Roadtrip Wrap-Up!

Well, the Ham fam roadtrip wound down without too much excitement.  Kyle gave a good little tour of Metz ville and we spent an afternoon in Nancy.  Because so much time has elapsed since then, my memory isn't serving me very well.  I'll give you a few picture highlights....

Hotel picnic~French finger food chez nous.

Lunch at the Marche Couvert with a local soup celebrity.

Kyle and I have a love for Alsacian meals a la Winstub (we also love heart shaped plaid pillows strategically placed between us).

A KPMG for Kelly in Metz!

Sunny afternoon in Nancy at Place Stanislas

The van that took us from the west to the east~ I believe this is the largest non-bus vehicle in all of Europe.

It was a lovely trip with the family, and I can't believe it was already so long ago.  I'm dying to tell yall about Kyle and my second honeymoon we took to Rome, Sardinia, and Corsica, but it'll have to wait a few more days.  We don't have internet in the apartment yet so each of the last few posts is brought to you by the generosity and kindness of Panera.  Praise the Lord for free internet and the smell of delicious bread in the air. Panera is no boulangerie, but it's helping me cope with the withdrawal... A bientot!

Pedals & Petals

Kyle and I rented bikes for our last few weeks here in Metz.  I thought it may not have been a good investment~after all, our other bikes sat in the basement untouched (or so we thought) until we discovered they had been stolen.  I'm happy to report that I was wrong.  We've been making great use of our bikes whether to dash to the grocery store or cruise on all the great trails near our home.  Last Saturday Kyle mapped out a route that would take us on a tour along the Seille river.  Metz has two rivers~the Moselle and the Seille.  The Moselle is the larger river, and our region is named for it (within Lorraine).  The Seille is a much slower and calmer river, but I like it very much because it runs by the school I taught at in Marly.  If I got to work early, I'd hide out in the library (it was always empty and definitely better heated than the teachers' lounge), and I'd look out the window at the river.  Our bike ride, I imagined, would be just as lovely.

Conditions are perfect.

We hit the road around lunch time.  We passed the old fort down a huge hill and across a few intersections before we reached the river.  There were lots of folks out, and we found a big park hidden behind a sports arena.  Naturally we couldn't resist a playground with its unique attractions.

My substitute bike & me at the park behind the arena and Centre Pomidou (on the left).

Kyle takes on this thrilling contraption.

How majestically he soars through the air!

From there we followed the river to an area of Metz called Magny.  Trails run right along neighborhoods; it is definitely the most beautiful place to live here.  Our route split from the Seille to head back to our home via the small town of Peltre.  This is vast and endless farmland (I may have mentioned something like it in my last entry about where I've been running).  They are in the process of harvesting hay; there were bales of it everywhere.  Our riding became less leisurely through these regions as the paths were very hilly.  The roads aren't always paved; many are gravel.  Even when they were paved, the farm equipment has done such a number to them that it became a game of dodge the pothole.  The down hill sections weren't as enjoyable as they ought to have been because it's a seriously bumpy ride.

We found the tiniest vineyard ever.

Kyle's taking in the sun by a creek.

Nothing for miles but farms~hills not pictured.

My enthusiasm for the bike ride started to ware away when the trails became more and more arduous, but there was a dangling carrot I forgot to mention earlier.  In Peltre there is this farm where you can pick your own fruits and vegetables.  They have huge signs and giant fruit statues along the highway like you'd see in Georgia to draw shoppers in off the road.  Once we arrived, we could leave our bikes for a bit and bring home some fresh food.

What's on the menu, little farm?

In addition to fruits and vegetables, they sell tons of flowers.

Kyle rewarded us with water and apple juice that they make there on the farm.  It was the best apple juice I've ever had.  We set off to collect produce with bags and clippers in hand.  We started with the basics~peppers and tomatoes.  In a bold move, Kyle thought it'd be nice to bring home some eggplant (or aubergine as the french say~what a fun word!).  We also extracted a head of lettuce from the ground.  That's the last time I do that~it was super dirty.  My sink was full of mud while I was cleaning this at home.

