So I have finally overcome my time issue for not posting on my blog. Though I am not very busy I was waiting until I had enough time to 'properly' update you on my recent trip. My time never seemed to present itself in those convenient chunks so I kept putting off my postings. Then, this morning I looked at my blog and realised that I have only written 2 posts in the past two weeks, which isn't really helping anyone keep in the loop about what I am doing.
First I shall start off with telling you all about the significant advances made in my room organisation. On Sunday I washed my floor and shelves as dust accumulates at an alarming rate in my room. Or perhaps I just notice it more because my floor is black. In any case I now have a system, instead of having miscelleanous papers spread all over my desk they are now on my shelf. I was hoping this would open up more desk space but it doesn't seem to be. I have just started putting other stuff on my desk, like the clothes I usually put on the floor. This is somewhat of a problem because my desk doubles as a kitchen table and I would like to have enough space between my laptop and whatever I am eating so my laptop doesn't get harmed. Case in point, Monday when I was eating a particularly juicy grapefruit the juice was squirting everywhere, in my eyes, on my freshly cleaned floor and on my laptop. No harm was done but I had grapefruit juice all over my screen.
I also went to Ikea yesterday and purchased a desk lamp. This is very exciting because up until now I have only had an overhead light. This on its own is not a problem, however the light switch is very far away from my bed and I was often too lazy to get out of my warm cozy bed to turn it off at night. To clarify, very far away is two feet from the end of my bed. First I experimented with throwing change at my light switch. This was not effective as I do not have very good aim, and you have to hit the light switch in a very specific area to turn it off. I also ended up with money all over the floor in the morning and would often run through my stash of change before I succeed in turning off my light switch, so I had to get up anyways. The temporary system I had rigged up after throwing change failed was equally primitive, though rather innovative. One of my friends found a somewhat long stick outside and gave it to me. When night rolls around, I reach under my bed, grab the stick and if I stretch just enough (while sitting up) I can turn off the light with the stick whilst remaining in my bed. Sadly this system was not as effective as I had hoped, so after weeks of turning off my light with a stick I can now just refer to my friendly desk lamp.
Something that surprised me was the cost of lightbulbs. In France you cannot buy the regular light bulbs anymore and all light bulbs are the new energy efficient ones. While my lamp was 5 euros, the light bulb I had to purchase for it cost 7euros (about $9). I understand that I will never have to replace this lightbulb and that it will probably last for the next ten years, but $9 for a single lightbulb seems pretty steep. I should also note that it was one of the least expensive lightbulbs there. To avoid any false generalizations, I have only ever looked at the price of lightbulbs in Ikea, so its possible that they have exceptionally high prices to compensate for the low prices of the lamps. So this might only hold true for the French Ikea and not the whole of France.
Other new advancements; I have now been skiing three times! I really enjoy it though I am not very good yet. I am however making a commitment to getting better and I am going to look at skis today. There is a consignment type sports store that sells all kinds of used (and new) skis for good deals, and they are currently having a sale, so all their merchandise is 20% off. I am hoping I can get boots, poles and skis for under 100 euros which would be a significant savings over the cost of renting skis each time I go.
Last but not least I finally have access to the laundry machine! Providing I get the key on time I will soon have clean clothes. Though I still have enough clean clothes to wear, I am forced to dress progressively nicer and nicer because all my regular type clothes are dirty leaving me with dress pants and vests.
This concludes my free time for the day and you are all in the loop about the mundane details of my life!
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Monaco!
Since I have not been particulary active on my blog of late and I have so many pictures and things to tell you all about my recent trip I have decided to take a town by town approach. So you can look forward to several more entries with town names. You might miss out on the details of my daily life (I go to class, and eat)but you'll get to hear about all the glamourous parts.
So, I visited an entire country in about 6 hours. This seems pretty quick, but in all fairness the entirety of Monaco fits into about 2 square kilometers (about .75 square miles). It is the second smallest country in the world and the first most densely populated. I didn't see any green space or parks while I was there so I imagine this is true. All of the areas I saw were much like a downtown area, but far far cleaner than anything I though possible.
Before I get carried away I should probably begin with how I arrived in Monaco. The city of Nice has an excellent public transit system and for 1euro you can take the bus almost anywhere, even to another country. So I hopped on the bus and off I went. The bus actually goes through Monaco in its entireity so I decided to follow directions I read online and got off in Monte Carlo (ontop of a hill) so I would be able to walk down and save myself from excessive physical exertion. For those of you who don't know Monte Carlo is a city in Monaco, it might well be the only city... I don't know. I personally believe they created it just so they would have a capital and that the boundries are rather arbitary. It's claim to fame is it's casino, which is featured in many movies (I think, I haven't seen any movies that have featured it). Though am not quite sure of the distinction between Monte carlo and the rest of Monaco I know that I saw them both.
The casino was quite fancy, and like everything else in Monaco catered to the very rich. To get into some of the rooms you had to be dressed formally, think tuxedo and top hat. You also had to pay 10 euros just to get into the casino gambling rooms, I decided against going in because I wouldn`t have gambled anyways and I wanted to see more of the city. I should also clarify that I wasn`t alone while visiting Monaco, I went with a friends of a friend so I got to enjoy the sights in good company. Other people shared my opinion and half of us ended up venturing down to the harbour. The boats were huge, many of which were larger than my house and far nicer. I counted 4 stories on one boat, though I`m not it would still be classified as a boat with 4 stories, perhaps the title of mini cruise ship would be more appropriate. While talking to people in my hostel I ended up meeting someone who was repairing the prince of Sudan`s boat, which was moored in Monaco`s harbour. Though I had never heard of this prince I was told that he is rich enough to sustain 15 generations (without lifting a finger), at the quality of life he is used to. This involves personal servants as well as a private cook and three deckhands. Just imagine what kind of service he receives at his palace back home!
