Monday, November 23, 2009
A Typical Dinner Buffenoir Style
Wednesday November 18
Ok, so living with a host family has been hands down the best part of being in France. We don't get to spend a lot of time together but I adore my family nonetheless. One of the most memorable parts of living with the Buffenoirs has been their classically french dinner parties, so I thought I'd tell you how it's done Buffenoir style.
Company usually arrives about 7:30, always carrying some sort of gift for the host, this evening it was my program director and his wife and one of our neighbors, which made for a party of 8. The night begins in the living room (that night my dad had even built a fire in the fireplace) We sit in the living room, drinking either a sparkling white wine/champagne or sometimes an aperitif alcohol- always served in the appropriate glasses depending on what we're drinking :) Snacks are passed around and the only critera is that they be some sort of bread based snack. In the past I've had bread pieces with melted cheese, covered with foie gras, salty crackers, pretzel sticks etc. The drinking/eating/breaking of the ice in the living room usually lasts about an hour and half, so by the time we sit down to dinner it's nearly 9 pm.
My host parents always consider the seating arrangement very careful, intermixing men and women and students and adults- not like the American's exiling the kids to a kids table :) The first course can vary a lot, that night it was greens covered in vinaigrette, a mini egg souffle and strips of smoked salmon. Bread is always passed around and must be kept on the table to the left side of your plate- don't worry about crumbs. The woman of the household is in charge of serving/refilling the water glasses while the man does the same for the wine. That night my dad brought out a double sized bottle- I think it's called a magnum- of wine that he had bought in 1985....props to drinking something older than I am. The second course was a spiced chicken vegetable stew that was served over rice. I don't know how they manage it but the conversation seems to cover nearly every topic, from something rather serious to a story that will have everyone in tears laughing. Next comes the dessert- apple compote filled puff pastries (a secret recipe of my host mom) served with vanilla ice cream. After all the dessert plates have been cleared come a round of coffee or tea for anyone interested. Next is some sort of an alcoholic digestif, depending on what my host dad decides to immerge from the alcohol cabinet. By this time we have spent nearly 2/2.5 hours at the dinner table and the party is moved back into the living room. A bit more conversation later and the goodbyes begin- it usually takes a good 30 minutes or so to make if from standing up and putting on coats to actually seeing the guests walk out the door. Overall it makes for some of the greatest 4 and even 5 hour evenings that I've ever had- full of warm conversation, great food and wonderful people who have so graciously welcomed me into their home.
Ok, so living with a host family has been hands down the best part of being in France. We don't get to spend a lot of time together but I adore my family nonetheless. One of the most memorable parts of living with the Buffenoirs has been their classically french dinner parties, so I thought I'd tell you how it's done Buffenoir style.
Company usually arrives about 7:30, always carrying some sort of gift for the host, this evening it was my program director and his wife and one of our neighbors, which made for a party of 8. The night begins in the living room (that night my dad had even built a fire in the fireplace) We sit in the living room, drinking either a sparkling white wine/champagne or sometimes an aperitif alcohol- always served in the appropriate glasses depending on what we're drinking :) Snacks are passed around and the only critera is that they be some sort of bread based snack. In the past I've had bread pieces with melted cheese, covered with foie gras, salty crackers, pretzel sticks etc. The drinking/eating/breaking of the ice in the living room usually lasts about an hour and half, so by the time we sit down to dinner it's nearly 9 pm.
My host parents always consider the seating arrangement very careful, intermixing men and women and students and adults- not like the American's exiling the kids to a kids table :) The first course can vary a lot, that night it was greens covered in vinaigrette, a mini egg souffle and strips of smoked salmon. Bread is always passed around and must be kept on the table to the left side of your plate- don't worry about crumbs. The woman of the household is in charge of serving/refilling the water glasses while the man does the same for the wine. That night my dad brought out a double sized bottle- I think it's called a magnum- of wine that he had bought in 1985....props to drinking something older than I am. The second course was a spiced chicken vegetable stew that was served over rice. I don't know how they manage it but the conversation seems to cover nearly every topic, from something rather serious to a story that will have everyone in tears laughing. Next comes the dessert- apple compote filled puff pastries (a secret recipe of my host mom) served with vanilla ice cream. After all the dessert plates have been cleared come a round of coffee or tea for anyone interested. Next is some sort of an alcoholic digestif, depending on what my host dad decides to immerge from the alcohol cabinet. By this time we have spent nearly 2/2.5 hours at the dinner table and the party is moved back into the living room. A bit more conversation later and the goodbyes begin- it usually takes a good 30 minutes or so to make if from standing up and putting on coats to actually seeing the guests walk out the door. Overall it makes for some of the greatest 4 and even 5 hour evenings that I've ever had- full of warm conversation, great food and wonderful people who have so graciously welcomed me into their home.
