Easter Holidays Part 3: St Paul de Vence and our final bit of time on vacation

Saturday was our last full day in the south of France and we were bound to make the post of it. We all wanted to see slightly different things so we split up. Ixchel and I took the bus to such a cool village called St Paul de Vence. It looks like an old medieval village that has barely been disturbed except for all the art shops, galleries, jewelry stores and cafes. For such a small place, St Paul de Vence has lots of history and was a popular place for artists and writers to go on holiday to find inspiration for their works. Some of the people who spent time here include Renoir, Matisse, the poet Jacques Prevert and even Marc Chagall who lived here and whose tomb rests in the town cemetery. The village is basically a labyrinth of tiny cobblestone streets and alleys and it is so fun to just wander through and see where you end up. The whole village is surrounded by a rock wall so you can’t get too lost! We went into lots of different stores; there are many artisans who have set up their own shops and do everything from chocolate making to hand-crafted leather purses. They have everything. Since St Paul de Vence is on top of a hill, you get some wonderful panoramic shots of the surrounding countryside and other towns. It was such a great place and one I am very glad I got to visit.

After returning back to Nice later on Saturday, all of us girls met up and had coffee and wine in the center of Nice. It was our last night together on vacation and we were sad to go. Eventually we made our way back to the hotel to finish packing and cleaning up. Since we had booked such an early flight and had to leave at 4:45am, we decided to just stay up all night talking and playing games instead of trying to sleep for just a couple hours.

 

All in all it was an amazing trip with a fantastic group of girls and is one that I will remember forever. Upon my return to Camosun, I really want to work on encouraging students to participate in this Study Abroad program because it isn’t just school and educational experience you gain, its culture, the chance to travel extensively and meet new friends. What’s better than that?!

Easter Holidays Part 2: San Remo and Monaco

It seems as though from Wednesday to Friday of our trip, the places we visited just kept getting better and better. On Wednesday I crossed the border into Italy for a solo visit to the town of San Remo. It was a short but magical visit. I have always wanted to visit Italy and my one day trip was just a taste and it’s left me wanting more. It amazes me that crossing a border, an invisible line that’s been recorded on a map and indicated with signs, can immediately change everything: language, food, customs- you switch from one culture to another in an instant. The Italian people and their way of life is something I sincerely admire and love. They enjoy their days, take time to enjoy a gelato or pizza, chat with their friends, but all the while still seem busy and constantly moving. The hustle and bustle of vespas and cars in San Remo was fantastic. Besides the Italian food which I have always loved and been passionate about trying to master in my own kitchen, I love the language. Italian falls into the category of the romance languages along with French, but it is spoken with such an intensity and variety of gestures that make it unmistakable. I greatly enjoyed my day in Italy and hope I can come back for a longer visit in the near future- Viva L’Italia!

I thought there would be nothing on this trip that could top my experience in San Remo, but then I went to Monaco. As I write, I am still having trouble trying to describe Monaco and how I feel about it but I think I can sum it up with a few adjectives: stunning, complete, historical, magical and beautiful. This tiny country, second smallest after the Vatican, is truly a wonder of the world in my opinion. The rich history of it beginnings and the more than 700 year rule of the Grimaldi family, combined with its pristine streets and buildings, panoramic ocean views and extravagant centre of Monte Carlo- a place where luxury and wealth are paramount. It really did feel like a magical place where everything seemed to be perfect! No taxes, virtually no unemployment, one of the most effective police forces, more Ferraris and Bentleys than you can count and a brilliant mix of cultures- French, Italian and English. Ok, enough rambling! So, the first thing we did once we got to Monaco was climb the stairs to the Palais Princier to watch the changing of the guard procession. Very official and regal (of course) and something I’ve always wanted to see. Afterwards we got to actually go inside the palace and do an audio-guided tour through many of the rooms and chambers. The palace visit is something I will never forget and really touched me. I had goosebumps the entire time and left speechless. We then spent some time exploring Monaco-Ville (Old Town) near the palace and got a few souvenirs and lunch. Then it was time to head back down towards Monte Carlo and the other quarters where we found a great bus tour that took us through the central parts of Monaco. The bus dropped us right at the famous Monte Carlo casino. When you step inside, it really is like you’ve entered a James Bond film. The lavish decoration, gold details on nearly everything- such a beautiful interior. I am not a gambler what-so-ever, so instead I enjoyed a dry martini, sat and watched the real masters play black jack, etc. After spending some time in the casino, we went for a nice dinner next door at the Café de Paris. It was after my visit to Monaco that I truly realized how fortunate I am to be on this Study Abroad trip and be lucky enough to get to visit all these incredible places.

