Final Days

Well, this is it. The last  week! I can't believe how quickly it's gone. And slow at some points. But it's all coming to an end now...soon it'll be back to work and responsibilities.

Wednesday mom started preparing Thanksgiving dinner, and I had plans to meet Justine downtown to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Harry Potter et les Reliques de Mort). Mom ended up coming with us because she had originally planned to meet dad downtown (because he was going with a guy from Steelcase who had come in from Amsterdam) but it was too complicated to try and figure out the meeting places and times for her, so she came to the movie with me. The movie was amazing, I was VERY happy with it! I can't wait to go home and see it again!
After the movie, mom and I got on tram C to go back to Homme de Fer where we take tram B to Lingolsheim Allouettes and get on bus 22 to Holtzheim Ouest, where we get off and walk only 2 minutes to our house. While we were riding on tram C, I pulled out the bus schedule, only to discover that the last bus ran 20 minutes ago.
So now, we were in a tricky situation. We could still take tram B, but then we would have to walk home from Lingolsheim...a rather far walk, and it was COLD out. Or, since we knew that dad was downtown, and even where he had parked, we could go and find the car. This is what we decided to do. It was about 8:30 (20:30). We didn't have any trouble finding the car in the parking ramp...the only problem we had was what to do after that. We knew dad wouldn't really be done with dinner soon, but we didn't want to try and go find him because there are thousands of restaurants downtown, and it would be only too easy to miss him. So, we waited. And waited. And waited. A little over an hour later, dad's bright blue coat appeared at the bottom of the stairs. Whew!

Thursday, dad dropped us off at Justine's apartment so that we could take over their kitchen and prepare Thanksgiving dinner for her and her parents and Claire and Marion. Justine had given me a set of keys the previous night at the movie, because her parents and herself had already left thursday morning for work and school. So mom and I let ourselves into the foyer, with two massive bags of supplies, plus three different dishes, and make up bags and such. We took the elevator up to the 2nd floor, went up to the apartment, turned the key twice...and nothing happened. We could hear the locks clicking, but the door was not budging one bit... So now what?
Well, a very long and embarrassing story later, a guy in a reality office below helped us to figure out the trick to the door (turn the key, then pull the key slightly, and push the door). So we got in and spent the day cooking up Thanksgiving dinner. We made; two turkeys, raspberry jello, mashed potatoes, corn,  mom's sweet potato dish, pumpkin pie, and apple pie. Justine got home around 4:30 (16:30), and her parents a bit after that. Claire and Marion came over around 7:00 (19:00) and then we sat down and had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Today we are meeting Justine and her parents downtown. Tonight is the night that they turn on all the lights they've been diligently putting up for a few weeks. So all the alleyways will be light up and decorated for Christmas. Then tomorrow we are meeting again downtown to go to the Christmas market. Sunday my parents and I might visit a few Christmas markets in surrounding villages. Then later in the day I'm going to nap till about midnight, so that I can be up and ready to go at 3:20 Monday morning to catch our 4:15 bus from Strasbourg to Frankfurt! Then we have a full day of travel, finally landing in Grand Rapids, MI at 6:30 pm. That is...if everything goes smoothly...

Sunday and Monday

Sunday was another uneventful day. We drove around Strasbourg a bit to see some sights my dad wanted to see. Then we stopped downtown, got lunch, and picked up some yummies for chocolate fondue (which I happened to ruin the first bar of chocolate we had, so we had to bust out the second. Oopsie!).
Monday, mom and I took the train to Paris to use up a train ticket.

We went to Montmartre, and saw Sacre Coeur. Mom did a bit of shopping, and we got lunch in a really cute restaurant (where we saw a little mouse scurrying along, the guy sitting near us freaked out. It was awesome).

Then we went to La Cinémathèque Française for Logan. We took some pictures, and went inside to look around. Mom wanted to see the  INSIDE of Notre Dame (something she's never done...even though she'd seen it twice now).