After enjoying a nice lunch that I purchased at the grocery store back in Nice, I wandered the streets and glimpsed my first ever orange tree! It was very exciting though despite my best efforts (I couldn`t reach and didn`t want to make a fool of myself by jumping) I was not able to try an orange. I was successful later on in another town but that is a story for later.
Back on track to Monaco, after my orange adventures I ventured to the Prince of Monaco`s castle. At this point I was back to wandering solo so I took my time and wandered the streets. The palace itself was underwhelming and not nearly as regal as I had imagined. Regular folk were not allowed into the palace, so I had to settle for picture of the outside. It was still pretty cool though, and I did get to see the Princes guards dressed in outfits that wouldn`t have seemed out of place at Buckingham palace. All this lead me to believe that this prince is quite and important guy, I was quite surprised to learn that the prince is about 40 years old and balding. Though some might say you should never judge a book by it`s cover, I was nonethless a little bit let down with the whole royal setup, prince and castle.
Aside from the notable exception of the royal family, Monaco only really differed from France in a few notable ways. Firstly Monaco is incredibly clean. They must have people whos only job is to clean garbage off the streets because I did not see a single piece of garbage out of place, cigarette butt on the street or chewing gum stuck to the sidewalk. Actually, while I was sitting in the courtyard just outside the palace I witnessed a man vacuuming up pine needles that had fallen onto the ground from the trees above. I also saw a lot of police officers but they were not doing normal police type things. Instead they were acting as crossing guards at the local school. I realize that police officers do this sometimes, but it seemed like this was quite a regular thing.
I was told that there is basically no crime in Monaco (aside from drug abuse by the rich) and that there are police at the train station and borders who will send you back to where you came from if you look too scruffy. I am tempted to believe this as not once did I see anyone who looked remotely homeless, aside from the occasional poorly dressed tourist.
So, I visited an entire country in about 6 hours. This seems pretty quick, but in all fairness the entirety of Monaco fits into about 2 square kilometers (about .75 square miles). It is the second smallest country in the world and the first most densely populated. I didn't see any green space or parks while I was there so I imagine this is true. All of the areas I saw were much like a downtown area, but far far cleaner than anything I though possible.
Before I get carried away I should probably begin with how I arrived in Monaco. The city of Nice has an excellent public transit system and for 1euro you can take the bus almost anywhere, even to another country. So I hopped on the bus and off I went. The bus actually goes through Monaco in its entireity so I decided to follow directions I read online and got off in Monte Carlo (ontop of a hill) so I would be able to walk down and save myself from excessive physical exertion. For those of you who don't know Monte Carlo is a city in Monaco, it might well be the only city... I don't know. I personally believe they created it just so they would have a capital and that the boundries are rather arbitary. It's claim to fame is it's casino, which is featured in many movies (I think, I haven't seen any movies that have featured it). Though am not quite sure of the distinction between Monte carlo and the rest of Monaco I know that I saw them both.
The casino was quite fancy, and like everything else in Monaco catered to the very rich. To get into some of the rooms you had to be dressed formally, think tuxedo and top hat. You also had to pay 10 euros just to get into the casino gambling rooms, I decided against going in because I wouldn`t have gambled anyways and I wanted to see more of the city. I should also clarify that I wasn`t alone while visiting Monaco, I went with a friends of a friend so I got to enjoy the sights in good company. Other people shared my opinion and half of us ended up venturing down to the harbour. The boats were huge, many of which were larger than my house and far nicer. I counted 4 stories on one boat, though I`m not it would still be classified as a boat with 4 stories, perhaps the title of mini cruise ship would be more appropriate. While talking to people in my hostel I ended up meeting someone who was repairing the prince of Sudan`s boat, which was moored in Monaco`s harbour. Though I had never heard of this prince I was told that he is rich enough to sustain 15 generations (without lifting a finger), at the quality of life he is used to. This involves personal servants as well as a private cook and three deckhands. Just imagine what kind of service he receives at his palace back home!
After enjoying a nice lunch that I purchased at the grocery store back in Nice, I wandered the streets and glimpsed my first ever orange tree! It was very exciting though despite my best efforts (I couldn`t reach and didn`t want to make a fool of myself by jumping) I was not able to try an orange. I was successful later on in another town but that is a story for later.
Back on track to Monaco, after my orange adventures I ventured to the Prince of Monaco`s castle. At this point I was back to wandering solo so I took my time and wandered the streets. The palace itself was underwhelming and not nearly as regal as I had imagined. Regular folk were not allowed into the palace, so I had to settle for picture of the outside. It was still pretty cool though, and I did get to see the Princes guards dressed in outfits that wouldn`t have seemed out of place at Buckingham palace. All this lead me to believe that this prince is quite and important guy, I was quite surprised to learn that the prince is about 40 years old and balding. Though some might say you should never judge a book by it`s cover, I was nonethless a little bit let down with the whole royal setup, prince and castle.
