Friday, November 5, 2010

A Little Bit of the "South"

Hey, everyone! I apologize for taking a particularly long time to post anything, as I have been doing a lot of traveling and studying recently. To try to make up for it, I will add several posts at the same time with extra pictures.

A couple weeks ago, I made my first trip outside of the Paris area since I have been in France. My host father has a family house in a little village near Limoges, which is a few hours south of Paris. We left on a Thursday morning, which was a little complicated due to the strikes that were still taking place (surprise!), but we got to Limoges with enough time remaining to see the town before lunch. Limoges is not a very large town, but it is full of cathedrals, bridges, and entire neighborhoods that date back to the Middle Ages. It was fascinating to see how well preserved all these areas are, and I took plenty of pictures. I am still impressed every time I see a church or a house in France that was built centuries ago, long before any Europeans had even set foot in my own country!

After our brief visit in Limoges, my French "father" and I went to the picturesque nearby town of Aix-sur-Vienne. The countryside was so beautiful, and I certainly enjoyed breathing the clean country air for a few days. It took a while to clean the house (which was crawling with spiders initially, as houses built in the 17th century apparently have more openings than modern houses to let in little "visitors"...), but after about an hour we were settled in for the two short days we would have there. Visiting Aix-sur-Vienne was a very nice change from my life in Paris, even though I certainly love the city. Everyone we encountered was very kind, they spoke with a "southern" accent (which is great for foreigners like me since they pronounce every single syllable!), and everything was much less rushed than in Île-de-France. It was almost a little like the South, actually...

Speaking of the South (and for my French readers, I mean the good ole' southern USA : )), I gave my host family a little taste of chez moi the weekend after my trip. My host parents were both eager to try some American cuisine, so I decided to make some homemade biscuits for them. Even though I was using my dad's fail-proof recipe, I was still a little nervous about all the conversions I had to make. Nonetheless, they were nice and fluffly, golden-brown, and delicious! More importantly, my host family seemed to really enjoy them, and it gave me a chance to tell them a little bit about what life is like back in the South.

3 comments:

  1. Hooray for baking biscuits! They look excellent. I kind of wish I could taste them...

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  2. Ahhh Benjamin! So nice to hear from you! Your time out of country sounds absolutely marvelous! You are truly making the most of this opportunity. You're so amazing!!! I love reading your blog! Keep it coming! Keep it coming!

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  3. Wow, I did not realize how long it has been since my last post!
    Michael: I am glad you think the biscuits look good. I was a little disappointed by the taste, as they don't have self-rising flour in France and I think something was missing in the substitute I found. I will have to make some real biscuits for you when I get back so you can try them! : )
    Laura: I am trying to "keep it coming", though I somehow always let the time slip by. Every time I write a post, I feel bad about taking so long, and I tell myself I will definitely write more regularly in the future, but then I get busy with outings and (especially!) school work. *sigh* Perhaps my posting regularity will improve now that the semester is almost over.

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