20 June 2011

Volcanic hike, bike ride, banks-a-go-go, nacho cheese doritos.





Friday. A day with no work, no classes, no grading, no lessons, not even a single exam to facilitate.

A 9-euro ticket and a thirty-minute train ride, an hour in a parking lot, reading in the shade of a twisty French tree, a picnic on a park bench alongside the Loire river, and an afternoon of leisurely pedaling along on a men's white mountain bike with dysfunctional gear shifter and extremely uncomfortable seat.

Home. A lasagna dinner (prepared the day before, simply requiring an hour of baking to make the layers of cheese and vegetables delectably malleable and melty) with all of our house, a big salad and French "apératif", and then an incredible home-made caramel apple pie with an enormous scoop of French vanilla ice cream for dessert.

A night of beautiful dreams and restful sleep. A trip down memory lane, a return to my first French home, the picturesque Puy-en-Velay. A volcanic hike on Sunday, a visit with my host family and a tour around the ancient fortress that watches over the sleepy city.

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