Aside from the notable exception of the royal family, Monaco only really differed from France in a few notable ways. Firstly Monaco is incredibly clean. They must have people whos only job is to clean garbage off the streets because I did not see a single piece of garbage out of place, cigarette butt on the street or chewing gum stuck to the sidewalk. Actually, while I was sitting in the courtyard just outside the palace I witnessed a man vacuuming up pine needles that had fallen onto the ground from the trees above. I also saw a lot of police officers but they were not doing normal police type things. Instead they were acting as crossing guards at the local school. I realize that police officers do this sometimes, but it seemed like this was quite a regular thing.
I was told that there is basically no crime in Monaco (aside from drug abuse by the rich) and that there are police at the train station and borders who will send you back to where you came from if you look too scruffy. I am tempted to believe this as not once did I see anyone who looked remotely homeless, aside from the occasional poorly dressed tourist.
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| garden in front of the casino |
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| The casino from the front (I had to be this far back to get it all in) |
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| Walking down from Monte Carlo to the Port |
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| Expensive car dealership for all you car nuts |
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| The main port viewed from the road up to the castle |
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| courtyard in front of the cathedral |
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| the palace |
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| The courtyard that was being vaccumed |
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| A second port behind the castle, note the size difference between the 'small' and large boats |
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| cannons just outside the castle |
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| cathedral/church on the castle hill |
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| Orange trees! |
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| another fancy car |
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
It's nice in Nice
So these next few entries will probably be much shorter than usual and have more typos because of auto correct ( I'm typing on my iPod). I just figured I would let you all know I have arrived in nice safely. The trip was rather eventful. I took three trains, luckily trains are much easier to navigate than airports. However they don't check to make sure you get on the right train so you have to be vigilant. Luckily I got on all the right trains at the right times. There was a slight delay on the third train from Marseille to Nice when a tree fell down on the tracks and they had to move it, but it was only about 20 mins so I didn't affect my trip drastically.
I am now safely installed in my hostel, this entry is actually being written from my bed, i'm also only sharing my room with two other girls, as opposed to the 12 Person room I thought I was getting.
I am now safely installed in my hostel, this entry is actually being written from my bed, i'm also only sharing my room with two other girls, as opposed to the 12 Person room I thought I was getting.
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Southbound
Right now I am on my reading week, after a full 3 weeks of school I might add. Because I don't have any kind of piles of homework I was trying to figure out how to best use my time. I was hoping to go traveling with my friends but their reading week doesn't start until next week. I was kind of thinking about going to Paris but for whatever reason that didn't really appeal, it just seemed too conventional. Also, going to Paris the day after Valentines might have been a little bit sad for a solo traveller. My original plan was to go to Venice for the Carnaval which is famous, it's where they wear all the masks and stuff. However it was about 100euros for the train one way which seemed a little steep.
Then yesterday, after much back and forth I decided to buy a discount card for the French Railway (SNCF), which gets me between 25-60% off on all trains within France and also on certain trains to Spain, Germany and Switzerland. It has already paid off and I have now booked a round trip ticket to Nice for 80 euros. I know I could have got a better rate if I had booked ahead but I decided there is no time like the present. I leave tomorrow in the early afternoon and will be back in Grenoble by 8pm on Sunday evening. I am getting pretty excited (considering I only booked these tickets 30 mins ago). Though its a bit of a milk run trip I am hoping it will be an excellent way to see the countryside, I go from Grenoble to Valence, Valence to Marseille (on the TGV) and then from Marseille to Nice on a normal train. I was originally considering going to Marseille and Nice but after looking at all the day trips I could do from Nice (this is the article I am going to base my trips on) I decided that just concentrating on one area would be a better idea. The plan is to see Monaco and Monte Carlo one day, Ventimigilia, Italy another day and maybe also see Eze or Grasse if time allows.
This is still kind of a conventional trip but since I am traveling in February I am hoping that the locals will be friendlier toward tourists. Though on Friday, the carnaval de Nice kicks off (which I will be going to) and apparently it attracts over 1 million tourists per year so it might prove to be like my New York trip on easter weekend, incredibly busy. I definitely won't end up with a tan after my trip the south of France, but with highs of 10 degrees I'm sure Nice will feel positively tropical (it's currently -1 and it feels relatively warm). If you want to know more about the carnaval check out their official website.
As far as what I have been doing in my normal, non glamorous life there is not a whole lot to say. I didn't really accomplish anything over the weekend. However, I went to the market on Sunday morning and bought some delicious food. I had the most airy, moist, perfectly crisp on the outside flute (the wider, flatter brother of the baguette). I also bought a pain au raisin for breakfast from the same bakery and it was delicious. It looked like a cinnamon roll, but there was no cinnamon or icing, and it had a thin layer of custard type stuff on the dough. If you have have a chance to try one I would definitely recommend it.
On the other hand steer clear from 'sablé' (translates to sandy, which should have tipped me off). I bought one a couple weeks ago from a different bakery, they are large and look like giant cookies, which I assumed they were. Wrong. It was very crumbly and bland, and even though there were chocolate chips inside it was thoroughly disappointing. Perhaps if I had not been expecting a cookie it would have been o.k., but it is definitely not something I will be jumping to purchase again.
