I've been to Boston and back and here's the new scoop:
We have an apartment in a great area and it's a fabulous apartment! Expect photos when we move in on Friday.
I have a job. It's a temp to perm position while I wait for someone from one of the myriad jobs I've applied to to get back to me. Not that I'm not thrilled about this job, but one that would allow me to use my international and past work experience would be really nice.
We bought lots of really great stuff to fill our apartment and now we just have to drive a moving van 10 hours. If we don't kill each other on this trip I think we're set!
Wish us luck and wait for photos next week! :)
28.7.08
5.7.08
Back Home
Well it's officially over! I am back in the United States and at home in Ohio. We had a great 4th of July with a BBQ and everything. Got to see some old friends tonight too, so that was good.
My entire trip home on Thursday went very smoothly. It was about 19 hours long but it was all really good and it's fantastic to be home!
Next adventure is Boston. I don't move until the end of the month but I'm still frantically searching for a job so send good vibes and if you know anyone let me know!
Hope everyone else had a good holiday if you were in the US and a good upcoming holiday if you're back in France.
My entire trip home on Thursday went very smoothly. It was about 19 hours long but it was all really good and it's fantastic to be home!
Next adventure is Boston. I don't move until the end of the month but I'm still frantically searching for a job so send good vibes and if you know anyone let me know!
Hope everyone else had a good holiday if you were in the US and a good upcoming holiday if you're back in France.
25.6.08
Quick Update
So lots has been happening, but most of my limited internet time is devoted to job applications and emails so the blog has suffered. Here's the biggest thing that has happened in the past weeks. Lisa and I went to Avignon. I have wanted to see the lavender in bloom in Provence for a long time so I pushed it and we went. There's another assistant there that I've been trying to meet up with for 9 months, but the distance and our busy schedules didn't allow it so it was nice to meet her too. She's old enough to rent a car, God bless her, so we even had a better trip than I had hoped. The lavander wasn't in full bloom everywhere like it usually is this time of year due to bad weatehr, but it was still pretty great.
First we stopped at the Lavender Museum. We didn't take the hour long tour but we did stop in the gift shop where we learned that there are actually two kinds of lavender. So it was still an educational first stop.
But it's all lavender behind that so if you're a little farther away it looks like it's all lavender. Unfortunately that bad weather meant I didn't get my postcard perfect picture. It meant I got a postcard. But it was still pretty and I could imagine what it will look like in 2 or 3 weeks.
Then we went on to the city of Gordes. Tiny little village where we got amazing ice cream. I love the combination of chocolate and cinnamon and they had it! I really enjoy Emily's face in this shot. Is sums up just how good ice cream tastes at 4pm on a 95 degree day.
That's Gordes from the road outside the village. Very cute.
And the group with the valley in the background. Notice we found the one spot of shade in the area.
On the way back to Avignon Lisa spotted this fabulous lavandine patch...
...literally on the side of the road. We decided it would make a great souvenir and Emily was brave enough to battle the ditch and the bees to cut each of us a nice bouquet. It's hanging in my apartment now. I had hoped it would help make my apartment smell better. Unfortunately my apartment is a force to be reckoned with because even though the lavandine smell is almost overwhelming elsewhere in my apartment you have to literally bury your nose in it.
Avignon was also having a big music festival that night so Lisa and I got to see the city at night and listen to some fun music. All in all it was a really great, and very tiring, trip. It was also my last big trip before I return to the USofA in 8 (that's right EIGHT!!) days.
But there's something much more dangerous than trips in France right now. As of 8am this morning the Summer Soldes have started. That's right folks... every store from Calais to Strasbourg to Bordeaux to Marseilles is having HUGe sales. Pretty much 50 to 70 percent off everything. Very dangerous. So I'm off to brave les rues...
First we stopped at the Lavender Museum. We didn't take the hour long tour but we did stop in the gift shop where we learned that there are actually two kinds of lavender. So it was still an educational first stop.
Then it was back into the car to go find us some lavender! The driver is Nicole, passenger's seat is another Avignon assistant, Emily, and that's Lisa in the back.
Randomly driving along we saw this at the side of the road. So we pulled off and took some photos. 
