interested in ever seeing this, please ask me. I have a video on my computer.

The following Wednesday evening was a reception at IES for all of the students and their host parents. It was an absolute blast introducing my host parents to my friends and meeting the respective host parents of each of my friends. It was so sweet to hear my host parents tell my friends how lucky they’ve been to have a student like me in their house this past semester. I responded by telling them that I was the lucky one! The Friday after that was another vacation day and once again, we were free from classes. IES had planned a trip to a winery/vineyard for us, so I spent the entire day with my IES friends. We picnicked in a little town called Clisson and just enjoyed talking while sitting in the sun. Our trip to the vineyard was beautiful. We tried two different years of wine and learned that 2005 was one of the best years for wine. After our little field trip, we ate at a creperie in Nantes that is operated on a boat. We fondly call it the boat creperie. When I returned home that evening, I discovered that the Roberts had bought a Wii! It was more than amusing to watch my host parents playing Wii tennis and all of my host siblings insisted I try Wii golf. So instead of studying, I spent the evening playing Wii with the host fam…

Saturday dawned bright and early and was (once again) one of those unexpected days with my host family. They had asked me if I wanted to go to an anniversary party for my host dad’s parents. I agreed, reasoning that it would be a good way to spend some last bit of quality time with them. When we left at 9 a.m. that morning, I had no idea we wouldn’t be getting back until close to midnight that night! My host dad’s parents live on the coast so it was a good hour and a half drive out there. After arriving, we immediately started our three-hour lunch that included appetizers, an enormous plate of every kind of seafood, lamb, vegetables, cheese, salad, a three-layer strawberry trifle cake, and coffee. I didn’t think I could possibly eat any more food after that meal. After the meal, the whole party took a walk along the beach. I ended up hanging out with Tiphaine most of the time and we had the best time joking around and conversing in French. Mr. Robert’s brother was a character in every sense of the word. For some reason, he was under the impression that I spoke barely any French. So he felt the need to translate every word he spoke in French (very slowly, mind you) into English. Tiphaine and I got the biggest kick out of this and when she recounted the story later to my entire host family, we all couldn’t stop laughing. It became a great little inside joke between us.

Sunday morning, my host family offered to take me to Talensac, which is a huge outdoor market in Nantes. We spent some time walking through there and then returned home for lunch. After a most delicious lunch, we were awaiting dessert when Madame Robert walked through the door with a huge bowl of strawberries complete with candles, singing “Happy Birthday.” I had told her once that strawberries were one of my favorite kinds of food, so for my “early birthday” celebration, she had bought a huge case of strawberries and put sugar and whipped cream on the table for a most delicious dessert. I blew out my candles and then opened two presents they had given me – a DVD on the history of Nantes and a small porcelain jewelry box that Madame Robert had painted for me. I was incredibly touched by their thought and kindness. They kept telling me how much they had enjoyed the past few months and I told them how much I had enjoyed being a part of their family. It was a sweet afternoon.

The following week was my last week in Nantes, which meant finals and daily runs to the boulangerie for pastries. All of us were feeling the “we-have-to-cram-everything-into-the-last-week” sensation and that of course meant that it was necessary to try every French pastry we hadn’t tried yet. Let’s just say that my stomach is certainly not as flat as it once was! My parents arrived Tuesday afternoon and it was the strangest sensation to see them in the train station in Nantes! But it was wonderful to see them in the flesh as compared to a webcam screen. My host parents met us on the way to the hotel and took us on a quick little tour of Nantes (unfortunately, it was raining pretty hard so that didn’t last too long). We then headed back to my host family’s house for dinner where I proceeded to translate until my brain was fried! Marie-Emmanuelle, Tiphaine, and my host dad were able to understand English pretty well and also speak it with a fair amount of ease. The two youngest and my host mom, though, were pretty lost. So with a little help from my host dad, we did a lot of translating back and forth. My host mom had prepared an enormous meal complete with full-sized fish on the table and all these specialties from the Nantes region. We all enjoyed it but my parents looked like zombies by the end of the night and so we took them back to the hotel room to sleep.

