Day 52: Monday, May 11, 2009: Today, we spent the day in Nice again! We were pissed at Katy and Christophe for not answering their phones. After we got up, we walked to the train station to try to get our tickets changed and explain the problem. It was so difficult! No one wanted to help us! They acted as if it wasn’t their problem. I finally demanded to speak to a manager who finally resolved our problem and reissued us new tickets at no additional cost.
So then we walked back to the hotel to get our bags. We had an hour before we needed to be back at the train station so we sat on the beach! There was no way we were going to make our grammar class. We text Christophe and he still never responded. Thanks!
We arrived in Avignon and took a taxi to Melissa’s house because it split the difference between my house and Lance’s. I walked home and explained the situation to my host parents. Jacqueline was really mad and suggested that I write a letter to the TGV and demand 25E for the cost of my hotel room for the night.
After dinner, I wrote a paper for literature class and studied for the grammar test that I have tomorrow. Lance text me and said that the test was moved and that it wasn’t going to be tomorrow – Christophe didn’t let me know, Lance did. I’m really glad that I’m paying him to be here on vacation with his girlfriend and he can’t communicate with me at all. It’s excellent!
Day 53: Tuesday, May 12, 2009: Today was busy; I had three classes. John got back from Germany. Yesterday in grammar, they watched the movie for the book that we are reading so I missed that. I have to watch it tomorrow with Lance and Melissa.
I had dinner with Jacqueline, Bernard, and John and did some homework. It was a pretty average Tuesday in France.
Day 54: Wednesday, May 13, 2009: Even though there was no class today, I still did a lot of work. I went to the internet café with Melissa to print our papers for our writing class tomorrow. Then we met Shawna and John at the university to work on our oral presentation that is tomorrow in our oral grammar class; topic: the language of the youth. We have to record a conversation between students our age, transcribe it, translate the slang terms that they use and present it to the class.
Shawna recorded a conversation with some of her French friends talking about a handball game but it wasn’t what we needed. We needed slang terms. John talked to his correspondent and we all decided that we could meet up at the bar tonight to do this.
Then I went to Melissa’s to watch our movie. Lance came too. After the movie, we had to write a film critique comparing the book to the movie. I went back to the university library to write and email mine to Christophe.
After dinner, we went to Red Sky to do our project. John’s correspondent brought a bunch of friends and it was really cool to just hang out with them. We are all basically the same age; some of them don’t speak any English so I have to speak French which helps me out a lot. We recorded our conversation and decided that we would write the presentation during our four-hour break between classes tomorrow.
Day 55: Thursday, May 14, 2009: Today in writing class, we talked about our book that the class is making with all of our poems from class. Each person has a job; it’s like high school yearbook. I’m the editor-in-chief. Each person gets to choose four poems, a picture and biography for the book and at the final dinner, we get to read one in front of everyone.
After class, we worked on our oral presentation. We decided that it would be way too hard to transcribe the conversation so we just typed up a page with the slang terms that they used and the meanings in regular French. Some were a little dirty but that’s how kids my age talk to describe things.
Then we had class and we had to present our project. The four of us – Shawna, Melissa, John, and I each read a section. We printed our handout and the professor copied it for us. After dinner, I decided not to go out because I went out last night and it was raining. So I stayed in and did lots of homework for next week.
Day 56: Friday, May 15, 2009: Today we had two classes again. When I was leaving my house this morning, I ran into the postman and I got a letter from Mamaw! It had some money that she had not spent while she was here.
In history class, we watched a film on the French Revolution. It is a really interesting part of French history. I sat next to Shawna and explained, in English, the events for her because the professor is a little difficult to understand.
I ate lunch in the cafeteria, had my journal meeting with Jenny, and had literature class. He explained another project for next week. We have to choose a French author and a short excerpt and explain the meaning in a presentation to the class. Everyone explained that we were all going out of town for the next Friday and only four people would be in class.
On our original schedule for France, it says that we have Thursday and Friday off school next week but then Christophe decided that that was wrong on Monday (when I wasn’t in class) and told everyone that there would actually be classes. Everyone explained that they wouldn’t be attending because we’d already made reservations for a four-day weekend (we hadn’t exactly made reservations yet but it would happen soon).
After class, I went to Melissa’s with Lance, Nina, Zoe, and Meghan so we could decide what we wanted to do for the long weekend. We thought we found really good plane tickets to Brussels, Belgium, but then the price doubled with fees and taxes so we decided against that. Finally, after much research and debate, we decided to go to Lyon. It would be Melissa, Lance, Meghan and I for two nights; leaving Thursday morning and returning Saturday afternoon. We found a hotel and train tickets and made all the reservations online.
After dinner, I decided to join everyone else at the bar for a while but I didn’t stay out long because we have an excursion tomorrow.
Day 57: Saturday, May 16, 2009: Today was really fun! We had an excursion to the village of Uzes and we went canoeing to the Pont du Gard, a huge ancient Roman aqueduct. The day was really fun!
Monday, June 15, 2009
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
days 47 - 51
Day 47: Wednesday, May 6, 2009: Today was very simple and relaxed after a stressful day yesterday. I slept late and ate lunch with Jacqueline on the terrace. After that, I met Lance and we walked to the train station to buy tickets for the weekend. It was 40E roundtrip.
Then we had two classes: history and literature again. We normally don’t have classes on Wednesdays but since there is no school on Friday, we have to make them up today. The literature teacher was absent… so we watched a movie. Can you waste more of my time while I’m in France please?
After dinner and watching the news with Jacqueline and Bernard, I packed a bag for the weekend and did some homework.
Day 48: Thursday, May 7, 2009: Today we went to Juan-les-Pins! We had our first class and we were told that our second class would be immediately following rather than four hours later. We were lied to yet again. Thus we had another four hour break. We bought train tickets planning on leaving right after class. Since the class was later, we decided to skip it because it was their fault for not giving us ample notice of the change. And we are allowed to miss one period of each class – no more. This was our first miss and we knew we would not skip again so we did it!
After the first class, I went to Casio with Lance and we bought stuff to make Skyline dip… or at least we tried to make it as best as we could with what we had. Note to the world: France is the capital of cheese yet cream cheese does not exist here. Cheddar cheese exists but you have to hunt it down. We got lazy and gave up on the cheddar. Also, Tostito’s scoops also are nonexistent or nearly impossible to find, thus we bought Doritos that served a similar purpose.
We went to Lance’s and tried our best to make authentic Skyline Chili Dip with his host mom: we basically failed. The chili was excellent but the cheeses did not do the job. After hanging out with her for a while, she offered to take us to the train station. I went home to get my bag and meet Melissa.
When my host parents’ son slept in my room the other night, he left the key in the door on the interior, thus when I tried to use my key it did not work. Jacqueline and Bernard were not home so I knocked on the neighbor’s door to see if maybe she had a key. Fail. Then I called Jacqueline. Fail. Then I called Bernard. He told me where Jacqueline was but I was confused. Finally, he just met me on the corner and gave me his keys.
So I finally had my bag and walked to meet Melissa. Then we walked back to Lance’s house. I did some homework on the train and we arrived in Juan-les-Pins at about 8 p.m. It was easy to find the hotel and the woman that worked there was very nice.
We put our stuff in the room then walked to the beach and saw the sunset. Then we walked around the town and found a restaurant for dinner. We decided not to go out; our friends couldn’t get on our train and are arriving tomorrow.
Day 49: Friday, May 8, 2009: Today was excellent! I went to Italy! We had heard about this huge outdoor market just across the French boarder on Fridays so we bought tickets and went. We took the TER and it took an hour and a half to get there.
When we were finally there, we found the market; it would have been hard to miss. There were tons of fake goods, sunglasses, belts, bags, whatever you wanted. But you could tell that it was fake. The only thing that I bought was a bottle of Dolce & Gabanna cologne for 6E50.
We walked around and found a restaurant for lunch. When in Italy, you have to have spaghetti. It was weird because we didn’t speak Italian but everyone thought we were French anyway. So at the restaurant, we got the French menu and ordered in French.
After lunch, we walked to the beach to see the sea in Italy; then we found our way back to the train station for the ride home. It was a fun day but we spent as much time in Italy as it took to get there and back. When we got back to Juan-les-Pins, our friends had arrived and we found them on the beach.
We had a light dinner and spent most of the night hanging out at the beach. Sparks flew between Lance and Melissa and I’m now in the middle of a honeymoon of sorts. Total third wheel over here… it is excellent to say the very least. (Sarcasm)
Day 50: Saturday, May 9, 2009: Day 50!? What!? Today was very relaxed and laid back. This is exactly why we came to Juan-les-Pins. It is like a resort vacation here. The sand is excellent and it was so sunny today. So sunny that wouldn’t you know it… I got an incredible sunburn.
After tanning all day, we took showers and got ready to go out. We had a big dinner together then visited a bar for a while before coming back to our room to hang out. I Skyped my family and friends in America. We ended up watching Aladdin on youtube before falling asleep. Yes, we are all actually six years old.
Day 51: Sunday, May 10, 2009: Today started off real well then went to hell real quick. Our friends checked out of the hotel and went to Nice for the day. Lance, Melissa, and I went to the beach again but thankfully, it was cloudy. I still was careful not to get more sun.
After the beach, we went back to the room to shower and change before going to the train station. I read online about the riots at OU’s Palmerfest! The nice woman at the hotel allowed us to stay in our room until 7 p.m. without paying more.
So we got to the train station on time and our train never came. It was cancelled without telling us. We missed our connection to Antibes and watched as our train to Avignon passed us. The woman at the counter was useless and told us that there was no way we were going back to Avignon tonight. Excellent and we have class tomorrow.
We called Christophe and Katy, our program director and his assistant and neither answered their phones. Excellent again! I’m so glad we’re paying you to be on vacation here for three months with your girlfriend and neither of you can answer your phones when your students are stuck somewhere.
We called Jenny, the grad student assistant and explained the situation. We decided to take the next TER train to Nice and try to exchange tickets. If we really couldn’t get home that night then we at least knew we had a place to stay at the hotel from the last weekend.
After failing to get new tickets, I called the nice old woman at the hotel and she said that she had a room for us. I recommend her hotel to anyone travelling to Nice, France! She is excellent!
So here we were back in Nice. But we love Nice! By this time, it was no earlier than 11 p.m. and we decided that we needed some of our favorite ice cream in Nice to make the day better. Then we went back to our room and we were beat. We went right to bed.
Then we had two classes: history and literature again. We normally don’t have classes on Wednesdays but since there is no school on Friday, we have to make them up today. The literature teacher was absent… so we watched a movie. Can you waste more of my time while I’m in France please?
After dinner and watching the news with Jacqueline and Bernard, I packed a bag for the weekend and did some homework.
Day 48: Thursday, May 7, 2009: Today we went to Juan-les-Pins! We had our first class and we were told that our second class would be immediately following rather than four hours later. We were lied to yet again. Thus we had another four hour break. We bought train tickets planning on leaving right after class. Since the class was later, we decided to skip it because it was their fault for not giving us ample notice of the change. And we are allowed to miss one period of each class – no more. This was our first miss and we knew we would not skip again so we did it!
After the first class, I went to Casio with Lance and we bought stuff to make Skyline dip… or at least we tried to make it as best as we could with what we had. Note to the world: France is the capital of cheese yet cream cheese does not exist here. Cheddar cheese exists but you have to hunt it down. We got lazy and gave up on the cheddar. Also, Tostito’s scoops also are nonexistent or nearly impossible to find, thus we bought Doritos that served a similar purpose.
We went to Lance’s and tried our best to make authentic Skyline Chili Dip with his host mom: we basically failed. The chili was excellent but the cheeses did not do the job. After hanging out with her for a while, she offered to take us to the train station. I went home to get my bag and meet Melissa.
When my host parents’ son slept in my room the other night, he left the key in the door on the interior, thus when I tried to use my key it did not work. Jacqueline and Bernard were not home so I knocked on the neighbor’s door to see if maybe she had a key. Fail. Then I called Jacqueline. Fail. Then I called Bernard. He told me where Jacqueline was but I was confused. Finally, he just met me on the corner and gave me his keys.
So I finally had my bag and walked to meet Melissa. Then we walked back to Lance’s house. I did some homework on the train and we arrived in Juan-les-Pins at about 8 p.m. It was easy to find the hotel and the woman that worked there was very nice.
We put our stuff in the room then walked to the beach and saw the sunset. Then we walked around the town and found a restaurant for dinner. We decided not to go out; our friends couldn’t get on our train and are arriving tomorrow.
Day 49: Friday, May 8, 2009: Today was excellent! I went to Italy! We had heard about this huge outdoor market just across the French boarder on Fridays so we bought tickets and went. We took the TER and it took an hour and a half to get there.
When we were finally there, we found the market; it would have been hard to miss. There were tons of fake goods, sunglasses, belts, bags, whatever you wanted. But you could tell that it was fake. The only thing that I bought was a bottle of Dolce & Gabanna cologne for 6E50.
We walked around and found a restaurant for lunch. When in Italy, you have to have spaghetti. It was weird because we didn’t speak Italian but everyone thought we were French anyway. So at the restaurant, we got the French menu and ordered in French.
After lunch, we walked to the beach to see the sea in Italy; then we found our way back to the train station for the ride home. It was a fun day but we spent as much time in Italy as it took to get there and back. When we got back to Juan-les-Pins, our friends had arrived and we found them on the beach.
We had a light dinner and spent most of the night hanging out at the beach. Sparks flew between Lance and Melissa and I’m now in the middle of a honeymoon of sorts. Total third wheel over here… it is excellent to say the very least. (Sarcasm)
Day 50: Saturday, May 9, 2009: Day 50!? What!? Today was very relaxed and laid back. This is exactly why we came to Juan-les-Pins. It is like a resort vacation here. The sand is excellent and it was so sunny today. So sunny that wouldn’t you know it… I got an incredible sunburn.
After tanning all day, we took showers and got ready to go out. We had a big dinner together then visited a bar for a while before coming back to our room to hang out. I Skyped my family and friends in America. We ended up watching Aladdin on youtube before falling asleep. Yes, we are all actually six years old.
Day 51: Sunday, May 10, 2009: Today started off real well then went to hell real quick. Our friends checked out of the hotel and went to Nice for the day. Lance, Melissa, and I went to the beach again but thankfully, it was cloudy. I still was careful not to get more sun.
After the beach, we went back to the room to shower and change before going to the train station. I read online about the riots at OU’s Palmerfest! The nice woman at the hotel allowed us to stay in our room until 7 p.m. without paying more.
So we got to the train station on time and our train never came. It was cancelled without telling us. We missed our connection to Antibes and watched as our train to Avignon passed us. The woman at the counter was useless and told us that there was no way we were going back to Avignon tonight. Excellent and we have class tomorrow.
We called Christophe and Katy, our program director and his assistant and neither answered their phones. Excellent again! I’m so glad we’re paying you to be on vacation here for three months with your girlfriend and neither of you can answer your phones when your students are stuck somewhere.
We called Jenny, the grad student assistant and explained the situation. We decided to take the next TER train to Nice and try to exchange tickets. If we really couldn’t get home that night then we at least knew we had a place to stay at the hotel from the last weekend.
After failing to get new tickets, I called the nice old woman at the hotel and she said that she had a room for us. I recommend her hotel to anyone travelling to Nice, France! She is excellent!
So here we were back in Nice. But we love Nice! By this time, it was no earlier than 11 p.m. and we decided that we needed some of our favorite ice cream in Nice to make the day better. Then we went back to our room and we were beat. We went right to bed.
day 44, 45, 46
Day 44: Sunday, May 3, 2009: Today was really fun too! We went to Eze village just outside of Nice. We took the TER again and when we got off, we found the bus line that runs to the village. But since it is Sunday, the buses only run every hour. So we decided that we would take the trail and hike to the village. We all only had on sandals and it was a nice, sunny day.
So we start walking up the mountain and have no idea how far we are going. We stopped to talk to a couple of people along the way. It ended up being over a mile and a half and took almost two hours to accomplish. So finally in the old village of Eze atop a mountain in the south of France, we decided that we needed a snack to reward ourselves. We had crepes at a little restaurant just inside the town walls.
The village was excellent! I bought a new belt from a leather maker that was custom cut to fit me. He also shortened by old belt. I also got a leather bracelet. Then we found another store where my mom and aunt bought a pair of shoes each. The storekeeper couldn’t speak that much English so it was fun translating for my family. I also bought a Picasso wall covering for my room next year and a gift for my other grandma’s birthday.
We took some pictures and wandered back down to the bus stop only to find out that it was done for the day because it was Sunday; it was no later than 6:30 p.m. So then we waited around to catch a taxi. Finally, we got one and shared it with these two other American girls from Miami, Florida. One of the girls was studying in Paris for the year and her friend was visiting for a long weekend.
We paid the taxi fare and waited for the TER to take us back to Nice. My friends had left to go back to Avignon because we have a class tomorrow but I am allowed to miss it since my family is here. After freshening up, we had dinner at an Italian restaurant that was close to our hotel.
Day 45: Monday, May 4, 2009: Today was the last day with my family so we went to Grasse, home of the finest perfumes in France! We took the TER train from Nice for the hour trip the small city. We met a couple from Connecticut that was on their honeymoon.
We started by going to the Perfumerie Fragonard. It was semi-interesting but my aunt and grandma were loving it. After that, we had paninis for lunch. After walking around the city for a while, we decided that we had seen enough and I needed to get back to catch my train for Avignon.
We got back to the hotel and I packed my stuff and gave some things to my mom to take home for me and then I was ready to leave for the train station. My mom walked there with me. She waited with me until the board posted my platform and then we said goodbye. I had an excellent long weekend with everyone! They are leaving France tomorrow.
On the train, I always have to sit by the screaming children that are never under control. Just my luck. I needed to read basically an entire book for the class that I was missing today too. It was a struggle but I did it.
Finally, I was back in Avignon at 12:30 a.m. I walked the 20 minutes to my house and my host dad was waiting up for me. I had to sleep in the salon because their son and his fiancée and their granddaughter were sleeping in my room. They are leaving to go back to Paris tomorrow.
In my room, I noticed that I had received a box in the mail! It was from Alexis Parker! What a surprise! It had a bunch of fun Cincinnati stuff in it: Busken’s cookies, Reds’ peanuts, Skyline Chili, water balloons, playing cards, etc. It was really nice of her!
Day 46: Tuesday, May 5, 2009: Today was really busy. I had an oral exam for my grammar class. My teacher said that he could tell that I had spoken English all weekend and that my progress had suffered. Well my family doesn’t speak French so was I not suppose to speak to them at all?! Maybe we could just look at each other all weekend and they could try to guess what I was trying to tell them. I wasn’t happy when he said that.
Then I had my two other classes: history and literature. After that, I needed to write a paper on the book I had just finished so I went to the internet café. After sending a less-than-par paper, I went to Melissa’s to decide on plans for the next long weekend coming up at the end of the week. May is filled with lots of holidays in France!
We decided to go to Juan-les-Pins on the ocean for a weekend of fun and sun. We booked a hotel 100 meters from the beach for three people for 20E/person/night. Juan-les-Pins is just outside of Antibes, France. My room is Lance, Melissa, and me; Nina, Caitlyn, and Kelby are also going and they have a room for three as well.
