STRASBOURG!!! Day 2

First full day in Strasbourg = great success!!!

Woke up to an amazing breakfast and fresh coffee, then went to class with Oriane. It was an English class with a Canadian professor, and it was actually super fun. It's cool to see how other universities in France work, and got to watch a clip of "Death Proof", as well as observe mock speed dating. My morning was pretty sweet.

Then lunch, which was made by Oriane's mom.... and it was delicious. Who knew that pasta with tomato sauce could taste so good?!

In the afternoon, Oriane and I went walking all around Strasbourg. Like the vast majorities of cities in France, walking around is the best way to get acquainted with things, and everything is close enough together that you can do a whole turn of the downtown in less than an hour. First stop was Notre Dame de Strasbourg. It's absolutely beautiful, and I believe I mentioned it in yesterday's post, as we went inside for a bit. Well, today we busted the bank and paid 2 euro 50 each to climb up some treacherously deep, narrow, winding steps all the way to the landing of the cathedral, which is 66 meters (or 216.5 feet) high. The view of the city was absolutely spectacular, even with all the fog:

I really love this city so much. The melange of French and German influence is visible everywhere, and its inhabitants are extremely friendly. Also, they just finished filming a scene from Sherlock Holmes 2 in the cathedral the day before I arrived... that's right: I missed seeing Robert Downey, Jr. and Rachel McAdams doing their thing by one day. Oh, well.

On the way down the treacherous spiral stairs, there are some very amazing views as well. I snapped one of the cathedral's amazing architecture just for you:

The lower we went, the stronger the strands of music became that had begun floating up to us when we begin the descent downward towards the ground again. It was a beautiful falsetto voice, accompanied by a mandolin, singing ballads in Old French. Returning to the front of the cathedral, Oriane and I saw the street performer, dressed like a mideval troubadour strumming is well-worn and well-loved mandolin, using the bells strapped around his ankles as percussion. Yes, it was even more magical than it sounds.

After our adventure at the cathedral, Oraine and I ventured along the river L'Ill into a section of the city called "Petit France". It was absolutely gorgeous.

Observe:

We meandered about some more, talking and enjoying the sites, and attempted to visit Oriane's dad at work, but he was super busy and that fell through. On the way home, I picked up an orchid plant as a thank you to the family because the Kopps feed me and let me sleep here free of charge and have been nothing but super nice. I also picked up a nice bottle of Merlot from Bordeaux for them... but that's a surprise for Sunday as a parting present.

Afternoon coffee was delightful, and when Mr. Kopp came home, we all ventured back to Petit France and ate out at a little Thai restaurant. Best. Meal. Ever. Oh, it was so delicious!!! I devoured my vegetable dish while having wonderful conversation with Oriane and her parents. I truly surprised myself with how much my French has improved in the month and a half I have been in France. Practice makes perfect, I guess.

After dinner, we slowly meandered back to the apartment. Strasbourg is just as beautiful at night! Everything takes on a different hue, and window shopping becomes more fun.

Getting back to the apartment meant dessert, which consisted of ice cream (which was, of course, superb) and chilling out together and watching evening programs.

Today has been a most excellent day, and tomorrow's adventures will consist of venturing into Germany... perhaps. Oh, and Oriane forced me to pose for her, so there should be a few pictures of me in Strasbourg eeking onto the pages of my blog before the weekend is over.