Travels with Maman Pt. 2: Cassis

Salut!

Finally, I am back after the struggle that is internet and wifi in France. I won't go into that again, but good news: wifi in our apartment exists!! Hurrah! Oy with the poodles already! Sorry I miss home, my family and Gilmore Girls. Also, I have a French phone, bank account, bus pass, and nail polish remover, so all the living in a foreign country essentials are checked off the list. And I am so tired. These past two and a half weeks have been traveling a lot, trying to alternate between French and English and failing, searching for face wash and finally finding it on the bottom shelf as if Carrefour was hiding it from us all and doesn't want us to wash our faces, and walking upwards of 5 miles a day (I have an average of 6.33 miles/day on my iPhone, actually). So I am exhausted. But, now I can update this blog, so here we go.

After Emma and I found our place, Mom and I set out to travel for a few days because my first day "on the job" was October 1st. So Sunday, the 27th, we took the train to Cassis. I went to Cassis almost exactly a year ago with Sara and posted all about it on this blog so check out "Cassis: Sunshine Amidst a Storm." But, basically, Mom and I did almost the same things and it was equally as delightful as it was that day.

View from the train

Passing through other cities

I got in trouble for having my foot on the seat: Don't do it! 

The train only took about 40 minutes, so we were in Cassis early. We took the bus down to the water from the station with, I swear, the exact same bus driver, taking turns too fast but getting us there safely and being quite gregarious. Once, we stumbled around, we found our hotel, a Best Western La Râde (which I discovered means "harbor" in French). It had an insane view of the bay of Cassis and the mountain Cap Canaille, all from a deck with a pool and hot tub. Highly recommend. It was probably the best hotel we stayed at throughout our travels.

View from the hotel: It was a little cloudy in the morning.

Coincidentally, Joe and his friend Megan were visiting Cassis the same day so we grabbed lunch with them and chatted, until we parted ways to experience the calanques of Cassis in different ways. Mom and I went to Plage de Bestouan first. We swam in the Mediterranean Sea and laid on the rocky beach. It was so cold, but a nice lady told us to swim out on our backs and it would be easier to get accustomed to the water. She was right! Then we took the same boat tour that Sara and I took a year ago, while Joe and Megan hiked to the first calanque and then went kayaking. The calanques are little inlets that only exist in the Mediterranean. They are very picturesque and you can hike all along the tops of them (for the avid hikers among you). In one of the calanques, our boat driver drove us into the narrowest little inlet, we nearly scraped the sides of the boat. Then he proceeded to back up into it just so we wouldn't be jealous if we were in the back!

Lighthouse and view of the castle on the hill above Cassis

Plage de Bestouan (the beaches are often rocky!)

The other side of the beach

Crêpes at the Grand Marnier house (as much Grand Marnier as you want on top!)

Waiting for the tour to start

We are leaving the Bay of Cassis

The small calanque that he backed us into

The most photographed calanque: En Vau 

Another calanque

Mom looking cute with the houses in the background!

Pretty boats!

Recreating an old picture

Beautiful momma! 

Finally, Joe, Megan, Mom and I met up for dinner at the same place Sara and I adored, La Défonce. The dinner was delightful, as delicious as I remembered. Luckily, everyone agreed. After, it was time for some gelato and off to bed!

The next day Mom and I woke up in Cassis and we decided to just wander. We got coffee and wrote postcards. We ate sandwiches on the beach, shopped a little, got another crêpe, got gelato, and met two really nice ladies who were from New Orleans! We chatted with them for about a half hour to an hour, but the story doesn't end there…. :) you must read on next time I post to read about the rest of our trip. I'm tired of blogging for the day. haha!

Cat sleeping in the street

Shutters near the church

Purple doors!

Cutest streets!

Bisous xoxoxo

Home Sweet Home

Hello friends,

I have been struggling to have wifi (this is literally always a problem in France). Perhaps French people just are more immersed in real life instead of their virtual ones. Which is probably a good thing but super frustrating when you still don't have a French phone and your internet is going to take anywhere from 1 week-3 weeks to "be activated." I'm not sure why there are "hundreds" of steps to activate internet here when it takes like two days in California but apparently it does. I should stop my French internet rant before it really gets rolling. Sooo, that is the reason it has taken me so long to post about my new home!

I will be living in Toulon, a city about the size of Berkeley, population-wise, I believe. The main attractions are the port, where tons of yachts dock, and the naval base. I haven't seen too much yet because I have been so busy finding my place and doing all the necessary life things. But, there's the port, the naval base, a student area (restaurants and bars), small beaches, and a mountain with a zoo at the top that you can go up in a little gondola suspended on cables. If that makes any sense.

Mom and I arrived about a week or so ago. We stayed our first three nights in a hotel whose staff was absolutely lovely but whose facilities lacked much to be desired. Our first room had bad water damage, the bathroom door knob came off in my hand and one of the towels was soaked through. We moved to another room which was better but the shower area had no door and was directly connected to the room and the window popped off, falling on Mom's head. It was a very Grizwold family vacation kind of place. The best thing was that they let us leave 3 days early after we found a place for me (we had originally booked for 7 days).

My friend Emma (another American assistant) and I looked at three places and ended up with this lovely apartment that I am very happy with! We moved in and the next few days were spent opening a French bank account, choosing an internet service, unpacking, making lots and lots of copies and searching for internet.

The Opera House in Toulon

Wall Mural near the Opera

View from our hotel

Another from our hotel with Mount Faron in the back!