The weather was a LOT different than Lisa and I are used to. Look at that sun! Luckily neither of us got sunburnt. We did however sweat more than we ever have before I think. It was over 90 degrees!!! Not that we were totally complaining, it was a very welcome change. But going from a city where pants, a t-shirt and two blankets are needed to sleep to a place where you're so sweaty and sticky it's hard to sleep is a big change.
And that's the craziest part about France! We took the TGV (high speed train) from Paris and we went from wearing jackets to sweating and squinting in about 3.5 hours. The return train was a direct TGV and only took 2 hours.
There were snails all over the lavender too. Ooops, sorry, this is acutally lavandine. Lavander is less common and has a much stronger scent. It grows all over the world.
But it's all lavender behind that so if you're a little farther away it looks like it's all lavender. Unfortunately that bad weather meant I didn't get my postcard perfect picture. It meant I got a postcard. But it was still pretty and I could imagine what it will look like in 2 or 3 weeks.
Then we went on to the city of Gordes. Tiny little village where we got amazing ice cream. I love the combination of chocolate and cinnamon and they had it! I really enjoy Emily's face in this shot. Is sums up just how good ice cream tastes at 4pm on a 95 degree day.
That's Gordes from the road outside the village. Very cute.
And the group with the valley in the background. Notice we found the one spot of shade in the area.
On the way back to Avignon Lisa spotted this fabulous lavandine patch...
...literally on the side of the road. We decided it would make a great souvenir and Emily was brave enough to battle the ditch and the bees to cut each of us a nice bouquet. It's hanging in my apartment now. I had hoped it would help make my apartment smell better. Unfortunately my apartment is a force to be reckoned with because even though the lavandine smell is almost overwhelming elsewhere in my apartment you have to literally bury your nose in it.
Avignon was also having a big music festival that night so Lisa and I got to see the city at night and listen to some fun music. All in all it was a really great, and very tiring, trip. It was also my last big trip before I return to the USofA in 8 (that's right EIGHT!!) days. But there's something much more dangerous than trips in France right now. As of 8am this morning the Summer Soldes have started. That's right folks... every store from Calais to Strasbourg to Bordeaux to Marseilles is having HUGe sales. Pretty much 50 to 70 percent off everything. Very dangerous. So I'm off to brave les rues...
15.6.08
What I've Been Up To
So I'm sitting in McDonald's because they have free wireless internet. Thought I'd give a quick update as to what I've been doing recently.
A few weeks ago (right before I went to the hospital) it was the national Fete des Voisins in France. Pretty much Neighbor's Day. So I had Lisa over for an apperitif and as we were talking our other neighbor walked out the back door to pace and smoke. So here is a photo of Philipe, whom I hate so much. He still coughs and moves around and makes ridiculous amounts of noise at 3am, but he hasn't knocked on my door in months, so I guess I should take what I can get.
Two weeks after I got back from the hospital I had Lisa and Christine over for dinner to thank them for helping me out so much. I used it as an excuse to clean my apartment too. It looks so much bigger when the bed is folded up!
Here are the two lovely ladies after my chili dinner.
This past Wednesday I took a trip south into the real Loire Valley to see some chateaux. It seemed silly to live so close for so long and not see what the area is most famous for. So I took the train to Tours and got a minivan tour from there to two chateaux. The first was Azay-le-Rideau. Here's the fireplace. The lizard on the top is the seal of King Francois I.
The chateau is really beautiful and the lighting was perfect so I took plenty of photos. It sits on a little man-made diversion of a river. Very pretty.
After that we went to Villandry. My books had advised me that the chateau itself wasn't that great, but that the gardens were well-worth the entry price, so I decided to just see those. There's a kitchen garden, a water garden, and a love garden. All are really designed and managed, but still very pretty. In the kitchen garden, below, they still only grow plants that would have been there when the chateau was built in the 17th century.
And an example of the love garden, with the chateau in the background.
I had an hour to look around Tours then. It's a fairly large town with a big student population, but it was small enough to easily see the big sights on foot in the hour.
There's also lots of really fabulously old houses too. Houses like these went around the entire square and the bottom floor of the houses were either cafes or little boutique shops. It was really cool.
