Strasbourg--Marché de Noël

After several very busy weeks in school with the first trimester grades, written comments, parent/teacher conferences and the famous 'conseil de classe' I was ready for Christmas vacation!  On Sunday, December 19, Roger and I headed north to the beautiful city of Strasbourg and its Christmas Markets.  We enjoyed listening to a superb children's choir in the Strasbourg Cathedral and shopping at all the various stands that make up the many Christmas Markets in the old part of the city center.  Scattered around were many hot-spiced wine stands--perfect on a snowy, cold evening!  We really enjoyed seeing the half-timber architecture in the district called La Petite France along the canal and dining in several of its many great  Alsatian restaurants.  Our third day was spent exploring the delightful, small village of Eguisheim on our way back to the region of Auvergne.

Festival of Lights in Lyon

On December 11 we Fulbright teachers, families and friends all met in Lyon for the annual Festival of Lights.   A group of creative lighting designers enhance the city's monuments, public buildings and contours of two rivers with a dazzling display during four days in December.  Lyon now is one of the world's leading cities in its use of public lighting, so much so that Phillips set up its European head office for exterior lighting in 1996 near the city of Lyon.  The photos represent a colorful fountain and a church seeming to grow green vines all over the facade.   

Thanksgiving in France!

What fun it was to cook a Thanksgiving dinner for my French neighbors!  Stuffed Turkey Breast Roulade was the main course on the menu as whole turkeys are impossible to buy in France until Christmas time!   Sweet potatoes, cranberries, mashed potatoes,  brussels sprouts  and  pumpkin pie  rounded out the meal.  They had never tasted some of our new world foods and even loved the dessert!  My explanation of the story of Thanksgiving (the same one I had told earlier to my students) added to complete the cultural exchange!  

Wine Tasting in the Beaujolais Region!

My Fulbright friend Susan and I drove to the Beaujolais region on Sunday, November 14.  It is located only about 1 1/2 hours from Grazac.  We drove through many interesting towns such as Belleville and Beaujeu before stopping for a great lunch in Villefranche-sur-Saône.  We were ahead of the big celebration of Beaujolais Nouveau by a few days but we had fun wine tasting anyway!

Trip to Languedoc-Roussillon (Day 4 and 5 Collioure)

After leaving the Château de Peyrepertuse we headed down a small sea-side village on the Mediterranean called Collioure.  It was wonderful to see the bright, blue sea off-season with only a few tourists meandering about.  This little fortress town on the water  has a royal castle which was the summer residence of the Majorcan kings from 1276 to 1344 when it was taken by the kings of Aragon.  Bright Catalan boats and beachfront promenades make this a colorful and inviting destination.  We enjoyed 2 days here, dining on shellfish and other specialities such as anchovies before returning to the Auvergne!

Trip to Languedoc-Roussillon (Day 3 Château de Peyrepertuse)

Janet and I were amazed at the wild and massif landscape we passed on our way through the area of Les Corbières.  The region is known for its ruined castles and its wine (fruity, full-bodied red, white and rosé wines with bouquets of local flora).

Château de Peyrepertuse is one of the finest examples of a ruined fortress in the Corbières.  We hiked all the way up for an unbelievable view.  This photo was taken from the highest section of the ruins!  In the 11th and 12th centuries the castle was associated with the counts of Barcelona and Narbonne and during the Albigensian Crusade, it was handed over to the French.

Trip to Languedoc-Roussillon (Day 2 Abbaye de Fontfroide)

We visited the beautiful Cistercian abbey set among serene cypress trees and terraced gardens.  Most of the buildings were erected  in the 12th and 13th centuries.  Our tour of the cloisters, Chapter house, dormitory, chapel was very interesting.

Trip to Languedoc-Roussillon (Day 1 Carcassonne)

Janet and I drove south over the mountains and hit some very icy roads so we decided to take the longer (miles) but safer and faster way on the autoroute.  One of my best purchases has been my international GPS.  With a quick change of course and a push of a button we were on our way again.  After coming to France for so many years, renting a car and using a number of maps, I would say now the GPS is the way to do it.  Technology at its best!  After 6 hours on the road we arrived in Carcassonne.  The view of the medieval, walled city as we approached was breath-taking.  The fortress, the largest in Europe, consists of a fortified nucleus, the Château Comtal and a double curtain wall:  the outer ramparts include 14 towers,  separated from the inner ramparts (24 towers) by the outer bailey.  The earliest sections of the wall were built by the Romans in the 1st century, were later enlarged by the Visagoths, and during the 13th century Louis IX and his son Philip the Bold strengthened the fortifications giving it the appearance it has today.  We toured the entire city and had a great dinner that night (the regional speciality,  Cassoulet, a delicious dish of pork sausages, duck confit and white beans).
 