Your toil was not in vain, Kyle.  If we never made it, we'd never have tasted that sweet sweet juice.

For some reason being in greenhouses always reminds me of Big Top Pee-Wee and the hot dog tree.  Now when I see tomatoes I expect to see tiny sausages...

It looks like a pepper, but it's a tomato!!!  That's one freaky fruit.

A man and his pepper~for some reason the flash went off making this picture seem a little odd.

 Despite blazing heat and the impending threat of sunburn, Kyle stayed with me for a good long time collecting raspberries from bushes that had surely been picked over by other folks.  I am not wildly in love with raspberries, but when my sisters and I were little, we'd collect them from the bushes at my granny's house in Massachusetts.  For the car ride, we'd each get a little jar that we could fill with raspberries from the garden to enjoy along the way.  I hadn't done it in a while.

Yum!  It's fun to collect berries.

Kyle, king of the Hamilton kitchen, whipped up some pretty neat dishes from our farm shopping trip.  Saturday night we had a pizza with homemade dough, smoked duck, and peppers.  It was insanely delicious.  Sunday we had BLT style salads (plus some cucumber from the Pounds garden).  The bacon was the only thing that came from the grocery store.  Tomorrow we are planning to have eggplant parmesan~I'm pumped about it because I've never had it before.

Who knew duck, peppers, and cheese on fresh bread was a heavenly combo?

Garden fresh salad garnished by miraculously tasty pork.

Forgot to mention we came home with a bottle of sparkling apple juice from the farm.  It felt like New Year's Eve drinking this bubbly nectar.

Kyle said something while we were riding along that I really appreciated.  He said that this experience~that exploring this hidden country~was really special and unique to really living somewhere new.  We aren't like students who come abroad to try to add a new country to a list every free weekend or collect pictures of ourselves in front of monuments (though we do a fair amount of that).  What we shared on this particular day was unique; we'll likely never have a day quite like it again (mostly because I'm not ready to go all-terrain through farmland again so soon).  It just makes me grateful that God gave us this opportunity to experience a different kind of life this past year.  Even more so, I'm thankful God gave me someone like Kyle to share it with.  I'm getting a little mushy, but isn't that how it's supposed to be when something is nearly over?  We're on the precipice of a new season in life; perhaps, even a new adventure.  It's just good to love what we have left here.

Audrey takes on Metz

Well well well~another entry about the sites, sounds, and smells of Metz-ville.  You may have had your fair share, and may even believe that I have shown you all that is to be seen in our small eastern French town.  (Here's a sampling of entries that feature some of our touristy days~ holidays visitors and peanut-butter, weekend de bonheur, england hath long been mad, gonna take some time to do things we never have, my husband turns 26, divers divertissements, and super mega awesome date day)  Anywho, we ventured out and enjoyed places completely new to Kyle and me.  We kicked Saturday off with a trip down town to play in the new park area at Esplinade then made our way to an amazing creperie which had a crazy nautical theme going on.

This thing is like the fry guys at McDonald's playgrounds back home.  You just kind of stand there and shake a little.  Not optimum excitement....

Kyle's method of left foot off and look over the right shoulder didn't seem to make it any more entertaining.

For lunch I decided to eat a light little salad... I love how the French will put an egg, ham, and fries on a bed of lettuce so one can deceive themselves into thinking salad is the best meal ever.

Audrey's galette (that's a savory style crepe) topped with rice and seafood.  I'm glad Audrey is a foodie like Kyle.

Kyle's dish was just seafood and a whole lot of cream sauce.  We're talking mussels, shrimp, and scallops~it was tasty.

After lunch we strolled by the cathedral and took in all the stained glass.  We enjoyed a nice beverage at Place St. Louis while watching tons of kids ride on the merry-go-round.  It was a very relaxing afternoon after all the traveling Audrey and I did the day before.

