Visitors, cooking, and all that fun stuff...

Here is me with my visitors, my mom and Mrs. Johnson, we took a day to hit some of the local highlights.

Micah and Debbie came along with us and we had a picnic along the way

Oopps, someone caught me putting in a little more garlic

Our first group, and already trying new things, Potee

Mrs. Johnson at work putting together clafouti

Here Micah and Jay were ripping down vines and got a record length one, yes the thing on the ground is a vine.

Birthday's, Picnics and Lizards oh my!

Everyone likes a good suprise birthday party.

As today is Melody's birthdy we had a party last night for her.

Being that pinics are easy and can be done fairly spontaneously we wind up doing them rather a lot. Here we are on our day off picnicing on a nearby hill and playing some games. In the picture from left to right Melody Brickel, Micah Cerasani, an intern for a month, me, and Debbie Hocking.

The lizard population is alive and well here in saint Albain, too well. My co-workers cat caught one then let it go in their house, we found it later when Debbie went to grap her sweater and found the tailless lizard.

Morning in Saint Albain

Return to Saint Albain

This is the new "chez moi", the favorite part of my house being the lovely back porch with a view of the village.
This is my house from the front nice and little.

The worst part of this house is the commute to the chateau everyday, as you can see it is a long way.

This was our first picnic of the year here in Saint Albain, as you can see it was too exciting for words.

Last Days in Lyon

Our class for the month of April minus one, from left to right: Quan Ng, Carlos, Chihiro, Masako and I

Being the end of the month we took our monthly outing with the class in Lyon. This month we went to visit the Traboules, a type of passage way. In Lyon, they were originally used by silk manufacturers and other merchants to transport their products and are often credited as one of the reasons why the occupying Nazis were unable to take complete control of these areas during World War II. The layout of Old Lyon is such that there are very few connecting streets running perpendicular to the river. These shortcuts thus allowed workmen and craftsmen to transport clothes and other textiles through the city while remaining sheltered from inclement weather.

Entrance to the first of the Traboules in at the Croix Rousse a part of Lyon.

It was a bit sad as it was the last day for many of us before spliting up to do diffrent things. Some of my classmates returned home to their homelands, some are going on to university here in France, and a very few are staying at Alliance.

Chicoza, Me, Chihiro, Carlos, and Masako at our teacher's house

After our afternoon of walking we had an international potluck dinner at one of our teachers house with most of us from the class in January. It was a nice way to end our time together for those of us together for the last 4 months of studies.

Life is short ... eat dessert first!

1 pastry crust
2/3 C cream
1/4 C milk
200g of chopped, best quality chocolate
1 egg

Butter a tart pan. Roll out crust to about and place in the tart pan. Preheat oven to 400F and bake the pastry shell for 10 minutes. Bring cream and milk to the boil in a saucepan. Take it off the heat and add the chopped chocolate. Whisk until the mixture is shiny. Add a beaten egg and mix well. Pour the mixture into the crust and bake in a preheated 300F oven for 15-18 minutes. The filling should be set but not hard.
Serve warm or cold.

What's New in Lyon?

As spring comes alive in Lyon so do the street corners with art. For the last several years Lyon and Quebec have done an art exchange. Lyon with Lions and Quebec with their symbol the polar bear. Being that they are art they are rather interesting to see, I'll give you a little preview.

In my life, things are going by fast. My last day of classes at Alliance Francaise is Friday, and next Thursday I will be moving up to the Chateau. I have really enjoyed my time here in Lyon and all the new experiences in the french culture at a new level.

So, yes, all good things must come to an end, who ever thought that the struggle of learning another language could be such a pleasant thing. In the begining not me, that's for sure.

The future is so very near,

The past is not so far,

How hard it is to be content

Where presently we are.

Cruising down the river

We walked by the Rhone River looking at the numerous barges.

Sunday is traditionaly the day for family, eating together and then going for a stroll through the park or through the contryside. If you don't have family nearby then you spend time with friends. I spent this afternoon with a lady from the Lyon church. After lunch we took advantage of the lovely spring day to go for a walk through Lyon.

We went to the Parc Tete D'Or and visited the creatures in the zoo.

We also visted the parks botanical gardens.Lyon is in full bloom. I love the cherry trees.

Well that's what I saw when I was cruising by the river today in Lyon.