Janet visits from Boston!

I had a wonderful visit from Janet for about a week.  We were joined, for the first couple days, by two Fulbright friends, Susan and Kristin,  who stopped in Grazac on their way north to visit Paris and the regions of  Burgundy and Brittany during our 11 day Toussaint school vacation.  We visited Puy en Valey and enjoyed lunch at a nearby restaurant.

 

During our visit we climbed up to St. Michel-d'Aiguilhe, an incredible chapel located at the top of a gigantic needle of lava which rises up 262 ft. in a single shaft.  The building dates back to the 10th-12th century and testifies the architect's ability to plan complex vaulting on such a small site. The small chapel evokes an atmosphere of a very holy place and one can understand why Puy en Valey was one of starting points for pilgrimages to Santiago de Compostela in Spain.

Week-end in Renaison!

I had a wonderful invitation to the home of family friends in Renaison, a lovely town about 2 hours north of Grazac.  Martine and Michel took me on a great tour of the area where we visited the town center and the beautiful church.  We also had an opportunity to visit the Musée Alice Taverne, an  extremely interesting museum concerning traditional rural life in the area during the second half of the 19th century.  Fully decorated rooms depicted life during that time including a school room, a store, a one-room farmhouse and the fascinating office interior of the "Robouteux" (a rural medicine man somewhere between an herbalist and a magician)!

Martine, a fantastic cook, made the week-end so perfect with wonderful meals she prepared using the best regional products.  Thank you again, Martine and Michel, for your warm and gracious hospitality!

!  

Fulbright Orientation-Paris

I took the TVG to Paris Wednesday morning to join the Fulbright Orientation.  I met with the 4 other American Fulbright Exchange teachers at the hotel, we had a quick lunch and then on to OFII (Office français de l'immigration et de l'intégration) for our medical exams to finish up the administrative work for our visas.  That evening we enjoyed an elegant evening at a welcome reception at the Sénat, Palais du Luxembourg.  M. Jean-Pierre Raffarin, Former Prime Minister, Senator and H.E. Mr. Charles H. Rivkin, Ambassador of the United States to France spoke before the 200 American Fulbright Research Scholars,  Exchange Teachers and Teaching Assistants.

The following 2 days we five Exchange teachers attended informational meetings, workshops, and classroom observations concerning the educational system in France.  It was a tremendously interesting and instructive conference.  We stayed through the week-end to enjoy the city.  I went to the Grand Palais to see an excellent exhibit - France 1500 Entre Moyen Age et Renaissance, an exhibit at the Louvre of Antoine Watteau and the Musée Cernuschi, Musée des Arts de l'Asie in the Monceau Quarter.  Of course, walking in Paris is always great and dinners with my Fulbright friends on Friday and Saturday were wonderful!  

Medieval Castle --Château de Chinon

After walking up a cobbled stone road, winding around the ramparts, we arrived at the castle.  The fortress, from the time of  Henry II of England who died there in 1189, overlooks the village below lined with half- timber medieval houses.  Two centuries later the castle witnessed Joan of Arc's recognition of the dauphin, later Charles VII.  From there she left to "accomplish her miraculous and tragic destiny".   We visited a nearby church in the village below and found it to be the church where Joan of Arc prayed for 2 days in 1429 while she waited to visit the dauphin.  It was an amazing experience to be there in the same church almost 600 years later!

Renaissance Castle--Château de Chenonceau

We decided to head out Friday after school for the Loire Valley for a quick week-end of discovering castles from different historical periods.  After a five hour drive north we finally arrived at the Castel de Bréhémont along the left bank of the Loire River.  On Saturday morning we visited the Château de Chenonceau on the River Cher.  In my opinion, it is one of the most beautiful castles and almost impossible to describe in a few lines. It is a Renaissance château but with interesting innovations:  a straight staircase instead of a spiral one and, for the first time, rooms designed around a central vestibule.  It has been called "The Château of Six Women" (two of them queens) who lent to it their womanly virtues of "beauty, charm, elegance and grace" for 400 years.  Diane de Poitiers, duchess of Valentinois and royal mistress, created a garden for royal visits and had a bridge built across the Cher to link the castle to the left bank.  Upon the death of Henry II, Diane de Poitiers was forced to give up the château to Catherine de Medici, who had a two-story gallery built on the bridge and  added a park and several out buildings. 