Audrey~are you doing the Ashley Teffeau?  I think I'm looking a little sluggish after throwing down that salad.

Sunday we played hooky from church.  For shame, I know, but Jack Mac is out of town and the other preacher is very hard to understand.  Plus Audrey speaks only un petit peu de francais.  We opted to go to the secular church of France....

The Museum~This is the brand new Centre Pompidou.  It's been called a Smurf house or a Chinese hat; no matter what, it is a funky building.  Seriously, French folks are lined up outside this museum all day long on Sundays~it practically is a place of art worship.

These are all Audrey's pictures~well done capturing the very cool wood frame in this picture.

A view of Metz from the 3rd story gallery

This large painting on the left is of a fishing excursion~I kid you not...

Now shall we SHOW & TELL?  I've missed this time since school let out, but I'd like to share with you two pictures of art which left an impression on me.

Please ignore where my head is in this picture~nice job, Audrey.  I am marveling at the detail in this number because it is no photograph.  It's all drawn with pencil!!!  Even his suit had a small tweed pattern (which is what was so engrossing to me.)

It's not the real one~painted by some Italian copy cat.

A la Brian Regan~It's a stack of books.  Just put an F on there and let me go home.  Well, it's a stack with books in it; I call it Stack of Books.  You should move on now...

Double rainbow!  What does it mean?

We just chilled out the rest of the day, and Kyle and I prepared some French foods for dinner.  It was nice having one of my best friends in town for a bit.  It's crazy that we'll likely be able to hang out whenever in just a few short months (assuming K and I are back in ATL).  Hopefully you've enjoyed this installment on what there is to do in Metz.  The next few weekends Kyle and I have some trips planned so you'll be seeing more travel-style entries for a bit.  In T-3 hours we'll be roadtripping with our friends, the Reindls, down to Lyon.  It'll be my first time back in 6 years after doing the Georgia Tech LBAT program there.  On a side note, I only lived in Lyon for 6 weeks in the summer of 2004, but when I came home everybody I knew was either wild about Napoleon Dynamite or The Notebook.  If there are some crazy fad movies with faithful adherents all over the fruited plain in the U.S., would you mind giving me a heads up before venturing home?  I'll have none of this quoting a movie at me and then make me feel like a fool for not getting the reference...

Alright~like I said, just a few hours until departure, and I'm still lounging in pjs with an empty backpack.  I'd better be off~happy weekend friends!

Super Mega Awesome Date Day

So Saturday Kyle tried to rent scooters so we could skip town in style.  Sadly he was turned away because there were no scooters to be had at our local scooter rental shop.  Alas, we were stranded... but not without hope or options.  We had a Kyle and Leah Day of Fun.  We got up early on Saturday morning to sunscreen and plan for a day out in town.  We started by venturing through the jardin botanique; last time we went to gardens just for fun was the day we got engaged (at Atlanta Botanical Gardens).

 Cute couple shot in front of so many flowers.

Then our busy feet carried us down a long stroll by the Moselle river.  There are some really nice trails through town along our little river.

Here's a view of the cathedral through a peculiar Asian door in the river.

Around lunchtime we arrived at the little boat rental shop.  Kyle and I had talked a bunch about taking a pedal'eau out for a tour (that is a paddle boat), but for just a little bit more we could lazily cruise in an electric ship.  We covered a lot more distance and did sweat nearly so much as we would have if we'd stuck to the original plan.

My buddy bought us a soda and a water to enjoy on our cruise.  The little shop boy took our photo wearing our life jackets before we set sail.

This man belongs in a boat....

... or at least behind one.

*swoon*

Just unreal what my husband can do.  Doesn't look like Stephanie cares for it too much.