Moules-frites (Mussels and fries) and risotto with Noix de St. Jacques (basically scallops)

Le bistrot des artistes: Mom and her huge plate of food

Art exposition in Toulon: 

More art

Port of Toulon

Mom at the port!

Place de la Liberté

A few days ago Mom and I left for a vacation before I start work October 1st! So more exciting days to come, once I get back I will write all about them!

Bisous mes amis xoxo

Travels with Maman Pt.2: Nice

Hello.

I have arrived in the beautiful country of France. I don't know if I said but my mom is here with me in France for the first few weeks while I search for an apartment and then we will hopefully get to travel a bit before I start work and she goes home. We arrived in Paris on Sunday morning, had a four hour layover and then continued onto Nice. There we spend one night and it was a beautiful city. I really hope we get to go back. I wanted you all to see some of the pictures of that day because it was pretty picturesque.

Mom eating a macaron in Charles de Gaulle!

We arrived in Nice around 5 pm on Sunday night. From the airport, we took a taxi to our hotel near downtown Nice. The taxi driver and I chatted about my new job and Nice a little bit as he drove us to our hotel. It was a totally different starting experience this time than it was last time I went to France and Addie and I were in Paris for the first time. I already feel 1000 times more comfortable speaking with people than I did last year. I also am way less embarrassed about mistakes I may or may not make as I speak than I was then. Which I think is half the battle. I don't know how much more knowledge I have actually gained since that point in time but it's the confidence that makes it easier than anything else.


Once we arrived, our concierge was really nice and he wanted to practice his English which was actually quite good. We settled into our room, which had this gorgeous view, and then headed out for dinner.


Wandering around the centre-ville (downtown), we headed for the Place Masséna with the giant statue that he told us was the main area. There we saw these cool fountains. It was so nice and warm and a bunch of people were taking pictures in the water, one girl screamed as she stood under the spray of a geyser and a young boy rode his bike like a daredevil through the water.

Place Massnéna

After that, we wandered down to the water and Mom caught her first view of the Mediterranean! It is so blue! Then, we ate at a restaurant in the Vieille Ville (old town) called La Voglia.

The rest of the night was filled with walking around the Vieille Ville, getting ice cream, and watching street performers. One group of guys were doing flips over ropes that were on fire, so that was entertaining. I just loved the atmosphere at night there. It felt so lively and there were colorful restaurants around each corner.

The next morning we walked around looking for some breakfast and grabbed coffees and pastries at a boulangerie (bakery). After that, I did some research for finding my apartment and emailed some landlords. Before we took our train to our next stop, we walked down to le promenade des anglais, the street that runs along the beaches in Nice. We put our feet in the sea and hurt our feet on the rocky shore (apparently there's no sand for the Nice-ans). Then we grabbed a lunch of tartines (open-faced French sandwiches that can be sweet, savory, or just plain butter on a baguette). That ended our Nice visit. More soon!

Counter of sweets!

The hotel!

An office building

Absolutely no reason for this

Côte d'Azur in all its glory

Departure Eve

Right now I'm sitting up at 1:30 in the morning before I leave to France on my top bunk trying to avoid sleep. Because trying to sleep means lying still with my thoughts, and that means never actually sleeping. Because tomorrow I leave and I don't really want to leave. I've definitely never been the type of person that is excited to leave home.  I've always felt so connected to my home and my family. When I leave I fall into a frightening spiral of wondering who I am and why I'm doing what I'm doing, and having one of those sort of crises, especially in a foreign country,  is never optimal.

But, the other side of this coin is that, as my good friend reminded me over the phone the other day, I have a "team." I have a lot of people who care about me and yet are excited to see me succeed. And that makes me a little less scared, a little more okay with this next step. And I am so happy to have this team of wonderful people who are all so great in their own special ways. So I just wanted to say to all of you who are on my team and are, consequently, reading this blog: thank you so much. I love you all. Also, please write me and send me messages and tell me about your lives. Because I promise, I already miss you.

Return to Life à la française

Bonjour!

Hello friends! I know you are reading this blog because you care (enough) about me to want to know about my travels. Or maybe you are just reading for the pictures and the only thing you read are the captions. I welcome both kinds of readers with open arms, because I have been and are currently are either one or the other of you. So welcome, once again to my French life via blog.

News update:

I am going back to France! Youpi! I will be teaching English (well, assistant teaching with French teachers) in the south of France. There's no doubt about it. I am blessed, for some crazy reason, to live this dream. I leave in two short weeks with my mom. I can't wait to share it with you guys.

Bisous mes amis
XOXO

Comment ça va?

Hi faithful readers (if you're out there!),

I returned home almost three months ago (now four). Now Lyon feels like a dream. Walking along the rivers, going to L'épicerie, and taking the T1 all seem like actions I carried out in a distant world. Sometimes I felt like Berkeley was another world when I was gone and, regrettably, that's how Lyon feels from time to time. Unless I look at pictures. Then it becomes real again, living before me. I miss my routine there, my friends, my host family, and the French that I spoke everyday. Now, I am back to English and to Berkeley. I really love my classes this semester. I am going to be really sad when this chapter has to end in my life as well. Berkeley has been so so good to me. Less than one month until graduation. I meant to post pictures about my life in Berkeley but that has yet to happen.

I will do a graduation post soon, with as many pictures as I can find. I hope you all are doing well. :) And enjoying spring that is on its way!