Also today, John left to spend the week in Germany visiting his girlfriend. He is missing a week of classes after missing one yesterday because he missed his bus home from Barcelona, Spain, this past weekend. After dinner, everyone went out to celebrate Cinco de Mayo even though we are in France…
So we start walking up the mountain and have no idea how far we are going. We stopped to talk to a couple of people along the way. It ended up being over a mile and a half and took almost two hours to accomplish. So finally in the old village of Eze atop a mountain in the south of France, we decided that we needed a snack to reward ourselves. We had crepes at a little restaurant just inside the town walls.
The village was excellent! I bought a new belt from a leather maker that was custom cut to fit me. He also shortened by old belt. I also got a leather bracelet. Then we found another store where my mom and aunt bought a pair of shoes each. The storekeeper couldn’t speak that much English so it was fun translating for my family. I also bought a Picasso wall covering for my room next year and a gift for my other grandma’s birthday.
We took some pictures and wandered back down to the bus stop only to find out that it was done for the day because it was Sunday; it was no later than 6:30 p.m. So then we waited around to catch a taxi. Finally, we got one and shared it with these two other American girls from Miami, Florida. One of the girls was studying in Paris for the year and her friend was visiting for a long weekend.
We paid the taxi fare and waited for the TER to take us back to Nice. My friends had left to go back to Avignon because we have a class tomorrow but I am allowed to miss it since my family is here. After freshening up, we had dinner at an Italian restaurant that was close to our hotel.
Day 45: Monday, May 4, 2009: Today was the last day with my family so we went to Grasse, home of the finest perfumes in France! We took the TER train from Nice for the hour trip the small city. We met a couple from Connecticut that was on their honeymoon.
We started by going to the Perfumerie Fragonard. It was semi-interesting but my aunt and grandma were loving it. After that, we had paninis for lunch. After walking around the city for a while, we decided that we had seen enough and I needed to get back to catch my train for Avignon.
We got back to the hotel and I packed my stuff and gave some things to my mom to take home for me and then I was ready to leave for the train station. My mom walked there with me. She waited with me until the board posted my platform and then we said goodbye. I had an excellent long weekend with everyone! They are leaving France tomorrow.
On the train, I always have to sit by the screaming children that are never under control. Just my luck. I needed to read basically an entire book for the class that I was missing today too. It was a struggle but I did it.
Finally, I was back in Avignon at 12:30 a.m. I walked the 20 minutes to my house and my host dad was waiting up for me. I had to sleep in the salon because their son and his fiancée and their granddaughter were sleeping in my room. They are leaving to go back to Paris tomorrow.
In my room, I noticed that I had received a box in the mail! It was from Alexis Parker! What a surprise! It had a bunch of fun Cincinnati stuff in it: Busken’s cookies, Reds’ peanuts, Skyline Chili, water balloons, playing cards, etc. It was really nice of her!
Day 46: Tuesday, May 5, 2009: Today was really busy. I had an oral exam for my grammar class. My teacher said that he could tell that I had spoken English all weekend and that my progress had suffered. Well my family doesn’t speak French so was I not suppose to speak to them at all?! Maybe we could just look at each other all weekend and they could try to guess what I was trying to tell them. I wasn’t happy when he said that.
Then I had my two other classes: history and literature. After that, I needed to write a paper on the book I had just finished so I went to the internet café. After sending a less-than-par paper, I went to Melissa’s to decide on plans for the next long weekend coming up at the end of the week. May is filled with lots of holidays in France!
We decided to go to Juan-les-Pins on the ocean for a weekend of fun and sun. We booked a hotel 100 meters from the beach for three people for 20E/person/night. Juan-les-Pins is just outside of Antibes, France. My room is Lance, Melissa, and me; Nina, Caitlyn, and Kelby are also going and they have a room for three as well.
Also today, John left to spend the week in Germany visiting his girlfriend. He is missing a week of classes after missing one yesterday because he missed his bus home from Barcelona, Spain, this past weekend. After dinner, everyone went out to celebrate Cinco de Mayo even though we are in France…
Monday, May 18, 2009
day 42 & day 43
Day 42: Friday, May 1, 2009: Today was really fun! We all got to sleep late. My family was really tired after the time change. Today, we decided to stay in Nice and explore the old city. We started by walking to the top of the mountain where we could see the whole city. There used to be an old military fort there that protected the port but it was destroyed by Louis XVI. There is also an artificial waterfall.
Today, my friends arrived. They called and said that they were going to the beach. Even though the beach is rocky, there was excellent weather and they got to lie out. After we were done at the mountain, we walked down and met my friends on the beach so my family could meet them. I changed my clothes and stayed with them on the beach while my family found a grocery store; our hotel room has a kitchenette with a fridge, hotplates, and a sink.
After a couple of hours, we all went back to our rooms to change and get ready for dinner. We all ate together. It was really fun. I had a Nicoise Salad and it was excellent! After dinner, we ot the best ice cream known to Nice – Finacchio. After that, we went back to the hotel to enjoy some wine before my friends and I went out for another drink.
Day 43: Saturday, May 2, 2009: Today, we went to Monte-Carlo, Monaco! It was really excellent! We woke up and took the TER train to Monaco. We got there just in time to see the changing of the guard at the Royal Palace of Monaco. Monaco is a principality of France, meaning that the citizens have dual citizenship. Basically, they are French and have a Prince of Monaco and the President of France.
After we saw the changing of the guard, we were able to see the view of the port. There are so many huge yachts! Money is everything in Monte-Carlo; I loved it! We saw a huge yacht with a helicopter parked on the stern and a Rolls Royce parked right on the dock – this is the life!
So we walked to the harbor and took a ferryboat to the other side where we were able to walk up and see the famous Casino of Monte-Carlo. Naturally, when in Monte-Carlo, one has to gamble a little bit. And so I did. We all did except for my mom. Outside the Casino, there are so many nice Mercedes, Porches, BMWs, Bentleys, Mazaraettis, etc.
We had a light lunch and went looking in a few stores on our way back to the train station. We went in Zara, but I didn’t find anything that I had to have. We took the TER back to Nice and met up with my friends to go to dinner again. Afterwards, we had excellent ice cream again. It was a really fun day!
Today, my friends arrived. They called and said that they were going to the beach. Even though the beach is rocky, there was excellent weather and they got to lie out. After we were done at the mountain, we walked down and met my friends on the beach so my family could meet them. I changed my clothes and stayed with them on the beach while my family found a grocery store; our hotel room has a kitchenette with a fridge, hotplates, and a sink.
After a couple of hours, we all went back to our rooms to change and get ready for dinner. We all ate together. It was really fun. I had a Nicoise Salad and it was excellent! After dinner, we ot the best ice cream known to Nice – Finacchio. After that, we went back to the hotel to enjoy some wine before my friends and I went out for another drink.
Day 43: Saturday, May 2, 2009: Today, we went to Monte-Carlo, Monaco! It was really excellent! We woke up and took the TER train to Monaco. We got there just in time to see the changing of the guard at the Royal Palace of Monaco. Monaco is a principality of France, meaning that the citizens have dual citizenship. Basically, they are French and have a Prince of Monaco and the President of France.
After we saw the changing of the guard, we were able to see the view of the port. There are so many huge yachts! Money is everything in Monte-Carlo; I loved it! We saw a huge yacht with a helicopter parked on the stern and a Rolls Royce parked right on the dock – this is the life!
So we walked to the harbor and took a ferryboat to the other side where we were able to walk up and see the famous Casino of Monte-Carlo. Naturally, when in Monte-Carlo, one has to gamble a little bit. And so I did. We all did except for my mom. Outside the Casino, there are so many nice Mercedes, Porches, BMWs, Bentleys, Mazaraettis, etc.
We had a light lunch and went looking in a few stores on our way back to the train station. We went in Zara, but I didn’t find anything that I had to have. We took the TER back to Nice and met up with my friends to go to dinner again. Afterwards, we had excellent ice cream again. It was a really fun day!
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Day 41
Day 41: Thursday, April 30, 2009: Today was my first day in Nice, France, with my family! But first, I had class. We are scheduled to have two hours of class, then a four-hour break, then two more hours of class. So I bought a train ticket to leave during the break at 12:15 p.m. So then Christophe decided that we were just going to have one long four-hour class. Because everyone loves that!
The class was creative writing. We began at school and went on another walk of the city. We wrote down everything that we heard, saw, smelled, tasted, and felt. We were then going to use this and write a poem. We ended at the hill of the Palace of the Popes to write. I only had about 15 minutes to write before I had to leave to walk back to my house and get ready and go to the train station. Bernard drove me there after insisting that I eat a ham sandwich.
At the train station, I expected that he would just drop me off and go. I know how to take the train. He was really nice and carried one of my bags for me and waited on the voie until the train arrived. Then I found my seat and began working on the four-hour ride there. I did some grammar homework and read a little. I didn’t want to write in my journal because I would need the dictionary and then people would not think that I was French. I hate being pegged as an American anytime I go somewhere because people don’t understand that I am studying here, they just assume that I am a tourist.
So then I arrived in Nice. The views from the train along the ride were excellent! The sea is so blue! I love the Cote d’Azur! I waited at the train station for my Mom, aunt, and Mamaw because they were flying into Milan, Italy and taking the train to Nice. The train arriving from Milan was only half an hour after I arrived and I figured that they were on that so I waited. The train arrived an hour and fifteen minutes late without my family. So then I waited for the next trains from Italy; nothing. I waited for three hours before deciding that I was done and I walked to the hotel.
The hotel was recommended by the program director. It doesn’t have a website and people only know of it by word of mouth. I got a room for us four for 100E a night. It was across the street from the beach! That is an excellent for that type of location in Old Town Nice. If anyone ever goes there, let me know and I will pass along the hotel info. The hotel is more than 100 years old and the rooms could use a little TLC but it was excellent nonetheless.
Well the woman at the hotel didn’t even take my name of credit card info when I called to make my reservation. It is that laid back. I also reserved a room for three of my friends – Melissa, Lance, and Meghan – who were also going to Nice for the weekend. They are arriving tomorrow. Tomorrow is May Day so there are no classes!
So I finally get to the hotel and I tell the nice old woman owner that my family’s train was late and I wanted to wait for them here. She gave me the room without paying. I also explained that I was studying in Avignon and from that point on she spoke French with me and didn’t treat me like an American tourist. I unpacked a little and decided that I wasn’t going to sit in a hotel and wait for them to arrive since they hadn’t even called me. So I left and walked along the beach. I walked all the way to the point by the port and sat to watch the sunset. Just then, the woman at the hotel called and told me that my family had arrived!
So then I walked back and met them. It was really nice to see them after six weeks in France. They freshened up and then we found a place to eat since no one had yet. We had Italian. I had my Mom try Pastis with me. It was a good day besides that wait at the train station but what can you do.
The class was creative writing. We began at school and went on another walk of the city. We wrote down everything that we heard, saw, smelled, tasted, and felt. We were then going to use this and write a poem. We ended at the hill of the Palace of the Popes to write. I only had about 15 minutes to write before I had to leave to walk back to my house and get ready and go to the train station. Bernard drove me there after insisting that I eat a ham sandwich.
At the train station, I expected that he would just drop me off and go. I know how to take the train. He was really nice and carried one of my bags for me and waited on the voie until the train arrived. Then I found my seat and began working on the four-hour ride there. I did some grammar homework and read a little. I didn’t want to write in my journal because I would need the dictionary and then people would not think that I was French. I hate being pegged as an American anytime I go somewhere because people don’t understand that I am studying here, they just assume that I am a tourist.
So then I arrived in Nice. The views from the train along the ride were excellent! The sea is so blue! I love the Cote d’Azur! I waited at the train station for my Mom, aunt, and Mamaw because they were flying into Milan, Italy and taking the train to Nice. The train arriving from Milan was only half an hour after I arrived and I figured that they were on that so I waited. The train arrived an hour and fifteen minutes late without my family. So then I waited for the next trains from Italy; nothing. I waited for three hours before deciding that I was done and I walked to the hotel.
The hotel was recommended by the program director. It doesn’t have a website and people only know of it by word of mouth. I got a room for us four for 100E a night. It was across the street from the beach! That is an excellent for that type of location in Old Town Nice. If anyone ever goes there, let me know and I will pass along the hotel info. The hotel is more than 100 years old and the rooms could use a little TLC but it was excellent nonetheless.
Well the woman at the hotel didn’t even take my name of credit card info when I called to make my reservation. It is that laid back. I also reserved a room for three of my friends – Melissa, Lance, and Meghan – who were also going to Nice for the weekend. They are arriving tomorrow. Tomorrow is May Day so there are no classes!
So I finally get to the hotel and I tell the nice old woman owner that my family’s train was late and I wanted to wait for them here. She gave me the room without paying. I also explained that I was studying in Avignon and from that point on she spoke French with me and didn’t treat me like an American tourist. I unpacked a little and decided that I wasn’t going to sit in a hotel and wait for them to arrive since they hadn’t even called me. So I left and walked along the beach. I walked all the way to the point by the port and sat to watch the sunset. Just then, the woman at the hotel called and told me that my family had arrived!
So then I walked back and met them. It was really nice to see them after six weeks in France. They freshened up and then we found a place to eat since no one had yet. We had Italian. I had my Mom try Pastis with me. It was a good day besides that wait at the train station but what can you do.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Day 37, 38, 39, 40
Day 37: Sunday, April 26, 2009: Today was really fun, even though it rained a little. The Zemmits told John and me that we could invite friends to go to L’Isle Sur Sorges. I brought Lance; John didn’t bring anyone. The five of us drove in their car.
At L’Isle Sur Sorges, we went antiquing. It was really interesting. Lance and I found Picasso and Matisse drawings; if I wanted to spend 2000E, I could’ve owned a Picasso. Maybe next time. We must have seen two million euro-worth of antiques (probably like $3 million USD).
Then we ate at a patisserie where Jacqueline knows the owner. She cuts her hair. I had a pizza and tarte aux fruits. It was excellent. Since it was only like 1 p.m., we weren’t really ready to go home and Bernard asked us if we wanted to go to Fountain de Vaucluse so we went.
It was really cool. It’s a little town on this river. But the river has no source; divers descended 300 meters and still couldn’t find the source. It begins at the base of a mountain. The water is crystal clear and there are rapids as it flows through the town. Later, we saw the old paper mills in town. After that, we returned home. The Zemmits dropped Lance off at his street then we drove home. I took a quick nap before dinner. After dinner, we watched the news and I had homework to do. It was a really fun day.
Day 38: Monday, April 27, 2009: Today, I got to sleep late because it was Monday! I had class at 12:45 p.m. so I ate lunch in the sun on the terrace. In class, we got back our last grammar test; I was satisfied with my grade.
After class, I went to Casino with Melissa. I bought really thin sliced ham that I imagined was bacon because I miss bacon. We went to her house and made lunch. I grilled my ham/bacon and made a sandwich; it could have been a BLT but I forgot to buy LT… oh well. It was still good. After lunch, Lance met us and we all went shopping. Melissa wanted a new bathing suit for the weekend and Lance and I went to Zara. We both bought a shirt and jeans. I really like Zara and we need one in Ohio!
We waited for Melissa and saw some of our other friends. After that, I went home and had dinner. After dinner, we watched the news and I read Fanny by Marcel Pagnol for class.
Day 39: Tuesday, April 28, 2009: Nothing significant happened today that I can remember.
Day 40: Wednesday, April 29, 2009: Today was not fun. Apparently it is impossible for the program director to coordinate class times with the profs and the university. Thus, our classes we cut short because the building was closing. Before class, I went to the internet café with Melissa to print our papers for writing class tomorrow. After class, we had dinner and watched the news.
Then, I had to do some homework and pack for the weekend. I am leaving tomorrow for a long weekend with my Mom, Aunt Holly, and Mamaw in Nice, France! So I packed for the weekend then I packed a bag for my Mom to take back home of stuff that I no longer need – like my North Face jacket.
At about 11 p.m., Lance called me and asked if I wanted to play cards with him, Kelby, Meghan, and her roommate Erin. I went there and we played Hearts. I can’t remember ever playing before so it was new to me. Maybe I did okay?
At L’Isle Sur Sorges, we went antiquing. It was really interesting. Lance and I found Picasso and Matisse drawings; if I wanted to spend 2000E, I could’ve owned a Picasso. Maybe next time. We must have seen two million euro-worth of antiques (probably like $3 million USD).
Then we ate at a patisserie where Jacqueline knows the owner. She cuts her hair. I had a pizza and tarte aux fruits. It was excellent. Since it was only like 1 p.m., we weren’t really ready to go home and Bernard asked us if we wanted to go to Fountain de Vaucluse so we went.
It was really cool. It’s a little town on this river. But the river has no source; divers descended 300 meters and still couldn’t find the source. It begins at the base of a mountain. The water is crystal clear and there are rapids as it flows through the town. Later, we saw the old paper mills in town. After that, we returned home. The Zemmits dropped Lance off at his street then we drove home. I took a quick nap before dinner. After dinner, we watched the news and I had homework to do. It was a really fun day.
Day 38: Monday, April 27, 2009: Today, I got to sleep late because it was Monday! I had class at 12:45 p.m. so I ate lunch in the sun on the terrace. In class, we got back our last grammar test; I was satisfied with my grade.
After class, I went to Casino with Melissa. I bought really thin sliced ham that I imagined was bacon because I miss bacon. We went to her house and made lunch. I grilled my ham/bacon and made a sandwich; it could have been a BLT but I forgot to buy LT… oh well. It was still good. After lunch, Lance met us and we all went shopping. Melissa wanted a new bathing suit for the weekend and Lance and I went to Zara. We both bought a shirt and jeans. I really like Zara and we need one in Ohio!
We waited for Melissa and saw some of our other friends. After that, I went home and had dinner. After dinner, we watched the news and I read Fanny by Marcel Pagnol for class.
Day 39: Tuesday, April 28, 2009: Nothing significant happened today that I can remember.
Day 40: Wednesday, April 29, 2009: Today was not fun. Apparently it is impossible for the program director to coordinate class times with the profs and the university. Thus, our classes we cut short because the building was closing. Before class, I went to the internet café with Melissa to print our papers for writing class tomorrow. After class, we had dinner and watched the news.
Then, I had to do some homework and pack for the weekend. I am leaving tomorrow for a long weekend with my Mom, Aunt Holly, and Mamaw in Nice, France! So I packed for the weekend then I packed a bag for my Mom to take back home of stuff that I no longer need – like my North Face jacket.
At about 11 p.m., Lance called me and asked if I wanted to play cards with him, Kelby, Meghan, and her roommate Erin. I went there and we played Hearts. I can’t remember ever playing before so it was new to me. Maybe I did okay?
day 35 & 36
Day 35: Friday, April 24, 2009: Today in history class, we had a walking tour of the city. It was really fun and interesting but everyone forgot that it was today so a lot of people had computers and heavy bags. We did that for two hours. Afterwards, I went to the university library and wrote my film review that was due at 5 p.m. that day. It only had to be a page so it was pretty easy.
