Canard and Barcelona!

  Wrapped up our second week here in France with  an extended weekend trip to Barcelona. The first part of the week we experienced some lectures on poultry production, the difference in GMO's and transgenic plants, and tropical plant production. My favorite experience though was definitely the tour of the poultry farms.

  On Wednesday we went about two hours outside of Toulouse on a bus to tour a poultry farms. The interesting thing about poultry production here is that unlike America the farmers can make a living off only a few thousand chickens. They also have a much larger access to free range and have a longer growth period. The farm that we toured raised guineas, turkens, and ducks. Guineas and the turken chickens are consumed in about the same amounts in France. The barns that they are reared in are also very similar to those back home. In the duck barn we got to see the machine that assists in the force feeding of the ducks for making foix gras. The process used by the feeder ensures that the duck is not harmed or given to much feed at once. The mechanism used to force feed the ducks does not hurt them it only helps to administer the required amount of food to produce excess lipids in the liver.
   Wednesday night we had a send off dinner for the students from UGA. While they will be sorely missed their time here had drawn to a close and all were ready to go back to their families.
   On Thursday we began a four day weekend by taking a train to Barcelona, Spain. It was difficult to get there because our first train was canceled and we had to make a few quick and unplanned transfers but we got there safely. We checked into our hostel that evening and proceeded to go out on the town and try tapas which are like appetizers. The next day we explored the city and all of the shops that looked interesting. I noticed that a lot more people in Barcelona speak English than those in Toulouse. There is also a much higher unemployment rate there which lead to protests in some parts of the city at night. We were lucky enough to witness one of these protests while walking back from a nights meal. On Saturday we toured the Picasso Museum and saw his abstract works as he progressed throughout his career. We also went to the beach to enjoy some of the sun and the local atmosphere. To wrap up the weekend there we went to a small restaurant at the marina and had some of the best food of the entire trip. My favorite part was the goat cheese ice cream which may sound gross to some but it has a very unique flavor if you give it a chance. I'm glad I did.
   On Sunday we headed back to Toulouse on a straight shot train from Barcelona. As exhausted as we were a good long nap was in due order on the long ride back. I am excited for our comming week discovering what France has in store next!