Life in Lille

Once again I must apologize, because it has been a very long time since I last posted. I was going strong, posting like twice a week, but then I was without internet for a month and fell out of the habit. But I'm trying to post more often now! I really am!

Anyway, things are going pretty well here in Lille. Thanksgiving is next week, which is exciting, although Jenny and I haven't finalized our plans yet. And it's less than a month until my family comes to visit and we all go to Paris! And of course, Christmas is drawing very near, which always gets me very excited. I really do think that the Christmas season is the "most wonderful time of the year". I can't wait to break out the Christmas music, but that must wait until after Thanksgiving. You can't start listening to it too early, or it isn't as special.

As of today, Jenny and I have a washing machine and dryer in our house, which is awfully nice. We found them at a used appliance store and brought the dryer home (with the help of Francois, of course!) on Friday, and the washing machine was delivered this morning. I'm looking forward to doing laundry where I live, which I haven't done since my freshman year in Morrill. I liked living at Crossroads West, but one of the downsides was definitely the gross, sketchy basement laundry room.

On Saturday, Jenny and I went to a raclette party, which is kind of like fondue. You melt cheeses in these little pan things, and then pour it on breads, meats, potatoes, etc. It was delicious, and I was very full afterward. Then on Sunday, Jenny and I went to the Palais des Beaux Arts (Museum of Fine Arts), which is about a ten-minute walk from our house. We thought that it was free on Sundays, but it turns out that it's only free the first Sunday of the month. It was no big deal though, because it only cost about four euros each. I was not particularly impressed with the collection, but maybe that's just because I'm much more interested in modern art.

To end this post, here's a picture of a friterie that's near our house. "Frites" is what they call french fries here. This place is awesome, it's basically kind of a fast food-type cafe, where you can get hamburgers, sandwiches, pizza, frites, etc. for pretty cheap, but it's all freshly made and really delicious. Jenny and I have been going here a lot!