Then we had literature class. The professor is so bizarre and the topics are really obscure. So then it was time for dinner. I went home and found that I had received a package from my Mommy! It was Easter candy from Graeter’s – a Cincinnati favorite. I had two chocolate bunnies and a dozen assorted eggs. I ate one bunny then and decided that I would share the eggs with my family and then I could talk more about Cincinnati. Jacqueline even looked it up in an atlas!
So after dinner, the four of us each got to choose an egg for desert. After dinner was over, I had to leave because I was meeting Melissa to walk to Place d’Horlodge where everyone else was meeting to go to the movies. We saw Coco avant Chanel in this one-screen theatre that used to be a church. It was really cool. The movie was really good; Coco Chanel is played by Audrey Toutou. She was in Amelie. The movie was in French without subtitles. It was a little difficult to understand the actors at times but I understood the movie and the story. I want it to come to America but I don’t know if it will be as big as it is here. Ten people went to the theatre.
Afterwards, six of us went to Red Sky – one of our favorite bars. We had a table outside and decided not to stay out too late because we had an excursion the next day and we had to wake up early to meet for the bus.
Day 36: Saturday, April 25, 2009: Today we had another group excursion. We went to Bories, Gordes, and Roussillion. We met the bus by the university at 9 a.m. The first stop was Bories. First, we waited in the parking lot for half an hour while we waited for them to open. Great planning here. We knew that this would be boring. It is a village where every house is built of rocks. It was restored in the 1970s to look as it did when it was built in the 4th century or something. Seeing one house built with rocks is okay but to see an entire village is a little much. We walked through it pretty quickly.
So then we went to Gordes. It was really cool. The bus let us off at an overlook where we took lots of pictures. Then we walked to the village. It was really hilly and there were really cool old houses. Gordes is for old, rich people. When we got to the village, we had time to walk around. It was cool but there wasn’t really anything to do.
Then we went to this Ocre reserve thing. Ocre is a red powder found only in France that is used in paints and dyes. The tour was a little interesting but it was in English, I speak French; I’ve been in France for six weeks; give me the tour in French. We all put the powder all over our hands and faces and it looked like we had fake tans.
So then we went to Roussillion. It was probably my favorite part of the day. We went to this National Park that we had to pay for; it should have been included in the excursion. The dirt was red and there were sandstone cliffs. It was really cool. After that, we had ice cream at a really unique place. I had lavender flavor.
So then it was back on the bus to return to Avignon. I took a little nap. Then we were home and I continued my nap until dinner time. After dinner, I played cards at Lance’s with him, Kelby, and Meghan.
(Google Bories, Gordes, Roussillion, Ocre)
Then we had literature class. The professor is so bizarre and the topics are really obscure. So then it was time for dinner. I went home and found that I had received a package from my Mommy! It was Easter candy from Graeter’s – a Cincinnati favorite. I had two chocolate bunnies and a dozen assorted eggs. I ate one bunny then and decided that I would share the eggs with my family and then I could talk more about Cincinnati. Jacqueline even looked it up in an atlas!
So after dinner, the four of us each got to choose an egg for desert. After dinner was over, I had to leave because I was meeting Melissa to walk to Place d’Horlodge where everyone else was meeting to go to the movies. We saw Coco avant Chanel in this one-screen theatre that used to be a church. It was really cool. The movie was really good; Coco Chanel is played by Audrey Toutou. She was in Amelie. The movie was in French without subtitles. It was a little difficult to understand the actors at times but I understood the movie and the story. I want it to come to America but I don’t know if it will be as big as it is here. Ten people went to the theatre.
Afterwards, six of us went to Red Sky – one of our favorite bars. We had a table outside and decided not to stay out too late because we had an excursion the next day and we had to wake up early to meet for the bus.
Day 36: Saturday, April 25, 2009: Today we had another group excursion. We went to Bories, Gordes, and Roussillion. We met the bus by the university at 9 a.m. The first stop was Bories. First, we waited in the parking lot for half an hour while we waited for them to open. Great planning here. We knew that this would be boring. It is a village where every house is built of rocks. It was restored in the 1970s to look as it did when it was built in the 4th century or something. Seeing one house built with rocks is okay but to see an entire village is a little much. We walked through it pretty quickly.
So then we went to Gordes. It was really cool. The bus let us off at an overlook where we took lots of pictures. Then we walked to the village. It was really hilly and there were really cool old houses. Gordes is for old, rich people. When we got to the village, we had time to walk around. It was cool but there wasn’t really anything to do.
Then we went to this Ocre reserve thing. Ocre is a red powder found only in France that is used in paints and dyes. The tour was a little interesting but it was in English, I speak French; I’ve been in France for six weeks; give me the tour in French. We all put the powder all over our hands and faces and it looked like we had fake tans.
So then we went to Roussillion. It was probably my favorite part of the day. We went to this National Park that we had to pay for; it should have been included in the excursion. The dirt was red and there were sandstone cliffs. It was really cool. After that, we had ice cream at a really unique place. I had lavender flavor.
So then it was back on the bus to return to Avignon. I took a little nap. Then we were home and I continued my nap until dinner time. After dinner, I played cards at Lance’s with him, Kelby, and Meghan.
(Google Bories, Gordes, Roussillion, Ocre)
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Day 34
Day 34:
Thursday, April 23, 2009: Today, we had four hours of oral grammar because the creative writing teacher is out of town. Next week we will have four hours of creative writing so it evens out.
We started with an exercise about expressions like: “I’m as hungry as a horse,” or “I have a frog in my throat.” For that, the French say: “I have a cat in my throat.” So that was what we talked about. We also talked about the levels of slang too.
After class, I went to the university library with Lance to use the internet. It turns out that on Monday they voted to keep the university open for the week and have spring break as scheduled next week. So we could have had classes here this week. I uploaded a bunch of pics and videos onto Facebook.
Then, I had my journal meeting with Katy. I walked to the wrong place and was late. Then we had class again. This time, two groups had presentations. Zoe and Sakinah talked about an MC Solaar song and Rachel talked about a Canadian song. After listening to both, we go through line-by-line and discover the slang and colloquial words that are used in them.
Before class, I talked to Christophe about missing class to spend time with my family in Nice. He approved my request. Katy told me it was against the rules and that I needed to talk to Christophe about it; he had no problem. Then I asked if he could suggest a hotel because Katy told me that he lived there for two years.
His first suggestion was 200E/night; probably a little high for our price range. The second place is an apartment rented by a family. It is all done by word of mouth; they have no website. He gave me the phone number and told me it was worth a shot so after class, I went to Melissa’s with Lance and Meghan and I Skyped to reserve a room. The room for my family has two beds, a bathroom, and a kitchenette a block from the sea for 100E/night! While I was on the phone with the woman, I asked her about another room for Meghan, Melissa, and Lance. They got the same room as us for 25E/person/night. It was really weird because the lady made our reservation without even taking my name or credit card number. She gave me the address and said see you soon.
So then I Skyped my mom and grandma and told them that it was taken care of. I went home and we had dinner. Afterwards, Melissa, Meghan, and I went to Lance’s and Kelby had a bunch of people over and we had a party before going to the club. There were probably ten people there. At the club, it was there anniversary night party so it was really fun. They had an energy drink company there with free samples and they were giving away a bunch of free stuff. I got a messenger bag.
(Google MC Solaar)
Thursday, April 23, 2009: Today, we had four hours of oral grammar because the creative writing teacher is out of town. Next week we will have four hours of creative writing so it evens out.
We started with an exercise about expressions like: “I’m as hungry as a horse,” or “I have a frog in my throat.” For that, the French say: “I have a cat in my throat.” So that was what we talked about. We also talked about the levels of slang too.
After class, I went to the university library with Lance to use the internet. It turns out that on Monday they voted to keep the university open for the week and have spring break as scheduled next week. So we could have had classes here this week. I uploaded a bunch of pics and videos onto Facebook.
Then, I had my journal meeting with Katy. I walked to the wrong place and was late. Then we had class again. This time, two groups had presentations. Zoe and Sakinah talked about an MC Solaar song and Rachel talked about a Canadian song. After listening to both, we go through line-by-line and discover the slang and colloquial words that are used in them.
Before class, I talked to Christophe about missing class to spend time with my family in Nice. He approved my request. Katy told me it was against the rules and that I needed to talk to Christophe about it; he had no problem. Then I asked if he could suggest a hotel because Katy told me that he lived there for two years.
His first suggestion was 200E/night; probably a little high for our price range. The second place is an apartment rented by a family. It is all done by word of mouth; they have no website. He gave me the phone number and told me it was worth a shot so after class, I went to Melissa’s with Lance and Meghan and I Skyped to reserve a room. The room for my family has two beds, a bathroom, and a kitchenette a block from the sea for 100E/night! While I was on the phone with the woman, I asked her about another room for Meghan, Melissa, and Lance. They got the same room as us for 25E/person/night. It was really weird because the lady made our reservation without even taking my name or credit card number. She gave me the address and said see you soon.
So then I Skyped my mom and grandma and told them that it was taken care of. I went home and we had dinner. Afterwards, Melissa, Meghan, and I went to Lance’s and Kelby had a bunch of people over and we had a party before going to the club. There were probably ten people there. At the club, it was there anniversary night party so it was really fun. They had an energy drink company there with free samples and they were giving away a bunch of free stuff. I got a messenger bag.
(Google MC Solaar)
Day 32 & 33
Day 32:
Tuesday, April 21, 2009: We started the day by finishing the movie and then it was time for the test. We were allowed to use a dictionary and our buscherelle (a book with conjugations of tons of French verbs. Because spelling changes occur so much with verbs, even French people use them.) And of course, I forgot my dictionary.
It was okay, I really didn’t need it that much. I didn’t think that the test was too hard but I never really know how I do on French tests until I get them back. After our test we had history again. It was fine. Some people really can’t understand the professor because of his accent but I follow pretty well. We also are talking about the Catholic Church its connection to France and some people aren’t Catholic so it is harder to understand.
After class, I went to Melissa’s house to use the internet. We were hanging out at her house and got a text that our next class had been moved up. Excellent planning; no one tells us anything. We got there almost 30 minutes late; it was okay because other people were later than us. We were talking about Balzac again… I do not understand the professor’s explanations all the time.
After class, I went home and chilled on the terrace. After dinner, I went to Lance’s with Melissa and Meghan. We watched Toy Story 2 in French.
Day 33:
Wednesday, April 22, 2009: Today we had a cooking lesson at the market. We were divided into three groups to prepare a Provencal meal. I was with Shawna, Lance, Melissa, and John to make the pork. Katy gave us the money and shopping list and we bought our supplies right there in the market. They have a kitchen area for groups like us and they also have cooking demonstrations on Sunday mornings. The other groups were cooking Ratatouille and apple pie.
We bought our stuff and started cooking. There were way too many chefs in the kitchen, as the expression goes. I didn’t want to fight for a job so I mostly just watched and made sarcastic comments about what everyone else was doing wrong. My only job was squeezing the lemon and pouring the juice onto the pork. Yey! So then we had to wait.
The pork took the longest to cook. The Ratatouille could have been cooked a lot longer than it was too. The pies were done first. Finally, we were ready to eat. Katy bought plats, plastic forks and knives and napkins and we went to a nearby park to eat outside. We had to bring our own drinks… thanks for telling us that one.
After lunch, a bunch of us went to the island because it was a really nice day. Lance and I took the ferry boat there and Melissa and John walked across the bridge. There were like eight of us who lay out and enjoyed the day. While we were there, we were approached by a cameraman and his assistant and they asked us to be in their documentary about spring. We explained that we were Americans and they probably wanted to talk to people with better French skills but they insisted so we obliged. I said that to me, spring was sun, fresh air, and flowers.
We stayed until about 5 p.m. and then walked home. Everyone left before Lance, Melissa, and I because they had to watch a movie for the Resistance class. John suggested our house without asking Jacqueline and Bernard so I didn’t want to be there when five people came over. It turns out that they couldn’t watch the movie on our TV because it was in a different format or something so they watched it in our living room on John’s Mac. Sweet.
When I got home, Jacqueline cut my hair. She told me that I had a really beautiful face and that I could do some really radical hairstyles but I explained that I was happy with what I had. She wanted her son to cut my hair because he cuts hair for L’Oreal in Paris professionally but I will be in Nice with my family when he visits.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009: We started the day by finishing the movie and then it was time for the test. We were allowed to use a dictionary and our buscherelle (a book with conjugations of tons of French verbs. Because spelling changes occur so much with verbs, even French people use them.) And of course, I forgot my dictionary.
It was okay, I really didn’t need it that much. I didn’t think that the test was too hard but I never really know how I do on French tests until I get them back. After our test we had history again. It was fine. Some people really can’t understand the professor because of his accent but I follow pretty well. We also are talking about the Catholic Church its connection to France and some people aren’t Catholic so it is harder to understand.
After class, I went to Melissa’s house to use the internet. We were hanging out at her house and got a text that our next class had been moved up. Excellent planning; no one tells us anything. We got there almost 30 minutes late; it was okay because other people were later than us. We were talking about Balzac again… I do not understand the professor’s explanations all the time.
After class, I went home and chilled on the terrace. After dinner, I went to Lance’s with Melissa and Meghan. We watched Toy Story 2 in French.
Day 33:
Wednesday, April 22, 2009: Today we had a cooking lesson at the market. We were divided into three groups to prepare a Provencal meal. I was with Shawna, Lance, Melissa, and John to make the pork. Katy gave us the money and shopping list and we bought our supplies right there in the market. They have a kitchen area for groups like us and they also have cooking demonstrations on Sunday mornings. The other groups were cooking Ratatouille and apple pie.
We bought our stuff and started cooking. There were way too many chefs in the kitchen, as the expression goes. I didn’t want to fight for a job so I mostly just watched and made sarcastic comments about what everyone else was doing wrong. My only job was squeezing the lemon and pouring the juice onto the pork. Yey! So then we had to wait.
The pork took the longest to cook. The Ratatouille could have been cooked a lot longer than it was too. The pies were done first. Finally, we were ready to eat. Katy bought plats, plastic forks and knives and napkins and we went to a nearby park to eat outside. We had to bring our own drinks… thanks for telling us that one.
After lunch, a bunch of us went to the island because it was a really nice day. Lance and I took the ferry boat there and Melissa and John walked across the bridge. There were like eight of us who lay out and enjoyed the day. While we were there, we were approached by a cameraman and his assistant and they asked us to be in their documentary about spring. We explained that we were Americans and they probably wanted to talk to people with better French skills but they insisted so we obliged. I said that to me, spring was sun, fresh air, and flowers.
We stayed until about 5 p.m. and then walked home. Everyone left before Lance, Melissa, and I because they had to watch a movie for the Resistance class. John suggested our house without asking Jacqueline and Bernard so I didn’t want to be there when five people came over. It turns out that they couldn’t watch the movie on our TV because it was in a different format or something so they watched it in our living room on John’s Mac. Sweet.
When I got home, Jacqueline cut my hair. She told me that I had a really beautiful face and that I could do some really radical hairstyles but I explained that I was happy with what I had. She wanted her son to cut my hair because he cuts hair for L’Oreal in Paris professionally but I will be in Nice with my family when he visits.
Day 31
Day 31:
Monday, April 20, 2009: Today started by sucking. We have class from 12:45-2:45 p.m. so I got up early so that I could go to the university library for some much needed internet time – I was having withdraws. I walk all the way there to find out that it is closed until further notice… great. Now what do I do? The sign said that one gate was open so I figured that I would walk all the way around the block and check it out. I just wanted to sit somewhere and use the network.
So I get to the gate and there are students that have closed it. Basically only teachers and administrators are getting in to prepare for a big meeting later that day to discuss further action for the strike. Excellent. So then I walk all the way back to the main gate where I know I will see other group members and we will decide what to do about classes. I sat there for probably half an hour before I saw someone. I did get asked twice what was going on and I had to explain the situation.
I sat with Lance until everyone else gradually started showing up. Apparently, Christophe sent out an email saying that classes at the university were cancelled all week because of the strike and they had reserved space for our classes somewhere else. We were to meet at the university gates at 12:15 rather than 12:45 and he would show us where we would be having class for the next two weeks (the week after is there spring break).
Thanks for letting me know. I’m so glad I have internet at my house and can check my email 24/7 like at OU… oh wait; I don’t! How was I supposed to know where/when to meet? So much for this phone tree for useful information.
It’s a good thing that the new building is on the street that I live on; otherwise I would be even more upset. So we finally get into a classroom and Christophe tells us what is up with the university. Apparently, some students were taking exams at McDonald’s this week so that they could finish classes and would no longer be affected by the strike.
On today’s agenda: watch the movie “Marius” in preparation for tomorrow’s test. The plan was to watch it on a huge screen at the university but now we were watching it on a TV no bigger than 27 inches. And it was in black and white and had subtitles. Okay, so the movie finally started and it was really good and then there wasn’t time to finish it. For homework on our schedule, we were supposed to write a comparison of the book and the movie. This was obviously not going to be possible. Christophe told us that we would finish it before the test tomorrow. Finally some good news.
So that was the end of my classes and Lance and I walked to the internet café to get our fixes. He doesn’t have internet at home either. We were there for almost two hours. I Skyped with my dad and grandma; Lance posted pics on his flickr. Afterwards, I went across the street and bought more minutes for my cell phone. International texting from my first days in Paris really sucked up my minutes. I got 45E worth of minutes for 35E.
Then we walked home; just before it started storming. Provence has afternoon storms like Ohio. I chilled before dinner. We had fries! (Not French Fries… just fries.) After dinner, John and I had to help Bernard and two of his friends push an old truck into our garage. Bernard is putting a new engine in it.
After the news, I watched the rest of the Marius movie with John and Bernard. John borrowed the movie from Christophe because he is in the class for fun and doesn’t receive credit for it. He didn’t go to class to watch it and doesn’t have to take the test. Bernard served us really good digestifs (like aperitifs after dinner). This drink was a specialty of Normandy and tasted like apples and fingernail polish remover. Marius is a comedy by Marcel Pagnol and is really famous and really well-known in French culture. Bernard had seen it like six times already and still loved it and watched it with us.
After that, I had to start studying. I get really bad test anxiety for French tests. I studied for about an hour and then Melissa sent me a text saying that she was going to Lance’s to study with him and Kelby and I went too. We studied together until 1 a.m. then we went home.
(Google Marius or Marcel Pagnol)
Monday, April 20, 2009: Today started by sucking. We have class from 12:45-2:45 p.m. so I got up early so that I could go to the university library for some much needed internet time – I was having withdraws. I walk all the way there to find out that it is closed until further notice… great. Now what do I do? The sign said that one gate was open so I figured that I would walk all the way around the block and check it out. I just wanted to sit somewhere and use the network.
So I get to the gate and there are students that have closed it. Basically only teachers and administrators are getting in to prepare for a big meeting later that day to discuss further action for the strike. Excellent. So then I walk all the way back to the main gate where I know I will see other group members and we will decide what to do about classes. I sat there for probably half an hour before I saw someone. I did get asked twice what was going on and I had to explain the situation.
I sat with Lance until everyone else gradually started showing up. Apparently, Christophe sent out an email saying that classes at the university were cancelled all week because of the strike and they had reserved space for our classes somewhere else. We were to meet at the university gates at 12:15 rather than 12:45 and he would show us where we would be having class for the next two weeks (the week after is there spring break).
