Félicitations

My cousin from Paris graduated from engineering school in Lyon yesterday, and thus, félicitations (congrats) are in order. He is 25 and is already fluent in the four languages that I would like to be fluent in. And he has a job with an aeronautics engineering company that will station him in Shanghai. I feel envious, and very proud to call him my cousin. Anyways, I had the pleasure of going with him, his girlfriend, and two uncles to see his graduation. Apparently the school he went to is quite prestigious. There were many well known figures present at the graduation to give speeches. One was a head executive of a company within the company my cousin is now working for. Another is a very well-known French female sailor who has sailed thousands of miles of ocean waters. Although the speeches were a little hard to understand for me, I had a great time just sitting there with my family. Lord knows I missed them. There were also free drinks and snacks so I can't really complain :).

After the graduation ceremony, we all stuck around to meet some more of Alex's friends. I really had a fantastic time even though I was always lost once they started whipping out their French. Fortunately, mine is slowly improving! When the friends were introduced and the food was finished, Alex, his girlfriend, and I went back to downtown Lyon and ate dinner at "La Traboulerie". It was probably the first AUTHENTIC lyonnaise food I have eaten since arriving in Lyon. (Warning: the menu you are about to read may make you gag in disgustingness. This is not for the weak stomached) I ordered from the menu and had the "Assiette Traboulerie" and the "Quenelle Lyonnaise de Brochet". The first plate consisted of Tripes Lyonnaises, Museau, pied de veau, pommes de terre, and lentilles. In English, that translates into pig tripe, pig nose, pig feet, potatoes, and lentils. It was all tasty and the odd texture of the "meat" was expected. The only thing that caught me off guard were the little hairs that I found in my dish. I think they were pig nose hairs? But I ate it anyways. The next dish is a little more "normal" in the American sense of what food is. It is almost like a savory cake with butter, fish, flour, and eggs. It was rolled into a long log and a wonderful orange butter based sauce was poured over it. It has a mousse like bread consistency with the slightest taste of fish. SO GOOD. The whole thing just kind of melts in your mouth. It came with a side of herbed rice and scalloped potatoes. Absolutely delicious. I sopped up all the excess sauce with the free tasty bread. My cousin and his girlfriend ordered the fried veal tripe which was equally tasty, but I had a preference for my dish. We finished off the meal with a bottle of wine and a shot of some digestive alcohol that came as compliments of the restaurant. 

To add onto the greatness of the day, Alex's girlfriend invited both of us for a ride on the HUMONGOUS ferris wheel that was installed in Place Bellecour a couple of days ago. All the carts are heated, so fortunately, we did not have to sit out in the cold. We went in a huge circle four times before coming to a stop and were able to see all of Lyon from a beautiful view. 

To top off the night, we all went to Alex's graduation Gala after dinner. A bus was provided as transportation and took us to the gigantic venue. It had 5 different sections, each with their own band of musicians. There was a range of music, dancing, and performances. There was even a fashion show with a Lingerie section! The music, drinks, and people were all wonderful. We were even able to get a free bottle of champagne through some of Alex's connections. Thankfully, I took my time drinking and was able to drink quite a bit without feeling sick or drunk. I can't say the same for about 70% of the other people who attended though. What really made my night though was trying out a trumpet. We ran into one of the band members in the Band section and he let me try playing his trumpet. Let's just say a trumpet is much harder to toot than it looks. It took me a good four tries before any sound actually came out. 

Oh and before I forget, LYON HAS SNOW!! BOO YAH.

Morbid Tranquility

It's one of those days where you do things just to pass the time. I woke up because I wanted to, not because I had to. I feel like, lately, I have been on autopilot. I do what I need to do to get through the day and just wait for the next one to come. I even spent the past two and a half days watching a Korean drama, in part, because I had nothing else to do. My friends were travelling to different cities in France for the day and I was stuck in Lyon. Despite the fact that I had no company, I still decided that it was about time to get my butt out of the house and do something a little more productive.

For the first time in about a month and a half, the sky was completely clear and the sun was out. Though I slept through a good part of the morning and spent the early afternoon surfing the internet, there was still enough time to take a long walk and enjoy the beautiful cool weather. I had a lot on my mind and thought it would be a good stress reliever anyways. With no direction in mind, I made random turns and passed through unknown streets until I was in front of the cemetery. I stepped in, and automatically felt a sense of calmness. I know it sounds a little odd, especially since cemeteries are often associated with death and sorrow, but this cemetery honestly gave me some peace of mind. It was quite enchanting to the soul, romantic even. I spent a good hour or so just weaving in and out of the different plots and captured pictures of things that caught my eyes. Some things were sad, others were happy.

