Bonjour, Kelly!

Proof that I am not living in the 14th century

Boy, I am tired of putting up pictures of the countryside. Are you tired of looking at them? It's okay to say yes.
Uh-oh. My school-persona is starting to infiltrate my real-persona. Did you understand what I said? It's okay if you didn't understand. Please just tell me.

Remember how, before I left, I said that I was working in Besancon? Obviously, that's not where I am -- it is, however, the school district that employs me. Besancon happens to be the largest city in the Franche-Comte (and the smallest city in France that can still be classified as a "city." Who does all of this counting? And why do all French people seem to know these statistics?). It's about the same size as Naperville, IL, but obviously a WAY cooler town.

Then again, Naperville does have a Baby Gap, so I guess I'll call it even.

Besancon is a beautiful little city. Several universities are located there, and it hosts the largest international student population in the country. (again...with the statistics...).

Unlike other college towns (like Montpellier, which I've yet to write about) Besancon feels fun and active, but not at all trashy or... well, it doesn't seem likely that you'll run into many groups of street-hippies playing in drums circles at 3AM, which is precisely what you'll see in Montpellier.

I've been to Besancon twice -- the first time for a training session; the second to meet with Catherine to plan our holiday trip together. It's only an hour train ride away. That's just a little longer than it took me to take the train from my apartment on the north side of Chicago to downtown.

That's Catherine! I took the picture without her knowledge or consent, so it's not the most flattering. I was going for naturalism and spontaneity, since I'm an arteest.




One of the best things about Besancon (besides the cafes, shops, technology, and the people with their cute shoes) is the riverwalk. It goes on for a long time, taking out right out of the city into the wooded area surrounding it, then into the next small suburban towns. In this picture, you can see a fuzzy, dim outline of the citadel on top of the hill. Catherine and I walked up there, and you get a good view of the city.


Hmm. I don't think these pictures are as nice as my others, though. Lucky for you, I have a LOT more pictures of little country paths and trees.

We have another holiday tomorrow, for WWI Armistice day, so I'm going up to see Catherine in her town. She's friends with two other assistants, so I think we'll just spend the weekend hanging out.

Um...the end.

posted by kelly @ 5:32 PM