Hello friends! Well, it’s been another successful day in Bar le Duc. I let myself have a lazy Saturday morning, drinking coffee out of a bowl (French-style, but also because I don’t have any mugs) and doing the last bit of unpacking. I finally feel settled in, but I’m still looking forward to a trip to Ikea. The bare lightbulbs hanging down from the ceiling aren’t very homey, and I’m going to get frostbitten toes from the cold tile floor if I don’t find a rug. But other than that, everything seems to be functioning well and I’m enjoying the independence that comes with have my own little place. While I loved my host mom in Strasbourg, I could never get over the fact that I was still a guest in someone else’s home. Last night, I celebrated making my first dinner in France with a green pepper, tomato and emmental cheese omelette, baguette with tartare (a cheese spread with garlic and herbs—Strasbourg ladies, you know what I’m talking about) and bien sûr, a glass of wine. The bottle of wine was under 3 euros and from Alsace, so I figured I couldn’t go wrong with that. Have I mentioned that I love France?
So back to today. I decided to take a walk around town and get my bearings, which led me to wander up the main street, Boulevard de la Rochelle and then into the Ville Haute, the medieval part of town that’s high above the rest of the city. It was quite the hike, but once I was up there, the streets turned into narrow little passageways with alleys and paths veering off in every direction. I would’ve gotten completely lost except that I knew that to find my way home, I just had to go down. I visited St. Etienne, a beautiful church with a famous sculpture that was incredibly beautiful but darkly gothic.
After that I took another hike up through the city’s old fortifications where I found the local museum and the clock tower, for which Bar le Duc is famous. The tower wasn’t open for tours at the time, so I just stood outside and tried to summon one of the local cats over to me. Didn’t work. Méchant minou!
Finally I made my way back down to the main part of town, guided by the steeple of Notre Dame right outside my house. I stopped at the tabac by my house (they sell things like cigarettes, magazines, lotto cards, etc) to buy some phone credits. I finally got a taste of being the “celebrity American” when the cashier asked me if I was English. When I said no, I was American, his face lit up with a huge smile! He said his daughter was going to study abroad in the U.S. in January (he didn’t know where yet) and asked where I was from. When I said Chicago, his smile grew even bigger. As I was leaving the store, I heard him say to the other people in line, “Elle vient de Chicago! Elle est Americaine!” If only being American always garnered this response.
I’m going to look into buying internet on Monday, but for now, it’s still McDonalds. Yes, Daniel, it’s hard to break my daily two quarter pounders with extra mayo habit. But I’m working on it. For now, a view of the city from Ville Haute:
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