OULLINS

MY NEW HOME

Jan 5 2014

This is all about Oullins - the small suburb of Lyon which I am currently calling my home. When I first got here I felt a bit odd. I think that is probably normal when you arrive in a completely new place where everything is foreign (literally), and you have no idea which way is even west or east. 

I mean that too, my sense of direction flew out the window when I first arrived. 

So then I got to know my new apartment pretty well, and I started to get that fear of going out into the wider world - agoraphobia I think it is called. This is all over the course of two days, by the way. But, my good sense prevailed and I coaxed myself to go out for an hour or so, just to get my bearings. It was like I was preparing for an expedition. I got together any items I would possibly need, and double checked everything... and took a big breath when I closed the front door. 

Now I am fine, I have ventured much further afield, but that day I was very tentative. Yet as I walked I began to get my confidence back, and observe the new world around me...

Oullins is a nice enough place. It is kind of dirty but charming, as the rest of Lyon seems to be. There are pastel coloured buildings with shutters, and roads that look like alleyways. There is a lot of rubbish, and dog poop, and many people just wandering along jauntily - old people with small dogs, and young people riding bikes in pairs. 

Oullins houses in Lyon, France
View from Oullins parc, Lyon

WACKY AMERICAN FOOD

Costco Superstores are crazy and amazing with their free samples!
 

Journey with me a little

on my forays

into the weird foods of American gas stations and supermarkets...

 
Giant pizzas in America

We shall start with something tame, maybe a gigantic pizza served fresh from Costco.

Weird American orange pre-grated cheese

Now, please tell me this is grated carrot.

 
Cinnamon Toast Crunch

America owns some of the best cereal brands: Cookie Crisp, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Chocolate Frosted Sugar Bombs, all the good ones.

White Cheddar Cheese snow balls

I don't think I had ever encountered such a thing as 'white cheddar cheese flavour' before I visited the States. It seems to be pretty popular over there.

 
Brown Bread in a can... only in America

Ok, so this one is a little perplexing. Is it bread in a can? More importantly, is it pre-baked bread in a can? Only one way to find out...

f'real shakes in a sealed cup

If you have not heard of a f'real shake, then let me explain it to you... A milkshake sealed in a cup, from a gas station, that contains over 70% of your daily saturated fat intake.

 
Texas Cinnamon Roll

This is a cinnamon roll disguising itself as a plastic dog toy.

Nacho stand at the Gas Station

The nachos station - for your quick nachos fix.

 
Super stuffed ham sandwiches at the Gas Station

You never can have too much ham, right?

Gas Station rotating hot dogs

Roll up, roll up and take your bets on which hotdog at the gas station is still half frozen. Because one of them always is.

 
crayola crayon toothpaste.

One of the awesome non-food items I found - look closely and you will see what it really is.

Clean cotton car smell - Yankee Candle

Finally! My car can smell like clean cotton sheets!

 
Crisco butter flavoured lard

At first glance: whaaaaaat?
Second glance: Oh right.
Third glance: Wait... what?

Friskies party mix

Friskies Party Mix! For those times when your cat wants to hold a party.

 

And lastly, my all-time favourite... pancake battered frozen sausages!

Check out the berry-flavour.

 

BAKING WITH BRENDA

Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls

Howdy folks! Brenda and Zoe here, to teach you how to make Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls™ from a can. 

Now, back where you are from, you might find it a little unusual to see buns in a can, ready to bake. But I can assure you, not only are they delicious, these Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls™ are also quite handy for those of you who have absolutely no time to spare - certainly no time to whip up a batch of buns yourself, nor to pour milk into a pre-packed mix of flours and things. No siree! You are the type that has things to do in life, places to get, and you want your fresh baked cinnamon rolls to be ready on the spot! 

Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls in a weird cardboard tube!
Cinnamon Rolls out of a tube...
Brenda makes some Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls

STEP 1

Get your can and peel back that pesky wrapper. Voila - here you can see the patented cardboard can we have designed for you. Just give it a twist, and the sucker will pop open at the seams, causing the beautiful buns to fall right out. 

STEP 2

Plonk those buns onto a baking tray and put them in the oven until they are nice and golden brown. A sweet smell should be emitting from your oven by this point.

STEP 3

Now you can ice those bad boys with our scary-looking container of 'white frosting.' Be careful not to look at the ingredients though, you don't want those to put you off. 
Bon appetit!