Go Go Grenoble
5:50 AM
Last Wednesday marked the start of yet another round of long distance traveling, but this time spread out over a week. We're halfway through and already feeling exhausted, so while we're riding the ferry to England let's play catch up.
Wednesday we set off to Grenoble to hang out with my "french sister" Alice. When my older sister Leah (Happy Birthday!!) traveled to France for a high school trip, she was put in contact with a host family to stay with for a week. Her contact was Lucille, Alice's older sister. Wanting to get in on the fun after finding out that Alice was my age, we started emailing back and forth. Then at 17 I had the opportunity to take the same trip to France as Leah and Alice jumped at the chance to host. That week with Alice was one of the best times of my life and so I knew it was important to try and see her again while we were in France. After all, it had been six years and we had some serious catching up to do.
Just as soon as we arrived, it was as no time had passed. It turned out we still had the same things in common, so we were quickly laughing and telling jokes as she showed us around Grenoble. The city is beautifully situated in a valley surrounded by densely forested mountains and just minutes from Alice's apartment was a scenic hike. The path slowly led up to the castle, alternating between stone steps and grassy plateaus. The lazy afternoon sun made for great views, even if we were huffing and puffing our way up to them.
If you're just as uninterested in climbing back down the mountain as we were, there were gondolas to carry you down. For the view of the city the price is reasonable (Winry got to ride free!) and it was a nice end to the adventure. We couldn't decide on the correct word for them as we were getting confused with the gondolas in Venice, so they were referrred to as "the eggs" for the rest of our stay.
We spent the next day in nearby Lyon, eating at a cafe with Alice's friends and taking a peek inside all of the "modest" churches in the city. One car ride back to Grenoble and the night was filled with beer, laughter and baugettes as Alice showed us some of her favorite bring-your-own-appetizer, hole in the wall bars. Alice had to take off to the south of France early on Friday so we were once again saying tearful goodbyes, with promises to meet up in another six years.
Friday night found us at our hotel in Paris in the 14th arrondissement getting prepped for the next day of errands. Winry had another important vet appointment in the morning where she had to be in good health and get her tapeworm treatment before entering England. Thankfully she passed with flying colors and even got her own passport out of the whole deal. The french vet we found (recommended by Dog Jaunt) was sweet with her and very efficient so we were in and out of the office in 30 minutes. We spent the rest of the day shopping and walking around the city where Zach was stopped for directions under the premise that having a dog meant he was a local. He sure did trick those Canadians!
At night we met up with yet another friend I had met during my previous time in France, one of Alice's old high school classmates Anaëlle. It was the same idea of spending the first hour catching up before moving on to making new memories, but once we did we ended up having a wild night out. Anaëlle rarely goes into Paris, so we were all wandering trying to find places to go, taking recommendations from bartenders and people on the street. We eventually found the party, mostly by introducing Anaëlle, and subsequently France, to pickle back shots. The idea is that you take a shot of whiskey followed by a shot of pickle juice, killing the alcohol taste. The bartender was so confused he decided to stick around to see if we were poisoning ourselves or if it really worked, though we're still not sure he believed Anaëlle when she truthfully told him it was tasty.
Apparently under the delusion that trains in Paris, like New York, ran 24/7 we ran down to a nearby stop only to have the train staff shoo us back out. So at 2 am we took a cab back to the hotel and managed to see the Louvre lit up on the way.
The next morning, groggy from the late night, we made our way to the trains yet again. This time we were heading to the Paris suburb Rambouillet to see Shelley, an old college friend of ours who had been living in France for about three years. Shelly is every bit as sweet and hospitable as we remembered her and we had a wonderfully relaxing day hanging out with her boyfriend Dan and friends. Later in the day, in search of churros, we made our way to the yearly festival. It was basically the same as an American county fair, so we were happily nibbling churros within seconds of arriving. The night gave way to morning and we pledged to meet June 28th in London, when another college friend, Kristen, would be visiting for Shelly's birthday.
Another handful of trains north out of Paris and we spent a sleepless night in Dieppe. Though I've done all the paperwork, read the entire DERFA website for pet entrance into England, and poured over the ferry's website, I couldn't stop myself from worrying about our trip across the English Channel. England is notoriously strict about admitting animals so here's hoping the day continues to go smoothly and we're eating fish and chips before the day is over.
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