Social Stars and Supa Stunnas

I love the city, but every once in a while it's nice--if not necessary--to escape.  This past weekend we went to Nancy and Luxembourg, and it's hard to believe that i'm already back on our polka dot sheet-covered couch in Paris.  

Last thursday, we went to see the Chateau de Vincennes just outside of paris.  It is a medieval castle, complete with moat (now filled with grass) and dungeons (which, contrary to my previous belief, are not basements.  the king lived in a dungeon, surrounded by a moat, along with his high-status prisoners).  We had to cut our castle visit short to catch a train to Nancy.   

As some of you very well know, neither Maddie nor i know how to pack.  We were going out of town for three nights, and maddie and i had our luggage filled to the brim.  We hobbled down our street with our bags practically spilling out our terrible french straightener and passports, trying to swquish (like a bug!) the wild flowers we brought as a housewarming gift.  I'm surprised they made it there.

The train ride was fun, actually.  I am proud to say that Miss Piggy, my five-year-old pink i pod mini, complete with black and white screen, still holds out for long train rides.  I watched quaint french towns and herds of cows (they didn't even need those spots, claire) roll by while listening to haley bonar, wanting to take pictures to share these sights with you, but a camera just couldn't capture it.

Then our train car was empty, and Maddie and I took advantage of it (click to see video of stir-crazy train behavior).  

We arrived in Nancy, and were greeted by our three lovely friends, Antoine, Martin, and Alban.  I bove them.  Maddie and I are lucky to have found such fun and inviting people to show us around the Ville de Nancy!  Its a middle-sized city, complete with cobblestone streets and a pretty fountain that we recreated.  

Too much happened this weekend to blog about, but i will cover some highlights:

The Pepin Family: 

 Antoine's mom and dad and sister (and grandparent's cat, and Patton, the dog) were so nice to us.  When we got in to Nancy, they kissed us on the cheeks and we had an amazing home cooked meal of this ham in a sauce with rice.  And bread.  And wine.  And cake, with some other sort of sauce.  And digestif (a tiny amount of liquor in a shot glass, which, madeline and i embarrassingly took like a shot, only to learn 5 min later that you're supposed to sip very slowly to feel the burn... oops...).  Both his parents are super fashionable... just cool.  I want to be them.

Luxemborg:

The second day, Maddie, Alban, Martin, Antoine and myself drove t0 Luxembourg (a small country about an hour from Nancy) to see iamx and crystal castle in concert.  there was no border, hence no reason for my passport.... am i a fugitive?!??!  ahhh. 

We drove around looking for Le Rockhal on Rockhal Street (no joke), and had a scary moment where we thought we were in the movie Hostel, because we were surrounded by scary warehouses.  Don't worry, mom, I am alive.

The concert:

We met up with some of the guy's friends from Nancy, and they were also all really cool.  We kind of stood out in a crowd of emo kids and supa stunnas (gothic/emo/basically anything amazing, possibly in costumes).  I had never heard iamx before.  if i had just heard their music on a cd, i probably would have passed it by, but i loved them live.  It was like hard core electronic goodness with lights and awesome stage presence.  sadly the crystal castle show was cut off after like 3 songs, because someone in the audience grabbed the lead singer's mike and she kicked him in the chest, and they stopped the show (that and she was too drunk to continue to perform).  

Jumping pictures:  

Madeline and I have been really into these in France, trying to capture airborne moments on film.  Luckily our friends in Nancy and Luxembourg were into it too.  We got some cool photos outside the concert in Lux of like 10 people laughing and trying to jump at the same time.

Field Running:

On the way home from Luxembourg, the stars were so amazing, we stopped the car and got out and ran around a field.  Exhilarating.  

Animals:  

Dandy the kitty was adorable, and tried to sleep on top of maddie (she kicked him out, i cried).  Patton the dog has a beautiful spirit, and i liked walking him.  Maddie and i practiced our french by reading antoine a good morning story about a petit souris (little mouse).  Ratatouille also came in Maddie's suitcase.  He brought his art supplies (he likes collaging), but spent a lot of the time sleeping because he was so tired from travel (he doesn't get out of his pipe much).  here is a video of maddie attempting animal strengths (click).

Belge:

Delish frite sandwich with weird sauce that makes you feel really sick afterward.

Pranks:

Maddie and i are really into pranks.  I discovered that Martin has a hidden talent for pranks when he threw his coins under the table, and while he picked them up, tied Antoine's shoe lace to the chair.  akdfkjadkfjakldjfajhhahahhahahha haha priceless.  sorry, emoseed1.

Cherades:

My favorite was Antoine acting out "Chicken Run" in a park in the middle of the afternoon.  He ran like a chicken, hakdfklajdfklj.  here is a video of the park we went to.  (click!) and another video.... (sorry, i don't know how to embed them in the blog).

Impromptu T&T:

We went out for this guy Mathias' birthday (sorry, krueckeberg, you're next month), and sat around telling hilarious embarrassing stories, of which i have none. :)  

So, this post was really long.... to those of you who are actually still reading, i will sum this up by saying that this weekend was super fun.  tomorrow, its back to school..... sigh.  we are getting a new fridge tomorrow, though, so that should be fun, nyuk nyuk nyuk.

i have class in 6 hours, i need to sleep.

a bientot

SMB