Hello everyone! This week was another super fun, exploratory, and relaxing week before our BIG travel month of October. School has still been going well, although the workload is increasing, I still have plenty of time to do fun things around Grenoble. Thursday I was asked to take over Xavier’s Center for International Education’s Instagram page! It was super fun getting to show people a day of my life in Grenoble. We also had a fun event where we got to meet authentic French students and talk to them about their college experiences and the city of Grenoble. They help us with our French and we help them with their English. Now we know “real” French people that can help us navigate Grenoble!
Friday we decided to go on an adventure and take one of the tram lines all the way to the end to a small town called Fontaine-Palluel. It was BEAUTIFUL! The town was very quaint and adorable, and they had a great view of the mountains. We tried hiking all the way up the mountain, but the hike was very steep and difficult for amateurs like ourselves, so we had to turn around about halfway up. It was still good exercise and a really fun experience with great friends. Later that night we went to our first French “football” game: Grenoble vs. Caen. It was so fun, and I felt like such a French person! The fans were so into the game, waving flags and chanting like crazy (see my videos!), it was awesome! Plus: Grenoble won!
Saturday we decided to do another, easier hike to Sassenage. We visited this city during orientation week, but it was raining, so we did not get to hike. However, this time we hiked to the wonderful waterfalls and caves. It was so amazing (see my pictures!) We had so much fun and some brave people even got in the 50 degree water! Finally, Sunday was a chill day to recover and do my homework, but I did take a break to ride the bubbles up to the Bastille. The bubbles are basically an enclosed ski-lift up the mountain, Grenoble is very famous for them. If you know me, you know that I detest heights and anything related to ski lifts/Ferris wheels, but I am proud of myself for facing my fears, and I do think the views were worth it (see my pictures!) I need to finish my homework and prepare for the busy week ahead as next weekend we will be visiting Aix-en-Provence. I’m very excited! I can’t believe it’s October already 🎃! Thank you all for following along.
Rachel