I love Chartreuse (the color, not the liqueur!)….July 18, 2008

Today we finished our first session, and since there are no classes on Friday, several of us signed up for an afternoon excursion to La Chartreuse, which is one of the three mountain chains that surround Grenoble. Up there is a working monastery that was founded in the 11th century by Saint Bruno. There is an excellent museum depicting the lifestles of the monks and nuns that live in the monastery. Among their work, they garden, raise animals, make iron products, make jewelry, chant, and produce the secret ingredients for a green liqueur called….Chartreuse. After touring the museum we hiked in silence (sort of) up to the real monastery, and even got a glimpse of a few real monks.
Then we went to the distillery in a nearby town where we watched a funky 3-D movie about the lives of the monks and then prepared for the tasting.

Now they have diversified and produce both digestifs and aperitifs. The digestifs are fruit-flavored (raspberry, blueberry, black currant) and taste slightly better than cough medicine. But the real, green Chartreuse is about the most disgusting stuff I have ever tasted! (See picture below.) Needless to say, I didn’t buy any, even if it is pretty. I bought some of the monks' tea,

which smells really good.

The fourth picture reads "The Monks who have consecrated their life to God thank you for respecting their solitude in which they pray and offer themselves in silence for you."

We had a good day, and returned to campus hungry! Since we are going to Annecy tomorrow, we elected to eat in our rooms tonight. Lisa Hiracheta e-mailed me and asked me if I am missing Mexican food. Honestly, I really haven't missed it much at all. Do you know why? I have discovered mexican tuna salad! It's not bad....if you don't believe me, just ask Mark. And here's a picture of the Old El Paso section in Monoprix. The prices are outrageous, though....5 euros for a jar of hot sauce? ¡No way, José!

I also would like to add that I never get tired of looking at the view out my window. I love seeing the way the sunlight and clouds affect the mountains and villages differently every day, at different times of the day. I think I now know why Claude Monet painted the cathedral in Rouen so many different times. I keep taking pictures of the view outside my window...because each one is different. I wish I had a better camera to really do it justice! Here's the latest....

This blog has taken way too much of my time, due to some technical difficulties! So I'm off to bed to get ready for my big day in Annecy tomorrow.....fondue and ice cream! (It's a good thing I hiked alot today!)