Super Bowl Sunday

This title's a little misleading, because secretly my weekend had nothing to do with the Super Bowl (as very few Europeans care much at all about American football, I have no access to a television, and it started at midnight my time). However, here are my opinions on the Super Bowl:

1) Beyoncé. Just, Beyoncé. Yes, I saw (online the next day).

2) Of course the power went out in the Superdome. It's Louisiana.* Power outages are practically a weekly occurrence. (Did they think ahead to do rolling blackouts in advance to conserve power for the Super Bowl, à la DFW in 2011?)

Now here's the skinny on MY Super Bowl Weekend:

vendredi / Friday: Yet another soirée internationale with my lovely fellow assistants narbonnais (and some of our friends we've collected along the way... We get together, we cook, we laugh, we eat, we dance,** we sing, we speak different languages, we learn, we have the best times. This is undoubtedly my favorite part of my experience here: Our ever-growing group of (international) friends!

Spanish tortilla, croquetas, chicken, mozzarella salad, salmon toast things, fried brie, lentil/carrot/spinach salad, curry, and of course, wine!

Seriously, how gorgeous is this plate of deliciousness?!

This particular evening we were 11 people (and 6 nationalities)!

me, Anais (Spanish), Corentin (French), Vincent (French), Charley (English), Dörte (German), Alice (Venezuelan), Zack (Canadian), Violeta (Spanish), Carmen (Spanish)

(The picture's missing Lottie (English), who's taking the picture.) 

My contribution was real American (GOOEY) chocolate chip cookies, fresh from the oven. Cookies here are not that common and when they do exist, they're dry and brittle. More than one European was delightfully surprised by these little pieces of heaven (read: minds were blown). And I'm glad, as the ingredients were a bit of a search (baking soda at the pharmacy, not the store!) and conversions are never fun. (me + math = ??? I don't know, something bad.)

What better way is there to work off all the food than dancing? We danced the night away, first at the house, and then at the only place to go out at night in Narbonne, Botafogo. Hopefully we took care of a few of those calories!

samedi / Saturday: Lazy day, headed back over the the maison orange to recuperate my cell phone (which I constantly leave everywhere), made crêpes for lunch to somewhat accidentally celebrate Chandeleur. Except that you're apparently only supposed to eat them after 8:00 pm. Oh well. Really, it was kind of just a coincidence, because we just wanted crêpes.

dimanche / Sunday: Super Bowlllll! JK. Sunday I got up early (for me) to go with Anais (Spanish assistant) and Corentin (her French housemate) to go on a little excursion. We first headed to L'Abbaye de Fontfroide, an abbey located about 15 minutes from Narbonne. 

The abbey was first Benedictine (1093-1444) and then became Sisterian. There were two sorts of people who lived there, the moines, or actual monks, and the frères convers, or lay brothers. The lay brothers were men who were housed and fed by the abbey and in return they did the manual labor. The abbey was also a key player in the crusade against the Cathars, members a religious movement during the 10th-13th centuries. More about the Cathars a bit later.

This dining hall was for the frères convers.

courtyard

main door back in the day

cloister

This was formerly the dining room for les moines, the monks. However, in 1908, the painter Gustave Fayet and his wife bought the abbey (so that it wouldn't be sold brick-by-brick to the United States, actually) and moved in. They redecorated the part they lived in, including this room.

These tapestries represent different stories from mythology all over the world.

The Queen herself dined in this room with the Fayets - the menu from the evening is displayed on the right (too bad the picture's too fuzzy to see).

the dining room where the Queen ate with the fam

the "modernized" kitchen (I guess compared to the 11th century, most kitchens are modern.)

more cloister - if you look at the arches from across the way compared with the arch through which the picture is being taken, you can see the difference. There was an earthquake at some point and they decided to redo the destroyed arches in a simpler way.

view from the Chapter Room to the cloister

The church is an example of transitional architecture, at the end of the Romanesque period and the beginning of Gothic architecture. Romanesque architecture features round arches, while Gothic features pointed arches. If you look at the arched ceiling, you can see the beginning of the Gothic arch.

The original stained-glass windows were in all grey and blue, to retain the somber and pious atmosphere for the monks. However, when the Fayet family moved in, they redid all of the windows.

The facade definitely looks all Romanesque.

Self-timer pictures are always interesting. :)

After Fontfroide, we headed out to find the village of Minerve, which had been recommended to Anais and Corentin. Here's a view pictures of what it looks like to drive around down here in Languedoc-Rousillon, which is characterized by shrubbery, small rocky mountains called Corbières, and some small cliffs and canyons. (And, of course, sun and wind!) 

Minerve! The river Cesse made a gorge here, and Minerve stands in the middle of the gorge. It's basically got a natural moat.

more of the gorge

Minerve

... plus me

"One of the most beautiful villages of France"

The only cars allowed across this bridge and into the village are those owned by the residents (of which there are fewer than 150)!

You can see the river Cesse in this picture.

Get ready for lots of pictures of picturesque narrow streets, because I LOVE them.

... and doors. I've been noticing doors as of late.

children's books in a closed shop's window

This little monument is in honor of the 140 Cathars who were burned in the year 1210 for heresy. During the crusade against the Cathars, there was a massacre in nearby Béziers. Many Cathars saught refuge in nearby Minerve, which fell under siege. After six weeks, it fell, and the Cathars who refused to deny their faith were burned.

The Cathars were hated by the Catholic church because, well, their beliefs weren't exactly what the Catholic church believed. Included in their doctrine were the beliefs that Holy Communion/the Eucharist is symbolic rather than literal (wine to blood, bread to flesh), that you should not get married/reproduce (I guess the only way to become a Cathar was to convert?), that you shouldn't eat anything that comes as a result of sexual reproduction (read: animal products), and that the sacrament of Penance cannot occur after Baptism (meaning most waited until the end of their life to be baptized - no sinning after baptism! - what happens if you die suddenly?). The Languedoc-Rousillon region is the region of the Cathars - most of the Cathars in France were in this region. They call this region le pays cathare (Cathar country) and there are lots of castles, villages, etc. with Cathar history.

... And then I found this baby "cave." Which kind of hid me from the WIND.

Anais & Corentin

We actually ate lunch in this cave because it was the only place we could find that had any shelter from the wind. #languedocproblemes

...Then we made these dog friends, particularly the one on the right. Everytime I meet a dog I want to instantly become best friends/cuddle, until I remember that wandering French dogs are generally kind of dirty. Sidenote, I miss my Nolers.

See the fish hardware on the doors?

You can see the catapult across the way, which is one of the catapults used to attack the city.

Au revoir, lovely, quiet, picturesque Minerve!

Annnnnd now a few pictures of the drive home...

It was a lovely, cold, windy day kickin' it with Anais & Corentin and seeing a little bit more of the region. I've made it a point to profite (make the best of) my current situation and see some more of France this semester. (Which means YOU'LL see more of France!)

We wrapped it up with jeux de société (social games, like cards and board games), played in French/Spanish, and then a French-Swedish film Rendez-vous à Kiruna. (Trying to make a habit of catching foreign films while I have the chance!)

A little somewhat-related shout out: My friends Desiree' & Brandon welcomed little Titus to the world the same day - Super Bowl Sunday! (Which is perfect seeing as Brandon played college football and has also been a football coach!) He is so handsome, and I can't wait to hold him when I get home. It's also his beautiful momma's birthday today - Happy Birthday Desiree'!

*Which, don't get me wrong, I LOVE. But, you know. Real talk.

**This particular night, we even Cupid Shuffled. That's right.