Day Trippin'

This weekend, I went on not one, but TWO day trips. I know, I know, I'm really outdoing myself out here. Saturday I went to Honfleur with some of the other English assistants. Honfleur is a small and picturesque fishing village about a half hour away from Le Havre. It's very touristy, but as usual, there's a reason for this. Some fun facts about Honfleur: it was the port from which French explorers left to go on and "discover" Quebec City and, drum roll please....the Mississippi River! History! It's happening all around us! Anyway, it was really really beautiful, and very fun to get out of Le Havre and play tourist. Then that night I went over to Nichole's house to make a delicious shrimp and avocado salad, complete with local cider. Yum. After eating we went upstairs and chatted for a while with Nichole's quasi-host sister and her maybe ex-boyfriend/current boyfriend (hard to say) about politics, American culture (aka movies and tv shows), French universities, and Paris. They gave us some Calvados, a local specialty, to try. It's a very strong apple brandy that's called a digestif because you're supposed to drink it in between courses/after a meal to cut through all the grease you just ate. Normand food is very buttery, creamy, and cheese-filled. Taking a few shots of alcohol could only help the heart, n'est-ce pas? It was a very fun and relaxed night.

Today Nichole and I went to Rouen for the Fete du Ventre et de la Gastronomie, aka Festival of the Stomach and Gastronomy. Never would I ever skip an event with such a title. We walked through the crowded streets of the old city (beautiful and charming) and tried samples of foie gras, onion jam, sausage, and cheese. Basically I took any sample I could get. Then we made a picnic lunch of Neufchatel, which is an amazing heart-shaped cheese, a garlic infused salami, baguette, and pear cider. Yum city. Oh, and a nutella crepe, of course.

All in all, a very successful weekend, I think.