Whew... got carried away with those old wakeboarding pictures.  Our date continued with tons of shopping.  As a treat for finishing up the school year and supporting our family these past 9 months, Kyle bought me a dress and a new pair of shoes.  His love knows no bounds~we were out in 90 something degree heat, and yet he still followed me from shop to shop and patiently waited while I tried on innumerable amounts of clothes that didn't end up coming home with us.  

 Modeling my new gear~the price tag on the shoe is an hommage to all the homies in ATL who do the same with their baseball caps.

Since we hadn't eaten much, we got stellar snacks in town.  We partook of an excellent bretzel (how french folks spell pretzel) and bought the tastiest scoops of ice cream ever at Fressons.  Kyle got chocolate and I got passion fruit~they were quite unreal.  Best ice cream I've ever had for sure...

Our journey was nearly complete.  We had only to venture to the grocery store to pick up a few things for dinner and continue date festivities chez nous.  Kyle talks incessantly about riding a small bus that typically carries older folks around town to all the tourist sites.  It costs the same as taking a regular bus, but it's route is really small.  Saturday Kyle achieved his dream to ride the elderly bus where we met 3 lovely women who were visiting the museum on vacation.  Kyle can cherish this memory forever with this photo:

On our way to the real bus stop aboard the short bus.

We finished the evening by having sausage, peppers, and grits while enjoying a movie.  We totally forgot to watch/root for Germany in the game, but I'm sure the way we spent our evening was a lot more relaxing.  We also prepared the fixins' for what was to come on Sunday..... stay tuned to see what happened....

Treasures for me!

While Kyle was abroad interviewing, I had to determine how to use my alone time.  The ambitious part of me said, "I'll write about what I've been reading in Romans~I'll read the news~I'll paint a new painting to surprise my husband~I'll cook something for real just for me~I'll practice guitar~I'll finish the novel I'm reading".  Sadly, I reverted back to what I like to consider "college Leah".  It's an ugly picture: junk food, pajamas, too much facebook, nail painting, copious amounts of coffee consumption, and shopping just to shop.  It's terribly indulgent, though I don't believe the bit about coffee is all that bad.

On my shopping venture I had one of those horrible days where all the things you try on fit badly even though they are the right sizes~the straps are too long on a dress or the blouse has no shape and makes you look like a square.  Unwilling to be defeated, I picked out a great new tote bag which is reversible and a marigold colored scarf from the clearance section at Gap.  I also picked out some nice little things for Kyle since I missed him so much.

On the other side of the world, Kyle was doing the exact same thing.  He purchased lots of coffee at Starbucks for us to home brew (not too unlike the boy who used to leave mochas on my porch our last year of school).  I feel a little like a braggy girl, but Kyle really does spoil me.  He bought me deodorant (which doesn't sound like much, but it's a miracle to have American deodorant in Europe).  He also dealt with the humiliation of buying a People magazine so that I could indulge in one of my most base interests.  I was surprised to see Gary Coleman, and not the Gosselins on its cover.  Finally, he went by American Eagle and picked out his & her matching yellow shorts.  There was a sale on pants that included free flip flops~Kyle was hooked and now we get to be that couple that dresses alike.  I don't mind, though.

In addition to all the treats Kyle and I have bought for ourselves this week, a student bestowed unto me the most unexpected gift to date.  Sadly, no Show & Tell this week... it seems all muses have abandoned my two elementary schools.  Louane, however, thought I should have these....

That's right.  Tic Tacs~are these supposed to freshen breath?

Perhaps it's her subtle way of telling me that I'm less than fresh and that my mouth could use a pick-me-up before instructing her in the English language.  Either way, I never turn down free candy (except when offered it by my high school friend Adam.  He used to say, "Seconds on the lips, years on the hips."  Nice guy, huh?)  Anyways, this reminds me of the time Kyle and I received the game of Life (board game) 4 times as wedding gifts.  If it was a hint, I'm not listening.  My story is that something went horribly wrong with our Target gift registry, and I'm sticking to it.  

And we have yet to play one of these...