Thanks for letting me know. I’m so glad I have internet at my house and can check my email 24/7 like at OU… oh wait; I don’t! How was I supposed to know where/when to meet? So much for this phone tree for useful information.
It’s a good thing that the new building is on the street that I live on; otherwise I would be even more upset. So we finally get into a classroom and Christophe tells us what is up with the university. Apparently, some students were taking exams at McDonald’s this week so that they could finish classes and would no longer be affected by the strike.
On today’s agenda: watch the movie “Marius” in preparation for tomorrow’s test. The plan was to watch it on a huge screen at the university but now we were watching it on a TV no bigger than 27 inches. And it was in black and white and had subtitles. Okay, so the movie finally started and it was really good and then there wasn’t time to finish it. For homework on our schedule, we were supposed to write a comparison of the book and the movie. This was obviously not going to be possible. Christophe told us that we would finish it before the test tomorrow. Finally some good news.
So that was the end of my classes and Lance and I walked to the internet café to get our fixes. He doesn’t have internet at home either. We were there for almost two hours. I Skyped with my dad and grandma; Lance posted pics on his flickr. Afterwards, I went across the street and bought more minutes for my cell phone. International texting from my first days in Paris really sucked up my minutes. I got 45E worth of minutes for 35E.
Then we walked home; just before it started storming. Provence has afternoon storms like Ohio. I chilled before dinner. We had fries! (Not French Fries… just fries.) After dinner, John and I had to help Bernard and two of his friends push an old truck into our garage. Bernard is putting a new engine in it.
After the news, I watched the rest of the Marius movie with John and Bernard. John borrowed the movie from Christophe because he is in the class for fun and doesn’t receive credit for it. He didn’t go to class to watch it and doesn’t have to take the test. Bernard served us really good digestifs (like aperitifs after dinner). This drink was a specialty of Normandy and tasted like apples and fingernail polish remover. Marius is a comedy by Marcel Pagnol and is really famous and really well-known in French culture. Bernard had seen it like six times already and still loved it and watched it with us.
After that, I had to start studying. I get really bad test anxiety for French tests. I studied for about an hour and then Melissa sent me a text saying that she was going to Lance’s to study with him and Kelby and I went too. We studied together until 1 a.m. then we went home.
(Google Marius or Marcel Pagnol)
Day 30
Day 30:
Sunday, April 19, 2009: DAY 30!!! Wow time really has flown by. It doesn’t seem like I’ve been in France for a month! Today was really fun! I went to Aix-en-Provence with Jacqueline and Bernard. They invited John but he had to stay home and write a paper for his Resistance class that I am not in. They told me I could bring up to four friends but I didn’t have cell phone minutes to ask people.
I would have invited Melissa but she already had plans to go to Marseille with her host mom and family for her host mom’s birthday. I invited Lance but I didn’t know if he could get up and be ready to go by 11a.m. when they wanted to leave. He couldn’t. So it was just the three of us. It takes an hour by car to get to Aix and Jacqueline let me sit in the passenger’s seat so that I could see the countryside. It was really pretty.
We were going to Aix because their youngest son, Mikael, lives there. He is a high school English teacher and is moving to New York City in August to teach. He lives alone but has a girlfriend – more on her later. So we were at his house for awhile we let to go into town. Mikael drove.
We parked and walked around a little farmer’s market. It was an okay day… a little overcast with a chance of showers. They showed me around Aix a little then we found an Italian restaurant and ate lunch outside. I had this really good spinach ravioli with a ricotta cheese sauce and cream brulee for dessert. This was Mikael’s birthday lunch because they were not able to celebrate earlier because they were in Paris for the Easter weekend. He is 31.
They also talked about plans for the wedding of their other son, Phillipe, on June 27. Mikael was making plans for the bachelor party in Paris. Lunch was really good. I discreetly watched Bernard put 100E (between $130-$140US) on his credit card for the four of us. After lunch, we walked around more and saw more of the city. Aix is probably about the same size as Avignon but attracts a younger crowd with more money. The city reminded me of a much bigger Athens because it is built on hills. Avignon is cool but as much as I complain about them, I love the hills in Athens; it adds to the character.
We walked down Cours Mirabeau with its super chic stores (all closed on Sunday; probably better for my wallet that way) and we went to Mikael’s girlfriend’s house. Her name is Leah. She is 21 and studies dance. She’s moving to Brazil in August. She invited us in and we had tea. The conversation then turned to the differences in the education systems of the United States and France. The French think that it is really ridiculous that universities give athletic scholarships. A recap of the French system: all classes and books are free; students pay for food and lodging; students can earn up to a doctorate degree for free. They also think it is strange that we have rural universities in America – like OU. All the universities in France are in cities.
The students are striking in protest now because Sarkozy wants to close smaller universities – like the one in Avignon – and require that students start to pay for instruction.
So anyway, after visiting with her for awhile, we left and wandered around some more. Mikael, Leah, and I went to a Picasso and Cezanne museum. Cezanne lived and did a lot of work in Aix. The museum was free because it was Sunday; it was mildly interesting. After that, we walked down the Cour Mirabeau again and there was an outdoor antique market. There were a lot of people and a lot of really cool stuff but I really didn’t get a chance to look around that much. I think my mom and grandmas would really like it.
So then we walked all the way to the new Theatre of Aix. It has the best view of the city from the deck on the roof; but it, too, it closed on Sundays. Mikael really wanted me to see the view so he insisted that we climb the fence and go. So Mikael, Leah, and I left our bags with Jacqueline and Bernard and went. The risk was really worth the view. No one was going to stop us anyway and there were already 10 people there.
On the walk back to the car, Mikael and I talked about New York. He is looking at an apartment in midtown that is half as much space as he has now and twice as much rent per month. I told him that I just went to the city at the beginning of March and I plan on going again and he invited me to stay with him if I ever needed to!
So we went back to his apartment in Aix and left for Avignon. We had to take toll roads there; it cost almost 10E. The ride back was really pretty too; we talked about my family visiting at the end of the month. We got home and John was not home; we started eating dinner without him. After dinner, we watched the news and I did some homework/blogging before bed.
(Google Aix-en-Provence, Cézanne, New York City, etc.)
Sunday, April 19, 2009: DAY 30!!! Wow time really has flown by. It doesn’t seem like I’ve been in France for a month! Today was really fun! I went to Aix-en-Provence with Jacqueline and Bernard. They invited John but he had to stay home and write a paper for his Resistance class that I am not in. They told me I could bring up to four friends but I didn’t have cell phone minutes to ask people.
I would have invited Melissa but she already had plans to go to Marseille with her host mom and family for her host mom’s birthday. I invited Lance but I didn’t know if he could get up and be ready to go by 11a.m. when they wanted to leave. He couldn’t. So it was just the three of us. It takes an hour by car to get to Aix and Jacqueline let me sit in the passenger’s seat so that I could see the countryside. It was really pretty.
We were going to Aix because their youngest son, Mikael, lives there. He is a high school English teacher and is moving to New York City in August to teach. He lives alone but has a girlfriend – more on her later. So we were at his house for awhile we let to go into town. Mikael drove.
We parked and walked around a little farmer’s market. It was an okay day… a little overcast with a chance of showers. They showed me around Aix a little then we found an Italian restaurant and ate lunch outside. I had this really good spinach ravioli with a ricotta cheese sauce and cream brulee for dessert. This was Mikael’s birthday lunch because they were not able to celebrate earlier because they were in Paris for the Easter weekend. He is 31.
They also talked about plans for the wedding of their other son, Phillipe, on June 27. Mikael was making plans for the bachelor party in Paris. Lunch was really good. I discreetly watched Bernard put 100E (between $130-$140US) on his credit card for the four of us. After lunch, we walked around more and saw more of the city. Aix is probably about the same size as Avignon but attracts a younger crowd with more money. The city reminded me of a much bigger Athens because it is built on hills. Avignon is cool but as much as I complain about them, I love the hills in Athens; it adds to the character.
We walked down Cours Mirabeau with its super chic stores (all closed on Sunday; probably better for my wallet that way) and we went to Mikael’s girlfriend’s house. Her name is Leah. She is 21 and studies dance. She’s moving to Brazil in August. She invited us in and we had tea. The conversation then turned to the differences in the education systems of the United States and France. The French think that it is really ridiculous that universities give athletic scholarships. A recap of the French system: all classes and books are free; students pay for food and lodging; students can earn up to a doctorate degree for free. They also think it is strange that we have rural universities in America – like OU. All the universities in France are in cities.
The students are striking in protest now because Sarkozy wants to close smaller universities – like the one in Avignon – and require that students start to pay for instruction.
So anyway, after visiting with her for awhile, we left and wandered around some more. Mikael, Leah, and I went to a Picasso and Cezanne museum. Cezanne lived and did a lot of work in Aix. The museum was free because it was Sunday; it was mildly interesting. After that, we walked down the Cour Mirabeau again and there was an outdoor antique market. There were a lot of people and a lot of really cool stuff but I really didn’t get a chance to look around that much. I think my mom and grandmas would really like it.
So then we walked all the way to the new Theatre of Aix. It has the best view of the city from the deck on the roof; but it, too, it closed on Sundays. Mikael really wanted me to see the view so he insisted that we climb the fence and go. So Mikael, Leah, and I left our bags with Jacqueline and Bernard and went. The risk was really worth the view. No one was going to stop us anyway and there were already 10 people there.
On the walk back to the car, Mikael and I talked about New York. He is looking at an apartment in midtown that is half as much space as he has now and twice as much rent per month. I told him that I just went to the city at the beginning of March and I plan on going again and he invited me to stay with him if I ever needed to!
So we went back to his apartment in Aix and left for Avignon. We had to take toll roads there; it cost almost 10E. The ride back was really pretty too; we talked about my family visiting at the end of the month. We got home and John was not home; we started eating dinner without him. After dinner, we watched the news and I did some homework/blogging before bed.
(Google Aix-en-Provence, Cézanne, New York City, etc.)
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Day 29
Day 29:
Saturday, April 18, 2009: Today, we wanted to go somewhere again so Shawna, Lance, Melissa, and I went to the train station. We bought tickets for Arles with the intention of catching the bus to The Camarague. It’s supposed to be one of the prettiest places in France. It’s a nature preserve on the Mediterranean with wild white horses and flamingos, etc. We wanted to go to a ranch and ride horses. That was the plan anyway.
Well we got on the noon train to Arles and found out that the next bus was not until 4pm. We really didn’t want to wait around and be in The Camarague for an hour before coming home to get our train later. We failed on that planning; my first as a travel agent.
Shawna hadn’t been to Arles with the rest of us the first weekend so she was content with playing there. We agreed, thinking that we had seen everything there our first weekend; we were wrong. We went to the real Van Gogh gardens, not the public parks where we were before. Then we went to the café that Van Gogh painted; it is one of his most famous pieces of work. Shawna has the poster on her wall at school so she really liked seeing that.
Afterwards was by far the most interesting part of our day. We bought tickets for the Corredia (bullfight) that was cancelled on Easter weekend because of rain and storms. As American students in France, we wanted to take in as much of the culture as possible. This may have been more than we bargained for. The Corredia is a Spanish custom but because of the close proximity to Southern France it has been adopted here as well. This was also a good way for us to see the Roman Arena that we otherwise would have had to pay for.
So we get to our seats at the Corredia and there is a band and people selling drinks and snacks. It looks really interesting. At the beginning, all the Matadors process out and present themselves to the president who judges the competition. We weren’t really sure of the scoring system – more on this later. There are also men on horses and other Matadors that are assistants. On the schedule today were three main Matadors – all younger than me – and “fighting” six bulls.
As the spectacle begins, we quickly discover how gory this is going to be. We were fascinated and we all took lots of pictures then we realized what they were really doing. The bull has a ribbon nailed (maybe) in its back and at first they are just oley-ing with it. Then the men on horses come out and one of them jabs and stabs at the ribbon with a really long pole with a spike on the end. The bull reacts by attacking the horse – really sad to watch – but the horse is protected with something like chainmail.
After that, the real brutality begins. The Matador stabs sticks with nails in the end into the Toro’s (bull’s) back. This happens six times; each time becomes worse than the other. Finally, towards the end, the Matador does the most damage by sticking a sword into the bull’s back. The sword is probably a foot and a half long. This brings the bull close to death, but he still has fight in him. The oley-ing continues. Maybe they get points for that?
The sounds that the bull makes are still in my mind. They are awful cries and blood flows from its back and mouth. Finally, when the bull is about to give in to death it lies down, still fighting the taunts of the Matador with small bursts of energy. Now sitting and waiting for death, another Matador stabs the bull in the base of its head and kills it – hopefully instantly but not always.
Next, the horses are brought back in and the bull is chained to them and paraded around the arena for all to see. They also cut off its ears. The bull is pulled off and the Matador walks around the arena to acknowledge his fans. He throws the bull’s ears to two of his most adoring fans – a trophy of his conquest. He bows to the judge and exits. The arena workers come in and re-chalk the ground for the next round.
After this carnage, we all just looked at each other stupefied. We really paid to see this?! We felt like awful people by just watching it; let alone participating. This type of thing would never be allowed in America yet it was like a national sport. It seemed like I was at a Reds’ game of sorts. We looked at the program and that’s when we discovered that we would be seeing this occur five more times. Excellent.
The next Matador wanted to taunt the Toro by sitting on the ground right in front of the doors upon its initial release; smart right. Well the Toro is pissed and comes out and charges him and he can’t get out of the way fast enough and he gets trampled by the Toro. His legs go flying in the air and we all thought he was dead. I knew this was an awful place. He runs off and gets looked at and decides to go back out to fight. Basically, the same carnage occurs again; same blow-by-blow.
Only this time, when the bull attacks the horse, the horse loses its balance and falls; throwing the man on it as well. The bull is still attacking the horse and I thought that it was dead too. The other Matadors distract the bull long enough for them to stand the horse back up – he is okay.
So this was our second day in Arles. It began to rain and I bought a poncho. After the Corredia, we exited the arena and it just so happened that we walked by the butcher that was chopping up the bulls after their deaths and they were bringing the last bull there right now. We stood there mesmerized as its body passed us in the streets. We walked to the front of the arena and the Matador that won – the third one – was signing autographs on his way out. Melissa got an autograph and I took his pic.
Let’s say that no one was hungry after that. Arles is like Nimes in that everything closes at 7 p.m. We walked around for a bit then waited for our train at the station. After returning for dinner, we went to Lance’s and played cards. No one was really in the mood to go out. Now I can say that I’ve seen a Corredia. I’m not sure if I would ever do it again although I was fascinated. I don’t like the idea of taunting and torturing an animal for sport but the unpredictable-ness of it is what undoubtedly brings in the crowds.
I’ve posted two videos of the massacre on Facebook. Viewer discretion is advised.
Saturday, April 18, 2009: Today, we wanted to go somewhere again so Shawna, Lance, Melissa, and I went to the train station. We bought tickets for Arles with the intention of catching the bus to The Camarague. It’s supposed to be one of the prettiest places in France. It’s a nature preserve on the Mediterranean with wild white horses and flamingos, etc. We wanted to go to a ranch and ride horses. That was the plan anyway.
Well we got on the noon train to Arles and found out that the next bus was not until 4pm. We really didn’t want to wait around and be in The Camarague for an hour before coming home to get our train later. We failed on that planning; my first as a travel agent.
Shawna hadn’t been to Arles with the rest of us the first weekend so she was content with playing there. We agreed, thinking that we had seen everything there our first weekend; we were wrong. We went to the real Van Gogh gardens, not the public parks where we were before. Then we went to the café that Van Gogh painted; it is one of his most famous pieces of work. Shawna has the poster on her wall at school so she really liked seeing that.
Afterwards was by far the most interesting part of our day. We bought tickets for the Corredia (bullfight) that was cancelled on Easter weekend because of rain and storms. As American students in France, we wanted to take in as much of the culture as possible. This may have been more than we bargained for. The Corredia is a Spanish custom but because of the close proximity to Southern France it has been adopted here as well. This was also a good way for us to see the Roman Arena that we otherwise would have had to pay for.
So we get to our seats at the Corredia and there is a band and people selling drinks and snacks. It looks really interesting. At the beginning, all the Matadors process out and present themselves to the president who judges the competition. We weren’t really sure of the scoring system – more on this later. There are also men on horses and other Matadors that are assistants. On the schedule today were three main Matadors – all younger than me – and “fighting” six bulls.
As the spectacle begins, we quickly discover how gory this is going to be. We were fascinated and we all took lots of pictures then we realized what they were really doing. The bull has a ribbon nailed (maybe) in its back and at first they are just oley-ing with it. Then the men on horses come out and one of them jabs and stabs at the ribbon with a really long pole with a spike on the end. The bull reacts by attacking the horse – really sad to watch – but the horse is protected with something like chainmail.
After that, the real brutality begins. The Matador stabs sticks with nails in the end into the Toro’s (bull’s) back. This happens six times; each time becomes worse than the other. Finally, towards the end, the Matador does the most damage by sticking a sword into the bull’s back. The sword is probably a foot and a half long. This brings the bull close to death, but he still has fight in him. The oley-ing continues. Maybe they get points for that?
The sounds that the bull makes are still in my mind. They are awful cries and blood flows from its back and mouth. Finally, when the bull is about to give in to death it lies down, still fighting the taunts of the Matador with small bursts of energy. Now sitting and waiting for death, another Matador stabs the bull in the base of its head and kills it – hopefully instantly but not always.
Next, the horses are brought back in and the bull is chained to them and paraded around the arena for all to see. They also cut off its ears. The bull is pulled off and the Matador walks around the arena to acknowledge his fans. He throws the bull’s ears to two of his most adoring fans – a trophy of his conquest. He bows to the judge and exits. The arena workers come in and re-chalk the ground for the next round.
After this carnage, we all just looked at each other stupefied. We really paid to see this?! We felt like awful people by just watching it; let alone participating. This type of thing would never be allowed in America yet it was like a national sport. It seemed like I was at a Reds’ game of sorts. We looked at the program and that’s when we discovered that we would be seeing this occur five more times. Excellent.
The next Matador wanted to taunt the Toro by sitting on the ground right in front of the doors upon its initial release; smart right. Well the Toro is pissed and comes out and charges him and he can’t get out of the way fast enough and he gets trampled by the Toro. His legs go flying in the air and we all thought he was dead. I knew this was an awful place. He runs off and gets looked at and decides to go back out to fight. Basically, the same carnage occurs again; same blow-by-blow.
Only this time, when the bull attacks the horse, the horse loses its balance and falls; throwing the man on it as well. The bull is still attacking the horse and I thought that it was dead too. The other Matadors distract the bull long enough for them to stand the horse back up – he is okay.
So this was our second day in Arles. It began to rain and I bought a poncho. After the Corredia, we exited the arena and it just so happened that we walked by the butcher that was chopping up the bulls after their deaths and they were bringing the last bull there right now. We stood there mesmerized as its body passed us in the streets. We walked to the front of the arena and the Matador that won – the third one – was signing autographs on his way out. Melissa got an autograph and I took his pic.
