Yesterday we woke up to snow and sleeting rain. We could see the snow sticking to the trees at the top of La Bastille. Cold but kind of exciting. I imagine it's their first snow of the season. Jenna and I went to a crêperie for brunch and then walked through the Jardin de Ville on the way to the Musée de Grenoble which had lots of nice art to admire. We could also see the snow accumulating on La Bastille when we were in there.
After that museum we crossed the river and went up to the Musée archéologique Grenoble - Saint-Laurent. It was really interesting and had an amazing audio-tour with video projecting on the walls that synced up to the audio. The former St. Laurent church was built on the ruins of a Gallo-Roman necropolis that became an archaeological site in 1983 and a museum in 1986. Definitely worth a visit. And it was free.
On the way back towards the center of town we stopped in another crêperie for dessert. I got a nutella crêpe. Yum.
We then went back to the apartment because we were going to go out to dinner with Jamie and Warren. When we got there Jamie announced that she bought some French beer for me to try. They have been so sweet and very hospitable. And verdict from all was that - it was good! Definitely had a Belgian flavor to it, but the French beer was really tasty. At least that one was (La Goudale). We all shared a big bottle of beer, finished the good chardonnay from the night before, and then headed to a fondue restaurant, A Confesse, where you walk into the restaurant through an old confessional. They had baskets hanging above the tables on a pulley system, where they put the bread to dip into the fondue. We enjoyed two types of cheese fondue and two different bottles of vin rouge. We then wandered back home to find a typical dessert with coffee (cafe gourmand) which is the ends of other desserts. Or at least it used to be, and now I think they actually make it for that reason. Reminds me of the concept of the donut hole. We were too late though, all the places near their apartment that sell them were closed. So we had some ice cream and frozen Reese's peanut butter cups at home and watched Django Unchained. I fell asleep in the middle of it and woke up for the end (we did start it at 11:30pm!). I'll have to watch it again.
Since this is my last post about Grenoble I must say, it is such a nice town and great to be here. Everyone in Paris made fun of the fact that we were coming here, or even asked why we were. I get that it's not a typical tourist destination (unless you ski), but it's been so nice. People need to stop knocking it before they visit.
One thing I've been looking for in every country is a nice big fireplace to sit at with a coffee or glass of wine, and my book. Still haven't found it. When we arrived in Grenoble Jamie and Warren asked us if there is anything we'd like to see or do, and I told them about my quest to find a fireplace. Jamie put the question on her local forum of other expats, and it's apparently become quite the conversation, and they all now want to sit by a fireplace with me. They did find one in a restaurant, but no fire. Maybe the locals don't think it's cold enough yet. Or maybe it's just not common in the places I've been to. I think it should be.
We're heading back to Paris this afternoon.
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