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.