I'm not really sure why, but a majority of the tombstones were covered in flowers. It may have been for "Armistice" day in France. The flowers really enhanced the beauty of the cemetery though. I could have walked through that cemetery for much longer if the sun wasn't starting to set. Some of the tombstones were quite beautiful as well. Many, often were for families instead of individuals. 

Aside from the cemetery, I also had the pleasure of seeing mother nature at her most beautiful season (or at least in my opinion.) It's odd, but I love nature the most when everything is about to die. The trees change colors and look so majestic. It's like they know that it is almost time to shed their beautiful leaves, and so they do it with a bang. Lyon doesn't have very many trees in the city center, but if you venture out further towards where I live, you can see colors combinations that not even the best artists can capture perfectly.

I suppose I enjoy France after all. But only select qualities. There are things that bother me, and thus, make it impossible for me to ever consider living here permanently, but since it is only for 8 more months, I will enjoy what there is to my maximum capacity. No matter what though, I am still reppin California, and more specifically, the Bay area. I miss you guys back home.

Ten days for Toussaint

There are many reasons that I do not like France. There are many reasons why I do like France. The number of holiday breaks each year is, without a doubt, a good reason. Every October, all the students in France receive a week long holiday to celebrate Toussaint (a Christian holiday celebrating "All Saints"). To take advantage of my proximity to all the European cities, I planned a ten day vacation to Brussels, Brugges, and Amsterdam. If I had known that the strikes would be the cause for all my classes being cancelled a week before Toussaint, I would have left earlier and could have potentially traveled for 17 days instead. I probably should have also visited more than 3 cities during my 10 days since each city was actually quite small and became boring after a few days. But, all is done, and now I can take that knowledge with me when planning my next trip. 

BRUSSELS/BRUXELLES:

Had to catch my flight from Lyon to Brussels from LYS airport which is about 45 minutes from the city. Woke up around noon and was out of my house by 1:30pm. Flight was at 4:30pm and I thought that I had plenty of time to get to the airport and catch my plane. WRONG! ALL the public transportation I needed to get to the other side of town to catch a train was closed. I had to walk across town which took a good hour and a half. Then I had to wait for the train. The train took 30 minutes to get to the airport. When I arrived, it was already 3:50pm. The gate closes at 4:00pm. I ran through the airport and reached the baggage check at 4:05pm. The check-in lady refused to check my bags at first because the plane was already boarding. Then she gave pity on me and told me to hurry up. I literally got through security and boarded the plane at the very LAST minute. Unfortunately, my friends on the same plane were not able to make it and had to pay a crap load of Euros to get to Brussels a different way. I was extremely happy when I did manage to make it on the plane though.

When I arrived in Brussels, my next task was to find the home of the couchsurfer who offered to host us. I will leave his name anonymous, but I will say that he is one of the most welcoming, hospitable, open-minded people I have ever met. The fact that there are people like him in this world blow my mind. So care-free and trusting. On the first night, he cooked for us and took us on a mini car tour of a part of the city. The first site we saw was the Atomium. It was built for the world expo in 1958 along with various other buildings that can be seen in the King's garden. However, the King's garden is only opened a few days every year to the public so I was not able to see it. And yes, there is a real king in Brussels. He is just a symbol though and holds no actual power except that he is the only one who can excuse the head of parliament from his duties. These are all neat little facts I picked up from my couchsurfer. He explained to us the different types of waffles in Belgium, the levels of chocolate stores, the history of the architecture in the city, and where a couple hot spots to eat are. 

All in all, I had a wonderful time in Belgium even though 4 days is a bit long. I believe that a person could probably see enough of Brussels in two days and be satisfied. *NOTE* you don't have to go to Amsterdam to see legal prostitutes and smoke legal weed. Its all legal in Belgium too! They just don't advertise it because they don't want tourists coming just for that. 

A little lesson on Belgian Food:

-Moules et Frites (mussels and fries) are not actually a Belgian specialty. It originated from northern France.

