Saint Etienne

Hello/Bonjour,

As we wrap up our first month in France we are starting our gradual move from Saint Etienne to the big city of Lyon, SO we thought we should show you around our January stomping grounds. 

*(You can click on the pictures to see a larger version)*

As creepy as it is to take pictures in a cemetery; they are basically little art installations scattered across the city. Definitely worth a browse, but I wouldn't go wandering through one alone at night...

The only shop in town where you can get a "Western" style coffee. Don't get me wrong; I am absolutely embracing the French coffee culture with their tiny espresso style cafe au lait, but when a girl wants a large caramel latte, she wants a large caramel latte....am I right?

 CENTRE VILLE: The downtown area, all within walking distance of our apartment, is a culmination of high-end shops, french cuisine, amazing buildings and parks. An exceptional evening stroll...

...providing you can dodge the puppy poo all over the sidewalk.

THANKS TEAM.

Joel & Amy

Trip into the Alps in Aillon le Jeune

Rochetaillée and Planétarium de Saint Étienne

Bonjour! Bonjour!

A few events worth mentioning in the past week...

I took advantage of a nice, sunny winter day while Joel was at work and hiked into the French hills just outside of Saint Etienne to discover Village de  Rochetaillée. Which was an unusually quiet little spot with a handful of homes, vacant shops, rustic churches and The Chateau de Rochetailee (pictured below) which is some sort of religious ruins....as far as I know. The views    were amazing so the hour-and-a-half trek was worth it.

We also caught a show at the local Planétarium  where we learned about the origin of the planets and the night sky in France, AND! they had headphones so we could listen in en Anglais. 

  

THANKS FOR STOPPING BY!

Joel & Amy

Musee d'Art et d'Industrie

 Over the weekend we walked a short 7 min from our apartment to the Musee d'Art et d'Industrie. Boasting an odd trifecta of themes, it's main exhibits are bicycles, fabrics and guns...of all things. But we found out (from the Internet, not from the french explanations at the museum) that Saint Etienne is the capital of the French bicycle industry, where the sewing machine was invented AND the site of most gun production in the middle ages, so there ya go. An interesting afternoon of perusing. 

Joel & Amy

Our January Home - Saint Etienne, France

Joel & Amy

Settling In

Hello / Bonjour from Saint Etienne, thanks for stopping by!

Thought we would post a quick update, now that we have caught up on our sleep and Joel has gotten back to work. The trip overseas went pretty seamlessly, though any overnight journey can be exhausting... We arrived at our apartment in Saint Etienne at about 4:30PM Sunday afternoon, where we will be staying until the end of the month until our accomodation in Lyon is available. We are yet to do much exploring but  you would be surprised at how much you can learn about a city on your daily runs. 

Joel took the afternoon off work today to drive me about an hour away to Lyon (after he decided I failed my "Driving in France" test the night before) so I could meet the family I will be working with come February 4th. The meeting went well and the girls seem like an interesting pair so I am definitely looking forward to spending a few hours with them each week-day and letting them soak up my English. Find out more about the agency I work for HERE. 

Here's a snap of Joel enjoying his evenings at home. 

No rest for the wicked!

Joel & Amy

Last Night in Canada

Flight out of Canada is booked at 8:30PM Eastern Standard Time, January 5th.

Arrival in Lyon scheduled for 2pm Central European Time, January 6th.

Join us for #France2013

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Getting Excited!

Thanks to Dane Labonte for the profile pics!

Joel & Amy