First Fois Gras

I am sitting in Marjerie's apartment in Paris, sipping powdered coffee and listening to French music videos on TV. In half an hour I will leave for the gare to pick up Vanessa, my Canadian friend. Believe it or not, she is a French student, in France, and has never been to Paris! I am so excited to show her one of my all-time favorite cities today. It's always fun to see Paris with someone who has never seen it before. Everything is more exciting and beautiful when seen through someone else's eyes for the first time. We are going to visit the Christmas markets here and go to tea and see (not climb) the Eiffel Tower ... there is so much to do! Not to mention all the last minute Christmas shopping that always comes up. ("Yes, I know I already got my mom 14 gifts, but she would just love this ... and it's only ... euros!")
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Last weekend I was in Tours with the family I live with. Ok, actually, I thought I was going to be in Tours. It was more in the general vicinity of Tours - namely, on a farm in the middle of the country. I will have to go back to see the actual city, which I hear is rather lovely. But the weekend was wonderfully passed (sorry, that's my French coming out: Vous-avez passée une très bonne journée ? ). There was lots of talking (good for my accent) and lots of food (bad for my forme). The big dinners were very traditional (think fois gras, lots of cheese, and six courses) and, because the grandfather used to own a vineyard, the ever-present wine was very good as well. I must have been a big hit with him (he loved to speak French to me veeerrry slowly) because he invited me to visit him in St Nazaire. He also wants to come take me and his granddaughters to a vineyard outside of Angers sometime after Christmas, to educate us on wine tasting. On Friday afternoon, we also went to see the tiny Château d’Azay-le-Rideau. I'd never say no to a castle!
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This past week went by in a whirlwind. I went to a fabulous jazz concert with Katrin and Vanessa on Tuesday night. We had vin chaud after the concert of course. Then, on Wednesday, I made peanut butter cookies (gifts for Marj and Sofie) with Katrin. Katrin was so funny, she just loved the thought of eating classic American cookies. And she can't stop laughing whenever I say "Holy Cow!" You learn a lot about yourself when you spend time with German friends.