Let’s say that no one was hungry after that. Arles is like Nimes in that everything closes at 7 p.m. We walked around for a bit then waited for our train at the station. After returning for dinner, we went to Lance’s and played cards. No one was really in the mood to go out. Now I can say that I’ve seen a Corredia. I’m not sure if I would ever do it again although I was fascinated. I don’t like the idea of taunting and torturing an animal for sport but the unpredictable-ness of it is what undoubtedly brings in the crowds.
I’ve posted two videos of the massacre on Facebook. Viewer discretion is advised.
Day 28
Day 28:
Friday, April 17, 2009: Greve Jour!!! (Strike Day!!!) As rare as a snow day in Athens, today we had a strike day! All of our classes were cancelled because of unrest yesterday (as previously noted). Apparently, students were punching administrators and professors were punching each other and administrators.
After going out last night, Lance and I decided to meet at Casino (the grocery store) and buy stuff for a picnic lunch. The weather was so nice; it was probably 75°F and sunny most of the day. We bought salami, bread, cheese, brownies, baconsmaaks (like cheese puffs but bacon flavored), apples, and a bottle of wine for 10E. We packed it in my book bag and headed to the Palais des Papes.
We climbed the hill and sat in the grass on the hill overlooking the Rhone and had lunch. Afterwards, we just chilled and enjoyed the day. Often, I find myself saying that, “This is the life.” To the French, this weather is still pretty chilly. To Ohioans, this is excellent. Jacqueline always asks me why I never wear a coat out and I have to explain to her that it snows in Ohio. They don’t get snow in most of France.
Shawna came by but only stayed for a few minutes because she was feeling really sick; then she went back home. We stayed there most of the day but then Lance got a really bad toothache. He had a root canal before we left and didn’t have time to get a crown so he thought that he broke it. We went back to his house for a few then he wanted to take a nap and I left. I got home just as it started to storm. They have afternoon thunderstorms here like we do in Ohio too, except there are no tornados in Europe.
After dinner, Bernard went to the train station to get Jacqueline as she returned from Paris. I went to Lance’s and we hung out for a while before trying a new club that we had heard of. When we got there at midnight, we were the only people there. It was like being the first people at a high school dance. The club looked really cool but we didn’t stick around.
Friday, April 17, 2009: Greve Jour!!! (Strike Day!!!) As rare as a snow day in Athens, today we had a strike day! All of our classes were cancelled because of unrest yesterday (as previously noted). Apparently, students were punching administrators and professors were punching each other and administrators.
After going out last night, Lance and I decided to meet at Casino (the grocery store) and buy stuff for a picnic lunch. The weather was so nice; it was probably 75°F and sunny most of the day. We bought salami, bread, cheese, brownies, baconsmaaks (like cheese puffs but bacon flavored), apples, and a bottle of wine for 10E. We packed it in my book bag and headed to the Palais des Papes.
We climbed the hill and sat in the grass on the hill overlooking the Rhone and had lunch. Afterwards, we just chilled and enjoyed the day. Often, I find myself saying that, “This is the life.” To the French, this weather is still pretty chilly. To Ohioans, this is excellent. Jacqueline always asks me why I never wear a coat out and I have to explain to her that it snows in Ohio. They don’t get snow in most of France.
Shawna came by but only stayed for a few minutes because she was feeling really sick; then she went back home. We stayed there most of the day but then Lance got a really bad toothache. He had a root canal before we left and didn’t have time to get a crown so he thought that he broke it. We went back to his house for a few then he wanted to take a nap and I left. I got home just as it started to storm. They have afternoon thunderstorms here like we do in Ohio too, except there are no tornados in Europe.
After dinner, Bernard went to the train station to get Jacqueline as she returned from Paris. I went to Lance’s and we hung out for a while before trying a new club that we had heard of. When we got there at midnight, we were the only people there. It was like being the first people at a high school dance. The club looked really cool but we didn’t stick around.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Day 27
Day 27:
Thursday, April 16, 2009: Today was awful until dinner time. We had writing class which was fine except that the students decided to strike again today. The professor told us that they had decided to strike now of Tuesdays and Thursdays – American students would have chosen Mondays and Fridays without a doubt. The worst part of the strike is that there is never anyone with a key to the classrooms so we are forced to wait in the hallway until the professor can find someone with a key and that is willing to help us out.
We had class and wrote a poem about our first reactions to being in France for the first day. It was more creative but I have to think that I’ve written about three of these for different classes now.
After class, we had a four-hour lunch break. This is the worst part of Thursdays. I ate at the cafeteria and used the internet. We tried to make plans for our four-day weekend in May. We’re going to the beaches of Corsica! Shawna, Melissa, Lance, and I then played 18 holes of Golf (the card game). We were so bored!
After we got tired of that, I Skyped some American friends – shoutout to Aimee Rancer, Caroline Flynn, and Haley Smith! Then it was time for class again. We met by the locked classroom for the professor. At the same time she was searching for someone with a key, the students held a rally in the lobby of the main school building of which we immediately became bystanders of. I’m not sure what came of that but they had to cancel our class because no one would let us in the classroom and they didn’t want to put American students in danger if it turned bad.
We were content with no having class. It was a nice day. I was mad because we waited all this time for class to just be cancelled. I was there so I wanted to have class. Some people in our group went to the bar to celebrate. I went to Lance’s house and we sat outside until dinner.
I ate with Bernard and John and then went to Melissa’s. Her host mom’s favorite foreign student was visiting this week and she was going to go out with us tonight so I went there to get them. Every time I go there, I always have to have espresso with her host mom. After that ritual, Melissa, Josephine (the 17-year-old German), and I went to Lance’s.
Lance and Kelby live together and have their own guesthouse (if I haven’t included this in a previous blog entry) so we can go there and chill and be out of everyone’s host family’s house. We were hanging out there when someone got a text from the assistant Katy… she had some excellent news! It seemed that after our class was cancelled, the students were still protesting and one of them punched an administrator and Friday classes were cancelled for the entire university as a safety precaution!
This was excellent for us! But we still wished we knew earlier so we could have planned something for this unexpected three-day weekend! It quickly became known to the group as Greve Jour! (Strike Day; comparable to a snow day at OU.)
We decided to celebrate by going to a new discotheque that was larger and much closer to everyone than the one that we discovered first. On the walk there, it thunder stormed and we arrived just as the hail began to fall! What an excellent end to a day that otherwise would have sucked.
Thursday, April 16, 2009: Today was awful until dinner time. We had writing class which was fine except that the students decided to strike again today. The professor told us that they had decided to strike now of Tuesdays and Thursdays – American students would have chosen Mondays and Fridays without a doubt. The worst part of the strike is that there is never anyone with a key to the classrooms so we are forced to wait in the hallway until the professor can find someone with a key and that is willing to help us out.
We had class and wrote a poem about our first reactions to being in France for the first day. It was more creative but I have to think that I’ve written about three of these for different classes now.
After class, we had a four-hour lunch break. This is the worst part of Thursdays. I ate at the cafeteria and used the internet. We tried to make plans for our four-day weekend in May. We’re going to the beaches of Corsica! Shawna, Melissa, Lance, and I then played 18 holes of Golf (the card game). We were so bored!
After we got tired of that, I Skyped some American friends – shoutout to Aimee Rancer, Caroline Flynn, and Haley Smith! Then it was time for class again. We met by the locked classroom for the professor. At the same time she was searching for someone with a key, the students held a rally in the lobby of the main school building of which we immediately became bystanders of. I’m not sure what came of that but they had to cancel our class because no one would let us in the classroom and they didn’t want to put American students in danger if it turned bad.
We were content with no having class. It was a nice day. I was mad because we waited all this time for class to just be cancelled. I was there so I wanted to have class. Some people in our group went to the bar to celebrate. I went to Lance’s house and we sat outside until dinner.
I ate with Bernard and John and then went to Melissa’s. Her host mom’s favorite foreign student was visiting this week and she was going to go out with us tonight so I went there to get them. Every time I go there, I always have to have espresso with her host mom. After that ritual, Melissa, Josephine (the 17-year-old German), and I went to Lance’s.
Lance and Kelby live together and have their own guesthouse (if I haven’t included this in a previous blog entry) so we can go there and chill and be out of everyone’s host family’s house. We were hanging out there when someone got a text from the assistant Katy… she had some excellent news! It seemed that after our class was cancelled, the students were still protesting and one of them punched an administrator and Friday classes were cancelled for the entire university as a safety precaution!
This was excellent for us! But we still wished we knew earlier so we could have planned something for this unexpected three-day weekend! It quickly became known to the group as Greve Jour! (Strike Day; comparable to a snow day at OU.)
We decided to celebrate by going to a new discotheque that was larger and much closer to everyone than the one that we discovered first. On the walk there, it thunder stormed and we arrived just as the hail began to fall! What an excellent end to a day that otherwise would have sucked.
Day 25 & 26
Day 25 & Day 26:
Tuesday, April 14, 2009: Today we went to school to find that the students had decided to continue the strike. They had blocked all the entrances – a big fire hazard. Christophe made us wait in the courtyard while he spoke with administrators about what was the safest way for us to enter the building and have class.
So we finally entered and had class. Then we had history class again. Afterwards, we had a two-hour lunch break. I got some much needed internet time and I Skyped with my Dad. We went back to literature class to discuss Balzac.
After class, I went home to read and do some homework. John brought a Chinese foreign exchange student to eat with us. It was a little awkward. Afterwards, they smoked a pack of cigarettes on the terrace and I went to my room for more homework. The day was fairly insignificant.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009: Today we had grammar class because we didn’t have it on Monday. Afterwards, Shawna, Melissa, Lance, and I went to the internet to print a paper for the next day. I wrote it on my computer and emailed it to myself but then it wouldn’t open on the computer here for me to print out because I have the most recent version of Microsoft Word and they do not.
After that, we went to the bookstore to buy books for literature. I didn’t need to buy them because I already found them in my room from the girl that lived here last year. Then we walked to the island in the Rhone and had lunch at the restaurant there. It was good but we ate outside and the Mistral was blowing so it was really chilly. Afterwards, we just walked back to Lance’s for more Golf.
It was time for dinner. Bernard came back from Paris but Jacqueline stayed because the baby was sick and her parents needed to work so Jacqueline took care of her. After dinner, I did homework and went to bed.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009: Today we went to school to find that the students had decided to continue the strike. They had blocked all the entrances – a big fire hazard. Christophe made us wait in the courtyard while he spoke with administrators about what was the safest way for us to enter the building and have class.
So we finally entered and had class. Then we had history class again. Afterwards, we had a two-hour lunch break. I got some much needed internet time and I Skyped with my Dad. We went back to literature class to discuss Balzac.
After class, I went home to read and do some homework. John brought a Chinese foreign exchange student to eat with us. It was a little awkward. Afterwards, they smoked a pack of cigarettes on the terrace and I went to my room for more homework. The day was fairly insignificant.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009: Today we had grammar class because we didn’t have it on Monday. Afterwards, Shawna, Melissa, Lance, and I went to the internet to print a paper for the next day. I wrote it on my computer and emailed it to myself but then it wouldn’t open on the computer here for me to print out because I have the most recent version of Microsoft Word and they do not.
After that, we went to the bookstore to buy books for literature. I didn’t need to buy them because I already found them in my room from the girl that lived here last year. Then we walked to the island in the Rhone and had lunch at the restaurant there. It was good but we ate outside and the Mistral was blowing so it was really chilly. Afterwards, we just walked back to Lance’s for more Golf.
It was time for dinner. Bernard came back from Paris but Jacqueline stayed because the baby was sick and her parents needed to work so Jacqueline took care of her. After dinner, I did homework and went to bed.
Day 23 & 24
Day 23 & Day 24:
Sunday, April 12, 2009 – Easter: Today we did nothing. It was only John and I at home so we invited some friends over to play games. I would have lain out but it rained again.
We had Kelby, Lance, Shawna, and Melissa over. I taught everyone how to play golf (the card game). Then, John decided that he wanted to play poker even though no one else really wanted to – the girls didn’t even know how to – plus we didn’t have any poker chips.
Well he devised a plan to play with Scrabble pieces and one piece of real money. He wanted to play for a pot of real Euros but we decided that was not what we wanted to do but we would still play. I got my computer and started DJing. After struggling through the game that John wanted to play, he lost. Lance won and I was second. We decided to not go out because it was still raining and we didn’t think that any places would be open because it was Easter Sunday.
Monday, April 13, 2009: Today there was no school because the French like to celebrate Easter Monday. Even though most of the country is Catholic, hardly anyone practices the faith because they are still mad about the government ties to the Catholic Church that caused the French Revolution. It turns out too that most businesses actually were open on Easter Sunday out of spite.
Today was really nice and sunny so I read Marius by Marcel Pagnol and lay out on the terrace. Later, Shawna and Lance came over for some time in the afternoon. John and I ate and I did some more homework and that was about it of my long weekend.
I wish the excursion could have been on another weekend so that we could have taken a trip on this three-day weekend. But hey what can you do… as the French say: <>
Sunday, April 12, 2009 – Easter: Today we did nothing. It was only John and I at home so we invited some friends over to play games. I would have lain out but it rained again.
We had Kelby, Lance, Shawna, and Melissa over. I taught everyone how to play golf (the card game). Then, John decided that he wanted to play poker even though no one else really wanted to – the girls didn’t even know how to – plus we didn’t have any poker chips.
Well he devised a plan to play with Scrabble pieces and one piece of real money. He wanted to play for a pot of real Euros but we decided that was not what we wanted to do but we would still play. I got my computer and started DJing. After struggling through the game that John wanted to play, he lost. Lance won and I was second. We decided to not go out because it was still raining and we didn’t think that any places would be open because it was Easter Sunday.
Monday, April 13, 2009: Today there was no school because the French like to celebrate Easter Monday. Even though most of the country is Catholic, hardly anyone practices the faith because they are still mad about the government ties to the Catholic Church that caused the French Revolution. It turns out too that most businesses actually were open on Easter Sunday out of spite.
Today was really nice and sunny so I read Marius by Marcel Pagnol and lay out on the terrace. Later, Shawna and Lance came over for some time in the afternoon. John and I ate and I did some more homework and that was about it of my long weekend.
I wish the excursion could have been on another weekend so that we could have taken a trip on this three-day weekend. But hey what can you do… as the French say: <
Day 22
Day 22:
Saturday, April 11, 2009: Today was our first excursion as a group. We went to Les Baux de Provence. The excursion was really cool but they basically tell us nothing of where we are going. We just get on a bus and we go.
We met our charter bus by the university gates at 9am. It was like an hour drive out into the paysage (countryside). We finally get there and it is an overcast day. Not too cold but when the winds licked up it was not fun. The Baux de Provence is these really old city ruins from like the first century AD. And the ruins are atop this huge mountain so they were protected. This was a catholic community so there were the ruins of a church and all these houses that were built into the side of the mountain – it reminded me of Mesa Verde in Colorado.
We explored for an hour and then they had a catapult demonstration for us. There were three replicas of catapults that were used to defend the town. I volunteered to help out so I could get a firsthand look at how it really worked. Not like the mini catapults we built in physics class senior year at all. Look for the pictures on Facebook and I will try to post some here or on my flickr account. So we catapulted huge water balloons. They demonstrated each catapult one time.
After that, we watched a short video of the sites and villages of Provence. We then had time for lunch and to explore the town that was there now – more for tourists than actually living in. I had pizza with ham. After lunch, it started raining. Our next attraction was the Cathedral des Images. Once again we had no idea what was here and why we were walking in the rain to get there. It was only a short walk away. They gave us tickets and pushed us in; still completely not knowing what to expect.
The Cathedral des Images is an old stone quarry in the side of a mountain. They cleared out all the stone and now it is like a huge cave with white walls and 50 foot ceilings. Well you walk into the darkness and find that it is a Picasso exhibit. They have created a show set to music and they project all his paintings 30 feet high on the walls. It was really cool but a little cold. It could have also made a really good night club with a laser show and strobe lights.
So after visiting there, we boarded the bus and our next stop was the little town of St-Remy-de-Provence. It was really cool and I wish we had more time there but people were complaining that they were cold and tired and wet. We did get to go to a chocolatier that is world famous? His name is Joel Durant or something like that… I met him too. After looking at hundreds of dollars worth of chocolate, I wanted to go look at $150 swim trunks at Villbrequin – I can look right?
So then we boarded the bus and headed home. We had to make a stop at the hospital because Christophe’s squeeze and assistant Katy sliced her hand and needed stitches. Her parents flew in today from Michigan and they were not with us.
I finally got back to my house and ate dinner by myself because the Zemmits went to Paris for a long Paques (Easter) weekend with their son, his fiancé, and their granddaughter. John went with some people that no one knew to Arles for the Le Ferida (bullfight). But it was cancelled because of the rain so they drank in the streets and came home later that night. Lance, Melissa, and Shawna came over and we tried to play French Scrabble but that didn’t work out too well so we just went to the discotheque instead.
(Google a bunch of these places – they are cool)
Saturday, April 11, 2009: Today was our first excursion as a group. We went to Les Baux de Provence. The excursion was really cool but they basically tell us nothing of where we are going. We just get on a bus and we go.
We met our charter bus by the university gates at 9am. It was like an hour drive out into the paysage (countryside). We finally get there and it is an overcast day. Not too cold but when the winds licked up it was not fun. The Baux de Provence is these really old city ruins from like the first century AD. And the ruins are atop this huge mountain so they were protected. This was a catholic community so there were the ruins of a church and all these houses that were built into the side of the mountain – it reminded me of Mesa Verde in Colorado.
We explored for an hour and then they had a catapult demonstration for us. There were three replicas of catapults that were used to defend the town. I volunteered to help out so I could get a firsthand look at how it really worked. Not like the mini catapults we built in physics class senior year at all. Look for the pictures on Facebook and I will try to post some here or on my flickr account. So we catapulted huge water balloons. They demonstrated each catapult one time.
After that, we watched a short video of the sites and villages of Provence. We then had time for lunch and to explore the town that was there now – more for tourists than actually living in. I had pizza with ham. After lunch, it started raining. Our next attraction was the Cathedral des Images. Once again we had no idea what was here and why we were walking in the rain to get there. It was only a short walk away. They gave us tickets and pushed us in; still completely not knowing what to expect.
The Cathedral des Images is an old stone quarry in the side of a mountain. They cleared out all the stone and now it is like a huge cave with white walls and 50 foot ceilings. Well you walk into the darkness and find that it is a Picasso exhibit. They have created a show set to music and they project all his paintings 30 feet high on the walls. It was really cool but a little cold. It could have also made a really good night club with a laser show and strobe lights.
So after visiting there, we boarded the bus and our next stop was the little town of St-Remy-de-Provence. It was really cool and I wish we had more time there but people were complaining that they were cold and tired and wet. We did get to go to a chocolatier that is world famous? His name is Joel Durant or something like that… I met him too. After looking at hundreds of dollars worth of chocolate, I wanted to go look at $150 swim trunks at Villbrequin – I can look right?
So then we boarded the bus and headed home. We had to make a stop at the hospital because Christophe’s squeeze and assistant Katy sliced her hand and needed stitches. Her parents flew in today from Michigan and they were not with us.
