Thursday afternoon after my classes, I took a train to St. Etienne to visit my friends Emilia and Karen. We had pierogi for dinner which was nice. Then, we decided to go see Hunger Games: Catching Fire!! It was so awesome! I think I even liked it better than the first film. I would definitely go see it again. I got to see it in English with French subtitles. I really liked hearing the original voices. At some points in the movie, only Karen, Emilia, and I were laughing...lol. I think some of the funny parts were a little lost in translation.
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| Two thumbs up for Hunger Games: Catching Fire! |
On Friday morning, Emilia took me to a Polish store in St. Etienne. I got some soups and some polish raspberry tea! We even got Polish donuts (paczeki). I really have to go to that store again when I visit St. Etienne. Next, I met the girls Emilia watches, and they were so cute. Then, Emilia, Karen, and I checked out the Christmas Market in St. Etienne. It wasn’t too big but there were a variety of things for sale like clothes, christmas trinkets, jewelry, teas, etc.
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| Me, Karen, and Emilia |
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| Chillin' with Santa |
After that, we got lunch at a Kebab place. Then, we went back to the apartment and I quickly left to catch a train to Lyon. I barely made my train! I got on it about 3 minutes before it departed. Overall, I enjoyed my time in St. Etienne and I hope to be back there soon!
I met up with my friend Caroline at the train station in Lyon. She had invited me to her graduation ceremony a few months ago, and today was finally the day! We walked quickly from the station to the school. There, we met up with her family who had also arrived for the ceremony. The ceremony was a masters of finance ceremony, so there were only about 50 graduates. There were speeches, and the students dressed up in caps and gowns. There was a powerpoint that they played with photos of all of the students hanging out together which was really nice! Also, when each person came up to get their diploma, their picture and name was projected on the wall. After everyone’s name was called, all of the students posed for a picture at the front of the room. Then, they did the tossing of the caps!
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| Congrats grads! |
After the ceremony, there was a reception held for students and guests. They served all kinds of things. They had little sandwiches, chocolate covered banana, macarons, little desserts, wine, pear juice, etc. It was pretty tasty! I also got a photo with the graduate! :)
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| Caroline and I |
Then, we went out to an Italian restaurant. I had a pizza with cheese and ham. For dessert, I had some vanilla ice cream. After dinner, Caroline and I went out to meet up with her classmates.
On Saturday, Caroline drove me back to Roanne in the afternoon. I was glad to see her and her family again! They are all so nice! On the ride to Roanne, we passed some snowy areas. When I got back to Roanne, I did a little grocery shopping.
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| Lots of snow |
On Sunday morning, I got to eat the first chocolate of my Advent Calender before going to church.
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| Yay Christmas countdown! |
Then, Hector took Kim and I to Vichy for the day. We had lunch at a restaurant soon after we arrived. I had salmon with rice and this good sauce.
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| Salmon covered in a sauce with some rice |
After lunch, we walked around and saw many pretty buildings. We also looked around at the different shops. In this town, most of the shops are open on Sundays which is pretty rare. So, you can imagine that this town was filled with people everywhere. It really felt more like a Saturday afternoon.
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| Vichy building |
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| City Hall of Vichy |
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| Kim and I in Vichy |
We continued to walk around, and later we stopped by a typical sweets shop in Vichy. Here we bought some mints that are typical from this city.
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| Vichy mints |
Then, we stopped by a creperie for a hot chocolate and pastry. Kim and I shared a delicious pastry called a Paris-Brest. It was nice to have a hot drink because it was pretty cold outside.
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| Yummy Paris-Brest |
When we left Vichy, it was already dark outside! It was nice because you could see all of the christmas lights in the city.
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| Lights in Vichy |
I enjoyed the trip to Vichy and I can’t believe it’s already December!
Already listening to Christmas music,
Magdalena
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