I made sure to do an extra couple tours of the city, trying to savor the last few days in the beautiful place I learned to call home! I got in a little more Christmas shopping, enjoyed lots of chocolat viennois, and visited my favorite restaurant with a few friends one last time before I began packing.
The weekend started off with a raclette soirée hosted by one of the French friends I had met in my classes, Lucie. Raclette is both a cheese and a Swiss dish (heating the cheese and it scraping off when it's melted), which is very popular in France. It was similar to fondue, but much better! A small group of us huddled around the special raclette grill, loading our individual trays with slices of cheese and charcuterie. When the cheese was melted, we would pour it on to our boiled potatoes before eating. It was so much fun, it was the first time I had ever 1) tried raclette and 2) been to a raclette party so I was so happy I had the chance right before I left.
I forgot to take a picture of it but this is essentially what it looked like:
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| Thank you, Wikipedia! |
The day before I left, my host dad made the family one of his special dishes: homemade frites and a roti de boeuf. With a cool, shredder-like contraption, he sliced the potatoes very finely and put them in his deep-frier (which is strategically placed on the balcony so the house doesn't smell like fries, but the block does). They were so delicious!
We spent the rest of the day together, relaxing and then playing boardgames and decorating their Christmas tree. I couldn't have asked for a better end to my incredible semester.
I miss you already, Lyon.