Chapter Next: The one in which Ireland steals my heart.
Saturday November 14
Ok. Ready to wrap up this Irish vacation and tell you about the most recent one :)
Our last day in Ireland we decided to go to the lovely village of Glendalough. We got up early and ran through the pouring rain for like 30 minutes to make it to the bus station. The bus ride out there was about 2 hours long and the scenery might possibly have been the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. Honestly, Ireland combines the two places I love most in the world- the mountains of colorado, with the rolling fields of Missouri. I got chills just driving through the countryside and felt like a part of my heart already belonged there. The fields are placed in each mountain valley and everything is the most alive shade of green- even in the middle of November. Driving out we probably saw several thousand sheep- which the boys still couldn't get enough of- and enough beauty to last a lifetime. Trigg tried to take some pictures through the bus windows so when I find them I'll make sure they get posted.
We arrived at Glendalough, a sort of village/state park, and had several hours to explore. The main attraction are the ruins of a old monastic city. Several buildings including a tower are still standing along with an extensive graveyard full of mossy tombstones tucked into every corner. We explored for a little bit, but not really feeling like a history lesson when the rain had (finally!) stopped, we set out to explore the rest of the valley. About half way through our time, the boys decided it would be pretty much the coolest thing ever to try and climb one of the mountains along side the valley. I, being clearly smarter and more rational, did not want to spend my last 2 hours sloshing up a muddy, tree-covered, mountainside just to have one good view at the end, so we decided to split up. Predictably the boys said they spend about 1.5 hours in the forest hoppy fences and getting royally muddy but they did enjoy making it to the top.
I on the other hand decided to explore some of the extensive trails surrounding the park. I even hit up the visitors center to ask for a nice loop that would take a bit more than an hour to hike. I eventually headed up the mountainside on, get this, a dry and well -graveled path, to find one of the park's many waterfalls. I spent two perfect hours just hiking in some of the most beautiful countryside I'd ever seen with only the sounds of nature to keep me company. Needless to say I was blissfully happy, took entirely too many pictures, and vowed to come back some day for a much longer hiking/camping trip.
So after meeting up with the muddy boys- we caught our bus back to Dublin - and set out for the evening. It happened to be the night of the soccer final between Ireland and France so the city was absolutely packed! It felt like we hadn't even left France so many people had flown up for the game. We met up with about 8 other ND kids in my program who were also visiting Dublin/London and we settled into a cute pub to watch the game. France won but the Irish were very good sports and we all had a great time sitting around and watching. I had some Irish cider, which turns out to taste more like beer than cider- but it was a great end to our last day in Ireland.
Ok. Ready to wrap up this Irish vacation and tell you about the most recent one :)
Our last day in Ireland we decided to go to the lovely village of Glendalough. We got up early and ran through the pouring rain for like 30 minutes to make it to the bus station. The bus ride out there was about 2 hours long and the scenery might possibly have been the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. Honestly, Ireland combines the two places I love most in the world- the mountains of colorado, with the rolling fields of Missouri. I got chills just driving through the countryside and felt like a part of my heart already belonged there. The fields are placed in each mountain valley and everything is the most alive shade of green- even in the middle of November. Driving out we probably saw several thousand sheep- which the boys still couldn't get enough of- and enough beauty to last a lifetime. Trigg tried to take some pictures through the bus windows so when I find them I'll make sure they get posted.We arrived at Glendalough, a sort of village/state park, and had several hours to explore. The main attraction are the ruins of a old monastic city. Several buildings including a tower are still standing along with an extensive graveyard full of mossy tombstones tucked into every corner. We explored for a little bit, but not really feeling like a history lesson when the rain had (finally!) stopped, we set out to explore the rest of the valley. About half way through our time, the boys decided it would be pretty much the coolest thing ever to try and climb one of the mountains along side the valley. I, being clearly smarter and more rational, did not want to spend my last 2 hours sloshing up a muddy, tree-covered, mountainside just to have one good view at the end, so we decided to split up. Predictably the boys said they spend about 1.5 hours in the forest hoppy fences and getting royally muddy but they did enjoy making it to the top.
