Just another ordinary weekend...took a bus to Nice and spent the day there Saturday. It was beautiful! A little chilly but better than Chicago ;) Every street had the typical Provencial houses with mismatched shutters and flower boxes hanging from the windows. There were also a lot of markets with all kinds of fruits, vegetables, and bread.
We stopped in a wine shop (one thing about France is that they have a separate store for everything...cheese, meat, shoes, underwear, etc.), and behold a bottle of absenthe for only 22,50 euros! We decided, however, to chill in a cafe for 2 hours with a bottle of red wine. It is true what they say, wine is often cheaper than bottled water here. We also visited the beach, which is obviously necessary when on the Cote d'Azur. The Med is gorgeous, and the beach in Nice is very rocky too.
That night we stayed in a hostel and visited Monaco and the famous casino at Monte Carlo. I've never seen so many Aston Martins and Ferraris in my life! I played slots for 5 euro just to say I gambled at Monte Carlo, since I wasn't really feeling like a high roller that night. It wasn't as classy as I thought, since most people were casual (except for the one woman with huge boobs and diamonds and a fancy prom dress).
Day number 2 was spent in Cannes, home of the film festival. It actually snowed that morning, which is very bizarre for this part of the world, so it was a chilly morning. The beach in Cannes is more of what I consider a beach, with actual sand! Very beautiful...
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Les premiers jours à Aix-en-Provence
Salut!
I made it!!! The first couple of days were very strange, but this city is beautiful and I feel like I'm living in a postcard. The best part are the crepe shops literally every 20 feet, which we stopped at for lunch today. My host mom is absolutely wonderful...she's a good cook too. Since she doesn't speak English, it's French all the time, so that's been a little hard but fun too.
Speaking of interesting...the showers. Trying to take a shower the other day was probably one of the strangest experiences. Since there are no walls or shower curtains, I soaked the floor with the hand-held hose thing, or whatever you want to call it. So that will take some time to master.
Yesterday my housemate and I decided to take the bus back home since we live at the top of a really steep hill. We probably looked like such dumbasses since we had no idea how to use the ticket machine on the bus, and the whole time, everyone on the bus was silently staring at us as we were trying not to fall onto anyone's lap when the bus went around the corners. But it's a little difficult trying not to look like an American sometimes.
This weekend we're off to Nice and Cannes, complete with discotheques and lots of wine. Should be interesting and awesome! The other night we ventured out to an "American" bar called O'Shannons (who would've thought there would be an Irish pub in the middle of a medieval French city?) It was pretty chill except for the football-crazed fans cheering whenever Algeria or Ivory Coast scored...who knows.
I made it!!! The first couple of days were very strange, but this city is beautiful and I feel like I'm living in a postcard. The best part are the crepe shops literally every 20 feet, which we stopped at for lunch today. My host mom is absolutely wonderful...she's a good cook too. Since she doesn't speak English, it's French all the time, so that's been a little hard but fun too.
Speaking of interesting...the showers. Trying to take a shower the other day was probably one of the strangest experiences. Since there are no walls or shower curtains, I soaked the floor with the hand-held hose thing, or whatever you want to call it. So that will take some time to master.
Yesterday my housemate and I decided to take the bus back home since we live at the top of a really steep hill. We probably looked like such dumbasses since we had no idea how to use the ticket machine on the bus, and the whole time, everyone on the bus was silently staring at us as we were trying not to fall onto anyone's lap when the bus went around the corners. But it's a little difficult trying not to look like an American sometimes.
This weekend we're off to Nice and Cannes, complete with discotheques and lots of wine. Should be interesting and awesome! The other night we ventured out to an "American" bar called O'Shannons (who would've thought there would be an Irish pub in the middle of a medieval French city?) It was pretty chill except for the football-crazed fans cheering whenever Algeria or Ivory Coast scored...who knows.
Friday, January 22, 2010
ETD 8:55pm
Bonjour!
So today's the day. It still hasn't hit me yet that I'm going to France for 4 months, which is strange because it has been in the works for about 6 months. All the uncertainty is a little bit unnerving, but I think it's about time for a change of scenery.
Since I'm still in the very difficult process of packing, I'll make this short. I have a mental list of things I hope to accomplish while I'm there, which includes becoming fluent in French and taking advantage of EVERY opportunity given. Hell, maybe I'll even dye my hair, get bangs, and have a Marseillan gypsy tattoo some Arabic phrase on my arm....if it comes to that, that is. Just in case you're worried about me, my mom made me buy pepper spray - complete with tear gas - just in case someone tries to mess with me. I hear those Europeans are pretty forward anyway.
So I hope all of you enjoy hearing about my adventures (and I'm sure there will be many), and since I hate flying, there better be a good movie and free wine on the plane.
Bon voyage!
Sara
So today's the day. It still hasn't hit me yet that I'm going to France for 4 months, which is strange because it has been in the works for about 6 months. All the uncertainty is a little bit unnerving, but I think it's about time for a change of scenery.
Since I'm still in the very difficult process of packing, I'll make this short. I have a mental list of things I hope to accomplish while I'm there, which includes becoming fluent in French and taking advantage of EVERY opportunity given. Hell, maybe I'll even dye my hair, get bangs, and have a Marseillan gypsy tattoo some Arabic phrase on my arm....if it comes to that, that is. Just in case you're worried about me, my mom made me buy pepper spray - complete with tear gas - just in case someone tries to mess with me. I hear those Europeans are pretty forward anyway.
So I hope all of you enjoy hearing about my adventures (and I'm sure there will be many), and since I hate flying, there better be a good movie and free wine on the plane.
Bon voyage!
Sara
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