Weekend

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This Saturday we went to Chambery. It's the town that Lauren lived in the last time she was in France for the study abroad program. It's only about 45 min. away by train, and the tickets were only 10€ round-trip. So, we decided that we would spend the day there. We left Grenoble at 9:30 and were planning on taking the 3:30 train back home. When we arrived in Chambery, it was freakin freezing. My guess is it was around 30 degrees plus wind. Also, the town is a lot smaller than Grenoble, so there isn't a lot going on. Our plan for a whole day outing was quickly cut short by the weather and a lack of anything to do. We wondered around for two hours, ate lunch, then got on the 12:45 train back to Grenoble.

We were both really tired when we got back and each of us slept for a little over three hours. So, the rest of the day was pretty much wasted. That night, the parents that Lauren babysits for occasionally, invited us out to a bar to listen to some music. As we are on the tram heading toward the bar, they text Lauren on her cell phone and say that they are just leaving and will meet us there soon. We go ahead to the bar thinking we'll save them a table. When we walk into the bar, it is the size of a small bedroom. The room is about 10'x10' and that is including the space for the bar. There are only about eight people total inside. Also, up on a loft-type room overlooking the bar is a DJ playing like techno remixes of 80's songs very loudly. Lauren and I hide in the corner (there are no tables, there are no chairs) waiting for the couple to come meet us. I drank a couple of beers and we waited for about 45 minutes, but they never showed up. Lauren checked her phone and there was a message from them saying they changed their minds and were going to a movie instead, and would we like to join them. "Thanks a lot," we said. But, it wasn't a total waste. We had some fun at the bar making fun of all the hip young people.

Chips

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You'll never believe the flavors of potato chips they have here. Wednesday, we bought a bag of Lay's chips that were 'Roasted Chicken with Thyme' flavored. The best part? They were delicious! It really tasted like roast chicken, which is either good or bad I guess. Anyway, I finished the bag in two days. Good stuff.

The Mall

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Yesterday Lauren and I went to the French version of the mall. But, instead of being called a mall, it is called a Centre Commerce. They look pretty much the same. Two levels of stores, all the same stuff. The mall has this huge store called Carrefour attached to it. It's like the Super Wal-Mart for Frenchies. As far as I can tell, it's about as big as a Wal-Mart. The only difference is that it was super crowded. Not that Wal-Mart necessarily isn't crowded, but this place was crazy. And a lot of people there had their dogs with them. The French dogs must be like best friends, cause they never go anywhere without them. And this are big dogs too, not the kind they can hold or carry in a Paris Hilton dog-sac. I'm really surprised I didn't see a dog shit in the mall, they shit everywhere else.

Saturday night we went to some French friends of Lauren's for dinner. They're names were Ileana and Mikael. I think one of them is originally from Argentina and the other is from Pakistan. They were really nice. They made us a kind of stir fry with only bell peppers. It was very good. Before dinner Mikael cut up some sausage and some cheese for an appetizer. He offered me some and I took the sausage and tried to take a bit out of it. It was pretty tough. He saw me struggling to take a bite and said, "Uh.. you have to take the skin off the outside first." "Oh. . . . Thanks," I said a little embarrassed. But, it was some good sausage. I think he said it was made with Blueberries? Then, after dinner, we watched Napoleon Dynamite, which we had brought. Both of them spoke really good English, so we assumed they might think it was pretty funny. Mikael laughed a lot, but Ileana just kinda sat there. I don't think it was her type of humor at all.

Soldes

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Today, Lauren and I went shopping. In France, they only have sales twice a year. Once in January and once in June. By sale, I mean EVERYONE has a sale. Evidently it's a pretty big deal. Every clothing store or shoe store that we walked by had big signs hanging everywhere saying "-30% -40% -50%." I got another pair of pants for 15€. The stores were so packed. You could barely move. One of Lauren's French friends informed us that the sales last for a month! So, we'll probably go back later and get some more cheap stuff.

Alcohol and (Dog) Shit

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Lauren and I went to Monoprix today. It's kinda like the French version of Kroger. Anyway, it really surprises me how cheap some things are here and how expensive other things are. Usually, a can of Coke (and they ARE smaller here, Robb, you bastard) costs around 2€ in machines and around 3.50€ in restaurants. Wine and liquor are completely opposite. There are often just as cheap as a Coke.

Anyway, I bought a six pack of France's version of Budweiser today called Stella Artois for 2.50€. John, Robb, and Charlie will appreciate this: a six pack of Heineken here is only 4€. How crazy is that. Liquor is the same way. It is way cheaper here. Josh and John, that same set of Johnnie Walker Black Label whiskey and two glass set that you bought me as a going away present is sold here for 19.90€. Crazy.

Well, that's really all I wanted to say in this email. It's cold as balls here. I doubt it gets over 40 degrees ever. It has snowed a bit, but not enough to amount to anything. All the mountains around the town are covered in snow. I think tomorrow I'm going to take a bus up to the top of one of the mountains so I can get some good pictures. I'll try to work on posting some soon.

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There is dog shit everywhere here! The Frenchies aren't required to pick up after the dogs like in the US. On top of that, the dogs shit right on the sidewalk, in the middle of the path! They don't even wait for the dignity of a patch of grass. Unbeleivable. It's like walking through a mine field, watching every step because it might be your last.