So after meeting up with the muddy boys- we caught our bus back to Dublin - and set out for the evening. It happened to be the night of the soccer final between Ireland and France so the city was absolutely packed! It felt like we hadn't even left France so many people had flown up for the game. We met up with about 8 other ND kids in my program who were also visiting Dublin/London and we settled into a cute pub to watch the game. France won but the Irish were very good sports and we all had a great time sitting around and watching. I had some Irish cider, which turns out to taste more like beer than cider- but it was a great end to our last day in Ireland.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Chapter Second: Fish and Chips
Friday November 13
Okay- so day two did not start out so hot when I had to put on my still wet shoes, but I was cheered quite a bit by Kyle's promise of delicious fish and chips for lunch because we were headed to a seaside town. After about a 40 minute train ride with beautiful views of the ocean we arrived in the very small town of Bray. It was- (get pumped!) only misting so we spent some time wandering along the beautiful pebble beaches enjoying the scenery. Ireland is a country of both mountains and beaches so we set our sights on the small mountain/really big hill that was in the distance. Clearly the boys wanted to hike it, ok I did too - minus the fact that it was ridiculously muddy- so we started up hoping to beat the rain.
It took us about an hour and a half to get to the top, stopping each little bit to enjoy the ever improving views of the city below. I was able to appreciate the rain only for the fact that it keeps the country gorgeously green even mid-way through November. We hiked through some almost fairytale-like clearings covered with green ivy and trees in full autumn glory.
A little bit of whining (obviously on my part) and some very muddy shoes later we made it to the top. I took entirely too many pictures- pretty much all of the same panorama- but I am going to try to splice some of them together. I did force the boys to take a picture of me so Mom wouldn't complain that there were no people in my pictures (I'm so good to you). Eventually we decided to head back down- via a farmer's field where I could not pry the boys away from looking at the sheep- seriously, the city boys wanted to jump the fence and catch one they were so fascinated.
By that time I had worked up quite a nice hiking appetite so we asked a local where the best fish and chips were sold. A few short minutes later I was holding a shiny silver bag generously filled with fresh from the sea cod and perfectly cooked potato wedges, coated in more salt and vinegar than one person should eat in a week, needless to say I was perfectly happy. We actually ate our delicious lunch at the home of a friend we knew in Bray- she had been a monitrice (kind of like teaching assistant) during our September session- and she told us if we were ever in Ireland to come visit. It was pretty funny to have a conversation with her were we the teachers and she the language student and we had a great time catching up. At that point it was (clearly) raining, more like pouring, so we braved the 30 minute walk back to the train station and headed back to Dublin. After not nearly enough time to dry off at the college we set out in search of a pub with live music, shockingly not a hard feat in Ireland. The place where we ended up had a lot of tourists but a great group with Guitar, violin and accordion. The singer had the thickest Irish accent ever and was full of delightfully so-stupid-they're-funny jokes. I put a video up on my picasa page if your interested :) .....So, at the end of 2 days we'd already covered: meat and potatoes, guinness, fish and chips, and a traditional Dublin pub- not bad for the Irish vacation checklist...on to day 3.
A little bit of whining (obviously on my part) and some very muddy shoes later we made it to the top. I took entirely too many pictures- pretty much all of the same panorama- but I am going to try to splice some of them together. I did force the boys to take a picture of me so Mom wouldn't complain that there were no people in my pictures (I'm so good to you). Eventually we decided to head back down- via a farmer's field where I could not pry the boys away from looking at the sheep- seriously, the city boys wanted to jump the fence and catch one they were so fascinated.By that time I had worked up quite a nice hiking appetite so we asked a local where the best fish and chips were sold. A few short minutes later I was holding a shiny silver bag generously filled with fresh from the sea cod and perfectly cooked potato wedges, coated in more salt and vinegar than one person should eat in a week, needless to say I was perfectly happy. We actually ate our delicious lunch at the home of a friend we knew in Bray- she had been a monitrice (kind of like teaching assistant) during our September session- and she told us if we were ever in Ireland to come visit. It was pretty funny to have a conversation with her were we the teachers and she the language student and we had a great time catching up. At that point it was (clearly) raining, more like pouring, so we braved the 30 minute walk back to the train station and headed back to Dublin. After not nearly enough time to dry off at the college we set out in search of a pub with live music, shockingly not a hard feat in Ireland. The place where we ended up had a lot of tourists but a great group with Guitar, violin and accordion. The singer had the thickest Irish accent ever and was full of delightfully so-stupid-they're-funny jokes. I put a video up on my picasa page if your interested :) .....So, at the end of 2 days we'd already covered: meat and potatoes, guinness, fish and chips, and a traditional Dublin pub- not bad for the Irish vacation checklist...on to day 3.
