An Excellent Weekend!

The weekend was a few days ago but I didn't have a chance to update until now.  I had a good weekend!

Friday night I met up with some friends and we went to a concert with local artists.  It was really chill and there were some great musicians there.  The first group was an acoustic guitarist (he was French but sang in really good English), a cellist, and a drummer who played African drums.  Later there was a local hip-hop/jazz/blues group who put on a great show.  They're called Bazbat and you can listen to their only song on youtube here:

Bazbat le clip

After the concert, Brenah, Ryan and I went to a bar where an old drunk man talked to us for what seemed like forever.  He was really creepy (ask for details) and practically told us his life story.  When he finally went outside to smoke a cigarette (after telling us he would be right back), the three of us slid out the door as quickly and discreetly as possible.  We went to another bar and hung out there instead.

Saturday I slept in.  In the afternoon, Astrid came over for lunch with the family and we had a delicious lunch followed by coffee and hanging out.  Astrid recently learned the Valse dance for her wedding so she wanted to practice.  She had to pull her dad's leg to get him to dance with her, it was so funny!

Saturday afternoon I went to L'orangerie park with Jillian.  It was a pretty nice day outside so I'm glad I went out and enjoyed it.  There is a restaurant in the park, a mini zoo, a petting zoo, a pond, and a playground.

Saturday night I went out with Astrid and Claire to see a movie, "Qui a envie d'etre aime?" (Who wants to be loved?)  It was about a lawyer who isn't religious but goes to a catechism class out of curiosity and ends up converting.  There was more to the story than that, but that was the basis.  It was a really good movie! I liked it a lot.  After dinner, the three of us went to a small restaurant to have tartines for a late dinner.  I had a tartine with goat cheese and thyme... it was delicious!!  Afterwards I met up with Jillian and Trish and we went to a bar called Xanadou where I tried my first absinthe.  Here is my reaction:

It was an interesting experience; verrrrry strong.  I think I would do it again.

Sunday morning I woke up early to go to a Viennese Carnival in Rosheim, France with Jillian, Kaila, and Jillian's host mom, who drove us there.  The people who wore the masks and costumes will be the same ones in Venice at Carnivale soon!  It was cool to see but I have a weird fear of masks so I was kind of terrified during this festival.  There was one guy who was dressed as a jester and I saw him walking in my direction in a crowd.  I turned and said something to Jillian and when I turned back around, he was right next to me.  I screamed loudly and annoyed the French around me.  

Scary!

I was scared.  Look at his mask!!! :(

However, there were some beautiful (not scary) masks for sale.  In retrospect, I wish I had bought one. They were hand painted in Italy...I'm having non-buyers remorse (again)!  

After walking around the Carnivale, we ate lunch.  With lunch, I had a French doughnut-type pastry with filling called a Beignet. These delicious puffs of heaven are only sold during the month of February in France so I'm enjoying them as often as I can.  My favorites are the strawberry-jelly filled ones but there are also chocolate, cream, and Nutella variations.  

Left: My beignet framboise, Right: Kaila's beignet creme

After the Carnivale, Jillian's host mom drove us to Mount Sainte Odile.  It was gorgeous!  The top used to be a monastery.  I learned about the story of Sainte Odile and saw beautiful views!!

Mount Ste. Odile

Inside the Chapel of Angels at Mt. Ste. Odile

After spending some time on top of the mountain, Jill's host mom drove us to a small town called Obernai.  It was a really cute town and in the city center there was a tiny ice-skating rink.  Jill's host mom told us that the town is known for it's colorful roof tiles and colorful versions of the traditional German-style houses/buildings.  Here are some examples.

As we walked around the town, we saw a delicious-looking pastry shop.  Jill's host mom bought meringues.  It was nice to get out of Strasbourg (even for just a day) and walk around other places in France.  

This week is the last week of classes before winter break at school, so of course the week is going by terribly slowly.  I can't wait for my adventures of winter break, though!