La Croix Rousse and Crepes

So I’m sitting alone in my new apartment, and I’m still homesick, and I’m scared (because anyone who knows me knows I’m a scardeycat, and it’s night time in France, and there’s a baby crying, and I’m by myself), and I have no internet. But other than that, things are pretty wonderful, so I decided to write a Microsoft Word blog post about it that I’ll hopefully be able to actually post sometime soon.

A week ago, I moved into the apartment that I’ll be living in for the rest of the year. Though I’ve already briefly mentioned this, I feel the need to say again that it’s in the Croix Rousse area of Lyon. This part of town is really awesome; it’s on a hill, so from almost anywhere here (including my bedroom window!) you have an incredible view of the city. The area itself has a lot of cool architecture and graffiti, as well as lovely people. And everyday, (though Saturdays and Sundays are the biggest) there’s a huge street market on the main boulevard (a block away from my apartment!) with vendors selling fresh fruits, veggies, meat, cheese, bread, and more. I have never had the patience to cook, I actually kind of hate cooking, but these street markets inspire me to maaaybe give cooking another shot. Additionally, there’s been a carnival here, spread out along the main boulevard and surrounding streets, that will continue until November 11th. It’s pretty crazy, I walk out of my apartment at night and hear screams from kids on the rides and see flashing colorful lights and best of all, smell crepes being cooked: there are about a million different creperies/churro-eries/waffleries, and I’ve already determined which one sells the best nutella crepes, and yes, I eat at least one every day. In short, I love Croix Rousse.

The apartment itself is adorable. It’s cozy, but doesn’t feel too small. I honestly do have a million dollar (euro?) view from my bedroom window, as well as the living room. We don’t have a dishwasher, but I actually kind of like washing dishes (and it’s something I can contribute to meals, since I hate cooking). We have a TV that has thus far thoroughly entertained me with The Adams Family (the movie), MTV’s Exposed, and NFL highlights, all in French. The only bad (and not even bad, frustrating is a better word) thing about it is that there’s no Internet, but this has been actually kind of refreshing in a way. It’s becoming more of an issue lately though, because as nice as it is to read books and do crosswords and watch French Exposed in my downtime here, I do need that damn Internet for school. And keeping in touch.

This past week (I’m writing this on Sunday, November 4th, for the record) was our Tous Saints (All Saints) vacation, and Andrew came to visit! I don’t think I’m even going to try to recount all our adventures, but they involved gay clubs, H&M, an Australian bar, pretty unexciting Halloween costumes because we have no money (a Halloween that didn’t come close to comparing to America’s, sadly), promenading all around the city (which was cool because I actually saw new beauty of Lyon: suddenly the things I see everyday were beautiful and impressive, and even though I knew they were in the back of my mind, I never really actively saw them that way because I’m living here rather than visiting. So being with Andrew, a visitor, gave me a new perspective), crossword puzzles, a lot of crepes and churros, giraffes, zebras, an elephant, a whole lot of monkeys, and a chocolate tasting exhibition. Needless to say, it was a great week, and it was especially great just being able to see Andrew.

Speaking of seeing friends, I’m going for Barcelona this coming weekend for my birthday! It’s hard to believe I’m already turning 21, or really just having a birthday in general so soon, because it honestly does not feel like we were breaking it down classy style at the manor for my 20th birthday an entire YEAR ago. I swear, time goes by too fast. It will also be weird to have the biggest American birthday in Europe, but I am really excited to go to Barcelona. I’ve heard nothing but amazing things about this city. And best of all I get to see so many of my friends!

Lately, and especially after writing this post, I’ve been feeling incredibly lucky. That, mixed with my homesickness, is a really strange feeling. It’s like I almost don’t deserve to be homesick, even though the two don’t really have anything to do with each other, but it makes the homesickness feel kind of selfish.

In any case, I really miss all of you. I wish all of you could come celebrate my birthday with me in Barcelona. That would be the best gift of all.

Well, I’ll tell you all about it next time!

Love, Meg