Chapter First: Dublin
Thursday November 12
Ok- So all I have to say is it rains in Ireland, a LOT. The first day we just spent walking around Dublin and got completely soaked in the process. We were staying with Trigg's friend Kyle who is also a Notre Dame student studying abroad in Dublin. He played tour guide for us, showing us the main sights of the city and explaining quite a bit of the history. I especially enjoyed visiting the beautiful Trinity college- if it had had more grass it might even have been as pretty as Notre Dame :-o And it's definitely true that there is a pub everywhere you look in Ireland- nearly every other buliding even- and each one seemed to have it's own unique charm.
Afters several hours of sightseeing- which included many rides on the famous double decker buses which comprise the main system of public transportation- we ended up at Phoenix park. It had stopped raining for a few precious moments and we were able to get life-threateningly close to some swans- I kid you not, and we goofed around on a really huge monument in part of the park. We had no luck finding 4-leaf clovers and when the rain inevitable returned we decided to call it a day and head home.
On the way we stopped at a pub for dinner where we were served- no joke- 7 different types of potatoes on one plate to go along with a healty portion of meat. I had my first sip of Guinness, and predictably, it tasted almost as gross as all other beer...I don't think I'll ever be converted. So there you go- first day in Ireland was pretty low key. We did enjoy once again being in an English speaking country and discovered several delightful Irish colloquialisms including saying "cheers" as sort of a thanks/goodbye - but more than anything we just got wet.
Afters several hours of sightseeing- which included many rides on the famous double decker buses which comprise the main system of public transportation- we ended up at Phoenix park. It had stopped raining for a few precious moments and we were able to get life-threateningly close to some swans- I kid you not, and we goofed around on a really huge monument in part of the park. We had no luck finding 4-leaf clovers and when the rain inevitable returned we decided to call it a day and head home.On the way we stopped at a pub for dinner where we were served- no joke- 7 different types of potatoes on one plate to go along with a healty portion of meat. I had my first sip of Guinness, and predictably, it tasted almost as gross as all other beer...I don't think I'll ever be converted. So there you go- first day in Ireland was pretty low key. We did enjoy once again being in an English speaking country and discovered several delightful Irish colloquialisms including saying "cheers" as sort of a thanks/goodbye - but more than anything we just got wet.
An Irish Vacation: An exercise in public transportation.
Wednesday November 11
Ok. So Wednesday was always supposed to be a travel day. Trigg and I were headed to Ireland and we had bought plane tickets from Beauvais airport and train tickets from Angers to Beauvais. Silly us, we had thought that this meant only two legs of travel that day. Boy were we wrong.
While waiting in the Angers station for our train I realized that our tickets listed a layover in Paris of an hour- ok, not something we planned on but whatever. Our train left at about 2:00 pm and thanks to its wonderfully speed we were in paris by 4:00. At that point we realized our tickets listed Gare du Nord as the departure station for our second train, where is the Gare du Nord you ask? Why all you have to do is take the 4 metro line 8 stops north...easy enough right? Well after our first experience- thank goodness successful- with the Paris metro we made it to Gare du Nord and boarded our second train and 3rd leg of the journey.
When they train dropped us off at around 6:30 we were expecting to emerge into the large crowded airport of Beauvais.....clearly this was not our day, and we discovered that we were indeed at Beauvais but at the train station only- how do you get to the airport you ask? Well all you have to do is take the 4 euro shuttle.....too bad we missed it by one minute and had to wait an hour and twenty minutes for the next.