After that we went over to Champs-Èlysées to visit Laduree, a famous store that sells the world's best macarons. Then we stopped in a restaurant to have hot chocolates and dessert before getting on our train back home. A very fun day!

We made sure to touch Point Zero before leaving!

"Don't You Think?!" Drunken Momma

Well, this weekend was our farewell to going abroad. No more long travel days and lugging luggage. While this is a happy thought, it's also a bit sad because it means this vacation is coming to an end.
So saturday, up and on the road. We drove to Evian (yes, like the water bottles), France. The funny part about this, was that we drove through Switzerland to get there. The original plan for this weekend was to stay in Evian, because it was cheaper than in Switzerland, but spend the majority of our time in Geneva. We never even saw Geneva.

On our way to Evian, we stopped and ate lunch somewhere in Switzerland along Lac Leman (Lake Geneva). Once we got to Evian, we parked and got settled into our hotel. Then, since it was getting late in the afternoon, we decided to stay in Evian for the evening. We wandered around the streets for a bit. Then we stopped into a salon de thé. I got a really yummy coconut cappuccino. My mom had decided that we were in need of a night out, since we hadn't seen much nightlife (apparently the time in Nice, Rothenburg, and here in Strasbourg with Justine's family were forgotten). So we went to dinner at an italian restaurant and after dinner, my mom and I each ordered a grappa, and my dad  ordered a eau de vie. Grappa can be anywhere from 70 to 100 proof...needless to say I couldn't drink it. With dinner I had ordered a sirop l'eau (which is like grenadine...but isn't just cherry flavored, there are all kinds of flavors) citron (lemon). So I just poured some of the grappa into my drink. Then it didn't taste too bad! But I only poured about half of the grappa I was given, so I still had quite a bit left (the glass came with the grappa over the directed pour line). My mom didn't really like hers, but still felt the need to finish it. She then proceeded to help me with mine. After having half a bottle of a strong red wine with dinner...she was quite happy at this point. It was only 8 o'clock.

After dinner, mom wanted to go to the casino bar for our "late night out". So we walked to the casino and got in. Mom wanted to gamble a little, so we got set up at a slot machine. Dad and I couldn't figure out what exactly we were supposed to do, so I just cashed out after a couple tries and only lost like 20 cents. My mom was happily pushing buttons and miraculously winning money. We managed to persuade her to cash out before things got out of control and she won 4 euros! Then we went to the bar. She ordered a "martini" but it wasn't a martini, it was a drink with Martini brand alcohol. It wasn't bad. I ordered a Tangenika, which had vodka, orange, pineapple and apricot juice in it. It was super delicious! By the end of this (around 9:30) mom was a bit...smashed. So it was time to call it a night. We headed back to the hotel, but had to stop at the car because mom, and I quote, "I have to have some of my chocolate!" The only problem is that we had parked the car on the third level down of the parking lot. And the stairs were spiral. She laughed at them the entire time down. By the time we got to the bottom of the stairs, I was laughing so hard at my mom laughing at the stairs and saying "these stairs are so funny!" that I was crying. Our late night may only have lasted until 10 pm...but it certainly was no less entertaining for it!

Goodbye for another couple years...

Sunday morning we got up...rather slower than usual. We got breakfast, and then Guenter picked us up at our hotel (just as bubbly and buoyant as usual!).

He took us on a little driving tour and Aalen and showed us a few of the sites. We stopped first at a really neat old castle (where Guenter told us a very entertaining tale from his young years), and then saw a church with a crazy intricate ceiling. After that we stopped at another castle, and then went back to his house.
We had  planned to go into Ulm for the day and walk around and get lunch. Luzimar had originally planned to come with us, but she was teaching two dentists to speak Portuguese (she speaks Portuguese, English, German, French, Danish, Swedish...am I forgetting anything...hmmm...) at 4, and our driving tour had pushed us into early afternoon. So she decided to stay behind and prepare for her lesson. She was very anxious about it because the doctors only had two more weeks before they were leaving.

