A piece of home comes for a visit :)

This week happened to not only be reading week for Elisa and I, but as well as for our best friends and housemates Stacie and Amanda! They decided it would be the perfect time to come for a visit!!

Excitement overriding exhaustion started the week on Sunday morning when we greeted Stacie and Amanda at the arrivals gate here in Lyon! It was so exciting seeing them come through gate, and so amazing that they were able to come visit for a week. After lots of hugs and smiles we made our way back to into the city where we set up camp for the week at our friend Pasan's apartment (which we were sooo greatful for getting to use).

We spent the first few days taking Stacie and Amanda around the city showing them everything that we know and love. Vieux Lyon, Fourviere, the basilique, Croix-Rousee, the Roman Amphitheatre and the Roman Amphitheatre again when two days later the weather was absolutely gorgeous and we barely needed coats! ...

We also decided to take some day trips, including to Geneva Switzerland where we all bought various versions of swiss army knives - from the classic red, to the new see through hot pink!..While we were there we also stopped by the Red Cross Museum where Stacie and I both found a part of our family in the Prisoner of War archives - eerie.

After taking a relaxing day on thursday to catch up with sleep and explore the rest of the Lyon in the gorgeous weather, we decided on friday to venture to a local medieval town called Perouges. It was tiny, and all made out of stone. I think we all felt as though we stepped back in time. ...

We ended our fantastic week which seemed to fly, by going out for a nice dinner and chatting. Amazing week ladies, had such a blast :)

The Canadians do La Tagnière!

So last weekend our really good friend Babette invited Elisa and I to her house in the country for the weekend!!!

She lives in a tiny village of just 200 people called La Tagnière, which is about an hour SW of Dijon. It was absolutely beautiful. Babette and her Dad were so nice and took us everywhere on the narrow (shut your eyes when another car comes your way!) country roads to see everything in the area. One of the highlights for me was taking the winding mountain road up to the highest overlook point in Uchon about 10 minutes away. After nearly forgetting Babette's dog Woef in the car, we walked to the overlook and could see for miles! We seemed to have perfect timing as we got there just as the sun was starting to set. Gorgeous.

We also visited a few other cute country towns including Autun, where the Tour de France has cycled through, and where Babette was lucky enough to catch it one year!! ...I noticed a big difference in the French versus Canadian countryside. In France it seems that they preserve everything, so when you visit the old towns its almost as if you've stepped back in time. The original city walls are even kept in some of the towns.

It was an amazing weekend and I can't thank Babette and her family enough for having us over. We had such a great time and it was so nice to visit someones home while living so far away from our own. We enjoyed delicious home cooked meals - Anouk (babette's sister) is amazing at making pizza dough:), and we even got to experience a traditional french meal -Raclette! ... This is potatoes or bread with melted cheese, meats and veggies which you cook right in front of you. mmmm.

Great weekend :)