Our First Days in France!

The moment we landed in Paris, Sam and I had been awake for at least 24 hours- and obviously very exhausted. Our empty stomachs and confused demeanor magically found themselves on a train through the beautiful countryside of Le Maine- Loire. Luckily the train had a little cafe on it so we scarfed down a sandwich and a water and passed out for the rest of the ride. We met a girl at the train station who was from New York, and ironically was on her way to the Universite Catholique L'Ouest as well! Once we arrived in Angers, we stood outside la gare (the train station) like we were kids again on the sideline of the soccer field- waiting, and hoping to be picked first by the French team... it seemed like every man walking by us could be a "Pascal Poupard".

Eventually a woman identified the other student and took her away, so just Sam and I sat there- waiting & wishing. Our exhaustion and jet lag was creeping up on us when a stout, middle aged man wearing glasses that exemplified his eyes to be twice the normal size within the thick black frames resting on the peak of his nose. "Anglaise?" We responded with bright smiles and followed him into a taxi with his 4 foot, plump mama who spoke not a word of English. He brought us back to his very stylish flat and introduced us to his little, French, 6 month old puppy named "Ratatouillie". She prances around with a lot of attitude, but is extremely shy. They offered us coffee (but isnt anything like the coffee we get in the States- they are very smal cups of coffee, like espresso, but extremly strong. Pascal refers to out coffee as "Jus du Causette" or "Sock Juice") He showed us a hotel very close to his flat, and we passed out until 11 am the next day.

The next morning we woke up totally exhausted still from jet lag- but eager to explore. It was Saturday when all the outdoor markets were bustling- selling clothes, fish, seafood, freshly butchered beef and pig, chickens, every type of fruit and vegetable that grows in that region, jarred delicacies, etc. So naturally, Sam and I bought a huge bottle of water, two kiwis, two bananas, and two clementines for under 3 euros and had a feast on a park bench overlooking to giant fountain that was in the center of the market. A nice introduction to France, non?

Soon after we met up with Monsieur Poupard who showed us how to use the bus system, where the university is, and le centre ville (the downtown) was. Downtown Angers is absolutely beautiful- perfectly preserved medieval streets, cathedrals, and a fantastic castle that overlooks the river. He also showed us where to buy really cheap sandwiches and Panini's that your eat-on-the-go basically, its much cheaper than sitting down at a cafe or a restaurant. We ordered a footlong panini with chicken and this amazing cheese that I've never has before (I'll be saying that a lot actually considering the fact that France has something like 364 different types of cheeses), a pop, and a pain du chocolat (a croissant stuffed with chocolate or Nutella) all for less than 4 euro.

We came back to his flat and visited for quite some time, and drank MORE coffee. Everytime we see Monsieur Poupard he offers us a cup of coffee- which is several times a day. It amazes me how much coffee, bread, cheese, wine, beer, etc that eat but still remain fit, with perfect skin and complexion- they really are beautiful people! They also served us some homemade soup- kind of like a much of carrots, potatoes, and peas- it was so perfect.

This morning we woke up exhausted yet again- but were very excited to go to Poupard's flat at noon- we were going to meet the family! His brother and his wife with their 5 children (between the ages 2 and 11). We had a blast trying to communicate with the little French we know- talking about politics, film and TV, and mostly about music. Michelle Poupard (Pascal's mother) made this interesting meal of some sort of... I don't know what else to compare it to but coleslaw- but with peas, and carrots- wrapped in a thick slice of ham. And then we had sausage and a rice dish! It was really good!

It's the start of a really good trip- I can't wait to meet my French family (in two days)and continue meeting people, and exploring this beautiful culture and its language (and might I add the cuisine ^_~).

A Bientot!