I finally got back to my house and ate dinner by myself because the Zemmits went to Paris for a long Paques (Easter) weekend with their son, his fiancé, and their granddaughter. John went with some people that no one knew to Arles for the Le Ferida (bullfight). But it was cancelled because of the rain so they drank in the streets and came home later that night. Lance, Melissa, and Shawna came over and we tried to play French Scrabble but that didn’t work out too well so we just went to the discotheque instead.
(Google a bunch of these places – they are cool)
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Day 20 & Day 21
Day 20 & Day 21
Thursday, April 9, 2009 & Friday, April 10, 2009: Since Thursday and Friday were basically insignificant, I decided to include them into one day.
Thursday, I needed to go to school early to print out my writing assignment. Well the students decided to strike again and so it was closed. Good thing I was not the only on that didn’t have it. I really like the writing class. Today we read a poem about people’s rights – fun things like the right to sleep late; it a creative writing class. And then we wrote our own.
I met with Katy and talked about my journal and then had four hours to kill. Zoe and I walked around the school a little and then we just sat in the courtyard on our computers – a sign we are not French. So then I had my oral grammar class. We learned all kinds of French slang and when and when not to use it. Really interesting, but she sped through it.
Thursday night, we went out. Melissa and I went to Lance’s then we went to the bar. We are trying to spend as little money at the bar as possible because we frequent it so often. We go to the grocery store after class and buy the 2E bottle of wine. Students have to economize.
So then we had early class on Friday morning. It was really boring – history. We watched another movie and he stopped it every five seconds and that’s when he lost me. The movie was black and white and silent as well. So then we listened to a song, which he kept stopping too. He handed out the lyrics and we went through it line by line. Really boring.
Then we had literature class. We talked about Marseille again. We decided not to go out because we had to get up early Saturday morning for our first excursion. I went to Lance’s to chill and was home and in bed by 11:30p.m. I’ve been in France for three weeks! Time really flies!
(Use “the Google”)
Thursday, April 9, 2009 & Friday, April 10, 2009: Since Thursday and Friday were basically insignificant, I decided to include them into one day.
Thursday, I needed to go to school early to print out my writing assignment. Well the students decided to strike again and so it was closed. Good thing I was not the only on that didn’t have it. I really like the writing class. Today we read a poem about people’s rights – fun things like the right to sleep late; it a creative writing class. And then we wrote our own.
I met with Katy and talked about my journal and then had four hours to kill. Zoe and I walked around the school a little and then we just sat in the courtyard on our computers – a sign we are not French. So then I had my oral grammar class. We learned all kinds of French slang and when and when not to use it. Really interesting, but she sped through it.
Thursday night, we went out. Melissa and I went to Lance’s then we went to the bar. We are trying to spend as little money at the bar as possible because we frequent it so often. We go to the grocery store after class and buy the 2E bottle of wine. Students have to economize.
So then we had early class on Friday morning. It was really boring – history. We watched another movie and he stopped it every five seconds and that’s when he lost me. The movie was black and white and silent as well. So then we listened to a song, which he kept stopping too. He handed out the lyrics and we went through it line by line. Really boring.
Then we had literature class. We talked about Marseille again. We decided not to go out because we had to get up early Saturday morning for our first excursion. I went to Lance’s to chill and was home and in bed by 11:30p.m. I’ve been in France for three weeks! Time really flies!
(Use “the Google”)
Day 19
Day 19:
Wednesday, April 8, 2009: Today was really fun! Shawna, Lance, Melissa, and I decided to go to Nimes for the day because there are no classes on Wednesdays. French students often have Wednesdays off but are required to go to school Saturday mornings – this might only be for grade school students. They also get a two-hour lunch break everyday because lunch is a huge custom in French culture.
And so we decided to meet at the train station for the 10:30am train. It was too early. We were all not ready to go by then and ended up missing the train. The next one didn’t come until noon so we had plenty of time to kill. Nimes is only a half hour from Avignon. The tickets were 8E per person roundtrip – the same as to Arles.
So once we got to Nimes, we decided to buy the city pass for tourists. Nimes is considered to be home to the largest collection of Roman ruins outside of Italy. It was founded as a retirement destination for Roman soldiers in 31 B.C. The pass cost us 7.50E and allowed us to see the three main sights in Nimes.
We began with the Maison Carree which looks like a Pantheon. There was a 3D movie about Nimes history so we did that. Afterwards, we decided to walk to the gardens and see the Tour Magnan: a lookout tower built by the Romans to keep watch for intruders. The gardens are on a hillside and really big. We spent a lot of time wandering around here before finally finding the tower. We climbed to the top for an excellent view of the city.
Fun fact: Nimes is known the world over for its production of jeans; thus came the name ‘denim’ literally meaning ‘from Nimes’.
We then found a place to eat before heading to the Arena. Our choice: McDonald’s! It sounded so good at the time but I think that, having only been out of the country for not even three weeks yet, I should have waited longer. It was 7E for the meal – almost double what it would be at home. It didn’t matter because it was well worth it. The McDonald’s was in a mall so after eating, we looked around for awhile.
We headed back to the center of town to spend time at the Arena. It was really cool. We climbed all the way to the top to get another great view of the city. We just sat here and walked around for a long time. Our train home did not leave until 8:30p.m.
We stayed at the Arena until it closed at 6:30p.m., then we wandered the city some more. The worst part about any city in France is that everything but restaurants and bars close at 7p.m. We found ourselves in the park with not much else to do but wait for out train home. Nevertheless, it was a great day.
(Google Nimes to discover more).
Wednesday, April 8, 2009: Today was really fun! Shawna, Lance, Melissa, and I decided to go to Nimes for the day because there are no classes on Wednesdays. French students often have Wednesdays off but are required to go to school Saturday mornings – this might only be for grade school students. They also get a two-hour lunch break everyday because lunch is a huge custom in French culture.
And so we decided to meet at the train station for the 10:30am train. It was too early. We were all not ready to go by then and ended up missing the train. The next one didn’t come until noon so we had plenty of time to kill. Nimes is only a half hour from Avignon. The tickets were 8E per person roundtrip – the same as to Arles.
So once we got to Nimes, we decided to buy the city pass for tourists. Nimes is considered to be home to the largest collection of Roman ruins outside of Italy. It was founded as a retirement destination for Roman soldiers in 31 B.C. The pass cost us 7.50E and allowed us to see the three main sights in Nimes.
We began with the Maison Carree which looks like a Pantheon. There was a 3D movie about Nimes history so we did that. Afterwards, we decided to walk to the gardens and see the Tour Magnan: a lookout tower built by the Romans to keep watch for intruders. The gardens are on a hillside and really big. We spent a lot of time wandering around here before finally finding the tower. We climbed to the top for an excellent view of the city.
Fun fact: Nimes is known the world over for its production of jeans; thus came the name ‘denim’ literally meaning ‘from Nimes’.
We then found a place to eat before heading to the Arena. Our choice: McDonald’s! It sounded so good at the time but I think that, having only been out of the country for not even three weeks yet, I should have waited longer. It was 7E for the meal – almost double what it would be at home. It didn’t matter because it was well worth it. The McDonald’s was in a mall so after eating, we looked around for awhile.
We headed back to the center of town to spend time at the Arena. It was really cool. We climbed all the way to the top to get another great view of the city. We just sat here and walked around for a long time. Our train home did not leave until 8:30p.m.
We stayed at the Arena until it closed at 6:30p.m., then we wandered the city some more. The worst part about any city in France is that everything but restaurants and bars close at 7p.m. We found ourselves in the park with not much else to do but wait for out train home. Nevertheless, it was a great day.
(Google Nimes to discover more).
Day 17 & Day 18
Day 17 & Day 18:
Monday, April 6, 2009 & Tuesday, April 7, 2009: Because Monday was so insignificant, I included it in Tuesday. Yesterday, the only cool thing that I did was go to the Rhone after class to work on a paper. I went with Lance, Zoe, Melissa, and Shawna. I discovered that there was wireless access there so naturally, little work actually got done. I went home and wrote the paper and did my homework after dinner. Also important to note, today marked the end of the students’ greve (strike).
Today (Tuesday) was pretty insignificant as well. The only interesting thing today was that after I returned home from 6 hours of classes, Jacqueline and Bernard had a friend and her daughter over for an aperitif. It was the daughter’s 5th birthday. The mother (I wish I could remember her name) lived in England for nine years and married an Englishman; the girl’s father. She could speak both English and French but was too shy for either.
We talked about American and French politics and when she had to go, she invited John and me over for an aperitif another time so that we could meet her husband. In France, it is a huge deal to be invited over to someone’s home.
Tuesday night, Lance and I went to the bar to meet Melissa’s correspondent. She was born in England to English artists who moved to the South of France to work and raise their daughter. She is 25 and bilingual. She wants to work as a translator or books after she graduates. She also has an American boyfriend and wants to move to the U.S. to live with him.
She was rather boring and not very social. So Lance and I kept drinking until the rest of our friends arrived later. We stayed at this bar for a while before moving to the Pub on Rue de la Republique – our usual watering hole. We decided not to stay out too late because we had plans for tomorrow.
(Use Google.)
Monday, April 6, 2009 & Tuesday, April 7, 2009: Because Monday was so insignificant, I included it in Tuesday. Yesterday, the only cool thing that I did was go to the Rhone after class to work on a paper. I went with Lance, Zoe, Melissa, and Shawna. I discovered that there was wireless access there so naturally, little work actually got done. I went home and wrote the paper and did my homework after dinner. Also important to note, today marked the end of the students’ greve (strike).
Today (Tuesday) was pretty insignificant as well. The only interesting thing today was that after I returned home from 6 hours of classes, Jacqueline and Bernard had a friend and her daughter over for an aperitif. It was the daughter’s 5th birthday. The mother (I wish I could remember her name) lived in England for nine years and married an Englishman; the girl’s father. She could speak both English and French but was too shy for either.
We talked about American and French politics and when she had to go, she invited John and me over for an aperitif another time so that we could meet her husband. In France, it is a huge deal to be invited over to someone’s home.
Tuesday night, Lance and I went to the bar to meet Melissa’s correspondent. She was born in England to English artists who moved to the South of France to work and raise their daughter. She is 25 and bilingual. She wants to work as a translator or books after she graduates. She also has an American boyfriend and wants to move to the U.S. to live with him.
She was rather boring and not very social. So Lance and I kept drinking until the rest of our friends arrived later. We stayed at this bar for a while before moving to the Pub on Rue de la Republique – our usual watering hole. We decided not to stay out too late because we had plans for tomorrow.
(Use Google.)
Day 16
Day 16:
Sunday, April 5, 2009: Today was excellent! I did nothing! I woke up and showered and had coffee and decided that since it was such a nice day, I was going to do my homework and read on the terrace.
I did grammar and Jacqueline came out joined me for lunch. I wanted to make up for missing dinner the night before so I made no plans for the day. We had a huge salad and pasta. The weather was so nice! She joined me on the terrace after lunch to lie out.
I read Marius by Marcel Pagnol for class and sunned myself. At one point during the day, it was 30°C! (84°F!) Melissa came over later for a while and we attempted to do homework but it was her first time meeting my host parents and we ended up talking most of the time and she got little done.
After she left, I read some more and then it was time for dinner. It was just Bernard, Jacqueline, and I because John was still in the Alps skiing. After dinner, I realized that I was sun burnt! Surprise surprise! I wrote in my journal after watching the news and called it an early night.
(Google.)
Sunday, April 5, 2009: Today was excellent! I did nothing! I woke up and showered and had coffee and decided that since it was such a nice day, I was going to do my homework and read on the terrace.
I did grammar and Jacqueline came out joined me for lunch. I wanted to make up for missing dinner the night before so I made no plans for the day. We had a huge salad and pasta. The weather was so nice! She joined me on the terrace after lunch to lie out.
I read Marius by Marcel Pagnol for class and sunned myself. At one point during the day, it was 30°C! (84°F!) Melissa came over later for a while and we attempted to do homework but it was her first time meeting my host parents and we ended up talking most of the time and she got little done.
After she left, I read some more and then it was time for dinner. It was just Bernard, Jacqueline, and I because John was still in the Alps skiing. After dinner, I realized that I was sun burnt! Surprise surprise! I wrote in my journal after watching the news and called it an early night.
(Google.)
Day 15
Day 15:
Saturday, April 4, 2009: Today, nine of us went to Arles! It is a small town on the Rhone about a 20-minute train ride from Avignon.
Originally, I had planned to go skiing in the Alps my first free weekend, but I did not feel like spending 12 hours round-trip on a train. There was also the money factor; I had the money but after spending quite a bit in Paris for spring break, I decided to take a break – something my Dad will like to read.
So seven in our group decided that they would be going to Arles for the day and Lance and I decided the night before that we would join them. Van Gogh lived and worked in Arles for 15 months, creating many of his most famous paintings.
I met Lance at the train station at 11:45am and we bought tickets for the 12:20pm train at 8E apiece. We found the train and were the only ones on it. Granted, we were early and it was Saturday, but where was everyone else? We stood around on the platform before boarding. Right before the train left, the girls got on at the last minute.
It was a gorgeous day; the sun was out and there was not a cloud in the sky. When we arrived in Arles, we walked from the train station to the center of town. Arles is much smaller than Avignon but I think I preferred it. The day would show that it was friendlier and more fun than its neighbor. In a way, Arles felt a little like Athens (Ohio).
Van Gogh had a house on the road from the train station into town, but the Nazis bombed it during World War II and there is nothing to see. We arrived with no plans of what we were going to do but it was really nice to not feel pressured into running all over the city. We were able to take it all in slowly and at our own pace.
Because the group was so large, it was naturally going to split. There was no way that everyone was going to be happy as such a large group. I ended up being with Lance, Zoe, and Melissa. We found a spot overlooking the town where we took some pictures before leaving the city walls and exploring an old cemetery. Afterwards, we wandered around some more. There is a big open air market every Saturday on the main road but it was over at noon and we only got to see the cleanup.
We found the public gardens that Van Gogh loved and walked through town some more, making our way towards the Rhone. We stopped at a little Moroccan store filled with authentic gifts. We tried on shoes and looked around and kept walking. We found the Rhone and sat beside it to rest. We decided to wander back to the center of town and eat a late lunch. I knew that I would have dinner waiting for me when I returned home so we only needed something to hold us over until then. And so we had paninis in the street as we walked back to the center of town to the Roman Arena and met up with everyone else.
We hung out for a long time on the steps of the Arena before splitting again. The other group decided that they wanted to find a place for dinner; we chose to find a grocery store at which we would buy wine and drink in the public gardens like Van Gogh once had.
We relaxed in the gardens for about an hour and a half until they closed then we headed back to meet up with everyone else. Tonight was the first night of a carnival alongside the Rhone and as the sun went down, we decided to play there to kill time before our train home.
But the carnival was closed. So we loitered and made our way to the train station. After we arrived home, Melissa and I went to Lance’s for some drinks before returning home for the night.
(Google.)
Saturday, April 4, 2009: Today, nine of us went to Arles! It is a small town on the Rhone about a 20-minute train ride from Avignon.
Originally, I had planned to go skiing in the Alps my first free weekend, but I did not feel like spending 12 hours round-trip on a train. There was also the money factor; I had the money but after spending quite a bit in Paris for spring break, I decided to take a break – something my Dad will like to read.
So seven in our group decided that they would be going to Arles for the day and Lance and I decided the night before that we would join them. Van Gogh lived and worked in Arles for 15 months, creating many of his most famous paintings.
I met Lance at the train station at 11:45am and we bought tickets for the 12:20pm train at 8E apiece. We found the train and were the only ones on it. Granted, we were early and it was Saturday, but where was everyone else? We stood around on the platform before boarding. Right before the train left, the girls got on at the last minute.
It was a gorgeous day; the sun was out and there was not a cloud in the sky. When we arrived in Arles, we walked from the train station to the center of town. Arles is much smaller than Avignon but I think I preferred it. The day would show that it was friendlier and more fun than its neighbor. In a way, Arles felt a little like Athens (Ohio).
Van Gogh had a house on the road from the train station into town, but the Nazis bombed it during World War II and there is nothing to see. We arrived with no plans of what we were going to do but it was really nice to not feel pressured into running all over the city. We were able to take it all in slowly and at our own pace.
Because the group was so large, it was naturally going to split. There was no way that everyone was going to be happy as such a large group. I ended up being with Lance, Zoe, and Melissa. We found a spot overlooking the town where we took some pictures before leaving the city walls and exploring an old cemetery. Afterwards, we wandered around some more. There is a big open air market every Saturday on the main road but it was over at noon and we only got to see the cleanup.
We found the public gardens that Van Gogh loved and walked through town some more, making our way towards the Rhone. We stopped at a little Moroccan store filled with authentic gifts. We tried on shoes and looked around and kept walking. We found the Rhone and sat beside it to rest. We decided to wander back to the center of town and eat a late lunch. I knew that I would have dinner waiting for me when I returned home so we only needed something to hold us over until then. And so we had paninis in the street as we walked back to the center of town to the Roman Arena and met up with everyone else.
We hung out for a long time on the steps of the Arena before splitting again. The other group decided that they wanted to find a place for dinner; we chose to find a grocery store at which we would buy wine and drink in the public gardens like Van Gogh once had.
We relaxed in the gardens for about an hour and a half until they closed then we headed back to meet up with everyone else. Tonight was the first night of a carnival alongside the Rhone and as the sun went down, we decided to play there to kill time before our train home.
But the carnival was closed. So we loitered and made our way to the train station. After we arrived home, Melissa and I went to Lance’s for some drinks before returning home for the night.
(Google.)
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Day 14
Day 14:
Friday, April 3, 2009: Today we had to get up early for history class. It was fine. We talked about the Hundred Years’ War again. We watched a movie about Joan d’Arc and the prof stopped it every 5 seconds! It was awful!
We had another literature class in which we talked about the founding of the city of Marseilles. The prof had Rachel explain what virginity was… in French! After class, we bought more wine in preparation for the night. There was a rendez-vous with everyone’s French correspondents at a bar at 8pm. A little early.
We had dinner and Shawna and I went to Lance’s for a drink. We got to the bar at about 9pm because none of us had correspondents to meet there. Mine is in Marseilles this semester for an internship.
Also, I don’t think I’ve mentioned this but the university is on strike. Everything is closed. All the doors are blocked with desks and chairs. Students loiter in protest to new rules about to be imposed by Nicolas Sarkozy increasing the cost of attending university. Currently, it is completely free for anyone to receive a university education all the way up to the doctoral level. Students don’t even have to buy books. But Sarkozy wants to make France more like America and require students to cover part of the cost of their education even though taxes cover everything.
And so we got to the bar and Lance, Shawna, and I sat inside; away from the American. We met a group of French soldiers. They were headed to Afghanistan. They were very diverse. One was from Russia; another from Brazil; another from Estonia; the rest French. They were all about our age too. They bought the three of us drinks and we talked (in French) about the War in Iraq and Afghanistan. They hated George W. Bush and loved Barack Obama – us too. The Russian told me that he loved America because we were rich and Russia was very poor.
As it got later, we were ready to move to another bar… consensus – the discotheque! We drank on the way there and five of us went in. It was cool and they played a lot of hip French techno music. Youtube: Day N Night, Ca m’enerve, One 2.3 Four. We danced all night and headed home around 3am. Good thing I have a door to my room on the outside and I was very quiet coming home. It was a really fun day!