Finally after our 4th leg of the journey we arrived at the airport- only to find it the busiest place in paris at 8:00 at night- it took us nearly 2 hours to get through tne lines for passports and security. We finally got on our 10:30 flight to Ireland haggard and swearing to never fly out of Beauvais again- with the added bonus of having to take a bus to where we would be staying upon our arrival. Thank goodness for once again being in an English speaking country because I made friends with the nice grandpa sitting next me and he offered to give us a ride because his wife was picking him up and would be driving right past the college where we were staying. Turns out they were both wonderful people and kept us entertained throughout the 30 minute drive to the college. I was overjoyed to finally stop moving, my stomach absolutely could not take anymore because I get motion sickness nearly every time I enter a moving vehichle.
Lesson learned- if you ever want to take 6 legs of transportation in one day- train, metro, train, shuttle, plane, car, feel free to fly out of the Beauvais airport....no thanks, maybe that's why the tickets were only 20 euros?
Ok. So Wednesday was always supposed to be a travel day. Trigg and I were headed to Ireland and we had bought plane tickets from Beauvais airport and train tickets from Angers to Beauvais. Silly us, we had thought that this meant only two legs of travel that day. Boy were we wrong.
While waiting in the Angers station for our train I realized that our tickets listed a layover in Paris of an hour- ok, not something we planned on but whatever. Our train left at about 2:00 pm and thanks to its wonderfully speed we were in paris by 4:00. At that point we realized our tickets listed Gare du Nord as the departure station for our second train, where is the Gare du Nord you ask? Why all you have to do is take the 4 metro line 8 stops north...easy enough right? Well after our first experience- thank goodness successful- with the Paris metro we made it to Gare du Nord and boarded our second train and 3rd leg of the journey.
When they train dropped us off at around 6:30 we were expecting to emerge into the large crowded airport of Beauvais.....clearly this was not our day, and we discovered that we were indeed at Beauvais but at the train station only- how do you get to the airport you ask? Well all you have to do is take the 4 euro shuttle.....too bad we missed it by one minute and had to wait an hour and twenty minutes for the next.
Finally after our 4th leg of the journey we arrived at the airport- only to find it the busiest place in paris at 8:00 at night- it took us nearly 2 hours to get through tne lines for passports and security. We finally got on our 10:30 flight to Ireland haggard and swearing to never fly out of Beauvais again- with the added bonus of having to take a bus to where we would be staying upon our arrival. Thank goodness for once again being in an English speaking country because I made friends with the nice grandpa sitting next me and he offered to give us a ride because his wife was picking him up and would be driving right past the college where we were staying. Turns out they were both wonderful people and kept us entertained throughout the 30 minute drive to the college. I was overjoyed to finally stop moving, my stomach absolutely could not take anymore because I get motion sickness nearly every time I enter a moving vehichle.
Lesson learned- if you ever want to take 6 legs of transportation in one day- train, metro, train, shuttle, plane, car, feel free to fly out of the Beauvais airport....no thanks, maybe that's why the tickets were only 20 euros?
A Weekend in the Vendée Region
Alright, so, exaggerations beside, we arrived at a rather abandoned looking parking lot 3 hours later- by which point night had fallen and it was pouring down rain. DE-lightful. But lo ho ho - a very nice looking french man popped his head into our bus, much too excited for that time of the night, and explained to us why we were there. Actually all he told us was that his daughter had studied abroad at Notre Dame the previous year and had absolutely loved it. He then proceeded to call the names of my classmates one by one- who, upon exiting the bus, were swept up by trench-coated, umbrella toting, French and quickly chauffered away from sight. Not creepy at all right?....well I'm happy to say that I, upon being called last, was met by a very sweet looking woman who promptly took me out of the rain and to her wonderfully cozy home. I learned on the ride over that we would each be spending the weekend with a family in the region who had volunteered to host an American - and each family would be planning their own itinerary of festivities.
Her family the Jolly's consisted of 16 year old Barbara, 13 year old Lise and 9 year old Robin - her husband, and....wait for it....a dog AND a kitty! Needlessly to say I made myself instantly at home in front of the fire with a kitten curled up in my lap while the rain poured outside. The remainder of the evening was very relaxed the family didn't deviate at all from it's normal routine and I felt like I belonged perfectly. Barbara had given her room to me for the weekend and I was in heaven with a big soft bed, personal bathroom and computer with internet - not to mention a late night visit from the doggy.