And an really old bell tower that used to be part of the city's protective wall.
After my hour I took a train to Le Mans, the city famous for the 24 hour car race, which was this weekend. If you don't know my, I'm not really the race car type, so I didn't go see the track or anything, but I did go see the old part of town. It's one of the best preserved old towns in the area. Really fantastic. Some examples of the architecture below.
And the city wall again. This one may not look well preserved, but when you consider just how old it is it's pretty impressive.
Yesterday (Saturday) I talked Lisa and Christine into going to the Kermesse Americaine with me. It was put on by a group called Chartres Country. I hate country music, country dancing, country anything but I felt it was my duty as an American to go. As you can see, I even did the Electric Slide... though they frenchified it...
The Country Dancing World Champion, who is ironically French, was there too. Loved his outfits. And hers too, those pants are amazing!
And here he is dancing. Maybe it's just me, but I think his style was a little more... "flamboyant"... than I'm used to seeing at a country dancing event.
The group even had their own little outfits. It was great. Lisa wondered at what point a love of country music necessitates the outfits as well. Apparently at this point.
So that's been my life lately. Second to last week of teaching this week and quite a few of the classes have been canceled. Then on Friday a group from my high school back home will be in Chartres so I'm meeting up with them to say hi. And then next weekend Lisa and I are headed south to Avignon to see the lavender. Have a fabulous week!
A few weeks ago (right before I went to the hospital) it was the national Fete des Voisins in France. Pretty much Neighbor's Day. So I had Lisa over for an apperitif and as we were talking our other neighbor walked out the back door to pace and smoke. So here is a photo of Philipe, whom I hate so much. He still coughs and moves around and makes ridiculous amounts of noise at 3am, but he hasn't knocked on my door in months, so I guess I should take what I can get.
Two weeks after I got back from the hospital I had Lisa and Christine over for dinner to thank them for helping me out so much. I used it as an excuse to clean my apartment too. It looks so much bigger when the bed is folded up!
Here are the two lovely ladies after my chili dinner.
This past Wednesday I took a trip south into the real Loire Valley to see some chateaux. It seemed silly to live so close for so long and not see what the area is most famous for. So I took the train to Tours and got a minivan tour from there to two chateaux. The first was Azay-le-Rideau. Here's the fireplace. The lizard on the top is the seal of King Francois I.
The chateau is really beautiful and the lighting was perfect so I took plenty of photos. It sits on a little man-made diversion of a river. Very pretty.
After that we went to Villandry. My books had advised me that the chateau itself wasn't that great, but that the gardens were well-worth the entry price, so I decided to just see those. There's a kitchen garden, a water garden, and a love garden. All are really designed and managed, but still very pretty. In the kitchen garden, below, they still only grow plants that would have been there when the chateau was built in the 17th century.
And an example of the love garden, with the chateau in the background.
I had an hour to look around Tours then. It's a fairly large town with a big student population, but it was small enough to easily see the big sights on foot in the hour.
There's also lots of really fabulously old houses too. Houses like these went around the entire square and the bottom floor of the houses were either cafes or little boutique shops. It was really cool.
And an really old bell tower that used to be part of the city's protective wall.
After my hour I took a train to Le Mans, the city famous for the 24 hour car race, which was this weekend. If you don't know my, I'm not really the race car type, so I didn't go see the track or anything, but I did go see the old part of town. It's one of the best preserved old towns in the area. Really fantastic. Some examples of the architecture below.
And the city wall again. This one may not look well preserved, but when you consider just how old it is it's pretty impressive.
Yesterday (Saturday) I talked Lisa and Christine into going to the Kermesse Americaine with me. It was put on by a group called Chartres Country. I hate country music, country dancing, country anything but I felt it was my duty as an American to go. As you can see, I even did the Electric Slide... though they frenchified it...
The Country Dancing World Champion, who is ironically French, was there too. Loved his outfits. And hers too, those pants are amazing!
And here he is dancing. Maybe it's just me, but I think his style was a little more... "flamboyant"... than I'm used to seeing at a country dancing event.
The group even had their own little outfits. It was great. Lisa wondered at what point a love of country music necessitates the outfits as well. Apparently at this point.
