Quelques petites choses... (A few little things...)

After looking at my last few posts and realizing I'm well on my way toward a novel just about the first three weeks here, I've made it a personal goal to write less and write more often.  We'll see if I can keep to it.

As I think back over the week and weekend, I can't help but realize that my life is still filled with "firsts," and as such, I thought I'd highlight some of my recent first experiences in France:

On campus, today..... first time I visited the University's arboretum, which is a lovely space filled with over 50 different varieties of trees

Aix-Les-Bains, Sunday....first time I've gotten stopped by a random French lady who didn't ask for directions, but on the contrary, asked if my friend and I wanted a tour of the historic 19th century palace in which she lived!  um, YES please.  It was a most random but remarkable of experiences!

La Spendide, Saturday....One of the palaces she took us into that was home to the oldest original, operational elevator in France... older than the one in the Eiffel tour!  It was gorgeous: the lift, made entirely of rich, elegant wood, glided (a bit unsteadily) up or down within a tunnel of iron grate, the ornate kind that spiraled into flowers and was graced with bits of gold.

Lyon, Friday....First try at ordering a main entree when I had no idea what it would be.  It looked interesting enough, and even after (mostly) enjoying it, I still had no idea what I had eaten.  A few days later, the identity of the mystery dish was discovered: blood sausage.  A bunch of pork ground up, mixed with pig's blood.  Alrighty then.  Every traveler has to have an experience like that, and I certainly can check it off my list now.  (I'm also making a list of things NOT to eat again.....'boudin noir' is number one. ;-)

Cathedral de Fouvriere (Lyon), Friday....First 19th century church I've walked into that was so stunningly elaborate.  Mosaics all over the floor, the walls, the ceilings.

Le Feu (the christian group for students), Thursday.... first time praying out loud in french with two french believers. A very humbling experience; a very encouraging experience.

Chambery, Saturday morning.... First time I've missed a train in Europe!  My friend Renee and I were headed to Aix-Les-Bains and the connecting train information was a bit ambiguous....we stood on the platform and literally watched our train leave! But the hour wait for the next one allowed us to wander into Chambery where there was a huge outdoor market.

Auberge de Jeunesse d'Aix, Saturday night.... first stay in a youth hostel!  It was a great experience and we had a splendid talk with the host and hostess before we left!

Hotel du Casino, Sunday night... First classical music concert in Europe, played by European musicians (Vienna Philharmonic soloists at THAT!), on European soil.  I can't describe how much music touches my soul or how ecstatic I was to listen to Xavier the harpist play a piece by Claude Debussy (my favorite composer, who is FRENCH!).  I wanted to die of happiness.

Forest area, Aix, Sunday.... First spotting of french boy scouts! Cooking sausages. ;)

Fountain in Aix.... the first time I had the pleasure of filling up my water bottle with water straight from a public statue/fountain!  Aix-Les-Bains is home to thermal springs, and thus to good fresh mountain water that they indicate you can drink!

Tonight.... First time I'll go to bed before midnight in quite a long time.   I'm quite worn out from this past week/weekend!

Good night, friends.  Your prayers and comments get me through the many ups and downs of adjusting to my new life here, so thank you again, from my heart.