We took the TGV (super fast train) from Angers, arriving in Lyon at 5:30pm. Eve picked us up and informed us that her friends had planned her "wedding" to a guy she had jokingly proposed to a few months before when they met at a party. She assured us that it was just a joke and she wasn't really getting married. However, we would be there for the batchelorette party (Friday night) and for the "wedding" (Saturday night--at midnight). The wedding theme was "nature," so we went to the big park by her apartment to collect leaves and flowers to be used as dress decoration.
At 7:00 we returned to her apartment and her girl friends started arriving for the party. It was a really nice group of people--really friendly and laid back. They had lots of snacks and drinks (we tried Sangria--it's good!). Then the festivities began...a plate of shaving cream in Eve's face (which she then got on everyone else), a surprise appearance of a stripper (hmmm?), forcing Eve to put on slinky underwear over her clothes, a tinsel wig, and a sign reading "Demain c'est la fin. Je me marie." ("Tomorrow is the end. I'm getting married.").Then we left the apartment (yes, Eve was still dressed like that) and walked around town. It's a new ritual here to dress up the bride-to-be and parade around town and people congratulate her and her friends collect change for her. A few people gave us some change, some congratulated, some warned her about marrying so early (one guy kept talking and talking about all the risks of marrying young...). It was quite interesting to witness this tradition!
When we arrived in the town square, Eve's friends took out containers of yogurt and sold them (for a cigarette or some pocket change) to people who were walking by so that they could throw the yogurt at Eve! I was so shocked! But people actually paid and Eve received quite a bit of yogurt all over her. oof.
We then headed to a bar...it was so packed that when someone started to fall over, most of the people in the bar started falling over. Plus, it was a sauna. We couldn't move. Maria and I decided to head back to Eve's apartment early (she had given us the keys).
Since the place was a mess (from the party), we did the dishes and cleaned up. We figured it was the least we could do as they were giving us free lodging and meals! ;)
The next day we went back to the park by the apartment which has a free zoo in it. We saw all the animals (including the giraffes!!!), which was cool, but also incredibly depressing as they are not meant to be locked up in cages. It was especially hard to see the sad elephants in their little area. :(
Then we walked to the market (which had just finished) to scavenge for leftover food (the vendors leave the bruised/moldy produce). We found a little bit, but the best find was a HUGE amount of lilacs! Perfect for the "wedding"!!
We saw some of town (including a building that has one side painted in a mural that shows all the famous people from Lyon), stopped to watch a free ballet performance (the dancers were amazing!), then headed back to the apartment to eat some lunch.
Then we met up with Eve's friends to head out to the country for the "wedding." We were riding in their big truck, which had a covered back (that was turned into a place for sleeping).
Unfortunately there were only 3 seats, so Maria and I ended up in the back. Definitely illegal, but what can you do? It was about an hour and a half ride...and we arrived in a little clearing in the woods. It was infested with enormous mosquitoes (very rabid). We arrived at 6:30pm and spent the next few hours slapping mosquitoes, gathering wildflowers to decorate the alter (which was just two pieces of a dead tree trunk), slapping mosquitoes, doing some acrobatics, and scratching mosquito bites. Once it got dark the mosqitoes mostly went away, then it got better.It was a little bit hard to understand the French because they were using lots of slang (and it didn't help that most of them were either drunk or high or both). But they were all really nice and made sure to make us feel included.
The "wedding" took place at midnight--it was definitely...different... It was funny because the bride and groom were only there for the fun of it and don't even know each other very well. The whole thing was just an excuse to party. That's cool, though.Around 1:30am (after roasting "Chamallows" by the fire), Maria and I snagged sleeping bags and tried to get some sleep by the fire. We got tripped over a few times and were woken up by their crazy singing, but overall it was fine. The rain in the morning wasn't so great (as we didn't have a tent), but we're tough. ;)
The next morning we hung out and kept trying to get them to understand that we had to catch our train at 3:20pm back in Lyon...which was about 1 1/2 hours away... Unfortunately they were pretty busy goofing off, so we didn't end up leaving until 2:00pm. We rode back in the same truck (only this time there were 5 of us in the back and one guy was playing the guitar...) and made it to the train station in time for them to stop the truck and for us to jump out and run for the train. But, we made it!!
What a weekend!
pictures?: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2010045&id=1451010052&l=51d89941ce
-Natalie
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