Finally, Part 3 in St Paul de Vence and our last bit of time on vacation

Easter Holidays Part 1: Villefranche Sur Mer, Antibes and Grasse

Well let’s just say that Easter 2013 was the best Easter I think I have ever had! I was sad to miss the dinners and time with my family back in Victoria, but spending a week travelling along the Cote D’Azur, French Riviera and even Italy, is hard to beat. I travelled with 4 of my new favourite people: Azra, Ixchel, Stephanie and Ashley, four of the Erasmus girls studying at my school here in Bordeaux. We had planned this trip way back in February, so it was really exciting for us to finally get on the plane and head to Nice. For the entire week, we stayed in a decent hotel in a small town just outside of Nice called Villefranche Sur Mer. There isn’t much there besides the beach, a couple restaurants and the train station, but really that’s all we needed. We arrived early on Sunday and spent the day near the hotel and relaxed on the beach with a bottle of champagne-welcome to southern France!

On Monday, we headed out on our first day trip to a small town west of Nice called Antibes. It was such a cute little place with a great harbour, narrow cobblestone streets with lots of stores, and some nice restaurants. We had a great lunch in Antibes at a seafood restaurant, and I got to try one of the most infamous French dishes- frogs legs. They were better than I had expected but not something I would have again anytime soon. We also found an Absinthe museum in the downstairs of a little Absinthe shop which kept us entertained for easily fifteen minutes. The basement is decorated in the style of an old absinthe bar, down to the smallest details. We took lots of funny pictures with the props and even played a little piano.

Tuesday we headed off to another town, village almost, called Grasse. Grasse is known for being the birthplace of perfumes. We visited one of the most famous French parfumeries called Fragonard. Inside we got a tour of the production facility and learned lots about how perfumes are made, the steps involved and what makes one perfume different from another. We even put our noses to the test and tried to identify different scents- it’s harder than one might think! Of course, I indulged myself a bit and bought two different fragrances. Besides the parfumerie visit, Grasse is a charming little place with cute old buildings, squares and excellent countryside views.

Next up, Part 2 about San Remo and Monaco!

Day Trip to Angouleme and Cognac

So, here we go. Friday, 4 of the other Erasmus girls and I did a great day trip to the towns of Angouleme and Cognac, about 1 hr and 1 1/2 hrs from Bordeaux, respectively. The town of Angouleme is a great place with a long history involving comic strips. All over town you will find painted murals of various comic scenes and characters; very cool. The town is also situated on a hill so it gives you great views of the surrounding area. We visited many of the town’s attractions including the Cathedrale St-Pierre, Museum of Angouleme, the Hotel de Ville, Les Halles public market and many more. Since the town is so small, you can get around it very quickly on foot and it only takes about 15 mins to get from one side of town to the other. The people there are also really friendly and one elderly lady stopped to talk to us and gave us a mini history lesson (in French of course!) about one of the buildings. All in all, a great place to visit and I’d like to go back in the future. Below are some pictures from Angouleme. And, then it was on to Cognac! (keep reading)