Google; Youtube.
Friday, April 3, 2009: Today we had to get up early for history class. It was fine. We talked about the Hundred Years’ War again. We watched a movie about Joan d’Arc and the prof stopped it every 5 seconds! It was awful!
We had another literature class in which we talked about the founding of the city of Marseilles. The prof had Rachel explain what virginity was… in French! After class, we bought more wine in preparation for the night. There was a rendez-vous with everyone’s French correspondents at a bar at 8pm. A little early.
We had dinner and Shawna and I went to Lance’s for a drink. We got to the bar at about 9pm because none of us had correspondents to meet there. Mine is in Marseilles this semester for an internship.
Also, I don’t think I’ve mentioned this but the university is on strike. Everything is closed. All the doors are blocked with desks and chairs. Students loiter in protest to new rules about to be imposed by Nicolas Sarkozy increasing the cost of attending university. Currently, it is completely free for anyone to receive a university education all the way up to the doctoral level. Students don’t even have to buy books. But Sarkozy wants to make France more like America and require students to cover part of the cost of their education even though taxes cover everything.
And so we got to the bar and Lance, Shawna, and I sat inside; away from the American. We met a group of French soldiers. They were headed to Afghanistan. They were very diverse. One was from Russia; another from Brazil; another from Estonia; the rest French. They were all about our age too. They bought the three of us drinks and we talked (in French) about the War in Iraq and Afghanistan. They hated George W. Bush and loved Barack Obama – us too. The Russian told me that he loved America because we were rich and Russia was very poor.
As it got later, we were ready to move to another bar… consensus – the discotheque! We drank on the way there and five of us went in. It was cool and they played a lot of hip French techno music. Youtube: Day N Night, Ca m’enerve, One 2.3 Four. We danced all night and headed home around 3am. Good thing I have a door to my room on the outside and I was very quiet coming home. It was a really fun day!
Google; Youtube.
Day 13
Day 13:
Thursday, April 2, 2009: Today we had our first creative writing and oral grammar classes. Creative writing was first. Mlle Mathis is very nice, but she has a little b.o. We used adjectives for each letter of our name so she could get to know us. Then we read a poem about the authors likes and dislikes and we wrote our own. I would post mine but it is in French.
After class, I drunk Skyped and we decided to keep drinking. We had more wine and then it was time to get home for dinner. Good thing I was toasted because we had fish… not a favorite of mine. We also had artichoke and mayonnaise too. After dinner, I fell asleep watching the news and was sober enough to go back out.
I walked to Melissa’s so we could go back to Lance’s. I had a café with her host mom and we were off. We went to Lance’s and had plans to meet friends at the Pub but we didn’t leave until midnight.
Once we got to the Pub, we realized that none of our friends were there and I was pissed. So then we just walked home.
(Google)
Thursday, April 2, 2009: Today we had our first creative writing and oral grammar classes. Creative writing was first. Mlle Mathis is very nice, but she has a little b.o. We used adjectives for each letter of our name so she could get to know us. Then we read a poem about the authors likes and dislikes and we wrote our own. I would post mine but it is in French.
After class, I drunk Skyped and we decided to keep drinking. We had more wine and then it was time to get home for dinner. Good thing I was toasted because we had fish… not a favorite of mine. We also had artichoke and mayonnaise too. After dinner, I fell asleep watching the news and was sober enough to go back out.
I walked to Melissa’s so we could go back to Lance’s. I had a café with her host mom and we were off. We went to Lance’s and had plans to meet friends at the Pub but we didn’t leave until midnight.
Once we got to the Pub, we realized that none of our friends were there and I was pissed. So then we just walked home.
(Google)
Day 12
Day 12:
Wednesday, April 1, 2009: Today we didn’t have class but we had to meet at the Palais des Papes for a tour. We had to be there at 9am!
The tour was guided and mildly interesting. The Popes lived in Avignon 700 years ago so the building was constructed in the 1300s. It had many uses over the years and is a museum now. We saw the Pope’s bedroom, etc.
After the tour, we went to the Pont d’Avignon. It was used to traverse the Rhone River in ancient times but part of it has collapsed and now it is a tourist attraction. After that a small group of us: Lance, Shawna, Zoe, and I. we had lunch at an outdoor café and then the girls left to go shopping.
Lance and I walked down Rue de la Republique and sat on a bench and had a bottle wine. Afterwards, Lance had to use the public restroom. It is completely automatic and self-cleaning. When you are finished using it, the door closes and it hoses itself down from top to bottom. Very high-tech!
After that, I needed to go to the Post Office to buy postcard stamps. The Post Office has the most bureaucracy in France. We could not use the automated machine to buy stamps because it would not take my Mastercard. Note: when you come to France, bring your Visa; they are accepted everywhere! So I had to take a number like I was at the deli and wait for service like you would for a pound of salami.
Finally, they called my number and I got my stamps – 12 for a little more than 10E or 0.85c/each. So then we called it a day and I went home. I had dinner, did homework and went to bed.
(Use Google)
Wednesday, April 1, 2009: Today we didn’t have class but we had to meet at the Palais des Papes for a tour. We had to be there at 9am!
The tour was guided and mildly interesting. The Popes lived in Avignon 700 years ago so the building was constructed in the 1300s. It had many uses over the years and is a museum now. We saw the Pope’s bedroom, etc.
After the tour, we went to the Pont d’Avignon. It was used to traverse the Rhone River in ancient times but part of it has collapsed and now it is a tourist attraction. After that a small group of us: Lance, Shawna, Zoe, and I. we had lunch at an outdoor café and then the girls left to go shopping.
Lance and I walked down Rue de la Republique and sat on a bench and had a bottle wine. Afterwards, Lance had to use the public restroom. It is completely automatic and self-cleaning. When you are finished using it, the door closes and it hoses itself down from top to bottom. Very high-tech!
After that, I needed to go to the Post Office to buy postcard stamps. The Post Office has the most bureaucracy in France. We could not use the automated machine to buy stamps because it would not take my Mastercard. Note: when you come to France, bring your Visa; they are accepted everywhere! So I had to take a number like I was at the deli and wait for service like you would for a pound of salami.
Finally, they called my number and I got my stamps – 12 for a little more than 10E or 0.85c/each. So then we called it a day and I went home. I had dinner, did homework and went to bed.
(Use Google)
Monday, April 6, 2009
Day 11
Day 11:
Tuesday, March 31, 2009: Today was my long day. I have six hours of classes. We started with grammar again. Christophe has a good way of explaining grammar; he made it seem easier. We read and discussed the first part of the play and that was class.
We met Monsieur Boura for history next. Lots of students were overwhelmed and scared because he speaks quickly and with a Provencal accent. I did not think he was too hard to follow. We will be discussing the Hundred Years’ War between England and France. We also talked about Joan of Arc (Jeanne d’Arc, en Francais). French professors do not give syllabi of book lists.
After a cafeteria lunch for 3E, it was internet time! I started by Skyping with my Dad at 8:30a.m. Ohio time; 2:30p.m. in France. It was good to talk to him and then I called my Mom and Grandma. I updated this blog and checked my lifelines – Facebook and email – then it was time to go back to class.
The next class was literature with Monsieur Bory. We began by talking about Charles Baudelaire and reading one of his poems, Le Vin. He was pretty easy to understand as well. We ended class by indulging in the wine and cheese he brought to welcome us.
I returned home for dinner and the news once again. Bernard left to go skiing in the Alps with a friend so it was just John, Jacqueline, and me. After dinner, we went to the Pub again because we don’t have class on Wednesdays!
Note: My name is extremely hard for native French-speakers to pronounce. Introducing myself if extremely difficult. I need a French name (thanks parents! JK!). Ninety-five percent of the time, it becomes Blad; not Brad. The French ‘r’ is really different and it’s placement in the middle of my name causes the difficulty. I have to say: “My name is Brad, like Brad Pitt!”
(Google proper nouns that you do not know.)
Tuesday, March 31, 2009: Today was my long day. I have six hours of classes. We started with grammar again. Christophe has a good way of explaining grammar; he made it seem easier. We read and discussed the first part of the play and that was class.
We met Monsieur Boura for history next. Lots of students were overwhelmed and scared because he speaks quickly and with a Provencal accent. I did not think he was too hard to follow. We will be discussing the Hundred Years’ War between England and France. We also talked about Joan of Arc (Jeanne d’Arc, en Francais). French professors do not give syllabi of book lists.
After a cafeteria lunch for 3E, it was internet time! I started by Skyping with my Dad at 8:30a.m. Ohio time; 2:30p.m. in France. It was good to talk to him and then I called my Mom and Grandma. I updated this blog and checked my lifelines – Facebook and email – then it was time to go back to class.
The next class was literature with Monsieur Bory. We began by talking about Charles Baudelaire and reading one of his poems, Le Vin. He was pretty easy to understand as well. We ended class by indulging in the wine and cheese he brought to welcome us.
I returned home for dinner and the news once again. Bernard left to go skiing in the Alps with a friend so it was just John, Jacqueline, and me. After dinner, we went to the Pub again because we don’t have class on Wednesdays!
Note: My name is extremely hard for native French-speakers to pronounce. Introducing myself if extremely difficult. I need a French name (thanks parents! JK!). Ninety-five percent of the time, it becomes Blad; not Brad. The French ‘r’ is really different and it’s placement in the middle of my name causes the difficulty. I have to say: “My name is Brad, like Brad Pitt!”
(Google proper nouns that you do not know.)
Day 10
Day 10:
Monday, March 30, 2009: Today was the first day of classes! Well really just one class – grammar with Christophe. The day began at noon with all the students and their host families meeting at the university for authentic Provencal cuisine and wine! An aperitif, en Francais.
After meeting, socializing, and mingling (and getting a buzz to help my language confidence) we began class at a later time. He gave the syllabus and book list and called it a day. There is also the Résistance class about World War II but I was not taking it because it requires a higher level of French. I’m taking everything else – 20 hours this quarter!
So Katy (Christophe’s squeeze), Jenny (the grad student assistant), Shawna, Kelby, Lance, Melissa, and I went into town to buy the books. We are reading three plays by Marcel Pagnol, set in Marseille. They cost 16E. I skipped lunch.
The group gradually broke apart and we were left with Lance, Melissa, and me. We walked to see Lance’s house because he and Kelby live in a guest house in their host family’s courtyard. It is really cool, but no internet here either. France might be behind with the wifi service. I walked Melissa home and went home for dinner.
We had a casserole with cheese and the leftover sausage from last night. We also had leftover cauliflower. I watched the news again then had to do grammar homework. Grammar is two hours on Mondays and Tuesdays, not what I am used to.
(Google proper nouns that you do not know.)
Monday, March 30, 2009: Today was the first day of classes! Well really just one class – grammar with Christophe. The day began at noon with all the students and their host families meeting at the university for authentic Provencal cuisine and wine! An aperitif, en Francais.
After meeting, socializing, and mingling (and getting a buzz to help my language confidence) we began class at a later time. He gave the syllabus and book list and called it a day. There is also the Résistance class about World War II but I was not taking it because it requires a higher level of French. I’m taking everything else – 20 hours this quarter!
So Katy (Christophe’s squeeze), Jenny (the grad student assistant), Shawna, Kelby, Lance, Melissa, and I went into town to buy the books. We are reading three plays by Marcel Pagnol, set in Marseille. They cost 16E. I skipped lunch.
The group gradually broke apart and we were left with Lance, Melissa, and me. We walked to see Lance’s house because he and Kelby live in a guest house in their host family’s courtyard. It is really cool, but no internet here either. France might be behind with the wifi service. I walked Melissa home and went home for dinner.
We had a casserole with cheese and the leftover sausage from last night. We also had leftover cauliflower. I watched the news again then had to do grammar homework. Grammar is two hours on Mondays and Tuesdays, not what I am used to.
(Google proper nouns that you do not know.)
Day 9
Day 9:
Sunday, March 29, 2009: Today was very chill and relaxing. After breakfast with John, he and I walked to Melissa’s house. She lives the closest to us. Breakfast consisted of fresh bread with butter and raspberry jam and a cup of coffee.
We decided to walk around the city some more to see what was up. We walked to the Place d’Horloge at the end of Rue de la Republique again and around the Palais des Papes. There is a park nearby so we went there too. It overlooks the Rhone. The day was overcast but the Mistral was really strong. These are really strong, cold arctic winds that whip down the river valley.
We walked down to the river and crossed it to the island. This is the largest island in a river in Europe. There is a free ferry that makes the ten-minute journey at least 20 times a day. There is also a little restaurant on the island that looks toward Avignon that would be a good place for lunch one day. It was closed today. Almost everything is closed on Sundays (except for bars!).
We walked around the island and crossed back to the city via the traffic bridge (Pont d’Europe, I think it is called). There are also the ruins of Pont d’Avignon which was built by the Romans in like 40 A.D. (more on that and the Palais des Papes on Wednesday).
We walked home and had a dinner of sausage and cauliflower with a cheese cream sauce and vegetable soup. We again had wine, cheese, and bread. One thing you hear about the French and dinner is that meals generally are drawn out for hours savoring delicious course after course. Well at least not true with the Zemmits. They devour dinner! The food is delicious but I find myself struggling to keep pace.
After dinner we watched the news again. I received a text that a group was going to the Pub in preparation of our first day of classes, so naturally, I partook too. John followed along. The Pub is really cool because you can sit on the patio/sidewalk and socialize when the weather is good. It was also Zoe’s birthday and her mom was buying the drinks; what more could I ask for (at almost 6E a beer!)
(Google proper nouns that you do not know.)
Sunday, March 29, 2009: Today was very chill and relaxing. After breakfast with John, he and I walked to Melissa’s house. She lives the closest to us. Breakfast consisted of fresh bread with butter and raspberry jam and a cup of coffee.
We decided to walk around the city some more to see what was up. We walked to the Place d’Horloge at the end of Rue de la Republique again and around the Palais des Papes. There is a park nearby so we went there too. It overlooks the Rhone. The day was overcast but the Mistral was really strong. These are really strong, cold arctic winds that whip down the river valley.
We walked down to the river and crossed it to the island. This is the largest island in a river in Europe. There is a free ferry that makes the ten-minute journey at least 20 times a day. There is also a little restaurant on the island that looks toward Avignon that would be a good place for lunch one day. It was closed today. Almost everything is closed on Sundays (except for bars!).
We walked around the island and crossed back to the city via the traffic bridge (Pont d’Europe, I think it is called). There are also the ruins of Pont d’Avignon which was built by the Romans in like 40 A.D. (more on that and the Palais des Papes on Wednesday).
We walked home and had a dinner of sausage and cauliflower with a cheese cream sauce and vegetable soup. We again had wine, cheese, and bread. One thing you hear about the French and dinner is that meals generally are drawn out for hours savoring delicious course after course. Well at least not true with the Zemmits. They devour dinner! The food is delicious but I find myself struggling to keep pace.
After dinner we watched the news again. I received a text that a group was going to the Pub in preparation of our first day of classes, so naturally, I partook too. John followed along. The Pub is really cool because you can sit on the patio/sidewalk and socialize when the weather is good. It was also Zoe’s birthday and her mom was buying the drinks; what more could I ask for (at almost 6E a beer!)
(Google proper nouns that you do not know.)
Day 8
Day 8:
Saturday, March 28, 2009: Today we started with breakfast at the hotel. It was basic but good. We had time to shower and pack up before moving our bags to the lobby. We would be meeting our host families there at 5pm.
Christophe, Katy, and Jenny took us on another tour of the city to orientate ourselves at noon. It was insignificant. We were on our own for lunch so a few of us had Italian. I had lasagna. It was excellent. The French really know how to eat. Afterwards, we had time to shop on Rue de la Republique but I wasn’t really interested. Shocking, I know.
So we found our way back to the hotel by 4:45ish and waited for the selection. Some were terrified, I was anxious. Basically, it is like an orphanage full of Americans. French families would come in and demand a name and you would go. I was selected first! (and my housemate, John; more on him later).
My new dad, Bernard Zemmit, walked in and we went with him. He put our luggage in his car and off we went. He did not live far, but of course: it was raining. We turned a few times and we were at our new house, pool included.
He helped us with our bags and we walked through their yard to the front door. Jacqueline, his wife (the French have no word directly translating to wife. The closest they get is calling her “his woman”. Sorry feminists) opened the door with a smile. We gave her bisous (kisses on the cheeks the French way; three in Avignon) and she sat us down for first impressions.
They both are very nice and willing to work with us on our French. Jacqueline wants to use us to improve her English too. They have two sons and a granddaughter. One son works for L’Oreal in Paris and the other is an English professor nearby in Aix-en-Provence. He is moving to New York City in July to teach French. They have been hosting foreign students for ten years.
We took the tour of their house which is very un-French. Normally, it is an extreme privilege to be invited to a Frenchman’s house for dinner and guests are never given a ‘tour’ like in American; that is seen as bragging. They explained at dinner that we were now a family so there were mutual expectations and boundaries. Next, we were shown to our new rooms.
John went first and got the upstairs room; smaller and more loft-like. I got the spacious downstairs bedroom with a huge window looking into the garden and my own door to the pool! We were given about an hour to settle in and relax by ourselves before dinner. Normally, I am a picky eater, but I knew that would not be possible here. It is seen as very rude to not eat what is put in front of you.
Dinner began with a fresh salad. Salads in France usually consist of only lettuce and tomatoes and in the south they generally use a balsamic dressing. The main course was a vegetable soup with carrots, potatoes, and chicken. We had bread, cheese, and wine for dessert.
After dinner, we watched the news and afterwards, Jacqueline and John went to bed, but I stayed up with Bernard for a while to watch the French soccer team play Lithuania. The Blues won 1-0 but I only watched about half the game and went to bed.
(Google proper nouns that you do not know.)
Saturday, March 28, 2009: Today we started with breakfast at the hotel. It was basic but good. We had time to shower and pack up before moving our bags to the lobby. We would be meeting our host families there at 5pm.
Christophe, Katy, and Jenny took us on another tour of the city to orientate ourselves at noon. It was insignificant. We were on our own for lunch so a few of us had Italian. I had lasagna. It was excellent. The French really know how to eat. Afterwards, we had time to shop on Rue de la Republique but I wasn’t really interested. Shocking, I know.
So we found our way back to the hotel by 4:45ish and waited for the selection. Some were terrified, I was anxious. Basically, it is like an orphanage full of Americans. French families would come in and demand a name and you would go. I was selected first! (and my housemate, John; more on him later).
My new dad, Bernard Zemmit, walked in and we went with him. He put our luggage in his car and off we went. He did not live far, but of course: it was raining. We turned a few times and we were at our new house, pool included.
He helped us with our bags and we walked through their yard to the front door. Jacqueline, his wife (the French have no word directly translating to wife. The closest they get is calling her “his woman”. Sorry feminists) opened the door with a smile. We gave her bisous (kisses on the cheeks the French way; three in Avignon) and she sat us down for first impressions.
They both are very nice and willing to work with us on our French. Jacqueline wants to use us to improve her English too. They have two sons and a granddaughter. One son works for L’Oreal in Paris and the other is an English professor nearby in Aix-en-Provence. He is moving to New York City in July to teach French. They have been hosting foreign students for ten years.
