génial Grenoble, petit Pierrelatte

A crazy weekend of trains due to strikes but overall these are some of the things I don't want to forget from such an eventful weekend:
the beautiful candies and spice breads and other Christmas foods at the XMas market that I got to taste...mmm hot apple juice, seeing my feet through the "bubbles" of a chairlift to the Bastille viewpoint in Grenoble, my first view at the top of the Alps and of the city below, my legs shaking on the walk down through the cobblestone passageways and nature, the artifacts from WWII at the resistance and liberation museum, Matt (Heather's friend from England saying "God bless you" when I told him how long its been since I saw Chris, having to stay an hr in Valence because my connector train was cancelled but be able to see a parade and beautiful lights, Justin and Mael (my friends from GVSU who are assistants in Pierrelatte) living in a house at 2 Love Rd (2 rue d'Amour), Sady (Mael and Justin's dog) moving away from me after I petted her and slightly growling, the weird talent show on tv with toitem pole climbers and a banjo player and cube spinners, Mael's chicken fettuccini alredo and then creme brulee popsicles, the man on the train speaking in English and in French about Vercingétorix and then how he wants to be a history teacher and then helping not forget my bag, going the wrong direction at 7:30am to the train station and a car picking me up so I wouldn't miss my train, the waiter at the café in Grenoble who tried to make jokes and be funny but just ended up being odd, almost falling off the train toilet as the train turned and then the toilet not flushing, the friendliness of Pierrelatte conductor or the people climbing the Bastille saying Bonjour, the man in the wheelchair who I gave money to after reading short stories by Coehlo, the blind man at the tram stop explaining that the hour delay 50m from the Lyon station was because someone committed suicide and the authorities had to come, loving seeing how paper is made at the Musée Dauphinois, the Rikola instrument players at the market, the friendly crepe making people with the guy yelling to buy popcorn and mountain soup, and relaxing and talking to Mael about our futures and what we want to do with teaching.