Fondue, Finally
Although I find it hard to believe, I am DONE with classes until…. August (when I’m a senior?!). As of April 3rd, we were finished with regular lectures. Now, our only responsibility, besides soaking in the abroad experience and making the most of every minute, is to write a 30-paged research paper on a topic of our choosing. I could write extensively about how much this intimidates me, but that is not what this blog is here for. Here, we pretend that everything is fine and I’m constantly having the time of my life. Just kidding! Of course the abroad experience has its ups and downs and it would be impossible to be constantly having some crazy amazing experience. In fact, I think it would be completely exhausting to do something totally new and international every day. As I have mentioned in my previous blog post, I have to remember to prioritize my mental health and my need to relax and take some time for myself every once in a while. I know it is rather repetitive of me to hark on this same message again and again, but, I know at least for myself, constant reminders are necessary when we all seem to lead such busy lives (busy both literally and mentally).
(After a few days of sitting in cafes all day and checking things off my to-do list and doing research) I kicked off my month of completely self-structured time with a short day trip to Gruyères with a good friend. We decided in advance that today was the day – we were going to indulge in fondue. And that we did!! While the train lets you off right next to the cheese factory, the real old town of Gruyeres is up a hill a little ways away. We arrived in the late morning to find out that the tour of the cheese factory there had just finished and the next delivery of milk (and subsequent cheese making) would not be until the early afternoon, so we decided to take the trek up to the old town. After taking in our incredibly quaint surroundings, we decided we should take the opportunity for an early fondue lunch. We got a pot of fondue, which comes with bread and potatoes, as well as a small salad and a glass of wine each. It was a much creamier fondue than the one my mom makes but boy what it delicious. There’s nothing like a large pot of melted cheese shared with a friend to really brighten ones spirits.
We eventually made our way back down the hill to the cheese factory where we took a short audio-guided tour and saw cheese being made. The audio tour was narrated by a cow named Cherry who was very bubbly and enthusiastic about her cheese-making responsibilities. The premise of the tour was that it was supposed to access all the senses. At the beginning of the tour, we each got a small packet of gruyere cheese slices aged at 6, 8, and 10 months to try. Along the tour, there were small canisters with the scents of the many plants that the gruyere-making cows eat, including violets and cumin. Although the scents were really strong and maybe a lot all at once, I really enjoyed this element of the tour. We really got to become one with the cows. I don't think about the sense of smell often, but I think it really can be powerful in effecting ones moods. After the tour, we went back up to old Gruyères to walk around a bit before deciding to head back. The small town is seriously picturesque, but also incredibly tiny, so besides the castle and totally randomly placed Tibet museum and Giger Museum, there was not much else to do. We deiced we would take our time getting back home though, and stopped to get some ice cream in Lausanne. Well, of course, we could not bring ourselves to eat ice cream after eating so much cheese, so my friend and I each got some lemon sorbet to eat by the water. A very lovely day indeed.