To mitigate the jealousy some of you might be feeling towards me and my (seemingly) glamorous life I am currently without water and a kitchen. Yesterday evening I went to make my dinner and was greeted with a locked door. I assumed the cleaning lady had just got really angry about the odour and locked us out because she assumed it was us making the smell. To preface this, every weekday morning at about 8:30 (which is when I usually wake up when I don`t have class) I can hear her complaining, and when I walk by her on my way to the bathroom she always complains to me about how awful the kitchen smells, and how we aren't allowed to leave garbage in the kitchen. Now, to clarify we are not allowed to leave garbage bags in the kitchen. The garbage she is complaining about is contained in a plastic bag and not creating any kind of real mess. Since there is no garbage in the kitchen to begin with, this garbage bag is necessary unless you want to throw your garbage on the counter/floor. So to sum up, the cleaning lady always yells at us about the awful sewage type odour when it is not at all our fault. I don`t think we could create the kind of odour that is present, even if we wanted to.
Later on, when I returned after going to someone`s going away party I found a notice under my door. It said that there is a problem with the plumbing (surprised? no) and that they are working to fix it as soon as they can. Until this (undefined) day we are not allowed to use the sinks in our room or the kitchen... Luckily (and unfortunately) this problem only seems to be affecting the 5th and 4th floors, and part of the 3rd and 2nd floor, so I still have access to water, I just have to walk down four flights of stairs and a long hallway to access it. Awesome. Griping aside, it really isn't that bad. Just another good story to tell one day in the future, about how I once lived in a building without real toilets and hot showers. It will probably also mean that any hostel I choose to stay in in Nice will seem super nice by comparison, or at least won`t seem any worse.
Also, Happy Birthday Mom! (and happy valentines to everyone else)
Then yesterday, after much back and forth I decided to buy a discount card for the French Railway (SNCF), which gets me between 25-60% off on all trains within France and also on certain trains to Spain, Germany and Switzerland. It has already paid off and I have now booked a round trip ticket to Nice for 80 euros. I know I could have got a better rate if I had booked ahead but I decided there is no time like the present. I leave tomorrow in the early afternoon and will be back in Grenoble by 8pm on Sunday evening. I am getting pretty excited (considering I only booked these tickets 30 mins ago). Though its a bit of a milk run trip I am hoping it will be an excellent way to see the countryside, I go from Grenoble to Valence, Valence to Marseille (on the TGV) and then from Marseille to Nice on a normal train. I was originally considering going to Marseille and Nice but after looking at all the day trips I could do from Nice (this is the article I am going to base my trips on) I decided that just concentrating on one area would be a better idea. The plan is to see Monaco and Monte Carlo one day, Ventimigilia, Italy another day and maybe also see Eze or Grasse if time allows.
This is still kind of a conventional trip but since I am traveling in February I am hoping that the locals will be friendlier toward tourists. Though on Friday, the carnaval de Nice kicks off (which I will be going to) and apparently it attracts over 1 million tourists per year so it might prove to be like my New York trip on easter weekend, incredibly busy. I definitely won't end up with a tan after my trip the south of France, but with highs of 10 degrees I'm sure Nice will feel positively tropical (it's currently -1 and it feels relatively warm). If you want to know more about the carnaval check out their official website.
As far as what I have been doing in my normal, non glamorous life there is not a whole lot to say. I didn't really accomplish anything over the weekend. However, I went to the market on Sunday morning and bought some delicious food. I had the most airy, moist, perfectly crisp on the outside flute (the wider, flatter brother of the baguette). I also bought a pain au raisin for breakfast from the same bakery and it was delicious. It looked like a cinnamon roll, but there was no cinnamon or icing, and it had a thin layer of custard type stuff on the dough. If you have have a chance to try one I would definitely recommend it.
On the other hand steer clear from 'sablé' (translates to sandy, which should have tipped me off). I bought one a couple weeks ago from a different bakery, they are large and look like giant cookies, which I assumed they were. Wrong. It was very crumbly and bland, and even though there were chocolate chips inside it was thoroughly disappointing. Perhaps if I had not been expecting a cookie it would have been o.k., but it is definitely not something I will be jumping to purchase again.
To mitigate the jealousy some of you might be feeling towards me and my (seemingly) glamorous life I am currently without water and a kitchen. Yesterday evening I went to make my dinner and was greeted with a locked door. I assumed the cleaning lady had just got really angry about the odour and locked us out because she assumed it was us making the smell. To preface this, every weekday morning at about 8:30 (which is when I usually wake up when I don`t have class) I can hear her complaining, and when I walk by her on my way to the bathroom she always complains to me about how awful the kitchen smells, and how we aren't allowed to leave garbage in the kitchen. Now, to clarify we are not allowed to leave garbage bags in the kitchen. The garbage she is complaining about is contained in a plastic bag and not creating any kind of real mess. Since there is no garbage in the kitchen to begin with, this garbage bag is necessary unless you want to throw your garbage on the counter/floor. So to sum up, the cleaning lady always yells at us about the awful sewage type odour when it is not at all our fault. I don`t think we could create the kind of odour that is present, even if we wanted to.
Later on, when I returned after going to someone`s going away party I found a notice under my door. It said that there is a problem with the plumbing (surprised? no) and that they are working to fix it as soon as they can. Until this (undefined) day we are not allowed to use the sinks in our room or the kitchen... Luckily (and unfortunately) this problem only seems to be affecting the 5th and 4th floors, and part of the 3rd and 2nd floor, so I still have access to water, I just have to walk down four flights of stairs and a long hallway to access it. Awesome. Griping aside, it really isn't that bad. Just another good story to tell one day in the future, about how I once lived in a building without real toilets and hot showers. It will probably also mean that any hostel I choose to stay in in Nice will seem super nice by comparison, or at least won`t seem any worse.
Also, Happy Birthday Mom! (and happy valentines to everyone else)
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Bend your knees!