So that's been my life lately. Second to last week of teaching this week and quite a few of the classes have been canceled. Then on Friday a group from my high school back home will be in Chartres so I'm meeting up with them to say hi. And then next weekend Lisa and I are headed south to Avignon to see the lavender. Have a fabulous week!
9.6.08
Update
Just a quick note to let you all know that blog updates are going to become much more rare. Apparently the employees of Neuf are reading-challenged. Lisa and I both sent letters that we wanted to cancel our subscriptions starting June 30th. And we sent the letters a month in advance, just like the lady from Neuf told Lisa to on the phone. But apparently their policy is actually to cut service the moment they receive the letter, so now neither Lisa nor I have internet, phone or television anymore. I feel like I live in 1990; I have a computer and nothing to do with it. So my internet access is limited to school, the library or dragging my laptop to McDonald's. Just FYI.
Have a great week everyone!!
Have a great week everyone!!
3.6.08
Bored List
So I'm still bored and I've decided to make a list of the stupidest/worst movies I've ever seen. Please add to the list as you see fit.
- Transformers - first 45 minutes weren't too terrible, then the movie really started
- Semi Pro - waste of film
- Space Cowboys - there aren't words
- Blair Witch Project - not. scary.
- Chronicles of Narnia - i'm pretty sure God could sue for plagarism there C.S.
- The Golden Compass - bad bad bad, and such a good book
- Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End - tried to finish the movie 4 times. fell asleep
- Star Wars Episode II - actually walked out of the theater
- Shrek - if i wanted to hear a fart joke i'd go talk to a male between the ages of 5 and 100
- Bring It On (the second one) - please just stop
- Step Up - the french call this "sexy dance" it's just so bad
- Honey - wow. if only jessica alba could act
- From Justin to Kelly - i'm pretty sure this doesn't need explanation
- Dirty Love - don't ever watch this
- Anger Management - i wanted to hurt someone after this movie
- Vanity Fair - i wanted to hurt myself after this movie
- The Fast and the Furious - i like vin deisel but this was just BAD!
- Speed 2 - this falls under that why-did-you-make-a-sequel label
Wow, I just realized how embarrassing it is that I've seen some (ok, most) of those movies. Now you all have to leave comments below on horrendous movies you've seen so I don't feel so alone.
- Transformers - first 45 minutes weren't too terrible, then the movie really started
- Semi Pro - waste of film
- Space Cowboys - there aren't words
- Blair Witch Project - not. scary.
- Chronicles of Narnia - i'm pretty sure God could sue for plagarism there C.S.
- The Golden Compass - bad bad bad, and such a good book
- Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End - tried to finish the movie 4 times. fell asleep
- Star Wars Episode II - actually walked out of the theater
- Shrek - if i wanted to hear a fart joke i'd go talk to a male between the ages of 5 and 100
- Bring It On (the second one) - please just stop
- Step Up - the french call this "sexy dance" it's just so bad
- Honey - wow. if only jessica alba could act
- From Justin to Kelly - i'm pretty sure this doesn't need explanation
- Dirty Love - don't ever watch this
- Anger Management - i wanted to hurt someone after this movie
- Vanity Fair - i wanted to hurt myself after this movie
- The Fast and the Furious - i like vin deisel but this was just BAD!
- Speed 2 - this falls under that why-did-you-make-a-sequel label
Wow, I just realized how embarrassing it is that I've seen some (ok, most) of those movies. Now you all have to leave comments below on horrendous movies you've seen so I don't feel so alone.
Countdown
So having a week off of work on doctor's orders? Not quite as exciting as you'd think. I can't really move around a whole lot or I get a headache that makes me want to run into a wall as hard as I can just so that I pass out. Lovely side effect of the spinal tap. I'd probably be feeling fine if it weren't for that. So I'm really bored. Feel free to call or leave messages so I have emails to read or something.
In other news I only have one month left. Officially 1 month from today I'll be on my way back to the USA. Actually about 4 hours into my flight at this point. There's finally a light at the end of the tunnel. Very exciting. Can't wait to get back and have the moving to Boston stuff be my top priority so that I can get it all arranged and just get there. Cross your fingers I can find a job!
