Stuff that I had done in the past days...

Well, I mentioned that the week for me was basically filled with long hours in front of the computer, banging my head on the keyboard. You can gather that my week was basically pretty uneventful. (Besides the EXCITEMENT of being forced to work till very late to rush the programme and the THRILL of frantically searching for answers and trying to get the damnable piece of code to run...) I think I wrote the most amount of codes for that project than I had ever done...

Between the code-crunching and lecture-trotting, I had lunch at the school's cafeteria. It was not too bad. I was preparing for a 9 Fr.- lasagne again but it seems that luch had more variation. Usually, when I eat in school, it was from the sandwich stand that sold those 5 Fr.- huge subs that I spoke of. But since I was with a friend, she suggested trying the cafeteria, so off we went.

How's this? Beef with hash and really cooked broccoli. They even throw in the fruit and the bread free. All for a decent price of 7 Fr.- The beef wasn't steak but it was better than a sandwich jambon again. It was pretty decent, but a little too salty for my taste. Definitely better than the lasagne that was too much.

After the deadline of the aforementioned dratted C lab, I was pretty free today! I had arranged beforehand for my exchange buddy to bring me around the city center for a look. It was a pretty short trip, about 2 and a half hours of sight-seeing, before we head off to school for classes. (Mine start at 4 on thursdays...)

I told him that I haven't visited the smaller churches and the museums around Riponne. So, starting from Church Saint-Francois, we took a walk round Riponne, heading towards the Palais de Rumine before going to Lusanne Flon to take the metro to school.

The Church is much smaller than the main one that I had mentioned before and it looked plainer. (Hint: less wall carvings and mosaic windows) It was just an interesting place to note, but nothing much to mention.... Oh ya, pictures...

The main altar...

The grand organ. It seems that it is common for churches to have such organs... It looked really similar to the one in the Cathedral...

Outside Palais de Rumine, there was this huge stage and huge ice-way being constructed. It was for the Red Bull's Ice Crashed. (or something like that) My buddy told me that it was a competition where teams "ski" (or slide) down the ice track (and getting rid of competitors along the way). The first one wins.

It seemed pretty crazy! They constructed a whole ice track that looked absolutely dangerous right in a city center. The safety barrier that they constructed to along the trackes looked pretty squat, like a person could flip over it or something if they jumped too high...

The starting point, next to a statue of a Vaudois hero of the 18th century, Major Davel.
The starting point.

Its on saturday...
The end point. Note that they put a huge cushion at the end of it. How reassuring it is to crash into it...

Palais de Rumine was more interesting. We just mainly entered the building to admire the interior decor and design. (This place has elaborate carvings on the walls and above their doors) It had several museums in it that I would definitely go back for a closer look but I just took a glance on the outside. It has a museum on zoology, another on geology and a huge library where I could borrow books from. It just looked interesting lah. Down at the Flon, we went to the Flon Quartier, which was previously an industrial factory site back in those days. Now, its a revamped spot with flashy glass buildings between repaired old ones. Its a hip place with several art schools, pubs and clubs for the young and the hip.
Yea... I know this place well...
After all, I came here like 5 times to make my permit... The administration communale is like all the way at the back of this area.
But anyway, my buddy pointed out something that I did not notice for all the 5 (or 6 now) times that I came here. Guess what this is...

A toilet with glass walls in the side of the street... Haha!! How many of you guessed it?

Seriously, did I mention that the Swiss look deceptively sane? :-D First, the an ice track in the middle of the city, then a toilet with glass walls in a busy shopping area! Who would think of such stuff! The glass actually turns opaque when someone is inside and presses the occupied button. When it is empty, the glass is transparent. Crazy idea, but pretty useful if you suddenly have the urge to take a pee in a place where there are many buildings with more privat bathrooms...

On a whole other note, let me mention that I bought had bought a packet of thyme about 2 weeks ago. Seeing that its not going to transform into something magical without my input, I went to the web to search for a suitable recipe that I could make on a tight schedule and an even tighter budget. The answer: Cheese and thyme flaky biscuits

Great! Since I have the flour, sugar, salt(from the kitchen), thyme (and time), cheese and a bunch of other stuff, I made a batch of 'em today.
(I had also bought baking powder and the story of how I got them is another story too long to tell in this too-long-already post. :-D)

These are actually american biscuits, so the size of them are actually around that of a baby's fist. Pretty big. I made them "rocky" cos I didn't have a rolling pin to nicely roll it flat...

It was good! Much better than I thought they would be. I made more than this of course. I gave some to my buddy and he scarfed down 2 in a go, which means that he didn't really eat them out of courtesy. YAY!! A culinary success after the too salty curry!

Oh, I have to mention that I am going to Bern for a weekend trip with a fellow exchange student. If we're lucky, maybe we're head over to Interlaken for some sightseeing too...

Ok, back to my homework again. Have to actually clear some if I wanna go on that trip...