Auvergne

this has truly been a weekend for eating.

last night a friend had a group of friends from Lyon come for dinner, and we all had Raclette – it was awesome. Part of the fun was the way you eat it – since you basically melt pieces of cheese over ham, bread and potatoes, it takes a while to eat and you spend a lot of time sitting around talking, which is cool.

then, today, a group of us (a different group of friends) drove to the Chaudefour Valley to a friend’s father’s restaurant. The region is amazing – here is a good article describing what the region is like. The mountains and valleys were breathtaking, and surrounded by swirling mists. At the restaurant we all ate Truffades, a dish from Auvergne (this province) made with potatoes, cheese, and I’m not sure what else. It was excellent – eating at this restaurant in the countryside was extremely French – the only thing that could have made it any more French would have been if the chef (and server) had come out of the kitchen while we were eating to play the accordion. Which, of course, is exactly what he did – I think that was a first for me!

at any rate, it is experiences like these that make me very happy that I decided to take my courses here in French – along with the language comes a great deal of amazing culture. It’s the sort of education you can’t get from a book.