Home Alone

Matt went on a guys’ trip to Marrakech this weekend, so I was home alone. For those of you who are geographically challenged like I am: Marrakech is in Morocco, which is in Africa. I had to look on a map to figure all that out. I blame the Ripon High School’s social studies program for my lack of skills with a world map. Anyway, kind of crazy to think of Matt in Africa! So far the only detail I’ve heard is that they visited a snake charmer. I wonder if I’ll get the full story on the weekend or if he’ll say, “What happens in Africa stays in Africa.”

I spent the weekend shopping – there were huge sales going on everywhere – and also hung out with the other single ladies – Jen, Christina and Suzie.

‘Yes. Yes, I Think You Are.’

Another humbling experience in Switzerland….

Matt and I started our French class on Wednesday night. We didn’t make it through the entire class though. Prior to the class we took a written test to determine our level. We both barely tested into the A2 course (A1 is the beginners course). We were very apprehensive about starting at this level as we know our speaking skills are limited. We even expressed this to the school, but we were told that we needed to start at that level since we tested into it. We were told to just be confident in our skills.

Confidence had nothing to do with it. Five minutes into the class, we realized we were in way over our heads and had already agreed to make our get-away during the break. Most of the people in the class had taken several years of French in school! One girl even had seven years of French classes. We spent the first half of the class sweating and anxiously sitting on the edge of our seats because the instructor was randomly calling on people to read from the textbook and answer questions. I knew we were done for when Matt was called on to read. This is how it went from there:

Me whispering to Matt: “I think she just called on you to read.”

Matt whispering back to me: “I’m not saying anything.”

Me whispering to Matt: “You have to say something.”

Matt looks directly at the instructor and says in English: “I’m in the wrong class.”

The instructor saying: “Yes. Yes, I think you are.”

I wanted to die right there of embarrassment. The instructor took a break shortly after that and immediately came over to us. The first thing out of her mouth was, ‘Did you take a test to get into this class?’ She was surprised when we said that we took the test and passed into this level. We left right after that!

Midnight at the Eiffel Tower

After our dinner at A La Petite Chaise, we tried to take the metro to the Eiffel Tower. Everyone else in Paris had the same idea, so we ended up walking there. It was well worth the walk. The Eiffel Tower lit up like a sparkly diamond at midnight. Here’s a video of the event. If you listen carefully you can hear the big fireworks that were being lit by some people directly behind us. A little too close for my liking. It was pretty amazing to see the Eiffel Tower on New Year’s Eve. Our attempt to get back to the hotel was not so amazing. The metro lines were so full that people couldn’t get on. We wandered through Paris trying to find a less crowded metro. We eventually got back to the hotel at 3 a.m.

New Year’s Eve

Matt and I had a very special New Year’s Eve. We went to Paris! Our friends, Jen and Dan, joined us for the weekend. It was a long drive (5 ½ hours) but then there we were in Paris! We enjoyed a nice, three hour dinner at A La Petite Chaise, a restaurant dating back to 1680. The dining area was itty bitty. They pulled the table out so you could sit down and then they pushed it back in once you were seated. We were elbow to elbow with the people at the next table, an elderly couple who found us entertaining. I wanted to take a picture of our food, but I thought that might be un-French like, so I’ll just list what I had.

Entrée
Saint-Jacques sur charlotte, chapelure de noisettes
(Scallops served on a bed of charlotte potatoes topped with finely grated hazel nuts)

Plat
Canon d’agneau roti farci aux petits legumes
(Roasted saddle of lamb stuffed with baby vegetables)

Assortiment de fromages
(Assortment of cheeses)

Dessert Maison
Tulipe de glaces et sorbets
(A selection of ice creams and sorbets in a tulipe-shaped biscuit)

I was so full after the main course that I had very little room for the cheese and dessert. I wish I could have gone back the next day for a ‘do-over’ with those two courses as I didn’t finish either of them. No one else at the restaurant looked as full as I felt. How do they do it?!

A Day in Italy

We enjoyed a day in Aosta, Italy with Barb and Terry. Here’s a picture from lunch. No one was able to finish their pizza. They were huge but so good. Another highlight of the day was the homemade ravioli and red wine that we brought back with us and had for dinner. The downside was the snow that started falling while we walked around Aosta. The windy roads through the mountains were not much fun as we traveled home.

Glacier 3000

This was Matt’s favorite day during Barb and Terry’s visit. We drove to Col du Pillon for a day of snowshoeing. We took a cable car up to the top of Glacier 3000 (a glacier that is 3000 metres above sea level – about 10,000 feet). We had a cold but clear day with blue skies and mountains all around us. The snow looked blue because of the glacier ice underneath it. After eating lunch at one of the restaurants at the top of the Scex Rouge Mountain, which means ‘Ruby Mountain,’ we snowshoed to Quille du Diable, a huge rock formation. We had beautiful views of the Alps along the way. Matt even thinks we saw the Mont Blanc, the tallest peak in the Alps. How he can tell one peak from another is beyond me. Also found on top of Scex Rouge is the world’s highest toboggan run, the ‘Alpine Coaster.’ I was relieved that it was closed during winter months as I had had enough motion sickness for the day with the car ride on the windy roads and the cable ride up the mountain.