I'll leave you one last little treat.  While Kyle was going through Customs at the airport in Chicago, he happened to meet Peter Noone.  Peter Noone was a bit before our time, but he was the lead singer of Herman's Hermits.  He seemed to be a bit of a big time celebrity the way Rex Manning was in Empire Records.  Anywho, after some wikipedia reading and youtube searching, turns out we recognized one of his group's big hits.  Thank you Fox 97....enjoy!

Divers Divertissements

This past week has just been packed with activity.  As always, school is going well with the little ones.  Since my schedule was kind of light, Kyle found out I could take a course at GTL this summer with the undergrads.  Four days a week, I am taking a French culture class.  So far, I've learned about France's topographical charms, a bit of history, and Parisian arrondissements 101.  I have about 38 monuments I'd like to visit in Paris before we return to the homeland now that I wasn't really aware of before. 

Silly Leah of 2006, while you and your friends were posing by a lamppost, you missed out on the enormous Egyptian obelisk right behind you which dates back more than 3300 years.  You were such a dope to overlook such a treasure.  Ramses II & Ramses III would be so disappointed.

We live on a lovely little lake here in Metz called Lac Syphonie.  We have a wide variety of birds (mostly yucky crows), and we were terribly excited to see some baby birds this spring.  Our local swan family had been nesting on bird island (as we call it) for months, and thankfully their little family grew with 5 new babies.  Kyle and I stalked them one day to take a few photos.

You may only see 4 babies in between the parents, but there are definitely 5 little ones.

Perfect, fluffy, and already putting their long necks to use~a little post-swim grooming was in order.

At this moment, I'm likely trying to convince Kyle to let us get a pet baby swan.  

Well, looky here, someone else has a little baby, too!

At school, we talk about the Foire de mai (read: county fair) every day because of the children of the carnival workers have joined my classes for the month of May.  All the children love to talk about the rides and the food; it was too tempting for me not to go.  Kyle and I have been to Six Flags and White Water together before, but we'd never been to a carnival.  

 If it weren't for that fella in the foreground with the man purse and also the French words on the sign, this could be America.

Like a lot of girls, I dreamed about riding the ferris wheel with my beau and him winning a big stuffed animal for me by knocking down some cans with a baseball.  We did indeed take on the ferris wheel, but it was really cold when we got to the top.  Rather than it being an idyllic romantic moment, we were clinging to each other for warmth counting what seemed like endless tours in a backwards circle.  

 Before hypothermia set in.

Once we had our feet back on solid ground, we noticed these machines where men could punch a punching bag as hard as possible to then have the machine compute the level of their masculinity.  It's amazing how many Frenchmen, young & old, are seduced by a seemingly silly waste of money and time.  Alas, Kyle deferred to winning me a prize at our next carnival since we spent the better part of the evening giggling at the seriousness with which these fellas exerted their manhood.  Kyle did, however, buy me a chocolate ice cream cone.  He's a good man.

He was enamored with the motorcycle version of the bumper car.

Boule de glace, I could eat you everyday.

Despite the weather being tepid about committing to warmer temperatures, we finally got a hot Saturday last weekend.  Kyle and I set out for a fun day in the sun.  

We love all the beautiful flowers growing at our residence.

We went to the toy store and the Asian market for some treats.  In my last entry, you saw the set of Dominoes we purchased, but Kyle also bought me a super bouncy ball just because.  I never get tired of those, but our downstairs neighbors might...  Stay tuned to see if I stir up any discontent with nos voisins.  While at the toy store, we stumbled across the worst game in all the history of time.  I think it genuinely reflects a dearth of imagination on the part of its creators...

This translates to something like "Funny Garbage" or "Strange Refuse", but it's a recycling game.  The smaller yellow text reads~For learning how to better sort garbage while having fun!  I don't think you could convince a child that recycling is fun even if you gave them this delightful and beautifully decorated game.  Stick to Operation and Mouse Trap, kids!