Clermont-Ferrand, Puy-de-Dome and the Parc National des Volcans

Roger and I enjoyed a one day excursion to Clermont-Ferrand and the surrounding area.  Clermont-Ferrand is the only large city in the Auvergne and is known to historians as the home of Vercingétorix, who rallied the Arvernes to defeat Julius Ceasar in 52 BC.  The city has a busy commercial center and is the headquarters for the Michelin tire company.  There is a small old center dominated by the Cathédrale Notre-Dame-de l'Assomption.  It was built of special black volcanic stone enabling its pillars to reach record heights at the time.

We found the Parc National des Volcans about 1/2 hr. from Clermont-Ferrrand.  Stretching 90 miles, north to south, the park contains about 80 dormant volcanos. They are relatively young, 60,000 to 80,000 years old, which explains why their shapes are so well preserved.  We headed out on what I consider the most challenging and fantastic hike of my life!  We hiked to the top of the Puy-de Dome, the highest volcano in the Mont-Dome range, for a magnificent panoramic view of extinct volcanos, craters, domes, and caldera cones and basaltic plateaus.

Neighborhood Pique-Nique

We were invited to a super barbecue in the neighborhood.  French potato salad (French string beans and potatoes in a vinaigrette) with pork kebabs and sausages on the grill.  Other salads, a great selection of cheeses and desserts rounded out the meal.  The BBQ is even served in courses like any French meal!  Afterwards, we all played boule and the ruler even came out on several close calls!

Le Marché au Puy en Valey

I have had a great time grocery shopping and cooking in France.  I found two big grocery stores; the Super U and Intermarché.  I also found a great butcher shop where I bought some very interesting cuts of meat and poultry.  I brought along many of my favorite French cookbooks and have had so much fun cooking.  I have only made one typically American dinner otherwise every lunch and dinner has been "la cuisine française".  My next trip to the butcher I plan to buy a guinea hen to make Pintade aux Choux et Marrons.  (guinea fowl with cabbage and chestnuts).  It goes without saying I love the marché where I buy the freshest fruits and veggies.  Here is a photo of the Saturday morning marché in Le Puy en Valey.

Le Puy-en-Valey

Le Puy-en-Valey (about 30 min. from Grazac) is our closest city.  It is built up on the puys (solidified lava peaks)  that rise from the valley.  These peaks are crowned with huge statues; one of St. Joseph and one the the Virgin Mary.  The Romanesque cathedral, Notre Dame -du- Puy, is also built on a large pinnacle, reached by a steep, stone staircase.  The town becomes particularly colorful on Saturday mornings at "le marché en plein air".

Visit to Chambéry and Annecy

We spent 2 days in Chambéry, an elegant old city in the Rhone-Alp region about  2 hours from Grazac, visiting our Fulbright friends Sally and Lee.  The town's highlight is the 14th century Château des Ducs de Savoie.  We took a drive to Annecy, a lovely town surrounded by the crystal clear Lac d'Annecy.   The town is know as "Venice of the Alps"  as there are canals, decorated with huge baskets of flowers,  meandering through the old part of town.

College Boris Vian

This is a photo taken in front of the school, College Boris Vian, where I will begin teaching on September 2.  It is in the town of Retournac about a 1/2 hour from Grazac.  There are about 300 students.  

Balloon Fest in Grazac

The town of Yssingeaux welcomed spectators to view a multitude of hot-air balloons. What a beautiful site we had seeing all the different colors and sizes of balloons over the Auvergne countryside!

First days in Grazac

This is the beginning of a year long adventure of living and teaching in France.  I arrived safely yesterday and have already met several wonderful people who have been so gracious and helpful.  This is a photo of my apt. with a view of the mountains. Grazac is a small village in the Auvergne region in central France.  What makes the Auvergne so unusual is the presence of a large number of volcanoes, which although extinct, are a major feature of the landscape depending on their formation, type and age.