So we headed out and got lunch first thing in Ulm. We had Pfannkuchen (or Eierkuchen), with is a german traditional food. It's pretty much like a giant french crèpes. It was pretty good. Then we wandered around the city. My mom really liked it. It was a really cool town. They had old and new everywhere.
Then we bid goodbye. My dad and Guenter said, "See you in another few years."

Everything (besides the clock) was painted on the town hall.

Well...I went to Germany, met an older man, who gave me some drinks, and then gave me a diamond!

So this weekend was a blast. My dad met a guy, Guenter, about 22 years ago through work. They have kept in touch, and seen each other a small handful of times over the years. So, it seemed silly that we wouldn't see each other while we are here in Europe.

We drove to their house saturday morning, and arrived to a friendly welcome from Luzimar (Guenter's girlfriend). She entertained us until Guenter came home from the grocery store. He was very excited to see my dad and us. He gave my dad a hug and greeted both my mom and I with a good amount of enthusiasm.
He then showed us a cake his mom had baked for us, so we all sat down and enjoyed a very delicious apple pie/cake. It was super fluffy with sweet apple chunks in it. After a few minutes of enjoyable cake and conversation, we went off to check us into the hotel (and ended up driving to the wrong one...who knew there were two Hotel Adler's in the Ostalbkreis area of Germany?), and then off to Limes-Thermen.

All over Germany they have what they call "spas" but they are very different from our spas. They have massages and such, but they also have saunas (nude only...) and natural mineral water hot spring baths. This is what we went there for. Not the saunas! But the baths. : ) At Limes (pronounced Leemess)...luckily bathing suits are required. They have about 5 of these baths (which are essentially shallow, heated swimming pools).

1. indoor/outdoor. You walk into it inside, and then swim/wade outside. This pool was quite large, and had fountains in an area coming up from the sides, so you could stand under them. And jets to massage.
2. seperately closed off. This one was nice because when you walked into the seperate room, it smelled lemony. The whole building was decorated in an ancient Roman style, and this pool had marble blocks in it with marble towers on top of them.
3. centrally located, probably the second biggest, and the second warmest. the pools were all supposed to be different temperatures, but 1 & 2 were similar degrees.
4. this one was in a small enclosed area and was the hottest. It was just like a hot tub you might find at a nice hotel in the states
5. a teeny little one, three person max I'd say, that was full of freezing water. Gunther managed to convince me to try this one, going from 4 to this one...I literally lost my breath when I went from standing in it, to up to my shoulders. It was COLD! but did feel good!

So after a few hours of trying each pool and relaxing, our fingers were thoroughly pruny and our tummies rumbling hungry. So we got dressed and while we went back to the hotel to get ready, Guenter and Luzimar went back to their house to prepare for a party they were having.

When we arrived at their house, there was already two other couples there. One, who had just stopped in to say hi really quick, left shortly after we got there. Another couple arrived not long after that. Jeff and Carina were one couple. My dad had actually met Jeff around the same time as Guenter, as they were all working on the same project. And Jeff is actually born and raised in Flint, Michigan! But he has been living in Germany for the past 18 years (I think).  It soon became very clear that Guenter and Jeff are very good friends. The other couple there were both German, the woman was born in Berlin, and the guy in the area that Guenter lives in.
When we got there, Guenter was making a drink that he had told us to be prepared for earlier. It's a brazilian drink called Caipirinha. Luzimar is Brazilian, so I'm sure this is where Guenter learned it from. Now...something you need to understand about Guenter...he certainly does like his alcohol. And, knowing that I am 20, (and the drinking age for beer and wine being 16 and alcohol 18 in Germany) he offered one to me. He had told us about them earlier, describing them to have lots of sugar, and lemon (but he meant lime) juice in it, I figured it was worth a try. Holy Alcohol...strongest drink I've ever tried...to date.
While I cautiously sipped on that, everyone was talking and drinking there own drinks. After about twenty minutes, I still had about 5/6 of mine still left, and my mom's was now gone. She kindly offered to help me with it. It was down to about two sips in probably ten minutes.
After appetizers and the Caipirinha's, it was time for dinner...and dinner drinks. Luzimar was asking everyone what they wanted. I took a champagne with cassis in it. This was yummy, and I drank it myself.