I love to go to the Asian market.  The owners are super sweet and always help us with the odd ingredients we require to make different treats at home.  So far, we've just made sushi at home.  Lately, I have had a hankering for pad thai; I have constant thoughts of Tin Drum which inevitably leads to drooling and then begging Kyle to learn how to make it.  Our friendly market clerk directed us to a jar of pre-maid pad thai sauce.  This was a great relief to both Kyle and me.  We had made pad thai once in the states, and it required funky stuff that you can't use in other meals easily like fish sauce and tamarind paste.  It turns out that this sauce in a jar was super tasty and saved loads of time, money, and effort.  

Kyle in his office

Delicious pad thai at home... now if we can get a recipe for pad woon sen.  Thanks, Peter, for the snow peas!

There was a huge event in the U.S. on Sunday night.  Since we live in the future, we were asleep while everyone was watching LOST.  With some of our new and old friends, we had the LOST supper on Monday night.  We decided it should be a potluck dinner but hadn't properly anticipated that all the grocery stores were closed on Monday because naturally there should be a holiday the day after Pentecost.  It turned into quite a hodgepodge of dishes, but they were all completely tasty~we had crab stuffed puff pastries, a sandwich station, pigs in a blanket, tarte au sucre, a couple of berry tarts, sloppy joe's, and chocolate chip cookies.  We munched through the evening while Kyle had prepared hours of entertainment.  We started with the pre-cap show with interviews; who knew that thing would last nearly 2 hours?  Then we watched the series finale.  Last we enjoyed Jimmy Kimmel with lots of LOST cast members (and the creepy boy Jacob who steals his own ashes).  I love knowing so many LOST fans here; thank goodness for Rocky, Maria, Peter, Cole, Chris (the Irishman), and Dr. Stoneman who shared the final LOST experience with us.  

I won't dwell on the show for too long, but I was content with the Christology in Jack's last actions on the island.  I was greatly relieved that David's mother wasn't evil Tina Fey (aka Zoe) but rather Juliet.  I was praying that Boone and Shannon would make a comeback, and I am ever so grateful they did.  My favorite part was when Sawyer & Blondie were reunited.  It was pure Apollo bar bliss.  Anywho, that's all I have to say on the matter for now.  I've got to save up my analytical thoughts for our follow up dinner with the group for discussion.

One last fun event of the week, then I'll try to be more dedicated to updating with greater frequency so as to not carry on for days and days recounting too much at once.  This morning, Lauren invited me to come along with her to visit the Dickersons.  Jeramy and Janice just had a baby girl, Katelyn, two weeks ago.  We got to visit and talk for a while; we spend a lot of time getting moon-eyed over their toddler, Kimber.  It is a really nice time, and they make me want to have little babies of my own sooner than our Hamilton plan assents to.  On top of the Dickersons' happy addition, today is also Lauren & Michael's one year anniversary.  Happy first year of marriage, friends!

Shall we SHOW & TELL?  Yes please!

 This is a rather large boat by Auriana (are you surprised?)  She's staying busy crafting me small treasures each week.

Pauline presented me with this perfectly symmetrical doodle~does anyone remember what these things are called?  I remember playing with one at my grandmother's house in Massachusetts in the summer when I was little...

Yeliz, the manga master, never ceases to blow me away.  As we saw at the entrance to the Foire de mai, here too we have a pristine image of a French boy with a purse.  I'm reminded of Charlie in LOST saying in the pilot episode, "Guys, where are we?"  Instead of oddities like polar bears or Dharma stations, we have handbags for chaps and pro-wrestling for chippies.

That's all for now, friends.  Coming up on the horizon is our 1 year anniversary.  We are coming up on a night with English speakers and Jack Mac and church.  June is so soon~this will be the last month of school.  It's crazy; summer vacation for me starts on July 2nd.  Even still, I think I'll have class at GTL until the beginning of August.  I'm looking forward to some serious down town and travel opportunities for Kyle & me soon!  A bientot....