This always happens to me. During the week when I am busy, I see and think of lots of things I think you would all really enjoy hearing about. Then as soon as I take the time to sit down and write about them I can't remember what they were and I am left asking myself about what I should write.
That being said, I did go skiing this past Thursday which was a very new experience for me. The university has a ski school and for the cost of 30euros you are able to take as many ski lessons as you want. You also get cut rates on lift passes, rentals, and they organize charter buses to the mountains on certain days.
Since I have never been skiing before I took full advantage of the lessons and took the bus up on Thursday afternoon after my class. It was a beautiful day, the sun was shining, I was even too hot with all the layers I was wearing. I'm not complaining though, some of my friends went up on the weekend previous and had to cut their trips short because of freezing body parts. I can't compare the resort to skiing on the island since I've never been but it was pretty cool, were were surrounded by other mountains on all sides. I didn't take any pictures as I was concentrating on not falling while learning to walk in ski boots, but in the future I plan to take some. If you want to check out what it looks like in real time here is a link to the 7 laux webcams.
As opposed to home, skiing is incredibly close. It took us about 40 minutes to get to the ski hill. Out of curiosity I looked up how many other ski resorts were in the surrounding area and there is a HUGE number, check out this website for a visual representation. There has to be at least 20 within an hour drive, though I image I will be sticking to the three that offer the discounted lift passes. Which brings me to the second difference, the cost. For transport to and from the mountains, 1/2 day lift pass and ski rentals I paid $45, which seems like a pretty good deal to me.
As far as the actual skiing is concerned it also went really well. My instructors were quite funny and very encouraging. I got to play the role of translator as my entire class of first time skiers who didn't really speak French very well. Since the instructors didn't really speak English the instructions weren't being understood very well. For a few minutes they were yelling "flechi tes genoux" repeatedly at different people as we worked on skiing, eventually it occurred to me that other people might not know what that meant (they weren't following instructions) so I decided to yell out "bend your knees", that worked much better. After this all three of the teachers got really excited, and peppered me with questions about how to give ski specific instructions ( favourites were 'do that again' and 'thighs' and 'bend your knees') They were also interested as to how I was able to speak French and I proudly replied that I am Canadian. I found out one of the guys had been to Quebec when he was my age (he's about 40 now I would guess) and he had a really great time, they were all quite a fun bunch.
I also got to explain the 'tire fesse' (translates literally to bum pull) to a german student who didn't really speak french.. For all of you who don't know what a tire fesse its a kind of ski lift, there is a long pole attached to a rotating cable. At the end of each pole, a disk is attached. As the poles come around you grab them, put the pole between your legs and kind of rest your bum on the disk, hence tire fesse. They also had chair lifts, but since I was only on the bunny hill, a chair lift would have been completely impractical and unnecessary.
As far as my actual advances in the world of sking I am much better than I was originally. I learnt how to walk in ski boots downhill and also up stairs (it's quite difficult). I had to do sort of a walk of shame at the beginning. Once you get to the hill you have to walk about 1km through the resort to where you get the ski passes, they have a skiable walkway, so everyone puts on their skis/snowboards and off they go. I was in the unique position of having no idea how to put my skis on, so I was definitely not going to attempt skiing to the main area. I felt pretty rookie walking along watching everyone ski past me. I must have also looked quite funny walking down the hilly parts in the ski boots (it was really more like a barely controlled skate downhill).
Once we had the lift passes, we took the lift up to the middle area where there was a valley type area were they had a beginner area. By the end of the day I was able to turn quite well and barely fell at all. I was actually surprised by how little I fell (probably only about 10 times over 3.5 hours). I was kind of expecting it to be like skating, and was pleasantly surprised when I left without bruised knees and buttocks. Here's to hoping my progress continues at this rate.
As a charity update I have now made $2.52, so excellent progress is being made. Thanks to everyone who's reading my blog for your loyalty!
That being said, I did go skiing this past Thursday which was a very new experience for me. The university has a ski school and for the cost of 30euros you are able to take as many ski lessons as you want. You also get cut rates on lift passes, rentals, and they organize charter buses to the mountains on certain days.
Since I have never been skiing before I took full advantage of the lessons and took the bus up on Thursday afternoon after my class. It was a beautiful day, the sun was shining, I was even too hot with all the layers I was wearing. I'm not complaining though, some of my friends went up on the weekend previous and had to cut their trips short because of freezing body parts. I can't compare the resort to skiing on the island since I've never been but it was pretty cool, were were surrounded by other mountains on all sides. I didn't take any pictures as I was concentrating on not falling while learning to walk in ski boots, but in the future I plan to take some. If you want to check out what it looks like in real time here is a link to the 7 laux webcams.
As opposed to home, skiing is incredibly close. It took us about 40 minutes to get to the ski hill. Out of curiosity I looked up how many other ski resorts were in the surrounding area and there is a HUGE number, check out this website for a visual representation. There has to be at least 20 within an hour drive, though I image I will be sticking to the three that offer the discounted lift passes. Which brings me to the second difference, the cost. For transport to and from the mountains, 1/2 day lift pass and ski rentals I paid $45, which seems like a pretty good deal to me.