In other news I only have one month left. Officially 1 month from today I'll be on my way back to the USA. Actually about 4 hours into my flight at this point. There's finally a light at the end of the tunnel. Very exciting. Can't wait to get back and have the moving to Boston stuff be my top priority so that I can get it all arranged and just get there. Cross your fingers I can find a job!
1.6.08
Bonne Anniversaire
My 23rd Birthday Itinerary:
Wake up. Feel horrible. Go to doctor. Be sent to hospital. Have tests done, including spinal tap. Be flat on back for 12 hours. Stay in hospital another night waiting for test results. Finally have them release you telling you they have no idea what's wrong with you.
Flat on my back for 12 hours. So much fun.
Wake up. Feel horrible. Go to doctor. Be sent to hospital. Have tests done, including spinal tap. Be flat on back for 12 hours. Stay in hospital another night waiting for test results. Finally have them release you telling you they have no idea what's wrong with you.
Flat on my back for 12 hours. So much fun.
Lisa and Danielle came to visit.
The next day Lisa and Christine threw me a little birthday party.
My guardian angels. These two took AMAZING care of me and really made the entire experience a lot better than it otherwise could have been. There's no way I can ever ever thank them for their help. Lisa is on the left. She's a fellow assistant. Christine is a French woman who works at the school with Lisa. My new best friend. :)Now I have to take a week off from work and get all better. On the plus side my French improved leaps and bounds in the 48 hours I was there and it was yet another new experience in France. Hopefully my luck picks up from here. 32 days left.
26.5.08
Warning: Joke Attempted in Foreign Language
So sometimes it's not just a vocabulary or grammatical issue that makes communication difficult...
Today was the birthday of one of the teachers at my school. Being the narcissistic person that she is, she brought in cookies for everyone and left them in the teachers' lounge with a note declaring that it was her birthday and that she was kind enough to bring these in for everyone to share. (I'm not joking, that's the rough translation of the note.) Then at the break she insisted that everyone within about 30 meters of her give her the bisous (cheek kisses) and wish her a happy birthday. Then she wrote a note on the board in the teachers' lounge that she would be using the arts and crafts room from 1:30 - 2:15 (right before I teach her kids). She proceeded to elaborate that it was for une petite boum for her class. That's right, she was throwing herself a birthday party and invited her class to go. I wasn't the only one who thought this was odd, one of the other teachers made a comment, but I digress.
So when I arrived to the classroom they were all still off partying but they had drawn all over the board with birthday wishes. And "Happy 24th Birthday" was a popular phrase. Don't get me wrong, I knew this was a joke. If the woman is a minute under 38 I'll be shocked into oblivion. So at the end of the class, like always, I said "So I'll see you again what day?" and the students answered "Thursday". So I piped in "And actually Thursday is MY birthday." The teacher looked up and I decided to go for the joke so I said, "I'll be one year younger than you!" to the teacher. She looked confused so I abandoned the joke and went for clarification and said "I saw your Happy 24th Birthday wishes on the board..." to which she replies "That was a joke" and then gave me a look that said nothing less than "you are the dumbest person I've ever laid eyes on". I tried to salvage my pride and dignity, but it was too late.
Moral of the story? Unless you're REALLY confident in your language skills don't attempt jokes.
Today was the birthday of one of the teachers at my school. Being the narcissistic person that she is, she brought in cookies for everyone and left them in the teachers' lounge with a note declaring that it was her birthday and that she was kind enough to bring these in for everyone to share. (I'm not joking, that's the rough translation of the note.) Then at the break she insisted that everyone within about 30 meters of her give her the bisous (cheek kisses) and wish her a happy birthday. Then she wrote a note on the board in the teachers' lounge that she would be using the arts and crafts room from 1:30 - 2:15 (right before I teach her kids). She proceeded to elaborate that it was for une petite boum for her class. That's right, she was throwing herself a birthday party and invited her class to go. I wasn't the only one who thought this was odd, one of the other teachers made a comment, but I digress.
