Cointreaupolitan!

Today we visited the Cointreau Distillery, and for any of you who know your liquors, Cointreau is  an orange french liquer, and is the real deal. The distillery in Angers is the only place in the world that makes the liquer, 50 million bottles a year! And guess what their #1 consumer country is? Yep, the U.S. We had a tour of the whole process, from the orange peels to the fermentation tanks to the bottling process and all the history and advertising that come with it. Then we got to sample a Cointreaupolitan in the swanky bar in the facility. (Ok I know what you're thinking, it seems like we do an awful lot of drinking during class, but I promise, it's all for the sake of our education!). A Cointreaupolitan is Cointreau's version of the cosmopolitan, but without the vodka. Very good, but very strong, especially when had with an empty stomach that isn't used to sipping on hard liquor to begin with. Mais ca c'etait tres cool!

Then we came back for a little student barbeque put on by the student organization at ESA. Had un hotdog (that's french for "hotdog"). It was good, but very different, more like a sausage and we had it on a baguette! I also met a couple of french ESA students who will be studying abroad in Madison this fall, which was exciting! That's it for my first school week. We head to Normandy tomorrow morning until Monday, and then start our focus group classes on Tuesday. 

Salut et Je vous aime!

Sarah