A goose tried to eat my iPhone (and other stories)...

Hello everyone! Sorry for the tardy update. I haven't been up to terribly many exciting things, though there has been some drama that's been making me feel "Blah" (hence the lack of updates).


Anyway, here's what HAS been happening: I started running with Angie and Maddie along the Loire river. "Running" might be too strong a word for what I do, really. I'm super, super slow you guys. But, I move my arms like I'm running and I think that's all that counts, right? Well, at least it's exercise, and it's a BEAUTIFUL view.

Pont Georges V - Our starting point

The view as we run toward the next bridge

Secondly, we thought we saw Robert Downey Jr. in a restaurant near the university. Stacie and I were so excited we took a picture! Okay, I took a picture, but Stacie wanted it, too. Needless to say, it wasn't Robert Downey Jr. BUT they could be brothers at the very least. The next day (after running), Angie and I decided to go see Sherlock Holmes. It was all in French, and I think I understood most of it, which was pretty awesome. Also, it was a good movie. I kind of want to read Sherlock Holmes now.

Mr. Robert Downey Jr. look alike

Last weekend I also got to make Julia Child's french onion soup for the girls. I know I just follow the recipe, but I kind of consider it my specialty. I was worried about how it would turn out because I was using a gas stove to cook it (which I've never done before), and not all the ingredients were the same. Vermouth, for example, was something I could not find. The recipe calls for vermouth or dry white wine. Now, I have no idea what a dry white wine is. So I picked up the cheapest bottle of white wine I could find.
In the end it turned out really good. It tasted different than it usually does when I make it in the states, but was delicious nonetheless, and I was pretty freaking pleased.

Friday night I tried escargot. It was gross. Don't get me wrong--it wasn't the texture. I think if it had been prepared differently (properly?) I really would have liked it. As it was, it lacked the buttery, garlicky, smooth taste I was expecting.

The escargot in their little bowls--I didn't have to do any work to get them out of their shells.

Creepy face as I put a snail in my mouth. I was actually pretty excited.

And then the excitement stopped as I realized it tasted a lot like spinach and not at all like garlic butter.

Yesterday I hung out with my host family. We played Scrabble (in French) which was pretty cool. I only needed help making a word once. Okay--twice. But the second time was because it was the end of the game and the only letters I had were "w", "x" and "k", which are like the hardest letters to place in French Scrabble. I lost pretty badly, but that's okay. It was fun anyway.


Today I woke up to about 2 inches of snow outside. I met Angie for lunch after she was finished at the local art museum (Musée de Beaux Arts). We had some pretty good pizza and then went walking around in the snow. PICTURE TIME! If you're interested in seeing a video of me being a pigeon maestro, check it out here on Youtube.

Pont Georges V, the cathedral of Orléans, and the tram

Another shot of the cathedral--we walked across the bridge just to get this shot

Geese that wanted some food--we were able to go right down to the water

This little guy tried to eat my iPhone that I was using to take photos. He was cute though. We're buddies.

Another shot of the cathedral

 After we took a walk, we went to the movie theatre near the river to see Félins (Disney's "Big Cats"). We had a little bit of time to kill so I got some hot chocolate (chocolat chaud viennois) at the theatre's café. It was the most ridiculous hot chocolate I've ever had in my life.

Mountain of whipped cream PLUS sugar packets, you know, in case it's not sweet enough for you.

Finally, I'd like to close by giving a music recommendation. I've been listening to Patrick Stump's debut record, Soul Punk, for like three weeks straight now and it's just amazing. Definitely give it a listen if you've got a chance.