The Most Fabulous of Weekends

Sunday: If you've been able to follow my blog without getting completely jealous of me, that stops here. Today I woke up early because my host family wanted to take me hiking... in the PYRENEES MOUNTAINS. It is a rather simple experience to talk about, but it is also something I will never forget. I have been in more beautiful places very little in my life, and I think it is totally not fair that some people will never do what I did today or see what I saw. We spent 6 spectacular hours in the mountains, talking and hiking and taking pictures. It only took about an hour and 15 min to get there so I hope we do this many more times. Christine and Lionel were both disappointed with how little snow there was today but I could have cared less: it was stunning! They want to bring me back in February when the mountains are covered in a big white blanket so we can wear rackets on our feet to hike through the snow. I love the snow, but something about hiking in the glorious sunshine under a strikingly blue sky was soul-soothing.
We ate lunch up there too which means you grab a boulder, patch of grass, log, or something else provided by nature and eat whatever you brought. Being french, Christine packed a full meal; coffee and all. You can ask my parents, I died over this lunch! (I talked to my family on ichat that night and let out all of my excitement on them). We started off with ham sandwiches (one thick slice of ham inside two pieces of Lionel's homemade wheat bread) and then moved on to another couscous salad. This one had mushrooms, greek cheese, tomatoes, and something sweet (I think raisins)... very Mediterranean and very good. After that, I sat with a hot cup of perfect french coffee and ate chocolate. Envy me- it's only natural. :)

This was a magnificent day; one of my favorites ever! When we were done hiking and made it back to the car, we changed out of our hiking boots and headed out for a hot drink. We stopped in Lourdes at a cabin-themed café where we each had chocolat chaud (hot chocolate) and Guilhem and I each ordered a chocolate crêpe. He got his with Nutella and mine came with melted chocolates sauce. Best.Snack.Ever!

For dinner, we had another green soup (broccoli and cheese, I believe) but this time it had a fish taste to it. After that, marinated white fish with rice. Delicious! The fish had tomatoes, herbs, butter, and oil smothered all over it and had been baked until it was falling apart. This was a fantastic meal and was just what we needed after such a long day. We finished with dessert- something I am falling in love with: fromage blanc avec de la confiture framboise. A white yogurt that taste like cottage cheese grains, with 3 spoonfuls of my favorite homemade raspberry jam mixed in. MMMmmmmmm

This has been an unforgettable weekend for me and I can't wait for more like this! I miss you all and I miss home so much but I am officially having a great experience here. I'm excited to share so much more with you and I'm looking forward to May 9th as if it were the day I should win the lottery. :)