The biggest change that I must get used to: greeting people with only one kiss. That is now foreign to me since I am used to 2 kisses, sometimes 3!

Home Sweet Home

Bonjour and Hi!
Last Wednesday, I flew home to Los Angeles.  When I checked in, my suitcase was 4 pounds over the weight limit.  I either had to get rid of those 4 pounds or pay 150 euro... I found and got rid of those 4 pounds, which, of course, went into my carry on. My seats on both flights were in the back of the plane, but I did make a connection with a couple of the flight attendants on the first flight, so it was OK.  However, the Paris-Minneapolis flight was 40 minutes late, so I had to hustle in heels (they were my heaviest shoes :) to make the next flight.  But I made it!
Nothing is better than coming down that escalator at LAX into the baggage claim and see my husband waiting for me!  Since we have been married, this is the longest time that we have been apart.  It is good to be at home in my own bed with my own pillows, sheets, and the dog who always wants to take my spot. 
Now that I am home, have rested a bit, I am ready to finish up with the rest of my trip. 
A bientot!

La derniere soiree

Last night was our last in Lyon.  We had a little session at the hotel before going to our dinner de gala.  At the hotel, we talked about our secret pal, someone whose name we picked during the week.  It was fun and sad at the same time, since we have spent 12 days together in conversation and experiencing Lyon. Dinner was at a restaurant in the Croix-Rousse section of Lyon, and it was wonderful.
This morning, most of the group left for Paris on the TGV; some went to the airport to go home, and a couple of us are in different places in France.  More about where I am later.
Here are photos from last night

On a presque fini!

I can't believe that my program is almost over!  We have had such a wonderful time getting to know each other, and also learning about different aspects of France.  Today's aspect was politics; in France that is always very interesting.  I can't tell you how many political parties there are, but there are 3 major parties (pour mes eleves AP, quelles sont ces parties?)
After a wonderful lunch at a sandwich shop, I went to the pharmacy on the corner to ask for something for my ankle (which looks like a target pretty much with red around a center white dot).  You have to ask for things like that, and I got a cortisone cream, which is what I wanted!  Then, we went to the Museum of the Deportation and Holocaust.  It was informative and and  pretty cool.  The most fun happened on the way home.  The tickets that our group director gave us were for groups, and there were people on the train who were checking tickets. If you have a group ticket, you are supposed to be in a group, and there were only two of us together.  The guy let us off without a fine, but informed us that a group is 10 or more.  Whew!  Then there were also gendarmerie (national police), too.  We were so happy to get to our stop without more trouble...

This evening was a oenology evening.  The guy was so knowledgeable, plus he made his own food, as he runs a restaurant of 5/6 tables.  We tasted 5 wines, plus had a shrimp bisque, pizza with anchovies (oh, so salty), homemade gingerbread with foie de canard, and a fondant flourless chocolate cake.

Our wine guide for the evening at the door of his restaurant.

 Gingerbread with foie de canard.

Pizza with tomatoes, anchovies and olives.  Tasty, but way too salty for me.

Annecy

I know that my posts are getting shorter and shorter - I promise a whole update probably when I return to the States next week.  However, we went to Annecy today, which is at the foot of the Alpes.  Here are some photos

Cooking Class

We took a cooking class tonight; it was really fun and we learned so much.  I can hardly wait to get home and try some of the dishes that we made.  We also went to a silk workshop.  They do everything by hand, and the results are fabulous.  Wish that I had enough to buy a couple of scarves.  Maybe next time.

Quelques photos

Bonjour comme toujours!
Today we visited the Croix-Rousse section of Lyon.  It is on a hill, so we took the metro up and walked down visiting all sorts of places on the way.  Besides some photos from today, I have photos from the past few days, including our highway party while stuck in accident traffic.  The accident occurred on one of the weekends when the July folks lave for holiday, and the 14 July folks go home from the week's holiday.  There is also another huge traffic weekend at the end of July when the juilletists go home and the aoutists leave for their holiday.  Just imagine one half of the nation going home while the other half leaves on vacation.  Ouais...