Pâques – Easter in France

Spring is officially here: the trees are once again green with leaves, flowers are sprouting, and everyone is flocking outdoors as the days become longer, warmer, and invitingly beautiful. I’m already sporting awkward tans lines from my clothes as everyone hangs out outside in between classes.  

The weeks have been flying by.  We celebrated my host mom’s birthday last week.  My school celebrated Carnaval.  I recently saw The Hunger Games which is also popular in France and one of my favorite books (the movie was the original in English but with French subtitles).  I played a pretty awesome April Fool’s Day joke on my parents back in Lansdale (my host family helped especially my little sister who drew the fake tattoo on my stomach…).

Arriving earlier this year but still a big part of the spring ritual, it was Easter this past weekend. My family and I headed to my grandmother’s country house outside of Lyon Saturday morning, (I missed my morning history class, so my break officially started. I don’t go back to school until the 23^rd of April).

We arrived in the city of Puy-en-Velay just in time for lunch and enjoyed an indoor café as it had started to rain. With our luck though it didn’t last too long, and once we finished lunch it was once again sunny… however a little cold.

Before heading directly to the house, my family wanted to give me a tour of the city, as it was mostly built in the 11^th century. Being located near an extinct volcano, the city has a unique color as some of the roads, walkways, and buildings were constructed with volcanic rock. The medieval architecture is striking.

The horizon holds the Saint Michel d'Aiguilhe Chapel which was built high atop a volcanic rock formation, Notre-Dame de France which is an iron statue of the Blessed Mary overlooking the city, and the bell tower of Cathédrale du Puy.  We toured the magnificent Cathédrale du Puy, which is probably the most famous landmark in Le Puy-en-Valey.

The city takes great pride in their history which dates as far back as the 7^th century. 

An important part of the city’s reputation includes the art of making dentelle (lace). Traditionally fabricated by hand, the craftsmanship is still practiced today.

Later that night we returned to the city to attend an Easter Vigil mass. We started the hour and half long service at 9pm, outside of the church with a gigantic fire, which represented the light of life.  We all lit candles before processioning into the church.

Easter morning, everyone slept in. We had a big lunch together complete with lamb, cooked tomatoes, salad, cheese, and way too many delicious desserts. We also took part in a little Easter egg hunt, afterwards. However, it’s different than in the states.

In the states the Easter Bunny hides dozens of plastic eggs full of candy, coins, or treats and the kids wake up to find them. Here, each child (my brother, sister, and me) had one giant chocolate egg which my dad hid outside in the yard for us to find. So it was similar, but with a little less hype.

My brother and I didn’t stay too long at my grandmother’s house. That night we ended up in Lyon where we stayed with family friends before returning to Toulouse Monday night.

The weekend passed way too fast, and it was weird for me, because it didn’t really feel like Easter. I catch a train tomorrow morning for Paris where I will spend the week touring the city with a college aged friend and we will stay with her uncle and his family. So I don’t really have time to reflect on the time I spent in Le Puy-de-Velay, but rather continue to look forward to my plans ahead.

I even forgot to take my camera with me over Easter weekend, but I won’t forget it for Paris.