After a light breakfast in the morning Mme Jolly had to do grocery shopping in town so she dropped me and Barbara and Lise off at the beach. We walked along the shore front of the little town with a big name, Saint Gilles Croix-de-Vie, and spent a delightful few hours chasing seagulls and (me) taking entirely too many pictures of really pretty sail boats. The girls talked really fast so I couldn't understand everything- but we got along great even with my minimal talking (can you believe it!)
When Mme Jolly picked us back up it was just like spending a normal day in a french family. We dropped Barbara off at dance practice and Robin at soccer, and she took Lise and I to the the neighboring town of Les Sables. We took another beautiful beach stroll and watched the kite surfers for a bit. On the way home we caught the tail end of Barbara's dance practice before Mme Jolly brought us home for lunch- uber duber super fresh salmon and sole fish. It was still whole- but she scraped off the skin and flayed off all the yummy meat for us- delicious!
Afterward we had very low key afternoon- I sat by the fire and got a bit of reading done for class with Robin intermittently explaining french pokemon cards to me. That evening we went out to an authentic Vendée restaurant and had a fabulous family meal. Afterward I went with Barbara to a soiree with her dancer friends. They were crazy hyper and talked SO INCREDIBLY FAST that I probably only understood like 20% of the words but it was fun to laugh with them at their own silliness. The night was well spent but it was great to go home, snuggle with the kitty and go to bed a bit early.
We woke a bit earlier on Sunday because I had to leave around 2:00. Since I had told them how much I loved the beach and the ocean Mr. Jolly offered to take all of the kids on another beach walk. We drove a bit farther away to some higher beach-side cliffs where the wind blew like I've never seen in my life. It was absolutely incredible to be walking along the cliffs, barely able to hear anything but the wind and the waves crashing against the rocks. There were a few spots were you could descend and get as close to the waves as you dared and I took some really great pictures. 
When the family drove me back to the bus that afternoon it was like a mini reunion with all the ND kids. It was amazing to see how quickly everyone had bonded with their families- I don't think we could have found a more gracious or good humored bunch of people. I could have honestly stayed with them for the rest of my time in France (do I say that about everywhere I visit here?) I regretfully said goodbye to the girls- never fear we are already great friends on facebook- and hugged Mr and Mrs Jolly. They sent me off with lots of presents from the Vendée- caramels, a brioche, chocolates shaped like anchovies, and a half-oyster shell freshly washed from my deluxe seafood lunch. The ride home was pretty much everyone talking a mile a minute about how incredible their families were and lots of really cute stories.....so I didn't get sold into servitude, but instead spent of the best weekends so far in France. :) missing the Jolly family already. R.
L'Abbaye de Solesmes
November 1st
This abbey has to be one of my favorite excursions that been on so far. One of our priests from Notre Dame, who is fluent in French, was in Angers for the Simone Weil conference and organized this trip for the ND students. We piled into the bus rather early because it was a longish drive and we had to make it in time for Sunday mass. I don't know if any of you have been to high mass in Latin before, this was only my third or so time, but it is one of the most beautiful things in the world. The mass was really for the monks in the heart of the church but they open up the very long, very thin aisle for the community to be in attendance. The specialty of these monks, and has been since the 1800's, is their absolute dedication to the Gregorian chant and its preservation. The entire mass was done in their beautiful plain chant and I've never heard anything so beautiful. It made mass feel like one continual perfectly sung prayer with no gaps or transitions between the parts. They also combined the noon hour of prayer, Sext, with mass which was even more beautiful. Anyway, if you're interested I loved it so much that I bought two CD's of their chant -I'm actually giving them as a present- but Kurt will let me burn you a copy if you want.
After mass we met up with the monk in charge of most of the welcoming of tours. He lead us around the cloisters to a small building where we could eat our picnic lunch. It was pouring rain outside so he built us a fire and pulled out not a small number of their bottles of homemade wine. While he had to return to his duties for a while, we ate and enjoyed the fire and the company of Father Driscoll and his wonderful stories.
When he returned he brought us supplies to make coffee- which we accepted gladly- while he spoke and answered our questions for nearly 2 hours on the monastic life and their specific way of life at the abbey. The rain outside combined with the warm fire and his beautiful welcoming spirit made me feel right at home and like I'd known him for years. I did venture out a bit in the rain to take some pictures of the abbey. It's situated right along a river and the colorful fall foilage made the whole place beautifully picturesque.