Cognac- well of course its known for its infamous apperitif/digestif/drink, Cognac! The first thing you realize when you arrive in Cognac is that it is a very, very quiet town. Hardly any people out, not many cars, etc. It is a bit creepy actually until you get into the city center and then you realize that yes, people do live here and there are things to see! It is a very old town, but has all the necessities. Lots of small restaurants, shops and of course, cognatheques that sell so many different varieties of Cognac. The lady at the tourism office was incredibly helpful and reserved us places for a tour of one of the oldest Cognac houses, Hennessy. The tour was just over an hour long and was a great way for us to learn about the long and complex process of making Cognac. I understand now why it is so prized and expensive- it takes a LONG time to make and there are so many processes. At the end of the tour we got to sample two of Hennessy’s cognacs- turns out it is not my drink of choice but I did my best to enjoy it after now knowing how much work went into making it! We saw lots of old buildings but for the most part, Cognac didn’t have as much to offer us as Angouleme did. It was worth the visit because we got to go to Hennessy but other than that, there isn’t much to do. We didn’t spend as much time as we had planned in Cognac, so we caught an earlier train back to Angouleme and had dinner there before returning to Bordeaux. I was surprised at just how much we managed to fit into one day- it was fantastic and I hope to do a few more of these trips before I return home. Below are a few pictures from Cognac. Enjoy!!

Another Update…..Long Awaited, I Know

My apologies to those of you who follow my blog and have been checking for updates. I have been trying to think of something interesting or new to say but the truth is that I am fully settled into the normal, enjoyable routine of the average Erasmus student. School, courses, movies, dinners, a few parties….it’s all pretty standard apart from all the new people I’ve met and continue to meet everyday, and the wonderful city of Bordeaux. I am so enjoying my time here and can’t believe that I only have 2 and a half months left. The time is flying and I’m sure it will be over before I know it. On the one hand, I will be glad to get home to my family, friends, dogs and job, but I know that when the day comes to leave, I will miss Bordeaux terribly and hopefully leave a part of myself here and with the wonderful friends I have made. I always knew that I wanted to travel, experience new cultures and languages, etc, but I don’t think I ever realized how much a trip like this can change you. Being independent and submersed in a new city and country (even continent!) gives you such a great and new outlook on not only the world, but about your own life. This time spent alone gets me thinking about all those typical philosophical questions that we ask ourselves during such key life experiences: “what do I want to do in the future?” “who do I want to be?” “what really matters in life?”. I am nowhere close to figuring out the answers to these questions, but I think it comes down to a few simple principles: happiness, determination, faith and love.

I hereby promise to try my best to get back to posting on a regular basis. A few girlfriends and I are off to the towns of Cognac and Angouleme tomorrow, and I know that this little day trip will make for some excellent pictures which I will of course share with you 🙂

Weekly Summary 2

Well, this week I think I will keep the post to a minimum but I finally have some more pictures to share! Hmmm…so this week I:

-Continued my French for Foreigners classes. I am really happy to see that my French is coming back the longer I am here.

-Saw Les Miserables at the big cinema in Bordeaux. Great singing and really well done, but a bit too depressing for me. After the movie, our Erasmus group got together at one of the irish pubs in town called the Connemara to watch the Dortmund vs Ukraine soccer game. Really getting into European football the longer I am here!

-Thursday was our infamous Anti-Valentine’s day party for all the single Erasmus students. Needless to say, it was a good time and things got a bit crazy 🙂

-Did a 2 hr bus tour around Bordeaux with my girlfriends on Saturday morning. Great to see a bit more of the city and hear the history behind some of the famous areas. We followed that with lunch along the Quai, an amazing wine tasting at the Bar du Vin and then some shopping along Rue St Catherine- the main shopping street in town. The fact that we can just sit and sip glasses of wine at 1 in the afternoon is awesome!

-Went to see a live football match, Bordeaux vs Lyon. It was such a great experience and the atmosphere is intense (the French LOVE their football!) but unfortunately our team lost 0-4. It was a sad performance

BUT, perhaps the most exciting thing that happened this week was us girls booking our flights to Nice for the Easter Break in April. We are going for a week and going to stay in Nice but do some day trips to nearby towns like Cannes and Saint Tropez!! So excited.