-Belgian Fries must be made a certain way or they are not worth it. They are all cut by hand and never frozen. They must be deep fried twice in liquid animal fat aka HOT LARD. Once at 135 degrees. They are traditionally served with Mayo but you can order it with ketchup, tartar sauce, even beef stew! all in a nice paper cone. Best and most authentic fries found in Brussels is located at "Chez Antoine". Pick up a cone and head into any pub close by and order a nice tall Belgian beer. NOM.

-Belgian Waffles have two varieties. There is a Brussel style waffle which uses a pre-made waffle that is kept warm and is topped with whipped cream, chocolate, caramel...basically whatever you want. Then, there is a Liege waffle which in my opinion, is the better of the two. It is made fresh to order and served plain/natural. The batter is extremely thick and already has chunks of sugar in it which melt and become caramelized during the cooking process. Basically, you bite into a piece of heaven.

BRUGGES:

This is a small town an hour northwest of Brussels. Very small but very touristic. The city is known as the "Venice of Belgium" for its many water canals running throughout the city. I also had the opportunity of Couchsurfing here with a nice couple. The husband was born in Brugges but he had traveled all over the world and had a great many experiences. His wife was born in Sri Lanka and moved to Brugges with him after they married. Although they were a bit older and a bit quieter, they were very nice and made me feel right at home. I was fortunate enough to have a separate room from them and could finally relax a little. They also made a wonderful authentic Belgian style dinner which consisted of an endive wrapped in ham and baked in a milk/cheese based sauce until everything is brown and bubbly. It was served with a heaping portion of mashed potatoes. YUMM :). I am sure I will find myself making it sometime in the near future. Brugges itself was nothing too special. It had a nice old town feel to it and beautiful architecture, but so does the rest of France. The bars were either too packed to breathe, or had no one at all. The city also has no clubs because the Mayor banned it some years ago. Basically, as some people say, Brugges is where the Belgians go to die. They do have random art pieces sitting in the city center though was is pretty cool. We also hit the city during a random crazy weather storm and ran into a couple inches of hail. Yes, inches of HAIL. 

FOOD ADVICE:

-There is a small chocolate shop here called "Sweertvaegher". Don't ask me how to pronounce it because I have no clue. The choclate shop has been open for over 100 years and each chocolate piece is crafted by hand. The customer service isn't too nice but the chocolates are as good as you will find in Belgium and the praline chocolates are super tasty.

-You can find cheap tasty soup at two restaurants relatively close to each other. The names are "L'estaminet" and "Medard". The soup of the day is about 3 euros and comes with a few slices of bread and butter. Warm, well seasoned, and satisfying. Medard also serve heaping portions of spaghetti for 4 euros but I wasn't able to try any. 

-This city is the best place to find fresh waffles Liege style. They literally make it in front of you and make you wait. They hand it to you just as it comes off the grill. You are so excited and tempted to eat it that you forget it just finished cooking. You can bet I burned my mouth more than once...

AMSTERDAM:

Dear Amsterdam,

What happened? Last time I came, it was so fun and enjoyable. This time, you gave me a stomach flu, you surrounded me by rude locals, and you rained on my parade.

Sincerely,

Minerva

That basically sums up how I felt about Amsterdam this time around. I ended up staying at two hostels in the city center this time around and it was just not fun at all after the first day. Too much weed, too many drunk tourists, too many hoes in the red light district. Its just a city of too much. All the museums were too expensive and the weather was absolute crap. 99% of the food I ingested was borderline disgusting and 99% of the people I met seemed to be having a very very bad day. I didn't feel too good either after yacking and sitting on the toilet for two days. Fortunately I was feeling a little better on my birthday and was able to eat my first decent meal in ten days. 

FOODLINGS:

-"New King" restaurant is the only decent Chinese food in Amsterdam and probably one of the few places that you can actually get a nice meal for a good price. It doesn't look like much from the outside but the inside is enormous and is always packed. 

-Don't be lured in by the little food/snack shops sitting in the red light district. They are there to attract the tourists who have a serious case of munchies. 3 euros for a crappy cold muffin. Never again. 

-Try to avoid the falafel shop with free salad bars. I ate there and I think it is what made me sick. The falafels themselves are perfect, but the salad bar was sitting out at rooms temperature all day without a cover and i am pretty sure they were harboring some super bad bacteria. 

CONCLUSION: Its good to be back in Lyon. True story.