Madelyn's Blog

Salut tout le monde! Sorry for not updating in 2 days, Saturday I was in the Basque country and yesterday I spent lounging and in the midst of naps and writing post cards and reading in bed I somehow never made it to the computer. The Pays Basque was lovely. We stopped first in the petite ville of Sauveterre de Bearn, home to a 15th century church which was a common stop for those on pilgrimages to Spain. We made another stop in St. Jean-Pied-de-Port, which means “foot of the mountain pass.” It is located, as you can guess, at the foot of the Pyrenees and the mountain pass to Spain. We climbed a hill to the Citadelle overlooking the city and spend a little time shopping for souvenirs. This region of France is famous for its colorful linens…everything from clothing to tablecloths to bags. For lunch, we ate in Saint Martin d’Arrossa at a restaurant called Chez Katina. The meal consisted of an appetizer plate (foie gras, tomato, egg, salami and ham), chicken marsala with potatoes, cheese with fig sauce, and an apple tarte. I couldn’t bring myself to try the foie gras just yet but everything else was delicious. From there we made our way (by charter bus, I should mention) to Saint-Jean-de-Luz, a.k.a. the beach. The city was pretty lively; everyone was out setting up for a tuna festival later that day. The clouds seemed to part as soon as our feet hit the sand, and the breeze from the ocean felt wonderful. We laid by the water and watched a beach volleyball tournament for an hour and a half or so, then ventured into the city and walked up and down its main street. Everything there was very expensive because its a popular destination for wealthy tourists. All in all we spent a lovely day in the Pays Basque, and I think all that walking and eating and laying in the sun took its toll because we were all asleep on the bus before we even got out of the city. I got home at about 8:30pm, and by then I had no motivation to go out of the house again so I ate dinner with the family and retired to ma chambre.

Yesterday I spent at home too, working on homework and writing post cards. Class was good today, we read a french cartoon book and learned about verb tenses. I went shopping at LeClerc, which is the French version of Walmart, basically. (By “French version” I mean a nicer with a huge bakery and produce section.) None of the big stores here provide you with disposable plastic bags, you either have to bring your own or buy reusable ones for 15 cents. It’s a little inconvenient when you forget yours or your trip to the store is unanticipated, but I’m sure it cuts down on a lot of waste. I’ve been here 2 weeks and I’ve yet to see a single grocery bag blowing down the side of the road in the grass.

I hear it’s stormy in Michigan right now, but here it’s a cloudless 80 degrees.

A demain