More Waiting in Strasbourg

Although the dreaded CIEL started again this week, meaning 2 1/2 hours of pure french 2x a week, it has still been hard to get a regular schedule going here in Strasbourg.  The highlight of this week was undoubtably when my host parents, Marlene et Raymond, brought me out to their favorite Italian restaurant which they've been going to for over 40 years now! Ready to share any kind of story with any one, espeically if it involves something terrible that happened to her, Marlene spent a good 30 minutes talking to our waiter, the host, and the old Italian women who seems to be a fixture at the place about deaths, divorce, and other topics that usually make people depressed but seem to just feed her energy.  Its hard to feel sympathetic when she recounts these stories anymore because the amount she talks is just absurd!  My American roomate from last semester, Lisset, was definetely missed as Marlene and I were forced by Raymond to share an entire bottle of wine, would've been easier with three!

This weekend was full of culture, with a visit to the Palais Rohan with Malou on Friday afternoon and later to Metz on Sunday.  The Palais Rohan, the palace of French kings, Napoleon, and place where American ambassadors are now welcomed to France, was stunning and I'm glad Malou brought us because I never even knew it was here right in the center of Strasbourg!  Definetely the strangest thing at the palace was a display of pottery in the shape of a boar's head which was they apparently actually served the meat in.  The dead face with the tongue sticking out would be a bit much to display on my kitchen table, thats for sure.  Love and other Drugs (in French), was about all we could manage on Saturday after a late night, but at least then we were well rested for Metz on Sunday with Malou!

The beginning of the day was a bit rough.  Unfortunately I lost my house keys before I went to Normandy thereby rendering excursions into the city limited to times when I knew the Matters would be home so I could get back into the house.  I could deal with these new time retraints, especially after I got a new key.  What the really sad part of the situation was that my bike keyS were attached to my house keys.  Now usually when you buy a bike lock they give you an extra key for things like this.  Unfortunately I never really realized that was why there were two and had always kept them together...attched...to the house keys.  Suddenly that my bike was theif proof was no longer so wonderful, especially since I was the one who wanted to steal it.  Luckily on Sunday afternoon the Matters' son came with his power tools and freed my bike but not before I was forced to take the tram to the train station Sunday morning to meet Malou.  It seemed like CTS (Strasbourg Tram Company) was against me as literally every connection contained a 20 minute wait and I was 30 minutes late (ooooppps).  Luckily we were taking the car but it was still very stressful.

In Metz, a city about 2 hours away from Strasbourg in Lorraine, we managed to find an open restaurant in France (miracle on Sundays!) and after lunch we headed to the new Centre Pompidou of Metz, or the city's Modern Art Museum.  The design of the building was very cool and our audioguides were ipod which was something new.

In the musuem there was the typical strange modern art such as a work entitled chair, which was literally a wooden chait in the middle of the room, or another called "artist's shit", exactly what it sounds like.  However, there were also lots of other nice pieces of art too.  The ride home was quiet and sleepy and we definetely we not about to indulge Malou's request of a camp singalong.  That night I saw the movie "Somewhere" with Celine, a French girl in one of my classes who has been very welcoming in Strasbourg.  DO NOT SEE THIS.  It is a movie about nothing in which nothing happens.

With classes starting today I was very glad to have my bike back! Even though its extremely rusty from being outside for about 1 month now without being ridden and only one of the brakes work it is still pink and has a bell so I'm happy.  All the Strasbourg girls are now just eagerly counting down the hours till Audrey gets here this Wednesday for a visit and the Usher concert and later for Ted and Kate to arrive to make Strasbourg such a popular city at the moment!