After dinner...Guenter started pulling out bottle after bottle of different alcohol's. It was so funny to see him stand at the end of the table with probably a dozen different bottles in front of him. He poured me about two sips of something or other into a shot glass and insisted I try it. I was seated next to Jeff, and every time Guenter got him a drink, he would pass it to me and tell me to try it first. I probably tried about 6 different ones. It was quite entertaining.
Then, Guenter was telling us about a friend he has that is working with a new technology. Basically, the guy can make metals look like gold (Guenter showed us a completely silver coin that looked like a gold coin) and he can color diamonds as well (or cubic zirconias). He comes over to me with some tissue paper, and shows me a diamond sitting in it. He tells me that this is what I should tell John I want (it's a pretty nice sized stone). He then tells me that it's a cubic zirconia though, and is covered in diamond, to make it look more real (and let me tell you...it DOES), and then tells me that he is giving it to me! I almost fell out of my chair. It's b.e.a.utiful!
Later, after everyone had a few drinks in them, we all went for a walk in the cool 1 o'clock in the morning air. Then we came back and talked for a bit more. Finally, it was time to go. Guenter had pre-arranged for Carina to drive us to our hotel on their way home. So they did that (but once we got there we had to turn right back around because my dad had forgotten the hotel key in the car...which was parked at Guenter's...).
Once we got into the room, my dad (who had had about 4 beers, and a few shots of different liquors) laid down on the bed to wait for my mom and I to finish getting ready for bed. I came out of the bathroom to find him still laying on the bed...eyes closed and mouth agape. I told him the bathroom was free and he mumbled something and then said, "but that means I have to get up." He didn't move. About three minutes later, as I was just relaxing and starting to fall asleep...I heard a few snores coming from my still dressed (shoes and all) dad.

Strasbourg > Bâle > Milano > Firenze

Four day weekend, two days of which were spent travelling.
Friday we took a train from Strasbourg to Bâle (Basil), from there to Milano (Milan), and then on to Firenze (Florence). With the most beautiful view through Switzerland.

We got into the train station just after 6:00 (18:00). We had some difficulty finding the bus we were supposed to take...and then even more trouble figuring out which stop we were supposed to get off at. After we got off the bus, if I had thought that was going to be the hardest part...I was wrong. We had to hike up a gravel path (uphill) to the villa my mom had booked a room in (keeping in mind we have our luggage with us). We finally got there...only to discover that there wasn't where we were supposed to be. Luckily, we were on the right property, just the wrong building. So we just had to go up a little higher. We finally got checked in and into our room at about...9:30 (21:30). Mom and dad went out for dinner (I was too exhausted and grumpy to hike back down that damn hill for food). So instead I stayed in, took a bath and went to bed.

Saturday we got up and had an awesome breakfast. Afterwards, mom and I were standing in the courtyard in front of the villa, gauging the weather, and I made a friend. He came wandering up and I bent down and was petting him; and when we started to make our way towards the door, he trotted ahead of us and waited till we opened the door to sneak inside. He followed us all the way upstairs to our room, but we closed the door before he came in. He had disappeared once we came out. Oh, by the way, we was a cat. Then we got our bus into Firenze. Once there, we saw a couple of massive Basilicas.

We just kinda wandered around the town, and discovered a huge, sprawling outside market. There was booth after booth of; leather purses, leather jackets, trinkets, scarves, hats, etc. We spent a good amount of time wandering around here. 

After a while we were starving, so we found a really neat restaurant for lunch. I got gnocchi in a delicious tomato sauce, and the best lemonade I've ever had. Once our bellies were satisfied we wandered around some more.