We took the tour of their house which is very un-French. Normally, it is an extreme privilege to be invited to a Frenchman’s house for dinner and guests are never given a ‘tour’ like in American; that is seen as bragging. They explained at dinner that we were now a family so there were mutual expectations and boundaries. Next, we were shown to our new rooms.
John went first and got the upstairs room; smaller and more loft-like. I got the spacious downstairs bedroom with a huge window looking into the garden and my own door to the pool! We were given about an hour to settle in and relax by ourselves before dinner. Normally, I am a picky eater, but I knew that would not be possible here. It is seen as very rude to not eat what is put in front of you.
Dinner began with a fresh salad. Salads in France usually consist of only lettuce and tomatoes and in the south they generally use a balsamic dressing. The main course was a vegetable soup with carrots, potatoes, and chicken. We had bread, cheese, and wine for dessert.
After dinner, we watched the news and afterwards, Jacqueline and John went to bed, but I stayed up with Bernard for a while to watch the French soccer team play Lithuania. The Blues won 1-0 but I only watched about half the game and went to bed.
(Google proper nouns that you do not know.)
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Day 7
Day 7:
Friday, March 27, 2009: Today we began by waking up and packing up. We needed to check out and head to Le Gare de Lyon to catch our train to Avignon. We arranged for a taxi to pick us up at the hostel so that we would not have to drag our bags on the metro again, although I believe we could have done it. The cost was 12E between the four of us.
At the train station, Melissa and Shawna left Zoe and I with the bags and found the ticket counter. Once they bought theirs, Zoe and I did the same. We bought a ticket to Avignon and a Carte 12-25 for discounted fares on our next trips. The total cost was 120E which I put on my Mastercard.
We waited until the train was at the station then headed to the platform (unfortunately not platform 9 ¾ for all of you Harry Potter fans). We boarded the train and stowed our bags for the nearly three-hour journey. Along the way, I listened to my Ipod and relaxed while looking at the French countryside. We arrived at the TGV station in Avignon and dragged our bags to the taxi terminal. The station is a short ride outside of town. We could have taken the public bus and walked to our hotel but decided we did not know the exact distance we would have to walk so we got a taxi instead.
We had to get two taxis because we could not all fit, with baggage, into one. Zoe and I had to share one. This fare was 14E. We checked into the hotel, which was selected and paid for by the program, and were assigned a room. The girls got a triple room in the courtyard and I shared one on the balcony with Kelby, another student in our group that had arrived the day before.
We settled in for awhile and waited for more group members to arrive before heading out to walk around the city. Only Shawna and I went, Melissa and Zoe decided to stay in the room. Jenny, a grad student on our trip who participated two years ago, acted as our guide. This was our first look at our new A-town (Avignon; not Athens).
We had to be back at the hotel for a group meeting with Christophe and Katy (the professors in charge; who are a couple by the way!) by 5pm. Basically, they welcomed us and told us that we had two hours to get ready and relax and they would be back at 7pm to take us to dinner. During this time, I got my internet fill and watched the new series on MTV, Taking the Stage. It is set at SCPA, a high school in Cincinnati and produced by Nick Lachey.
At 7pm, we all headed out and walked to the restaurant. Because the program paid for this as well, we had a set menu with about six or seven different choices. I had poulet (chicken) and it was excellent! We also had an aperitif, which is a French custom of having an alcoholic drink before the main course. I had Les Planters with rum and other delicious things. Dinner also included wine, paid for by the program as well.
The waiter kept the wine coming and we enjoyed our first night in Avignon. Conversations interchanged between French and English. Afterwards, some of us decided to visit a pub on the way back to the hotel. I again had 1664.
We sat on the terrace at the pub and enjoyed ourselves before returning back to the hotel. Most of us wanted to continue drinking because it was only like 1am. We bought four beers from the hotel, the only place to get drinks at this hour, for 3E each. We had a mini party in Shawna, Melissa, and Zoe’s room before calling it a night.
(Google any proper noun that you are unfamiliar with.)
Friday, March 27, 2009: Today we began by waking up and packing up. We needed to check out and head to Le Gare de Lyon to catch our train to Avignon. We arranged for a taxi to pick us up at the hostel so that we would not have to drag our bags on the metro again, although I believe we could have done it. The cost was 12E between the four of us.
At the train station, Melissa and Shawna left Zoe and I with the bags and found the ticket counter. Once they bought theirs, Zoe and I did the same. We bought a ticket to Avignon and a Carte 12-25 for discounted fares on our next trips. The total cost was 120E which I put on my Mastercard.
We waited until the train was at the station then headed to the platform (unfortunately not platform 9 ¾ for all of you Harry Potter fans). We boarded the train and stowed our bags for the nearly three-hour journey. Along the way, I listened to my Ipod and relaxed while looking at the French countryside. We arrived at the TGV station in Avignon and dragged our bags to the taxi terminal. The station is a short ride outside of town. We could have taken the public bus and walked to our hotel but decided we did not know the exact distance we would have to walk so we got a taxi instead.
We had to get two taxis because we could not all fit, with baggage, into one. Zoe and I had to share one. This fare was 14E. We checked into the hotel, which was selected and paid for by the program, and were assigned a room. The girls got a triple room in the courtyard and I shared one on the balcony with Kelby, another student in our group that had arrived the day before.
We settled in for awhile and waited for more group members to arrive before heading out to walk around the city. Only Shawna and I went, Melissa and Zoe decided to stay in the room. Jenny, a grad student on our trip who participated two years ago, acted as our guide. This was our first look at our new A-town (Avignon; not Athens).
We had to be back at the hotel for a group meeting with Christophe and Katy (the professors in charge; who are a couple by the way!) by 5pm. Basically, they welcomed us and told us that we had two hours to get ready and relax and they would be back at 7pm to take us to dinner. During this time, I got my internet fill and watched the new series on MTV, Taking the Stage. It is set at SCPA, a high school in Cincinnati and produced by Nick Lachey.
At 7pm, we all headed out and walked to the restaurant. Because the program paid for this as well, we had a set menu with about six or seven different choices. I had poulet (chicken) and it was excellent! We also had an aperitif, which is a French custom of having an alcoholic drink before the main course. I had Les Planters with rum and other delicious things. Dinner also included wine, paid for by the program as well.
The waiter kept the wine coming and we enjoyed our first night in Avignon. Conversations interchanged between French and English. Afterwards, some of us decided to visit a pub on the way back to the hotel. I again had 1664.
We sat on the terrace at the pub and enjoyed ourselves before returning back to the hotel. Most of us wanted to continue drinking because it was only like 1am. We bought four beers from the hotel, the only place to get drinks at this hour, for 3E each. We had a mini party in Shawna, Melissa, and Zoe’s room before calling it a night.
(Google any proper noun that you are unfamiliar with.)
Day 6
Day 6:
Thursday, March 26, 2009: We decided early that today was going to be our busy day. We had a list of the most popular tourist attractions in Paris that we needed to visit. We began with breakfast and left for the Eiffel Tower at 9am.
We took the metro from Place d’Italie. Everyone can always expect a long line for the elevators. We well decided that to save time, and money, we would climb the steps to the top. We paid 4E and began to scale the landmark. We stopped at the first and second platforms and were a little disappointed to find out that after climbing 640 steps, there were no more and we needed to buy another ticket for the elevator to the top. Another 4E.
So finally we were at the top. It was really cool and really breezy. We took lots of pictures and then were ready to continue our schedule of activities. This was an awesome view of Paris but in my opinion, still not the best.
After waiting in line for the elevator to the bottom, we decided to walk along the Seine to Notre-Dame. We took lots of pictures of the Eiffel Tower on the way. Zoe was meeting her mom there at noon but it was a hike getting there. We didn’t realize how far it was. Thanks Frommer’s. We contemplated taking the metro but ruled it out because it was almost 2E to o one stop. Along the way it began to rain – of course. And we stopped to buy postcards.
Finally at Notre-Dame, Zoe left to find her mom and we started looking around. I stood on Kilometre Zero where distances in France are measured from. For example, it might be 300km to Avignon and that point of reference begins in front of Norte-Dame.
The three of us entered and walked around and took pictures of the Rose Windows. Melissa and I signed the guest book. Then we decided to climb to the bell towers which I really wanted to do. I’m not sure Shawna and Melissa were that interested in doing it but I talked them into it. We waited in line for 15 or 20 minutes before paying 5E for the climb.
While in line, we were punked by a Frenchman dressed in a Quazzie Moto (no idea how to spell his name) mask. He just sneaks up on people as they wait in line or walk down the street. It is hilarious to watch it happen but freaks you out when it happens to you. He grabs peoples’ arms or scarves or taps them on the shoulder… then he asks for money. One thing I have noticed in Paris: there are lots of beggars.
An aside about Paris: the city is very clean except for one thing, dog poop on the sidewalks. But apparently it is good luck to step in dog shit. I’m not sure who came up with that idea but I liked my luck the way it was and decided I wanted to pass on that. Each morning, a system of water spouts built into the curb pumps water into the street gutters. They have many public workers whose job it is to sweep up the cigarette butts and litter that is washed up by the water. Many people have jobs because of this even though they are not very glamorous.
One other thing: I really liked that there was no law about drinking publicly on the streets. The one downside that I noticed about this was that there was lots of broken glass on the sidewalks and in public spaces.
So we climbed the steps to the top of Notre-Dame. We saw the grand bell then climbed higher to the top of the bell towers. This is by far the best view of Paris! The pictures I took from here are excellent! The cathedral looks awesome and you can see the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Trimophe, Sacre-Coeure, everything!
We climbed back down and headed across the street for a light lunch. Everywhere in Paris, the street vendors have hot dogs but they are footlongs covered in cheese. I decided that I had to try one, costing 7E with an Evian. Shawna had a type of chicken salad sandwich and Melissa had un crocque monsieur that looked delicious. Zoe had decided to walk, with her mom, to the Louvre which was our next attraction. The only problem was that I had her ticket.
She called and asked how long we would be but it was still a fair walk there too. We didn’t want to feel rushed and took our time eating and walking there. On the way, we stopped to buy souvenirs. Melissa bought a bunch of prints of Paris for her house in Athens next year. I bought two t-shirts, one of a subway map and the other of the sites of Paris, an Eiffel Tower shot glass, and sexy playing cards for my roommates.
Along our walk of Ile de la Cite (where Notre-Dame is), I also bought a cup of hot wine from a street vendor. It was like hot cider and very good. It cost 3E. So we crossed another pont (bridge) and headed to the Louvre.
The Louvre is huge. I read that it would take two weeks to see every work of art there if you were there all day every day. We had about two hours to play there, seeing the essentials before moving on to the next attraction. Near the glass pyramid, we ran into three other members of the group that we had not seen yet – Rachel, Catherine, and Adam. We exchanged cell phone numbers and parted ways.
Once inside, we met Zoe and gave her the ticket and she went off with her mom. We got maps and went off to see what we wanted. We started with the Winged Victory and then saw the Mona Lisa. There were tons of people there; once again more slow Asian tourists that had to be avoided. The Mona Lisa was cool but smaller than expected and behind bullet-proof glass and museum security. It was stolen in 1911 by a former employee who walked out with it under his overcoat and later found in Italy.
The painting opposite the Mona Lisa is even more impressive. It is by the French painter Louis David who is now one of my favorite painters. After that, we decided to walk the corridors and see some more art before finding the Venus de Milo. It was very cool as well. The Louvre was awesome but we felt a little burned out and decided that we were finished.
We then chose to walk the Les Jardins Des Tuileries to Place de la Concorde and take the metro to the Gallerie Lafayette, one of the most famous French department stores flagship Paris locations.
Once there, it began raining again. We entered the store and were overwhelmed by how huge and crowded it was. We walked around a little bit and decided that we were finished here as well. We agreed to head back to the hostel to wind down and prepare for dinner.
Back at the Oops, we met Lance – another member of our group that flew in that day. Melissa, Lance, and I decided to go to the restaurant next door for dinner. Before leaving, we polished off a bottle of wine we had bought earlier. Shawna chose to pack and not eat because she did not feel well. This was an Italian restaurant next to the hostel. The French must love Italian food! I had another pizza avec fromage et jambon. Melissa had the same and Lance had a calzone.
After dinner, we returned to the room to drink another bottle of wine before the three of us went to the bar. Zoe had returned when we got back and decided not to go out. I also Skyped with my mom for the first time since I had been it in France and that was really nice. I had Skyped with my Dad once before but she was working. I also left my Grandma in Florida a message from Skype earlier as well but she was not home.
The three of us returned to the same bar as the night before. We had 1664 again. After two or three beers, I was so tired, I was falling asleep at the bar and so Melissa and I decided to go back to the hostel. We left Lance with some students playing shuffle board and he made friends quickly. I also wanted to get back because the hostel says that there is a 2am curfew. We were home by 1:30am but Lance told us later that he did not get back until almost 3:30am and had no problem getting in, although there was no one at the desk – not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing.
(As always, Google any proper noun that you are unfamiliar with.)
Thursday, March 26, 2009: We decided early that today was going to be our busy day. We had a list of the most popular tourist attractions in Paris that we needed to visit. We began with breakfast and left for the Eiffel Tower at 9am.
We took the metro from Place d’Italie. Everyone can always expect a long line for the elevators. We well decided that to save time, and money, we would climb the steps to the top. We paid 4E and began to scale the landmark. We stopped at the first and second platforms and were a little disappointed to find out that after climbing 640 steps, there were no more and we needed to buy another ticket for the elevator to the top. Another 4E.
So finally we were at the top. It was really cool and really breezy. We took lots of pictures and then were ready to continue our schedule of activities. This was an awesome view of Paris but in my opinion, still not the best.
After waiting in line for the elevator to the bottom, we decided to walk along the Seine to Notre-Dame. We took lots of pictures of the Eiffel Tower on the way. Zoe was meeting her mom there at noon but it was a hike getting there. We didn’t realize how far it was. Thanks Frommer’s. We contemplated taking the metro but ruled it out because it was almost 2E to o one stop. Along the way it began to rain – of course. And we stopped to buy postcards.
Finally at Notre-Dame, Zoe left to find her mom and we started looking around. I stood on Kilometre Zero where distances in France are measured from. For example, it might be 300km to Avignon and that point of reference begins in front of Norte-Dame.
The three of us entered and walked around and took pictures of the Rose Windows. Melissa and I signed the guest book. Then we decided to climb to the bell towers which I really wanted to do. I’m not sure Shawna and Melissa were that interested in doing it but I talked them into it. We waited in line for 15 or 20 minutes before paying 5E for the climb.
While in line, we were punked by a Frenchman dressed in a Quazzie Moto (no idea how to spell his name) mask. He just sneaks up on people as they wait in line or walk down the street. It is hilarious to watch it happen but freaks you out when it happens to you. He grabs peoples’ arms or scarves or taps them on the shoulder… then he asks for money. One thing I have noticed in Paris: there are lots of beggars.
An aside about Paris: the city is very clean except for one thing, dog poop on the sidewalks. But apparently it is good luck to step in dog shit. I’m not sure who came up with that idea but I liked my luck the way it was and decided I wanted to pass on that. Each morning, a system of water spouts built into the curb pumps water into the street gutters. They have many public workers whose job it is to sweep up the cigarette butts and litter that is washed up by the water. Many people have jobs because of this even though they are not very glamorous.
One other thing: I really liked that there was no law about drinking publicly on the streets. The one downside that I noticed about this was that there was lots of broken glass on the sidewalks and in public spaces.
So we climbed the steps to the top of Notre-Dame. We saw the grand bell then climbed higher to the top of the bell towers. This is by far the best view of Paris! The pictures I took from here are excellent! The cathedral looks awesome and you can see the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Trimophe, Sacre-Coeure, everything!
We climbed back down and headed across the street for a light lunch. Everywhere in Paris, the street vendors have hot dogs but they are footlongs covered in cheese. I decided that I had to try one, costing 7E with an Evian. Shawna had a type of chicken salad sandwich and Melissa had un crocque monsieur that looked delicious. Zoe had decided to walk, with her mom, to the Louvre which was our next attraction. The only problem was that I had her ticket.
She called and asked how long we would be but it was still a fair walk there too. We didn’t want to feel rushed and took our time eating and walking there. On the way, we stopped to buy souvenirs. Melissa bought a bunch of prints of Paris for her house in Athens next year. I bought two t-shirts, one of a subway map and the other of the sites of Paris, an Eiffel Tower shot glass, and sexy playing cards for my roommates.
Along our walk of Ile de la Cite (where Notre-Dame is), I also bought a cup of hot wine from a street vendor. It was like hot cider and very good. It cost 3E. So we crossed another pont (bridge) and headed to the Louvre.
The Louvre is huge. I read that it would take two weeks to see every work of art there if you were there all day every day. We had about two hours to play there, seeing the essentials before moving on to the next attraction. Near the glass pyramid, we ran into three other members of the group that we had not seen yet – Rachel, Catherine, and Adam. We exchanged cell phone numbers and parted ways.
Once inside, we met Zoe and gave her the ticket and she went off with her mom. We got maps and went off to see what we wanted. We started with the Winged Victory and then saw the Mona Lisa. There were tons of people there; once again more slow Asian tourists that had to be avoided. The Mona Lisa was cool but smaller than expected and behind bullet-proof glass and museum security. It was stolen in 1911 by a former employee who walked out with it under his overcoat and later found in Italy.
The painting opposite the Mona Lisa is even more impressive. It is by the French painter Louis David who is now one of my favorite painters. After that, we decided to walk the corridors and see some more art before finding the Venus de Milo. It was very cool as well. The Louvre was awesome but we felt a little burned out and decided that we were finished.
We then chose to walk the Les Jardins Des Tuileries to Place de la Concorde and take the metro to the Gallerie Lafayette, one of the most famous French department stores flagship Paris locations.
Once there, it began raining again. We entered the store and were overwhelmed by how huge and crowded it was. We walked around a little bit and decided that we were finished here as well. We agreed to head back to the hostel to wind down and prepare for dinner.
Back at the Oops, we met Lance – another member of our group that flew in that day. Melissa, Lance, and I decided to go to the restaurant next door for dinner. Before leaving, we polished off a bottle of wine we had bought earlier. Shawna chose to pack and not eat because she did not feel well. This was an Italian restaurant next to the hostel. The French must love Italian food! I had another pizza avec fromage et jambon. Melissa had the same and Lance had a calzone.
After dinner, we returned to the room to drink another bottle of wine before the three of us went to the bar. Zoe had returned when we got back and decided not to go out. I also Skyped with my mom for the first time since I had been it in France and that was really nice. I had Skyped with my Dad once before but she was working. I also left my Grandma in Florida a message from Skype earlier as well but she was not home.
The three of us returned to the same bar as the night before. We had 1664 again. After two or three beers, I was so tired, I was falling asleep at the bar and so Melissa and I decided to go back to the hostel. We left Lance with some students playing shuffle board and he made friends quickly. I also wanted to get back because the hostel says that there is a 2am curfew. We were home by 1:30am but Lance told us later that he did not get back until almost 3:30am and had no problem getting in, although there was no one at the desk – not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing.
(As always, Google any proper noun that you are unfamiliar with.)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)