As far as the actual skiing is concerned it also went really well. My instructors were quite funny and very encouraging. I got to play the role of translator as my entire class of first time skiers who didn't really speak French very well. Since the instructors didn't really speak English the instructions weren't being understood very well. For a few minutes they were yelling "flechi tes genoux" repeatedly at different people as we worked on skiing, eventually it occurred to me that other people might not know what that meant (they weren't following instructions) so I decided to yell out "bend your knees", that worked much better. After this all three of the teachers got really excited, and peppered me with questions about how to give ski specific instructions ( favourites were 'do that again' and 'thighs' and 'bend your knees') They were also interested as to how I was able to speak French and I proudly replied that I am Canadian. I found out one of the guys had been to Quebec when he was my age (he's about 40 now I would guess) and he had a really great time, they were all quite a fun bunch.
I also got to explain the 'tire fesse' (translates literally to bum pull) to a german student who didn't really speak french.. For all of you who don't know what a tire fesse its a kind of ski lift, there is a long pole attached to a rotating cable. At the end of each pole, a disk is attached. As the poles come around you grab them, put the pole between your legs and kind of rest your bum on the disk, hence tire fesse. They also had chair lifts, but since I was only on the bunny hill, a chair lift would have been completely impractical and unnecessary.
As far as my actual advances in the world of sking I am much better than I was originally. I learnt how to walk in ski boots downhill and also up stairs (it's quite difficult). I had to do sort of a walk of shame at the beginning. Once you get to the hill you have to walk about 1km through the resort to where you get the ski passes, they have a skiable walkway, so everyone puts on their skis/snowboards and off they go. I was in the unique position of having no idea how to put my skis on, so I was definitely not going to attempt skiing to the main area. I felt pretty rookie walking along watching everyone ski past me. I must have also looked quite funny walking down the hilly parts in the ski boots (it was really more like a barely controlled skate downhill).
Once we had the lift passes, we took the lift up to the middle area where there was a valley type area were they had a beginner area. By the end of the day I was able to turn quite well and barely fell at all. I was actually surprised by how little I fell (probably only about 10 times over 3.5 hours). I was kind of expecting it to be like skating, and was pleasantly surprised when I left without bruised knees and buttocks. Here's to hoping my progress continues at this rate.
As a charity update I have now made $2.52, so excellent progress is being made. Thanks to everyone who's reading my blog for your loyalty!
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Brrrrr
Yesterday my first class was at 8am and my last class finished at 7:15pm (or 19h15 if you're European), I only really had 3 hours between my classes at most and since it takes me about 40 minutes to get from my apartment to campus I decided to stay on campus.
As some of you may know Grenoble is experiencing a cold period (it's currently -12 with -20 windchill) I don't know how often this has happened historically but it seems to be rather abnormal. I have concluded this because they don't heat anything well (aside from my residence), they also have rather inefficient doors for keeping the warmth in a building. In Ottawa during the winter, though it may be bitterly cold outside inside is always well heated so once inside, you warm up very quickly. Here it is not so, in the main building of my university that holds all the ampitheaters they have automatic sliding doors. This means that a huge amount of door opens whenever someone walks by, even if they don't want to come into or leave the building. Since the bathroom door is right next to the main entrance this happens very frequently.
I think my toes were numb all day, which was mainly my fault because I didn't wear my wool socks (dumb idea) but in all fairness I was expecting warm buildings. Heating issues inside, I think that the main reason that I am having problems dealing with this cold is that I do not have my winter boots or my parka here with me. I figuered that the few days I might need them for wasn't enough to justify that much room in my suitcase. Not so. However in the middle of next week the temperatures are supposed to rise so I should be a much warmer person.
Aside from being cold most of yesterday, I also went out for my first real meal in France. I went out with with 4 other exchange students ( from Russia, Italy, USA and Canada) to an Indian restaurant which is right near the bottom of my hill. I was a little skeptical but the food was pretty good, though not quite as spicy as I had expected. Unfortunately the service was remarkably slow, though I think that might be a characteristic of France and not this particular restaurant. I was also very hungry so that definetly didn't help the problem.
Even more interesting about the restaurant is that we were seated around 8:40pm and we left at 11pm. there were only 3 other groups of people in the restaurant (all of whom arrived before us) and they weren't really showing any signs of leaving at 11, most were enjoying dessert of their coffees. It was kind of difficult because I was so hungry but it was definitely a nice change of pace from home, where the servers seem to want you to leave as soon as possible. I was going to continue this post but I have just glanced at the clock and I have to be in class soon, so you will all just have to look forward to part two.
As some of you may know Grenoble is experiencing a cold period (it's currently -12 with -20 windchill) I don't know how often this has happened historically but it seems to be rather abnormal. I have concluded this because they don't heat anything well (aside from my residence), they also have rather inefficient doors for keeping the warmth in a building. In Ottawa during the winter, though it may be bitterly cold outside inside is always well heated so once inside, you warm up very quickly. Here it is not so, in the main building of my university that holds all the ampitheaters they have automatic sliding doors. This means that a huge amount of door opens whenever someone walks by, even if they don't want to come into or leave the building. Since the bathroom door is right next to the main entrance this happens very frequently.
I think my toes were numb all day, which was mainly my fault because I didn't wear my wool socks (dumb idea) but in all fairness I was expecting warm buildings. Heating issues inside, I think that the main reason that I am having problems dealing with this cold is that I do not have my winter boots or my parka here with me. I figuered that the few days I might need them for wasn't enough to justify that much room in my suitcase. Not so. However in the middle of next week the temperatures are supposed to rise so I should be a much warmer person.
