Anncey, France

Ok so by now I have had a few days to get my bearings straight here. This past Friday was spent just in orientation of the program. So not bad at all. We had a little bit of the afternoon to prepare for the French placement. I was the first to go, I honestly wanted it over with. My prep with Rosetta Stone did help out a lot. After that the afternoon was ours. My roommate, Emily, and I wanted to take a trip to a town called Annecy. So we started planning, well more so her than me. We had to get help with the train situation (which was a slight headache) but then it all worked out and we got a taxi called for us, had a hotel room booked and we were set.

A fellow student, Matt, decided to tag along with us to Annecy. The taxi came to early in the morning to take us to the train station and thus began our journey. We made it to Annecy, which was much larger than we had thought it would be. But I later found out it was the capital of Haute-Savoie region.  The old part of town, which Emily and I stayed in, was a maze of winding narrow roads crossing over and running beside canals. It was flooded with people. We all grabbed a quick bite just outside our hotel and began exploring the town.

We found a chocolate shop by Yves Thuriès, one of the chef’s of our school ENSP. His store was not bad at all. I got a chocolate caramel square and a chocolate tart… Absolutely perfect. The three of us took our goodies to this lakeside park to enjoy them. It was relaxing and fun to just people watch.

When I bit into that chocolate tart, everything that was going on around us faded. The velvety smooth texture of the chocolate with the crisp crunch of the crust was an experience. I’ve never had anything quite like it. Same goes for the chocolate caramel.

We continued to explore the town and we later all met back up and got dinner at a restaurant that served fondue… we thought it was fitting since we were in a region that is known for their cheese. We were right beside a canal at this café. We were served a big dipping pot of cheese and all of us got a plate of a few cold cuts (prosciutto, ham and some type of salami I think) and a small salad. Of course there was a basket of bread on the table. We had some of the house red wine and then dessert was a pot of melted chocolate with fruits and marshmallows to dip. Went great with my coffee.

 

The next day we took a boat ride on the massive glacial melt lake. It was an hour long but the lake was so clear that it looked like water you would see in the Caribbean. Didn’t learn too much about the lake b/c it was mostly in French and I couldn’t understand the accent. Worth it regardless. Walked more around town and indulged in ice cream. I got nutella, citron and small free scoop of vanilla. Then the second time I got tiramisu. Emily got citron and raspberry with almond scoop, and then she got chocolate noir. Matt got chocolate noir and something else. And then he got grand mariner and something. I can’t remember. But we enjoyed the markets and walking around and seeing what they had and also saw an interesting window display at a lingerie… squirrels were in the display so I’m not sure what the message was suppose to be… You can decide for yourself.. We got a kick out of it to say the least.

 

Day One

Ok so today is my first day in Yssingeaux, France But before I got here I had to do all that traveling. I’m not that big of a fan of flying really. But it is necessary to get around the world in a timely manner. But anyway, I had to go through my whole anxiousness 3 times. I’m fine while in the air but the take-off and landing make me nervous. But besides all that I obviously made it. Made a friend on the Memphis to Atlanta flight. Nice older man who was on his way to a friends in St. Louis that he was in the service with. It seemed like the two of them saw a lot while together. Spoke politics with him, showed me pictures of his 20 y/o cat (so of course I showed him photos of my 9 y/o lab and my momma's French bulldogs), and even got to talk food with him. Made that flight much easier. I had to run to catch my flight to Amsterdam... Barely made it but left enough time to call home. That flight was not fun... Lady I was sitting next to... didn't smell so pleasant, the man in front of me was in my lap pretty much the whole flight and moved so much that I wasn't able to put my head down to sleep, crying baby and couldn't watch a movie b/c the control didn't work... I could only watch the preview for one movie. That was all I could do. But the connection in Amsterdam was not bad at all. Customs were rather quick and got to use my the German I know during the check point. Was a little intimidated by the officials with their guns but they actually smiled at me. Had some conversations in German (finally getting to use it). 

Made finally to Lyon, got on the bus to Yssingeaux to the school, Ecole Nationale Supérieure de la Pâtisserie , and we (all the students in the program) are getting to stay at the chateau b/c of construction taking place at the bungalows we are suppose to be staying at. Jet lag isn't that bad for me (slept a whole 12 hrs last night... was in bed by 9 and woke up at 9!). 

The town of Yssingeaux is beautiful and small. Everything is within walking distance. Just have to hop on a bus to the train station in Lyon or two others in smaller towns but bigger than Yssingeaux. So far things have been great. It has been fun communicating with others. The little French that I know and their broken English makes it interesting. But for now I'm heading down to town to get a few things. I'll post some pictures on here soon. 

One Week

A week from today I'll be heading to Yssingeaux, France for a baking and pastry internship. I'll be attending Ecole Nationale Supérieure de la Pâtisserie or ENSP for short. I can't believe that it is finally time to head over there! I'm ready to get over there and get the adventure started!
I'm looking forward to updating this blog for everybody to keep up with me while I'm abroad. I've named this blog "South Meets South" because I'm from the American South and this will be my first time in the South of France. Sooo "South Meets South" was a logical title. I plan on writing about all my experiences while I'm over there to keep y'all (friends and family) with what I'm up to and learning over there. I plan on uploading photos and maybe even some videos for y'all to enjoy. I can't make any promises on how often I'll be updating it, but hopefully every other day. 
The other day I got my EuRail Pass in the mail! That was a surreal moment for me. Well more so a moment of "Oh my! It is finally time for me to get over there! " Then a flood of all the stuff I felt like I had to do/get done before I leave. Luckily it is nothing major like "get a passport," I know I procrastinate but not that badly. More so on the lines of "I need to get a packing list going. What should I put in my carry on..." list goes on so I won't bore you with that. 
I'm going to end this for now and maybe the next time I post I'll be abroad :)