I think those were the main highlights! The rest of my classes start tomorrow and I think it’ll be nice to get back into the routine of having school, homework etc. Below are some of my best pics from Saturday’s bus tour and a couple from the football match.

Weekly Summary 1

Well to start off, let me just apologize to the few of you out there who check my blog for not writing more. This week has been full of good times and new cultural experiences and it would have been impossible to do a full post everyday. So, going forward, I think I will do a weekly update for you all about the highlights of my week and what I’m up to. Sound good? Allez-y!
This week I…..

-Began my French for Foreigners class at school (ECE Bordeaux). The teacher is very strict but not too bad. On the first day we were given a test to assess our level of French. Fortunately I made it into the advanced class so I am able to learn new things and not just review the days of the week, etc. This week we talked about the work and educational systems in France, how to create a resume in European format as well as cover letters. I am quickly learning that there are some big differences between Canadian culture and European culture-but I’m loving it

-Did an afternoon of “treasure hunting” with all the Erasmus students and some of the French students. Essentially we went all over town, stopping at some of the main sites and landmarks, answering trivia questions about Bordeaux. Really fun and a great way to figure out the tram lines

-Went to 2 Erasmus parties. Both were held at Irish style pubs along les Quais. Pretty casual, lots of beer (not much for me though) and some great times. It is awesome getting to know people from all over the world-Germany, Czech Republic, Denmark, Norway, Spain, and many more!

-Got my French bank account set up. I was glad to see my French language skills making a comeback for that appointment! It was actually really easy and the lady who helped me was very nice. Having an account here makes things so much easier, and because I am a student, they give me 30 euros as a welcome gift!

-Had a wine course/tasting as part of orientation week. The INSEEC group, which my school is part of, also has a Wine Institute here in Bordeaux. Students and teachers from this program gave us a presentation on how wine is grown and the entire process involved. We got to taste 3 different wines; 2 red and 1 white. I have never been much of a red wine fan but they were actually pretty good. The white wine was to die for (in my opinion, many of the other students disagree with me though!)- it was so sweet and delicious. Definitely more of a dessert wine though. Delicieux!!

-Visited the foreign cinema and saw the movie “A Royal Affair”. It was in Danish with French subtitles so it was a great way to practice my French reading. Such a fantastic movie, I really want to see it again. And for those of you who will be making your Oscar bets, it is nominated in the Foreign Film category and I suspect it will win 🙂

I think that is about all….This week is more French classes and a whole lot of spare time. I suspect I will visit the Foreign cinema again and check out more of the museums here. The week after is when the rest of my classes start-human resources, marketing, etc. I will do my best to take more pictures as well for you all to see 🙂

Let the sightseeing begin!

Well, yesterday was really something. I spent the whole afternoon walking around Bordeaux. I took directions with me this time just to make sure I didn’t get lost-fortunately I also have a very good sense of direction so I was just fine. I started out by walking across town to my school. Normally I will take the tram, but it was such a nice day for a walk and I wanted to know where I needed to be for Monday morning. The Google maps directions took me along a great route! It led me through 2 fantastic sections of Bordeaux: Rue St Catherine and Les Quais. Rue St Catherine is the longest shopping street in the city and for the most part is pedestrians only. Basically, if you’re in the mood for some retail therapy-GO THERE. Tons of people, its a bit of a maze to get through, but such a great spot. A bit further, past Place de la Comedie (a lovely open town square, with a carousel even!) and you get onto Les Quais along the Garonne River. I call it Les Quais because the path along the river is actually made up a few different roads: Quai de Louis XV111, Quai de Richelieu and Quai des Chartrons. It is such a beautiful area to walk through, especially in the blazing sun. Lots of people out walking their dogs, going for a run, playing with their kids, all on the walkways along the winding river.