Aside from being cold most of yesterday, I also went out for my first real meal in France. I went out with with 4 other exchange students ( from Russia, Italy, USA and Canada) to an Indian restaurant which is right near the bottom of my hill. I was a little skeptical but the food was pretty good, though not quite as spicy as I had expected. Unfortunately the service was remarkably slow, though I think that might be a characteristic of France and not this particular restaurant. I was also very hungry so that definetly didn't help the problem.
Even more interesting about the restaurant is that we were seated around 8:40pm and we left at 11pm. there were only 3 other groups of people in the restaurant (all of whom arrived before us) and they weren't really showing any signs of leaving at 11, most were enjoying dessert of their coffees. It was kind of difficult because I was so hungry but it was definitely a nice change of pace from home, where the servers seem to want you to leave as soon as possible. I was going to continue this post but I have just glanced at the clock and I have to be in class soon, so you will all just have to look forward to part two.
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Organ tuning
Yesterday morning I was sitting in my room not doing much of anything, when it hit me. If I just say in my room, my weekend will end up exactly like last weekend where I didn't do anything. So I suited up to face a few hours of picture taking in -10 (before the windchill) and set out down the hill.
Without any kind of concrete plan in mind I began by turning right after crossing the bridge, which I rarely do. My goal was to figure out what one of the buildings is that I always look down on from my room. It is quite large but what interested me about it is that the center is empty, though you would never be able to tell that from the ground. I was hoping that you would somehow be able to gain access to the middle courtyard. Alas, this was not possible though I did discover that it was once the old parliament. Though it was somewhat disappointing to discover that it wasn't a tourist attracting I did end up learning quite a bit about the history of chivalry.
Pierre Terrail de Bayard was the french knight upon which our current image of the knight is based. Born in 1473 he came from a noble family and began training to be a knight at 13 (as a page). I'm not quite sure exactly what he did to become so well loved but it seems that within France his status is similar to that of Joan of Arc.
After viewing the statue I went inside the church in this square. It was very simple but impressive nonethless and I got to hear to organ because it seems the organist was practicing, though he or she didn't actually seem to be playing any complete songs, just bits. I also go to see the priest organizing the altar and there were quite a few women chattering whom I assume were part of as guild of something of the like.It was a very cool glimpse into this church whos name I have forgotten. It seems that de Bayard's remains are buried there, or were once buried there... the sign inside wasn't exactly clear.There was also a plaque dedicated to all the members of the congregation who perished during the first world war, it was quite long and there also seemed to be a lot of women's names, perhaps there was bombing here? I don't have any pictures of the inside because it seemed to peaceful to take out my camera. In any case I wouldn't have been able to capture the atmosphere.
After the church I wandered around some more and ended up in an area I was familiar with. By this point I was quite cold so I wandered in and out of shops to warm up though I didn't really see anything particularly interesting. I did find a booksale that was taking place in a church downtown. It was quite interesting because the booksale was actually inside the church and they had reorganize the back to make room for the books. Even though I did not buy anything it was a cool experience.
After my walk around downtown I ventured nearer to the university and bought all the stuff that I need to go skiing. I ended up finding some very good deals (my ski jacket was 20 euros) and walked out completley outfitted for skiing (minus skis and boots) for about $160 which seemed like quite a good deal to me. I am hoping to put all my stuff to good use Thursday afternoon because the university is running a bus to one of the mountains nearby and there will be free lessons taking place (though I'm not sure how it works yet).
Also, for all those who are interested as of now I have made 0.43cents. Hourrah! If it continues this way soon I will have made my first dollar!
Without any kind of concrete plan in mind I began by turning right after crossing the bridge, which I rarely do. My goal was to figure out what one of the buildings is that I always look down on from my room. It is quite large but what interested me about it is that the center is empty, though you would never be able to tell that from the ground. I was hoping that you would somehow be able to gain access to the middle courtyard. Alas, this was not possible though I did discover that it was once the old parliament. Though it was somewhat disappointing to discover that it wasn't a tourist attracting I did end up learning quite a bit about the history of chivalry.
Pierre Terrail de Bayard was the french knight upon which our current image of the knight is based. Born in 1473 he came from a noble family and began training to be a knight at 13 (as a page). I'm not quite sure exactly what he did to become so well loved but it seems that within France his status is similar to that of Joan of Arc.
 |
| stature of chevalier de Bayard |
 |
| the south side of parliament |
 | |
| the north side of parliament (I don't know why its a different colour... maybe they're resurfacing it?) |
After the church I wandered around some more and ended up in an area I was familiar with. By this point I was quite cold so I wandered in and out of shops to warm up though I didn't really see anything particularly interesting. I did find a booksale that was taking place in a church downtown. It was quite interesting because the booksale was actually inside the church and they had reorganize the back to make room for the books. Even though I did not buy anything it was a cool experience.
After my walk around downtown I ventured nearer to the university and bought all the stuff that I need to go skiing. I ended up finding some very good deals (my ski jacket was 20 euros) and walked out completley outfitted for skiing (minus skis and boots) for about $160 which seemed like quite a good deal to me. I am hoping to put all my stuff to good use Thursday afternoon because the university is running a bus to one of the mountains nearby and there will be free lessons taking place (though I'm not sure how it works yet).
Also, for all those who are interested as of now I have made 0.43cents. Hourrah! If it continues this way soon I will have made my first dollar!
 |
| on the way down the hill |
 |
| cool courtyard |
 |
| if you look carefully you can see the larger mountains in the background |
 |
| on the way down the hill |
 |
| from the pedestrian bridge |
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| Serpent and Dragon fountain |
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| Cool building at the bottom of the hill |
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| part of the chartreuse range |
Friday, February 3, 2012
Too harsh?