So when I arrived to the classroom they were all still off partying but they had drawn all over the board with birthday wishes. And "Happy 24th Birthday" was a popular phrase. Don't get me wrong, I knew this was a joke. If the woman is a minute under 38 I'll be shocked into oblivion. So at the end of the class, like always, I said "So I'll see you again what day?" and the students answered "Thursday". So I piped in "And actually Thursday is MY birthday." The teacher looked up and I decided to go for the joke so I said, "I'll be one year younger than you!" to the teacher. She looked confused so I abandoned the joke and went for clarification and said "I saw your Happy 24th Birthday wishes on the board..." to which she replies "That was a joke" and then gave me a look that said nothing less than "you are the dumbest person I've ever laid eyes on". I tried to salvage my pride and dignity, but it was too late.
Moral of the story? Unless you're REALLY confident in your language skills don't attempt jokes.
18.5.08
Les Grandes Eaux Musicales
On Saturdays each Spring and Summer Versailles goes back a few centuries and becomes more like it was in the days of the Sun King. The 46 fountains in the 21000 acres of gardens are turned on, the gardens are in bloom, and period music plays from speakers around the paths.
Danielle and I didn't want to miss this once-in a lifetime opportunity so yesterday we headed out to see.
Versailles was expanded from a hunting lodge in a swamp to this magnificent, and sometimes overly opulent, palace by Louis XIV to prove his power and wealth to other royalty and to the masses in France.
The vast majority of the gardens and fountains were designed by Le Notre to help expand the palace's grandness. The gardens were actually designed to be an outdoor palace, with ballrooms, drawing rooms and other spaces for entertaining.
The Latona Fountain (below) illustrates the mother of Greek gods Diana and Apollo protecting her children.
Statues litter the garden and are mostly Greek and Roman in style. This is Danielle's new boyfriend. He's not particularly friendly. A little stony actually. hee hee
The Ballroom (below) is a circular garden. One half of the walls have this cascade on it. Standing there you could actually imagine people in huge skirts and high wigs dancing to candlelight and live string quartet.
The Fountains of Apollo's Chariot is one of the largest fountains at Versailles. It's right in front of the Grand Canal and next to Marie Antoinette's personal peasant village. Where she went to pretend she was a peasant with her perfumed and brushed sheep.
This fountain has some seriously somber music playing which makes sense, since it's of Enceladus, chief of the mythical Greek Titans, who is being punished by the gods from Mount Olympus.
This fountain is called the Dragon Fountain. Instead of breathing fire he's breathing water into the air.
The 10 minute finale uses so much water that all other fountains are turned off. The Neptune Fountain was a centerpiece of Versailles when it was used as a palace and everyone congregates there now at the end of the afternoon to witness the grand finale.
Overall a spectacular day! I felt very royal the entire time. If you're ever in Paris on a Saturday between April and October be sure to go check this out!!
Danielle and I didn't want to miss this once-in a lifetime opportunity so yesterday we headed out to see.
Versailles was expanded from a hunting lodge in a swamp to this magnificent, and sometimes overly opulent, palace by Louis XIV to prove his power and wealth to other royalty and to the masses in France.
The vast majority of the gardens and fountains were designed by Le Notre to help expand the palace's grandness. The gardens were actually designed to be an outdoor palace, with ballrooms, drawing rooms and other spaces for entertaining.
The Latona Fountain (below) illustrates the mother of Greek gods Diana and Apollo protecting her children.
Statues litter the garden and are mostly Greek and Roman in style. This is Danielle's new boyfriend. He's not particularly friendly. A little stony actually. hee hee
The Ballroom (below) is a circular garden. One half of the walls have this cascade on it. Standing there you could actually imagine people in huge skirts and high wigs dancing to candlelight and live string quartet.
The Fountains of Apollo's Chariot is one of the largest fountains at Versailles. It's right in front of the Grand Canal and next to Marie Antoinette's personal peasant village. Where she went to pretend she was a peasant with her perfumed and brushed sheep.
This fountain has some seriously somber music playing which makes sense, since it's of Enceladus, chief of the mythical Greek Titans, who is being punished by the gods from Mount Olympus.
This fountain is called the Dragon Fountain. Instead of breathing fire he's breathing water into the air.
The 10 minute finale uses so much water that all other fountains are turned off. The Neptune Fountain was a centerpiece of Versailles when it was used as a palace and everyone congregates there now at the end of the afternoon to witness the grand finale.