After exploring Les Quais and finding where my school is, I headed back across town to the main shopping mall, Centre Commerciale Meriadeck, which is actually pretty close to my apartment. This is where my walk turned into a real sightseeing adventure. At one point on my way to the mall, I was pretty sure I had gone the wrong way or written down my directions wrong, I look to my left, and there it is-Place des Quinconces; an amazing monument that is a top attraction in Bordeaux. It was as if it appeared out of nowhere! Needless to say I forgot about my trip to the mall for a few minutes and went to see the structure up close. It was so incredible that I could ramble on about it for a while, so I won’t. But ya, gorgeous! After seeing Place des Quinconces I got back on my route to the mall and proceeded to stumble upon another gem- the Jardin Public. It’s a lovely garden and park in Bordeaux that houses multiple duck ponds, a playground, carousel as well as Bordeaux’s Natural History Museum. It is similar to Beacon Hill Park, though much smaller and no petting zoo. I walked through the garden for a while and then kept on my way. Finally I got to the mall, picked up a few kitchen items, most notably my new mandolin-makes salad prep 10X easier! By the time I got home it was time for dinner, some TV time and another great sleep.

Bordeaux continues to surprise me each day with more fantastic places, things to see and do, and people to meet. Tomorrow is my first day of school and I’m really looking forward to it. Not sure how many classes I want to take, but anyone who knows me knows that I like to stay busy so I’m thinking I will take 5 or 6-seize the opportunity right?!

Et finalement….J’arrive en Bordeaux!

“Wow wow wow” were my mother’s words when we spoke yesterday, and that’s about all I can say as well. Let me just say that Bordeaux is such an amazing city and I have only been here about 24 hours. I arrived in Bordeaux yesterday at about 6pm local time and was greeted at the airport by a guy named Ladji, a friend of Samanta’s, the girl whose apartment I am renting. He was so helpful- he brought me to the apartment, carried my ridiculously heavy bags up the 5 flights of stairs and even took me to the nearby Meriadeck mall to get some groceries. I am really pleased that the grocery stores here are easy to figure out. They are laid out almost the exact same to the ones at home and the signs are really clear and easy to understand (even though everything is in French of course!)

Today, after a good 12 hours sleep (still trying to shake off that jetlag) I decided to venture out into Bordeaux and see more of the city. I went with no guide, map or book so I figured it would be best not to go too far and risk getting lost. Fortunately there are tons of interesting things to see all near the apartment. I started by heading up the road to the Musee des Beaux Arts- a museum I have been dying to see ever since I knew I would be coming to Bordeaux. It is a gorgeous museum/gallery with a great open garden as well. I entered through the South Wing and the woman at the admissions desk gave me a free entrance pass (I have yet to figure out if the museum is always free or if she was just being nice). I didn’t go through the entire museum as part of it was closed but I saw some incredible paintings by artists such as Reubens, van Dyck and Goya.

Once I was done at the Musee des Beaux Arts, which I know I will return to several times, I headed further into town and found the Cathedral Saint Andre and Tour Pey Berland on Place Pey Berland. They are both easy to find since they are a couple of the main attractions and there are tons of signs sending you in the right direction. Both the cathedral and tower show some extraordinary architecture and details.

After taking plenty of pictures and admiring more of Bordeaux’s beauty, I turned and went the opposite way across town, past my apartment, onto Cours de la Liberation and found all the necessities-laverie, Carrefour grocery store, bistro, bakery etc. All of these are about a 5 min walk from my apartment-perfect!

So far it has been an amazing day in Bordeaux and I can’t wait til Monday when school begins and I have the chance to meet some friends and see more of the city!

Day 1: Quick Stopover in England on the way to Bordeaux!

Wow what an amazing day I had today! So happy to be back in England and done with that LONG flight across the Atlantic. Spent the day with my cousin Claire and her Nan Sheila exploring the area of Worthing. What a great town with such a variety of things to see-from the ocean coastline to the rural country side. We visited a place called Arundel and had a nice walk around the lake.

Hoping to do some more sightseeing and exploring tomorrow before my flight to Bordeaux in the afternoon. Can’t wait til June comes and I can come back and see more!!