While looking back on my blog to try to find inspiration for a new post I've come to realize that I may have been too harsh on the French. Today marks my 3rd week in France and perhaps I am moving past the culture shock phase and beginning to accept that France and Canada are just different. I say this because it now seems to me that they French are politer than I initially gave them credit for, though admittedly in a very different way.
I think a more accurate portrayal would be that the French are polite and formal while Canadians are polite and welcoming. I think it was this formality that threw me for a spin initially and I interpreted it as rudeness, but I am beginning to think this is not the case. Upon entering almost any store you are greeted by the clerk with a good morning/afternoon/evening miss (or madam or sir, but I don't ever get those ones), though this does not occur in big stores. This greeting is not usually accompanied by a smile, the French do not pretend that the customers are their friends, the clerk is there to be pleasant, but has no further obligation to the customer. I have always found the tellers helpful when I have asked them a question and I did not feel that they were trying to move through me to get to the next customer. This however has a downside and checkout lines move very slowly compared to what I am used to.
I have also noticed that being polite and smiling at whoever is helping me often results in a far greater reaction than at home. Perhaps it is because the French are not used to this north american habit, but I have been the witness of some remarkable turnarounds in demeanour. One checkout clerk snapped at me that she had to go get something and left me standing there with my food halfway rung through. When she returned a few minutes later (tylenol in hand) she apologized and I replied with something like 'not a problem'. I got a 'thank you for coming in', 'have a nice evening' and a smile. Perhaps it was because she had heard me speaking English to one of my friends in line and had assumed that I was going to be an arrogant tourist, expecting her to speak in English to me. I replied to her in French, as I try to speak to everyone in French (even if they attempt to speak to me in English because after all I am in France). Even if me speaking French was not the reason for her change of heart, it was the most memorable 180 in customer service I have ever had.
It also surprises me how often I am called Miss in stores. I know that when I help customers, I rarely address them at all, unless they have they back turned to me and I can think of no other way to get their attention. I even usually begin with an 'Excuse me' for fear of offending someone with a 'Sir' of 'Ma'am' thus making them feel older than their years. Here it is just the way people address you, so no one seemes offended. I am trying not to let the prickly French exterior throw me off. They may not be overly friendly to begin with but if you are just a touch more polite than expected it can have the most impressive impact.
They are also winning me over with their pastries. Yesterday morning on my way back from my 8am class, I stopped in at the bakery at my tram stop. Its quite cold out at the moment and their windows were all fogged up because they were doing so much baking. I went into a bakery and bought a delicious croissant that couldn't have been more than a few hours old. It put all the other other croissants I have had up to now to shame. Before I had been sticking to the pain au chocolat (croissant pastry with chocolate inside, kind of like a sausage roll type structure but with more roll than sausage) because I knew they were good and had never really had awesome croissant. I will not be doing that anymore.
I think a more accurate portrayal would be that the French are polite and formal while Canadians are polite and welcoming. I think it was this formality that threw me for a spin initially and I interpreted it as rudeness, but I am beginning to think this is not the case. Upon entering almost any store you are greeted by the clerk with a good morning/afternoon/evening miss (or madam or sir, but I don't ever get those ones), though this does not occur in big stores. This greeting is not usually accompanied by a smile, the French do not pretend that the customers are their friends, the clerk is there to be pleasant, but has no further obligation to the customer. I have always found the tellers helpful when I have asked them a question and I did not feel that they were trying to move through me to get to the next customer. This however has a downside and checkout lines move very slowly compared to what I am used to.
I have also noticed that being polite and smiling at whoever is helping me often results in a far greater reaction than at home. Perhaps it is because the French are not used to this north american habit, but I have been the witness of some remarkable turnarounds in demeanour. One checkout clerk snapped at me that she had to go get something and left me standing there with my food halfway rung through. When she returned a few minutes later (tylenol in hand) she apologized and I replied with something like 'not a problem'. I got a 'thank you for coming in', 'have a nice evening' and a smile. Perhaps it was because she had heard me speaking English to one of my friends in line and had assumed that I was going to be an arrogant tourist, expecting her to speak in English to me. I replied to her in French, as I try to speak to everyone in French (even if they attempt to speak to me in English because after all I am in France). Even if me speaking French was not the reason for her change of heart, it was the most memorable 180 in customer service I have ever had.
It also surprises me how often I am called Miss in stores. I know that when I help customers, I rarely address them at all, unless they have they back turned to me and I can think of no other way to get their attention. I even usually begin with an 'Excuse me' for fear of offending someone with a 'Sir' of 'Ma'am' thus making them feel older than their years. Here it is just the way people address you, so no one seemes offended. I am trying not to let the prickly French exterior throw me off. They may not be overly friendly to begin with but if you are just a touch more polite than expected it can have the most impressive impact.
They are also winning me over with their pastries. Yesterday morning on my way back from my 8am class, I stopped in at the bakery at my tram stop. Its quite cold out at the moment and their windows were all fogged up because they were doing so much baking. I went into a bakery and bought a delicious croissant that couldn't have been more than a few hours old. It put all the other other croissants I have had up to now to shame. Before I had been sticking to the pain au chocolat (croissant pastry with chocolate inside, kind of like a sausage roll type structure but with more roll than sausage) because I knew they were good and had never really had awesome croissant. I will not be doing that anymore.
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