2005 Faverges Trip - Fourth report

WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2005

As suggested in the previous report, we haven't done anything exciting this week ... yet. We've had classes every day, of course, and the students are being very diligent in preparing both their written and their oral reports. They are soaking up vocabulary at an impressive rate and using it with enthusiasm. The photo at left shows a conversation group led by Christelle Saunier.

With the improvement in the weather, "recess" is especially nice. The rain and clouds have left, and each day is a bit warmer than the previous one. The shot at right was taken Monday, when the air was still cool, and fresh snow could be seen on the 2400-meter Mont Charvin which looms in the background of this shot.

Of course, with an excellent pâtisserie across the street from our classrooms, it is difficult to resist the temptation of sampling various pastries between classes. It is a side-benefit of being on the heart of a small French town, and the students are learning the names of many unfamiliar pastries, such as the elegantly named "pet-de-nonne" which means "nun's fart" ... but which despite its unusual name is simply a puff pastry with whipped cream.

A favorite pastry is the petit pain au chocolat well known to Americans as a "chocolate croissant." The students have noted that it is not shaped like a croissant (crescent) and therefore does not bear that name. But here these rolls are buttery, flaky, feather-light and twice as large as their would-be imitations back home. A nice energy snack before heading back into another 90-minute class!

In the photo at left, Adam can be seen savoring his petit pain au chocolat while Stephanie waits for the photographer to go away before she attempts to bite into her tartelette aux fraises (strawberry tart).

Wednesday was once again market day. With the sunny weather upon us, we enjoyed strolling through the market square; Adam bought ripe black cherries, other students bought bags and various knick-knacks.

Because today was Yvette Millot's birthday, her two American daughters bought her a nice bouquet, and a couple of other students did the same for their French host mothers in anticipation of La Fête des Mères (Mother's Day) which will be Sunday, when we are in Paris.

In the photo at right, we can see Maria and Alexandra with their French mother, who had once again prepared the Wednesday group lunch.

Today we were able to sit in the Millot's garden for the meal, which consisted of quenelles de brochet à la sauce Nantua, a delicacy of a neighboring region. The quenelles are dumplings made with bread, egg, milk, and pike meat, baked in a sauce made of cream, tomato, and crawfish.

Those interested in trying to reproduce the dish can do a websearch and find many recipes. However, once you see what's involved, few will even attempt to make quenelles, which are devilishly difficult to make correctly, even if you've managed to assemble all of the necessary ingredients.

In the photo at left, Michelle displays two quenelles on her plate. Though it looks like an enormous meal, the dumplings are actually very fluffy and could probably be compacted into a ball a quarter of the size that we see them on the plate.

The rest of the afternoon was spent reading and preparing for the town hall reception where the group was greeted by one of the deputy mayors, Mme Sénéchal whom we all know as "Pin-Pin" (difficult to represent in English... try saying "pan-pan" but without pronouncing the "n" ) .

The photo above shows the Town Hall's reception room, bedecked with French, Savoie, and American flags. A photo of President Chirac overlooks the table from which Kir and fruit juice were served. Kir has proven to be a very popular drink once again; many students will undoubtedly be carrying bottles of Crème de Cassis (blackcurrant liqueur) in their suitcases at the end of the Program.

The photo at right is clickable. It shows all of the students as well as many of the host families.

The young couple standing in front at right are 1999 Faverges program participant Egle (Laurinaviciute) Hopkins and her husband, who showed up today for a one-day visit with her French host family during an extended tour of Europe.

The photos below are just a few shots of some our students with French host family members.

Those who know them will recognize them without difficulty. Those who know Eliot can see that he's fully recovered from last week's appendectomy.

Thursday, we get up at the crack of dawn and head to Annecy to catch the TGV train to Paris. We'll be getting into the capital around noontime, and will go directly to our hotel in the 14th arrondissement, a comfortable neighborhood with plenty of typical Parisian shops and restaurants. Our hotel is conveniently located near a métro stop.

Once we've left our bags in the hotel, we'll get back on the métro and start exploring the city, concentrating on the Latin Quarter this first day. Friday will be our big tourism day, when we'll visit landmarks from morning til late evening; nightfall will be spent on a boat riding down the Seine river.

Saturday, we will visit the XVIth Century district called Le Marais in the morning; we'll meet some French students for lunch in the Latin Quarter. After lunch, students will be free to roam the city for the rest of the day as well as Sunday and much of Monday. We return to Annecy late Monday evening.

An attempt will be made to post a web page on Saturday; in a big city like Paris, there should be a web connection available somewhere!