The last little highlight of the day was inside another welcoming room at the abbey. They have a certain number of beds allotted to travelers each night and it just so happened that a youth a cappella choir from France was staying there. Their instructor gave us a very detailed explanation of the school and their mission- it is apparently one of the most prestigious choirs in France- and he let us listen to one of their rehearsals. It was without a doubt one of the most beautiful things I've ever heard. These young kids, who looked like every other french teenager, had the strongest most pure voices I've ever heard. The acoustics of the building were perfect and just their small group of about 10 students filled the room with perfect harmonies- it honestly gave me chills. We were all reluctant to leave- everyone seemed as transfixed by their music as I was- but we finally tore ourselves away.
On one last note, I've decided I'm moving right next door to that monastery. I even found the perfect house right across the street from the church so I can skip over for mass any time I want. I promise you won't blame me when you see this house that is for sale- you can even come visit if you want. So if I don't show in December, you will find me with the monks, spending my life listening to their incredible music.
After mass we met up with the monk in charge of most of the welcoming of tours. He lead us around the cloisters to a small building where we could eat our picnic lunch. It was pouring rain outside so he built us a fire and pulled out not a small number of their bottles of homemade wine. While he had to return to his duties for a while, we ate and enjoyed the fire and the company of Father Driscoll and his wonderful stories. 
When he returned he brought us supplies to make coffee- which we accepted gladly- while he spoke and answered our questions for nearly 2 hours on the monastic life and their specific way of life at the abbey. The rain outside combined with the warm fire and his beautiful welcoming spirit made me feel right at home and like I'd known him for years. I did venture out a bit in the rain to take some pictures of the abbey. It's situated right along a river and the colorful fall foilage made the whole place beautifully picturesque.
The last little highlight of the day was inside another welcoming room at the abbey. They have a certain number of beds allotted to travelers each night and it just so happened that a youth a cappella choir from France was staying there. Their instructor gave us a very detailed explanation of the school and their mission- it is apparently one of the most prestigious choirs in France- and he let us listen to one of their rehearsals. It was without a doubt one of the most beautiful things I've ever heard. These young kids, who looked like every other french teenager, had the strongest most pure voices I've ever heard. The acoustics of the building were perfect and just their small group of about 10 students filled the room with perfect harmonies- it honestly gave me chills. We were all reluctant to leave- everyone seemed as transfixed by their music as I was- but we finally tore ourselves away.
On one last note, I've decided I'm moving right next door to that monastery. I even found the perfect house right across the street from the church so I can skip over for mass any time I want. I promise you won't blame me when you see this house that is for sale- you can even come visit if you want. So if I don't show in December, you will find me with the monks, spending my life listening to their incredible music.
Isn't Time Funny?
16 October 2009
So just a random story that made me laugh...Kurt is leaving Notre Dame today to fly to Arizona and hike the Grand Canyon for a week with his family. He is going to call me around 1:00pm before he leaves - 6:00pm my time. He will then fly to Phoenix, going from Eastern time to Mountain time and making the time difference 8 hours instead of 6. However, Phoenix does not observe daylight savings time so it will actually be 9 hours. So, when he arrives in Arizona- around midnight- he will call me and it will be 9:00am my time. In case you didn't follow all of that he will call me twice in one of his days and reach me in the early evening of one day and then the bright morning of another...isn't time funny?
Ps. I discovered that France does actually observe DST but it falls back a different weekend than the US (how confusing!) So for one week the time difference will only be 5 hours but will then return to 6. Just in case you were wondering :)
So just a random story that made me laugh...Kurt is leaving Notre Dame today to fly to Arizona and hike the Grand Canyon for a week with his family. He is going to call me around 1:00pm before he leaves - 6:00pm my time. He will then fly to Phoenix, going from Eastern time to Mountain time and making the time difference 8 hours instead of 6. However, Phoenix does not observe daylight savings time so it will actually be 9 hours. So, when he arrives in Arizona- around midnight- he will call me and it will be 9:00am my time. In case you didn't follow all of that he will call me twice in one of his days and reach me in the early evening of one day and then the bright morning of another...isn't time funny?
Ps. I discovered that France does actually observe DST but it falls back a different weekend than the US (how confusing!) So for one week the time difference will only be 5 hours but will then return to 6. Just in case you were wondering :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
