It appears there is an inverse relationship between the amount of time I have to write these journal entries, and the amount of interesting things I have to share. This comes as no surprise of course, I just haven't thought about it before. This weekend was pretty dang nice.
I did my first 'single guy's night out' on Saturday. It was the first time any of the three of us (yes there are only 3 single guys here with my company) went out together. That's always nice. When I go out with the other people I always have a good time, but their goals are certainly different. When I'm witht hem everyone is content to hang out all night at one place. But, on Saturday, we did the Grand Tour. I realized how much I missed that. Among other places, we went to a Spanish Tapas bar. Quite nice, it was great food. While we were there we noticed three women speaking English a little ways from us. I of course had to go say hello. My friends were rather pleased of course. As it turns out 2 were married (and the other apparently didn't speak) but it was great talking with them. They are Americans but have been here between 15 and 20 years. It was interesting that they said they had noticed us, and they wanted me to settle a bet. One thought I was German, and the other was sure I was from the northeast part of the US. Boy were they off!
Speaking of that, I went out with a group from Scotland on Friday night. They told me that I drink like I'm Scottish. Last week I was told again that I eat cheese like I'm French. I take both as a compliment. A coworker brought me some very special cheese from a well known farm in her hometown. Apparently this cheese is some of the best of the best, but there are even alot of French that find it slightly too strong for their taste. Honestly, this was some of the best cheese I've ever had, but it sure stunk. It didn't taste at all like it smelled. When I put the first bit with my bread, I couldn't believe I was actually trying this stuff. But, I ended up eating all of it in one sitting cause I liked it so much! She tells me that no one from her hometown believed she was buying it for an American.
On Saturday we also went to a local popular bar. A guy about our age (and quite drunk) immediately recognized the three of us as Americans (even though one of us was German). He started talking to me aboiut France and the US and current tensions. He was more than a little drunk. he was pretty polite for a really drunk guy. We actually had a decent conversation for about 45 minutes. Towards the end of it he asked me if I thought Americans would come to France's aid if they were under attack. I told him we already had, and asked if France would do the same for us. He didn't say anything, but I thought he would bring up the American revolution.
On Saturday during the day I went to try para gliding for the first time. It turned out to be a little to dangerous because of unpredictable winds. But, I made an appointment for next weekend (assuming the weather will cooperate). So instead, I spent the day with a friend at lake Annecy. It was unbelievable. We drove around part of the lake, next to tbe beaches of Annecy, and up the mountain. I have some pretty nice pictures that I'll be able to put up soon. We had lunch on the top of the mountain with an amazing view.
My last two bottles of wine have been 2000 Bordeauxs. They weren't from especially well known vineyards as far as I know, but they wer amazing nonetheless. With the first, I smiled just about every time I picked up the glass cause ti was so good. The year 2000 was supposedly the best ever for red wines from that region (which is a particularly great region for reds anyway). Americans preordered a ton of them before it was even known that they would be so good simply because they wanted a 'millenium' vintage. This makes them quite expensive generally speaking, and a bit harder to find. This is what I've been told, but I can find them at some grocery stores here (although they are a bit more expensive than the others).
Greve. This is the French word for strike, and boy do they do alot of it. This last week public transportation, the mail service, and even garbage services have been on strike. On every other street corner there's a mountain of garbage cause they missed two weeks now. yuck.
There aren't alot of billboards here. Or, at least not as Americans know them (large stand alones on the side of the highway). They do have alot of signs for advertising though (usually on the side of bus or tram stops). These are about 5 ft tall by maybe 3.5 ft wide. I see quite a few between my apt, work, french lessons, and the grocery store. These stay the same for about a week, and t hen all at once they are changed. Alot of times they are some cute underwear model, but I must say i am quite displeased with the most recent edition. My friend Mike would probably have to leave the city. Yes, these are pictures of Vin Diesel. This is almost worse than the garbage stacking up on the street corners. :-)
Posted by Brian at May 26, 2003 02:44 PM