Almost nine months of buckling down and studying - first in the Core back in Columbia and then in our language classes here in Clermont - has finally been tapering off. With my boulangerie project and final exam behind me (both turned out quite well!), April has been a month to explore France and enjoy the culture here before starting my internship with Michelin on the 28th.
Javier and I kicked off the month with a weekend in Paris. Highlights included picnicing in the garden behind the Museum of Natural History with wine, bread, cheese, olives, strawberries and a roasted chicken from my favorite market street, Rue Moufftard. :-) We also met a client of mine from Coach for dinnner, visited the Pompidou Center and met up with Philippe to sip "bold reds" at a huge independent wine-maker's salon!
Clermont is located in the Auvergne region, in the center of France, known as "the Massif Centrale." On our own and with the school, we've spent the last two weeks sampling the best that this area has to offer.
Marked by a chain of dormant volcanoes, this area is relatively difficult to access from other areas of the country. As a result, the famous art, cuisine and literature that France is so famous for are less prominent here. Instead, Auvergne offers attractions that are related to its unique volcanic landscape - healing spring waters in Vichy, beautiful scenery to hike through, delicious cheeses made from milk produced by cows that are fed on grass that has minerals that are specific to the volcanic soil, rustic, hearty meals like "truffade", a museum/theme park devoted to volcanoes, etc. etc. For the last few weeks, we've been drinking all of this in.
It's also been a chance to start saying some good-byes. So far, Kelly and I have secured internships in Clermont for the summer; the other 11 French-Trackers (as well as Javier) will be scattering to Paris, Marseille, Brussells, and the good ol' USA in just a few weeks. For our "intermediate" class, we had a Moroccoan dinner last week.
Making sure that our travel-style didn't get rusty before we head to Santorini, Javier and I decided to explore Lyon this past weekend, where we took in the bustle of the crowds, searched for "traboules" (hidden, covered passageways that the city's old silk-weavers used to use to keep their silks dry on rainy days) and enjoyed the (finally!) perfect weather.
Next on the list... Paris again and then Santorini... stay tuned!
