The Strike Strikes Back!

Let me summarize the last few days for you...

Monday (night): Finally ordered Speed Rabbit Pizza, the place under my apartment! It was really good--tried a barbecue/onion/ground beef/pickles and a chicken/curry/potato/bacon bits. Both yummy!

Tuesday: Went to Vitré in the afternoon to get my haircut with Caitlin! It was 19euros at a walk-in place... I have some funky layers at the moment, but it looks and feels soooooo much better short again! We spluged and bought 16euros worth of fancy chocolates at a shop we passed and spent the evening eating chocolates and these gratin potatos:

Serves 6

Baking time: 1 hour 15 minutes

• 3 pounds (1.5 kg) Yukon Gold potatoes
• 1/2 pound (225 g) Gruyère cheese (either Emmental or Comté –Comté being stronger, or Beaufort if you can find some –it's very expensive in the US)
• 8 oz. (225 g) crème fraîche (french cultured cream), or heavy cream if you can't find crème fraîche
• 1 egg
• 1 cup (20 cL) milk
• salt and black pepper
• butter (just enough to butter the dish –no oil please!)
• 2 garlic cloves

1. Peel the potatoes. Slice them thinly (about 1/8") and place in water to remove excess starch.
2. Butter a deep oven-safe dish. Peel and press the garlic cloves or chop them very finely. Spread at the bottom of the dish.
3. Preheat your oven at 390F (200C).
4. Dry the potato slices in a clean cotton cloth. Place a first layer of potato slices in the dish. Season with salt and pepper. Spread 1 tablespoon of crème fraîche. Sprinkle with shredded cheese.
5. Add a new layer of potato and proceed as described above. Repeat until all the potatoes are layered. Make sure to keep 1 tablespoon of crème fraîche for later. Finish with cheese.
6. Pour the milk on the potatoes.
7. Bake for 1 hour at 390F.
8. Beat the egg with the remaining crème fraîche and pour this mix on the gratin. Bake for 15 more minutes. 

Wednesday: After some stovetop oatmeal, I took the train back to Rennes to drop off my stuff then headed back to the station at 12:30 to meet Pierre-Antoine for a trip to Paris. His interview was right next to the Eiffel Tower, so we wandered around the park there for a few hours beforehand. The interview itself took only 15 minutes and seemed to go well, but he will not know anything until April!!! After that, we metroed to Opera and my favorite steet in Paris--Rue Sainte-Anne in the Japanese quarter! Had a delicious Oyokodon dinner and metroed back to the Montparnasse Station where there is a STARBUCKS!!! Needless to say, I was content with the day ;)

Thursday: Another STRIKE day! It's about the same things as back in October, but recently, the government said that all retiring professors will not be replaced in order to cut jobs... One prof was saying that next year was going to be all messed up since they won't have enough profs for their current student grouping system. So out of my three classes, I had three students, two, and zero... I bought groceries and then went to the CAF office to sort out why I am not yet getting my housing aid money. I was there almost an hour, and the lady just made yet another photocopy of my salary bulletin (I had already mailed them two). Hopefully, nothing else will be messed up.

I was so happy to have a busy day! I really am not a person who is content doing nothing :/

So now I am enjoying some tea with my new favorite snack of baguette with fig jam and brie cheese. SOOOO DELICIOUS! All of my high-class blog readers should jump on this bandwagon!

Pictures to come when my camera is recharged, lol!

Paris in the snow!

Snow all Thursday and Friday--so much that kids decided to cut class! Fools!

Now, I must define what will now be known as "pulling a Pierre-Antoine": one lets one's friend get on the metro and chooses not to get on with said friend when the noise sounds and the doors close, so the friend rides alone without saying a proper goodbye. Used in a sentence: "Pierre-Antoine pulled a Pierre-Antoine on me Friday afternoon." Tsss...

Apart from that on Friday, I didn't do much except enjoy the snow and meet some assistants for drinks--British, Spanish, Guatemalan, and Mexican. I tried a beer with flavored syrup in it, choosing kiwi over banana, peach, passion fruit, violet, and more.Good but too sugary to drink a whole pint of it.

Saturday I took a day trip into Paris to meet Caitlin who was there to visit Versailles with her students on Sunday. My main wish was some Christmas shopping, but there was no time!!! Let me start from the beginning...

I caught the 9am TGV (fast, direct train) from Rennes to Paris, supposedly arriving at 11:10. My train was late because of snow, Caitlin was late meeting me, then the quickest metro to the museum where we were meeting another Paris assistant was shut down so we had to take another and then walk. We arrived at almost one!

In the meantime, we walked though the falling snow from the edge of the Louvre to the museum--really super snowy! We saw a Chrisrmas market on Champs Élysées as we hurried past. The museum, Palais de la découverte, was ok. It is a science musum with exhibits from the human body to magnets, but I've seen better presentations. We did see the planetarium show and a show on training rats in mazes which were interesting. And at the fencing exhibit, you could try different moves in a box with an electronic target! Afterwards, we walked back through les Tuileries (gardens at the Louvre) to the Starbucks across the street from the Louvre. Caitlin and I sat there for an hour to warm up and eat since we had not gotten lunch. Then, it was past 6 and time to head back to the train station. My train left at 7:30 and I was back in my apartment by 10. I'll go back to Paris 18-22 for shopping and enjoying, I think. Maybe Disneyland too.

Me and Caitlin in the Tuileries gardens.

I was so glad to get away for the day. I was getting to the point when I feel like my life is the whole world... so it's nice to get away and get perspective that my little 'problems' amount to nothing in the grand scheme of things! It makes them seem smaller and more manageable. And despite the annoyances of time lost and a mediocre museum, I was so happy just to do something different and have a little adventure. The Starbucks Caramel Noisette Latte was also super delicious with a blueberry muffin ;)

I was too wound up to sleep after a fun-filled day. First, I took some pictures of the Christmas lights in Rennes, which have officially been turned on! I found some people at bar Angélus, a classy wine place at the Mairie, and had a kir and conversation. Then, on the way home, I grabbed a kebab to nourish my tired body. It was a satisfying day.

Lights on Rue le Bastard, a shopping street behind my apartment.

Today's plan is to finish my music lesson for the week, write Christmas cards, and watch Into the Wild so I can return the dvd to the prof tomorrow. A hard life, I know ;)

A few more pictures are in my Winter album, link on the sidebar to the right!