Day 28

Day 28:

Friday, April 17, 2009: Greve Jour!!! (Strike Day!!!) As rare as a snow day in Athens, today we had a strike day! All of our classes were cancelled because of unrest yesterday (as previously noted). Apparently, students were punching administrators and professors were punching each other and administrators.

After going out last night, Lance and I decided to meet at Casino (the grocery store) and buy stuff for a picnic lunch. The weather was so nice; it was probably 75°F and sunny most of the day. We bought salami, bread, cheese, brownies, baconsmaaks (like cheese puffs but bacon flavored), apples, and a bottle of wine for 10E. We packed it in my book bag and headed to the Palais des Papes.

We climbed the hill and sat in the grass on the hill overlooking the Rhone and had lunch. Afterwards, we just chilled and enjoyed the day. Often, I find myself saying that, “This is the life.” To the French, this weather is still pretty chilly. To Ohioans, this is excellent. Jacqueline always asks me why I never wear a coat out and I have to explain to her that it snows in Ohio. They don’t get snow in most of France.

Shawna came by but only stayed for a few minutes because she was feeling really sick; then she went back home. We stayed there most of the day but then Lance got a really bad toothache. He had a root canal before we left and didn’t have time to get a crown so he thought that he broke it. We went back to his house for a few then he wanted to take a nap and I left. I got home just as it started to storm. They have afternoon thunderstorms here like we do in Ohio too, except there are no tornados in Europe.

After dinner, Bernard went to the train station to get Jacqueline as she returned from Paris. I went to Lance’s and we hung out for a while before trying a new club that we had heard of. When we got there at midnight, we were the only people there. It was like being the first people at a high school dance. The club looked really cool but we didn’t stick around.