Wednesday, my parents went to Normandy for the day and I ran around doing all the last-minute things I had to do: take a final, buy Harry Potter in French, have tea at La Cigale (one of the fanciest restaurants in town), have drinks with our grammar professor (yes, she invited us over for sangria), and eat one last dinner with my host family. That evening was spent enjoying my last dinner and presenting six Nalgene water bottles (they don’t sell water bottles like those in France) as a parting gift to them. I had also written them a letter which made us all slightly teary-eyed. Thursday was a day of American and French culture mixing at its finest. My host parents and I picked up my parents at the hotel and took them to see the medieval town Guérande and La Baule. My dad loved Guérande and all the history behind it and my mom of course loved the beach. We returned for a very quick lunch before running me to my last final. My parents met me at IES afterwards and were able to meet a lot of my close friends, which was fun for me. I said good-bye to all of them and we then headed out for an afternoon touring the castle and cathedral of Nantes with my host parents. My parents (and I) were astounded by the old history and were impressed with the Roberts’ tour guide skills. That night, we once again dined with my host family and this night went much better than the first. Everyone had loosened up and was acting more themselves and the language barrier seemed to be much less of an issue. My mom and Tiphaine were teaching each other napkin-folding tricks and Thibault and my dad made paper airplanes together. It was one of the best nights I spent in Nantes as my two worlds collided.

Friday morning, we left bright and early for Paris. My host parents took us to the train station and waved and ran alongside the train as we left. It was hard for me to say good-bye because they have come to hold such a special place in my heart. But it was also more than wonderful to leave on the good note that we did. When we got to Paris, someone picked us up from the airport and took us to the apartment we stayed in. This apartment was gorgeous – Parisian, in every way with red and gold décor and classy paintings hanging on the perfectly wall-papered walls. We settled in and then spent the afternoon at the Musée d’Orsay and the Louvre. For dinner that night, we found a cute little restaurant with delicious pasta and wine. Saturday we spent the day seeing Notre-Dame, the Eiffel Tower, Champs-Elysees, and the Arc de Triomphe. I also introduced my parents to the world of crepes. And for dinner that night, we ate at a restaurant that charged us 5 euro for water and 12 euro for our desserts. Let’s just say my dad was none too happy about being ripped off!

Sunday morning my dad left (unfortunately) because he had to be back at work Monday morning. So my mom and I saw him off at the train and the two of us then headed out to the Jewish quarter to find brunch. This was another fruitless search – one restaurant was too expensive, another had a bad atmosphere, and pretty soon we were stumbling through the streets about to pass out from hunger. We eventually came across an American diner that served real American breakfast – eggs, pancakes, potatoes, orange juice, and coffee. We stood in line for close to a half hour in order to get in. But it was well worth it and we both felt much better after. Stomachs full, we walked along St. Germain Boulevard and popped into a few shops. Our final destination was a used bookstore we had read about called “Tea and Tattered Pages.” The place was owned by a little old woman who insisted that we leave our bags with her so we didn’t try to steal anything. The store itself was a little hole in the wall and all of the used books were priced at a higher price than if they were bought new. There was also a crazed orange tabby cat that ran around the store and my mom and I quite enjoyed this quirky little place. That night, we found the restaurant that serves the best chocolate mousse! Because we didn’t have a reservation, we were put at a round table with three others (a Parisian woman, and two older American men). We struck up a conversation with them and all ooh-ed and aah-ed over our food. We ate the most delicious chicken and then our entertaining French waiters brought out the chocolate mousse – in an enormous bowl. The most astonishing thing about the chocolate mousse was that the casserole sized bowl was considered ONE serving. Between my mom and me, we ate about 1/3 of the bowl and that was sharing with one of the guys at our table! This mousse really was the best chocolate mousse we’d ever eaten but it was impossible to eat more than 5 spoonfuls – it was that good. The next day, Monday, we spent the entire day shopping and finishing up all our last-minute errands. And Tuesday, we hopped on a plane and flew home!

Having my parents come to France was beyond amazing. It allowed them to get a taste of my French life. And it was a wonderful transition period for me. I was able to catch up with them and have them to myself for a whole week. It allowed me to slowly fall back into American life. And now I’m home and enjoying life back in the States. They warned us that we might experience culture shock and depression when we return but so far I’ve only felt reminiscent and nostalgic. Overall, I feel beyond blessed and grateful for the past five months. I’ve had some of the most wonderful experiences and that can only be attributed to God’s goodness.
I want to thank each and every one of you for reading this and for supporting me while I’ve been gone. Thank you for your love and your prayers. In France, we say Au Revoir which directly translated means until we see each other again.

So until we see each other again,
Madelyn