We ended up coming upon the museum that had Michelangelo's David. Now, normally for the museum's in Italy, the lines are just ridiculous. A person would generally spend 2-3 hours waiting in line to get inside the museum. So, instead, what you can do is make a reservation ahead of time online, then you just wait in a really quick line to pick up tickets from your reservation and then you go inside.
But, the line to get in to see David was miraculously short. So we were standing in it, trying to decide if we wanted to go in or not. My dad checked the price to get in, and it was 10 euro a person. So we decided not to go in.

After that, we discovered the Jewelry Bridge. I had heard a woman talking about it earlier in the day, but I didn't think anything of it. I didn't even think it was a landmark. But it's actually really cool. It's a bridge with buildings on both sides, and the shop windows are FILLED with jewelry. The weather that day was very cold and overcast, and so when you looked down the bridge, it practically glowed. I felt blind once we left the bridge from all the bright lights and glittering from window shopping.
We then stumbled upon a massive piazza with statues and a huge building we later discovered was the Uffizi Gallery, which was where my mom had made reservations for Sunday. Good thing too, because even late at night, in November, there was a super long line.
After this, we found our bus and rested at the villa for a bit. Then we wandered into the tiny town we were staying in just outside of Firenze, called Galluzzo. We ate at a pizzeria. Oh. My. Goodness. Best pizza, hands-down. I don't even know how to describe it, other than to quote my dad, "Magical pizza." SuUuper delicious!

We of course tried Gelato!

All over, during our wanderings I kept seeing these stores selling marbleized papers decorated by hand, handmade notebooks, stationary, quills, fountain pens, and wax seals. Of course I had to go in one. I ended up coming out with a wax seal. I had the choice of 1 initial, 2 initials or a symbol. I had to think about it for a bit. If I got 1 initial, then I would obviously get a Z. If I got 2 initials, then I would get a J and a T. If I got a symbol it would be a fleur de lys, but I already have one of those. Not to mention the symbol's were more expensive. In the end, I got a J and T. Perfect for stamping our invitations!

Chez Achard

Went to Justine's house for dinner tonight!
We were supposed to be at their house at 7:00 (19:00) and my mom wanted to pick up peanut butter (for our sandwiches for the train tomorrow) on our way. So we left here about 6:15ish (18:15). Long and frustrating story short, we didn't get peanut butter and we arrived at the Achards at about exactly 7 o'clock.
Claire and Marion were there as well. It was so good to see them! We sat down to Chinese soup. It was quite good. I've never had it before and didn't know what to expect. I don't know how it is typically done, but we ate it serve-yourself style. They had a big bowl of the soup, which was mostly broth with some cut up peppers, some mushrooms, etc in it. Then they had little bowls of; bean sprouts, green onion, egg, ham, steak, chicken, shrimp, and such, plus a bowl of chinese noodles with seaweed. Basically you took some broth and put whatever of the other ingredients in that you wanted. It was delicious.
After the soup, we had cheese. Of course. They had 4 different kinds, two of which were goat. All delicious.
After cheese they brought out the chocolate fountain. YuuUuummm...
Justine's mom was in the kitchen, putting together the fountain and making the chocolate and we kept hearing lots of noise. Finally, Justine's dad comes out, to show us that her mom had broken the third bottom tier to the fountain. At first, I was sad cause I thought we wouldn't get to do the fountain. But then he just shrugged and said "oh well." Once everything was ready, they brought it all out.
They had; kiwi, apples, pineapple, banana, clementines, and marshmallows. My mom really went to town on the marshmallows (she also had the messiest plate by the end). After having our fill of delicious chocolate covered fruits, we all finished digesting and talked for a bit. It was a very enjoyable evening. Justine's parents gave us a book about Strasbourg (in english, thankfully, so I don't have to attempt to translate the whole thing), and her mom gave my mom a gift for my mom's birthday. It's a chocolate pumpkin, filled with fancy chocolates (picture coming soon). I also borrowed three movies from Justine; How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, Chocolat, and Blue Crush. This will be good for mom and me over the next few weeks to relax and enjoy while eating her chocolate pumpkin.