Overall a spectacular day! I felt very royal the entire time. If you're ever in Paris on a Saturday between April and October be sure to go check this out!!
17.5.08
La greve
So Thursday I only had to teach one of my six scheduled classes. Why? Because of la greve. That means "the strike". For the fourth, or maybe it's the fifth, time this year the teachers have gone on strike. Strikes in France are a little different. Unions are required to notify city hall of their intent to strike a few weeks before the strike and for how long. So most teachers' strikes are one day. So for that one day the teachers don't go to work and there's usually a rally and a parade. The weather was fantastic on Thursday so the turnout was great. And I went down with my camera to capture this ever-present part of French life. I saw two of my teachers and a friend while I was there. They all thought it was funny that I was taking pictures. When I told them it was for a "a year in the life of France" type photo album they suddenly didn't think it was funny anymore and totally understood why I would be there. It's just so accepted. Hilarious. Ok, well that's the story behind the photos. Have a great weekend.
And congratulations to all the ONU (and other) college grads this weekend, especially my favorite new graduate... JARED!!! :)
14.5.08
Back from the Riviera
And, unfortunately, my fabulous vacation to the coast of southern France has come to its conclusion. Danielle and I got back on Monday morning, but had 5 really great days in the sun and heat. And best of all we returned to Chartres and found similar weather! This week we had Monday off for Pentecost (working in a not totally secular society has its advantages) and tomorrow, Thursday, there's yet another strike so I only have to teach 1 of my 6 scheduled classes. No complaints here! But I'm sure you're all much more interested in my trip, so here you go:
Danielle and I took a night train to Nice on Tuesday after work and arrived on Wednesday. Since we were both a little tired we decided to stay in Nice and look around. I'd been to Nice in 2005 on my backpacking trip, but that was in December. It's much more crowded and enjoyable in May. We walked through the flower and produce market and were taken in by the strawberries. So we bought some...
... and then we walked down to the Promenade des Anglais and the beach...
... to eat our stawberries! They were so juicy and delicious!
Afterwards we climbed up Castle Hill to enjoy the views. We found out it was nice and warm in the park up there so we sat down to read our books. It inevitably turned into a nap, but that was ok too.
Later we went to see the Russian Orthodox cathedral in Nice. In the 1800s there was quite the Russian population in Nice and most of them were very wealthy, so they built themselves a very elaborate place of worship. It was pretty cool on the inside, though I wasn't allowed to take photos.
Thursday was a national holiday, so everyone had the same idea we did... head for the beach!! We hit up the beach at Antibes, about an hour south west along the coast from Nice. The weather was perfect, but the water too cold, so we sat and read and I slathered on sunscreen every hour when my alarm went off. I really didn't want to get burnt, and I managed not to! :) Danielle just kept all her clothes on to protect herself.
The beach was pretty packed, and yes, there were lots of topless sunbathers. Though most of them were under the age of 10. Doesn't really matter then, does it? Saves on the cost of a bathing suit I suppose.
Friday we took another bus to Menton. It's the last city in France before the Italian border along the coast. It's claim to faim is two-fold. It holds the Citrus Festival in February and it has, on average, 316 days of sun per year. The sun and tropical climate mean that the plant life in Menton is amazing! We didn't make it out to the Jardin Exotique, but just walking around town was enough. Here's some accurately-named Bird of Paradise flowers.
And even the town was fairly picture-perfect. We wandered around town, along the harbor wall and the beach and had a really great lunch. A very relaxed day.
Saturday we went to Eze le Village. It's not exactly along the coast. It's up in the hills behind Nice and has a fantastic view of the coastline.
The village is tiny, but there's another Jardin Exotique at the very top of the hill. So we climbed up, weaving through tiny streets and ducking under passageways, and found ourselves in a strange cactus garden with great views. And again it was sunny. Apparently going up meant we were a lot closer to the sun. Despite sunscreen and frequent reapplications the tops of my shoulders did get burnt that day. Not too badly though.
The coast and the cacti.
There were some really interesting benches near a waterworks and we convinced someone to take our photo as we burned.
