Shopping!

Because some of my classes haven't started yet, I have a four-day weekend this weekend and it has afforded a lot of quality shopping time. On Friday, I went out looking for a hat because my ears always get cold when I'm hiking up the mountain to class. I walked around for a bit and then realized that its really no fun to shop alone so I had Alex join me. She is a student I met at the class registration stuff from Ontario Canada. Anyway she came to shop with me, and right now in Chambéry is a great time to shop! All of the stores are having major sales, trying to get rid of all their winter stuff to make room for spring and summer merchandise. We wandered around for a bit and ended up looking at shoes (of course, not what I needed). I found a cute pair of black boots with a shorter heel than the ones I already have, thus making them easier to walk in and more wearable to class. They were shorter than the ones I have but very cute to wear with tights and leggings especially. She found a cute pair of shoes too but didn't end up buying them (yet...). Afterward, we went and got some snacks to refuel after lots of walking. We're enjoying them in the picture above. I had a pain au chocolat which is essentially a croissant with two or three sticks of chocolate running through it. She had something with vanilla pudding that she really liked called a millefeuille. Mine was delicious!!!

The following day, I made plans to go to the outdoor market with Alex and Hal. Hal is a chemical engineering student from Kansas and lives in my building. The outdoor market had a lot of food. People there sold all sorts of breads, fruits, vegetables, fishes, meats and even non-food items. We saw things like chairs and cough drops and other such strange things to see at an outdoor market. Then we went to a crèperie for a little break and some crepes. They had some chocolat chaud (hot chocolate - which is actually much more bitter here than there, so it also came with two sugar cubes). The crepes tasted very good. Alex got a crepe with chocolate sauce and some sort of slightly orange flavored ice cream. Hal got one with apples and liqueur, and of course I got butter and sugar on mine (yes, I know I'm boring). Then we went out and hit the stores again. I ended up finding a coat which will help me to blend in a bit better I think (seeing as french people don't really wear coats like ours at home often are; they prefer wool, button-down, belted coats that are very fashionable). Anyway with the sales going on, it was a great deal! I also got a scarf at the same store which doesn't actually work with the coat but I loved it and it only cost about 2 euros. I also did end up finding a hat later on that was also very cheap and matched some of the fibers in the coat. Here are the spoils of my day (well at least my coat and hat):

I'm thinking about buying some yarn and knitting needles so that Alex can teach me how to knit. Then I can make a scarf to match my hat or my coat. Alex ended up getting a coat and a fedora-type of hat. She, like many other people have discovered, claims that I'm very good at getting her to spend her money. Hal also found some clothes while we were out, with Alex and I acting as his personal fashion consultants. All in all, it was a very fruitful day for all. Hopefully I don't buy that many more clothes while I'm here. I'd rather spend my money to go places and see things. Right now I'm thinking about what I want to do on my week-long break in February.