Off to Italy tomorrow! We travel all day tomorrow, Saturday we wander, Sunday to a gallery, and Monday traveling home. Going to be a fun weekend!

Loire Valley Adventure Part 1

Saturday morning, 5:15 wake up time, and off to Val de Loire. Our train from Strasbourg got into Paris Gare Est at 9:04, then we had to get to Gare Austerlitz for our 10:48 train. So we got metro tickets and rode to Austerlitz. Once there, we tried to find our train on the listings...but it wasn't there. My dad found an info desk to ask about it, only to discover that it was cancelled...awesome! Luckily, there was another train leaving an hour after our original scheduled one. So we hopped on that one. Huge misadventure averted.
We got into Amboise around 2:00ish (14:00) and walked from the train station to our hotel. Unfortunately...our hotel wasn't open until 3:00 (15:00). How this makes sense...I have no idea. But anyways, we were left with our suitcases. Luckily, they were small carry-on sized ones. So we found our way to Chàteau d'Amboise, figuring they would have a luggage check. The castle is conveniently located 5 minutes walking distance from our unopen hotel.
We got tickets and left our luggage at the front desk (including our coats), one misadventure averted...only to create another one. After you leave the ticket office, you walk back outside to get into the castle. Just as we had been entering the ticket office, it had started to rain. So now, we had to go quickly into the castle entrance to avoid getting cold and wet. Once inside, a nice surprise was waiting. There was a private (english) tour going on. So we followed after them and learned more than we would have about the castle.
Amboise doesn't have many rooms open, and the ones that are aren't as exciting, as say, Versailles, but it was still interesting. After going through the castle, people generally take time to walk around the gardens and grounds...seeing as it was raining and cold with us not having coats, we decided to make our tour of the grounds quick. Especially once I discovered that my umbrella enjoys turning inside out when the tiniest of breezes blows at it.

We went into the small chapel, where Leonardo Da Vinci is buried. Then we visited the gift shop, and finally deciding to head to our hotel. We collected our coats and luggage and checked into our hotel. We asked the guy at the front desk how to get to Chenonceau the next day, and he told us there was a bus, but he didn't know what one; so he suggested we go to the Office du Tourism. This we did, only to discover that there is no bus, or train (like I had thought) from Amboise to Chenonceau. Terrific! The woman at the tourism office told us the best way (unless you have bicycles and time) to get there is to take a taxi. Yay for our simple trip suddenly becoming very expensive!
After there, my mom wanted to find a wine tasting room. So we wandered down the road for a bit and found a good place. They tried Chinon 2004, 2005, 2006, Bourgeuil 2004, 2009, 1989, and Montlouis 2009. They bought a Chinon 2004 and Montlouis 2009. After this, we wandered through the little streets lined with cute shops. Then we found a good place for dinner.
We each got a Galette. Mine was with 4 cheeses, and delicious. The place we ate was teeny-tiny with probably only about 12 tables and one young kid serving all of them. It was really nice and cozy, and then at 8:00 (20:00) the owner (we think that's who he was) started playing the piano. He was a funny old guy. He would stop in between songs and drink some wine, or meander through the restaurant and talk to the customers. He came over and talked to us for a bit. My dad and him got to talking about jazz in America, and he said he'd play an Armstrong song that he could sing and play. He winked at my mom and said it was for her. After he finished playing, he came back over and shook my dad's hand and kissed my mom's hand. When he went back, she said all flustered, "He kissed me!" I just rolled my eyes...

The Quest for peanut butter!

