ma famille!

Salut!

To say that this week passed quickly would be an understatement!  My mom, dad, and sister all traveled to France to visit me and we had a lovely time.  Prepare yourself for a long blog post…I’ll try to include more pictures than words so that this post is easier to get through, but there is just so much to include!

December 22: We visited the Paris Opéra, which was a first for all of us.  I was surprised how much of the building we could see, and it was very pretty and elaborate.  Claire was in Architecture heaven.

Claire checking out the floor plan of the Opéra.

The lower entry way of the Opéra.

The unusual ceiling in the performance hall.

Dad, Claire, and I in the Opéra.

We also discovered the best hot chocolate in Paris.  If you go to Paris in the future, go to Angelina’s…it is a bit touristy, but you can tell from dad’s face that it is beyond delicious.

Mainlining chocolate.

We also walked along the Champs d’Elysee which was covered in lights.  Every year they put lights up (which makes the darkest part of the year a lot more cheery), and this year they kept it relatively simple.  Most of the French I know were actually disappointed by the lights, calling them “hula-hoops” with a sour expression on their face.  Although it was simple, I thought it was cool that the hula-hoop lights would change color!

Yellow lights.

Red lights.

Blue lights.

December 23:  We took a cooking class.  YUM.

Cheese shop.

Outdoor fish market.

Fruits and veggies market.

Bucher's shop.

The chef with our little quails.

Watching the chef cook.

Chopping chives.

Preparing the food.

Dad was in charge of slicing one of the duck breasts.

Our stew.

The quail.

The cheese plate.

Fyi, the round cheese second from the bottom left corner is from the region where I'm living (Berry).

Folding in the egg whites.

Chocolate sufflés.

December 24:  After last minute shopping in the morning, we went to mass at Notre Dame.  I don’t think I’ve ever sat in a colder church in my life.  Claire and I also bought a Bûche de Noël, or the “log of Christmas” that is the typical Christmas dessert.  We went back to our very favorite patisserie that is behind the Assemblée Nationale, and the man recommended the white chocolate Bûche de Noël.

The pastry shop.

Mom and Dad on the way to church with the Ile de la Cité behind them.

December 25: We kept it low key for Christmas- here are pictures from Christmas day!

Our little christmas tree.

Mom and I saw a rainbow on our Christmas morning walk.

Gifts!

The white chocolate Bûche de Noël.

December 26: STRASBOURG!  With an early morning train from Paris, we made it to Strasbourg right before lunch. The original reason of the visit was to see the Christmas Markets, but we also squeezed in some tourism!  It was so much fun to revisit all the popular places in the city where I had studied abroad, and revisit all the cafés and such that my friends and I frequented during the summer of 2010.

At the top of the Cathedral.

Climbing the tower.

This should look familiar to my Strasbourg readers (aka Kat)!

Typical Strasbourg architecture.

Christmas Markets outside the Cathedral.

The stands have the most random assortment of things from food to trinkets.

The inside of one of the booths.

Mom and Dad with their "vin chaud" (mulled wine).

Claire and I opted for the hot apple cider.

Place Guttenberg with the massive Christmas tree.

December 27: Last day in Paris.  Mom, Dad, and I walked around Paris in the morning and picked up presents for the Lefevre/Boulot family.  In the afternoon, Claire and I met up with her friend from GT, David, who is a native Parisian, and he showed us some parts of the city that were unfamiliar to me and that were architecturally interesting to Claire! 

David, I told you that I've give you a shout out!

The Parisian using a map.

The Centre Pompidou.

Architecture students in front of the building.

December 28: We returned to Issoudun.  I cannot express how amazingly welcoming Mireille, Pascal, and Laura were to my family!  They took my family out to the aeroclub in the afternoon and then we took them out to dinner at the fancy Issoudun restaurant. 

Sign towards aeroclub.

Mireille suiting Mom up with the parachute

Pascal and Mom climbing in the glider plane.

Happy Mommy.

Head sets on, glider plane closed up, and ready to go!

The glider plane on the runway.

View from above of Issoudun.

The runways for the aeroclub are the brown grassy strips.

Beyond Pascal flying, you can see how rural this area is outside of Issoudun.

Yay they landed safely!

December 29:  The family left (*sniff*).  But before they left, I walked them around my town and showed them my schools, the two churches, centre ville, the white tower, and the belfry.  After a morning full of walking, Mireille made a wonderful meal and we ate together at the house before they had to catch their train back to Paris.

Family in front of the white tower.

In the centre ville of Issoudun.

All in all, a great week.  If you made it all the way through this post, kudos to you, faithful reader. 

Keep in touch!