Our hostel wasn't exactly in Nice. It was a 20 minute tram ride and 30 minute walk away, but the views out of the window in our room were nice. I don't think I'd recommend the hostel though. If you want to "party" and "meet" people go for it though.
Hee hee. Even on vacation we're huge dorks. Champion is a grocery store in France. I think Danielle does a very nice impression of their mascot, don't you?
On Sunday we had another night train to catch at 9pm but we spent the day doing something we definitely can't do back here in Chartres: we sat on the beach. This time we went to Cap d'Ail, just before Monaco to a very secluded beach called Plage Mala. It was really beautiful. Because it's harder to get to it wasn't nearly as crowded and there was no traffic noise either. Very relaxing. I was even brave enough to go into the water! I ran in, stayed in for about 5 seconds and ran out to warm myself up again in the sun. And that was our vacation. More info on boring day to day life soon!
Danielle and I took a night train to Nice on Tuesday after work and arrived on Wednesday. Since we were both a little tired we decided to stay in Nice and look around. I'd been to Nice in 2005 on my backpacking trip, but that was in December. It's much more crowded and enjoyable in May. We walked through the flower and produce market and were taken in by the strawberries. So we bought some...
... and then we walked down to the Promenade des Anglais and the beach...
... to eat our stawberries! They were so juicy and delicious!
Afterwards we climbed up Castle Hill to enjoy the views. We found out it was nice and warm in the park up there so we sat down to read our books. It inevitably turned into a nap, but that was ok too.
Later we went to see the Russian Orthodox cathedral in Nice. In the 1800s there was quite the Russian population in Nice and most of them were very wealthy, so they built themselves a very elaborate place of worship. It was pretty cool on the inside, though I wasn't allowed to take photos.
Thursday was a national holiday, so everyone had the same idea we did... head for the beach!! We hit up the beach at Antibes, about an hour south west along the coast from Nice. The weather was perfect, but the water too cold, so we sat and read and I slathered on sunscreen every hour when my alarm went off. I really didn't want to get burnt, and I managed not to! :) Danielle just kept all her clothes on to protect herself.
The beach was pretty packed, and yes, there were lots of topless sunbathers. Though most of them were under the age of 10. Doesn't really matter then, does it? Saves on the cost of a bathing suit I suppose.
Friday we took another bus to Menton. It's the last city in France before the Italian border along the coast. It's claim to faim is two-fold. It holds the Citrus Festival in February and it has, on average, 316 days of sun per year. The sun and tropical climate mean that the plant life in Menton is amazing! We didn't make it out to the Jardin Exotique, but just walking around town was enough. Here's some accurately-named Bird of Paradise flowers.
And even the town was fairly picture-perfect. We wandered around town, along the harbor wall and the beach and had a really great lunch. A very relaxed day.
Saturday we went to Eze le Village. It's not exactly along the coast. It's up in the hills behind Nice and has a fantastic view of the coastline.
The village is tiny, but there's another Jardin Exotique at the very top of the hill. So we climbed up, weaving through tiny streets and ducking under passageways, and found ourselves in a strange cactus garden with great views. And again it was sunny. Apparently going up meant we were a lot closer to the sun. Despite sunscreen and frequent reapplications the tops of my shoulders did get burnt that day. Not too badly though.
The coast and the cacti.
There were some really interesting benches near a waterworks and we convinced someone to take our photo as we burned. 
Our hostel wasn't exactly in Nice. It was a 20 minute tram ride and 30 minute walk away, but the views out of the window in our room were nice. I don't think I'd recommend the hostel though. If you want to "party" and "meet" people go for it though.
Hee hee. Even on vacation we're huge dorks. Champion is a grocery store in France. I think Danielle does a very nice impression of their mascot, don't you?
On Sunday we had another night train to catch at 9pm but we spent the day doing something we definitely can't do back here in Chartres: we sat on the beach. This time we went to Cap d'Ail, just before Monaco to a very secluded beach called Plage Mala. It was really beautiful. Because it's harder to get to it wasn't nearly as crowded and there was no traffic noise either. Very relaxing. I was even brave enough to go into the water! I ran in, stayed in for about 5 seconds and ran out to warm myself up again in the sun. And that was our vacation. More info on boring day to day life soon!
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