Slept in till 11:30 today. Got up and relaxed for a little bit. Then my mom and I headed out for the super-marché in our town. Ours is a small E.Leclerc.
We needed to get some kitchen necessities, and ingredients for my no-bake cookie recipe. This, we knew, would be interesting. Surprisingly, we found everything we needed!
The butter was easy to find...not so easy to decipher which kind we needed. Sugar was a piece of cake (pun intended ;D  ). Then we found the cocoa, which we couldn't find at first, but found by the hot chocolates. Oats were pretty easy to find. What wasn't so easy to find, was the peanut butter. For those who don't know, the french don't really eat peanut butter...like...ever.
First we looked by the nuts, no luck. My mom said, while we were standing looking over the bags of nuts, "We might have to buy some peanuts and smash them up." My reply being, to look for peanut butter even harder. Next we went to the Nutella, and voila! Peanut butter! There was one brand, one size. Ethiquable is the brand, and the peanut butter is from Nicaragua! It's some good stuff!!


Once home, my mom attempted to start working on a spreadsheet that she needs to set up as a sort of cheat sheet for helping to pay her bills. This happened was supposed to be happening while I made the cookies...it didn't happen. But the cookies turned out wonderfully, especially considering I did it without measuring bowls or spoons!
Then we had a chance to skype with Lindsey, Carter and Kenadee. Which didn't go too smoothly. We had a bad connection between the computers, but we were still able to talk for a bit. It was really nice to see them again! Carter kept saying "guess what!" and then telling us a story, sometimes he didn't have a story to tell though.

After talking with them, I ended up taking a little cat nap. When I woke up and went downstairs, my mom was skyping with Logan and Whitney (she still hadn't gotten any work done). After talking with them, it was time to get ready to go to Justine's house for dinner. My dad got home and we all left.

We had no troubles getting to their small city, just outside Strasbourg, called Illkirch. But once we got to the street, I had a hard time remembering which building it was.
They live in an apartment building that is surrounded by lots of other apartment buildings. So we ended up driving all around and I kept looking at all building going "Oh! It might be that one!! ... Oh wait...no, it isn't that color" or "Oh...no, it's not the same patios..." etc.
But after driving in a loop, I was looking at a building that I had earlier thought was maybe it, and I just knew it was the one. So I told my dad to stop a second and hopped out of the car. I ran over to the door that I thought was the door to their entrance where you take an elevator up to their floor. It was it! I remembered!
So we parked and rang the doorbell. Justine was waiting for us when we stepped out of the elevator and let us in to their apartment. Her parents and her brother (plus his pitbull, which is actually a really friendly sweet girl) greeted us with french kisses. French greeting kisses...not the kind of french kiss your thinking of!!! Just a simple air kiss to each cheek. The men shook hands.
Dinner was delicious! We sat and talked for a bit and had appetizers. Then we all gathered around the table and had a wonderful meal.
Justine's parents had prepared lamb, a potato dish, frites (french fries), and salad. It was all pretty good, except the lamb which I didn't eat. After the dinner we had cheese and bread.
They had a selection of cheeses. One of them was an Alsatian cheese, that is quite potent and stinky, but very good. I really like it, and had tasted it when I was here, living with them. My dad tried it and said he liked it. Mom wasn't feeling adventurous enough to try. They also had Babybel, because they knew that I ate it at home.
After, we had a homemade tarte fromage (cheesecake). But their cheesecake is very different from that at home. It's much fluffier, and much more airy, but has a richer taste. And it's made with cheese! WOAH! Crazy! It was delicious.
Justine's mother had also bought another cake for us to have if we chose. It had layers, and was topped with all sorts of fruits. I didn't try it, but it did look pretty good. And of course, my no-bake cookies.
The conversation was very good. They told us about all sorts of places in Europe. And also about some places we should stay away from around the Strasbourg area. They also told us about an interesting meat fact.
**Lesson of the day!**

If on a package or menu it says "rossbif", then it's not beouf (beef) it's actually...horse : (  But if it says roti boeuf then it's beef.

 I was very glad they told us this. I would hate for my parents to be eating it and then find that out later...after it is too late.

Back home, and off to bed for my parents. But then Brandon messaged me on skype, so my parents came back down and talked for a bit with them.

All in all, a pretty good day! Especially for the rainy weather and bus strike!

p.s. did I mention the key to our gate is a skeleton key?! hyper cool!!