Free time in Grenoble

Although we had to study a lot, when we weren't at the University we had a lot of downtime. There's a ton of things to do in Grenoble.

View of the Bastille from across the river. A lot of people will either hike up to the Bastille or take a lift up to see an amazing view of the city. We hiked up during the day, took the lift at night. If you can see the Bastille, you'll pretty much always get your orientation if you're lost. 

My friends and I got Italian one night on the Bastille side of the river. The whole street on that side is basically all Italian restaurants that are pretty good.

Good view of the lift that takes people to the Bastille. 

Calzone I had at an Italian restaurant. 

View from the lift of the city.

It's scary high, but you can see everything.

The "boules" fit six people, and you kind of have to hop in and out them at either side of the lift (they don't stop). It's a bit sketch and dangerous, but it works, nonetheless.

View of the city from the top of the Bastille. It's incredible at night. The city feels smaller than it is, so this was the moment I realized how big it actually was.

After I went to the Bastille for the first time, we got "tacos" at my favorite restaurant in Grenoble, Tacos de Lyon. They're not really tacos as I know them, but the tacos are amazing wrap thing-bobs. My usual was french fries, fried egg, tomato, lettuce, and some kind of sauce wrapped in a tortilla. It was good and cheap. The guys that worked there started to get to know me because I went there pretty often. Highly recommended.

Not sure if drinking in parks is legal, but no one cares anyway. One day my friend Alexis and I just went to a supermarket, picked out some beers (based on how pretty the bottles were because we know nothing about beer) and dessert and had a picnic in Parc Paul Mistral. Everyone goes there to relax or exercise. It's beautiful and there's always a ton of events there. This year, there was a free Mika Concert. It was incredible, and he sings live the way he does on his albums. 

In every city there's a place to just stop what you're doing and take some time to put your brain back together. Victor Hugo is one of those places. It's a plaza in the center of the city that has grass to chill on, fountains, benches, and some great people watching. It was a common meeting point for everyone if we had to go somewhere. Because the city is pretty dead on Sundays (or laundry day), I liked to go there and recharge. There would be almost no one there, so it was like you had this huge, beautiful city all to yourself. Even when I was struggling for inspiration for my final essay I went there to procrastinate, and my subject hit me. Victor Hugo does strange things...

Below: Chilling and eating gelato at Victor Hugo

When I wasn't out doing something, I liked to relax in my room. It was especially calming in the rain.

Kebab is very popular in Europe in general, so you can find one anywhere. Tacos de Lyon is my favorite, but I went to Batman Kebab just because it was called Batman Kebab. All the persuasion I need.

A really good café Alexis and I stopped at. French coffee is really good. It's strong, though. A lot of people coming from the states will order a coffee and be a bit confused. We're used to watered down espresso when we order coffee. If you want that, you have to order café americano, otherwise they just give you a shot of espresso.

There's a ton of different food to eat in Grenoble. This was a really good Thai restaurant that I went to a few times. Their curry was fantastic.

The nightlife in Grenoble was really good. One night I went to a club and we literally were dancing until the sun came up. But if you're not into the club scene, you can choose between many bars. I liked some of the bars downtown closer to Victor Hugo, but my favorite by far was La Bobine in Parc Paul Mistral. I went there a ton. It's a little bit hipster-y, but I think that's why I liked it. The music was always pretty interesting, the people were friendly and numerous, and the alcohol was cheap. You could get a beer for three euro for example, but at the end of the night, if you return their glass, they give you a euro back. Every night there would be tons of people chilling on the grass outside the bar just to talk, there would be dogs running around, and even kids were out until one o'clock. (Their parents bring them out, and they play on the play structure while their parents drink).

But yeah, this is just some of the stuff you can do in Grenoble. There's really something for everyone. It was pretty amazing!