Sunday, April 24, 2005 My last day in France - A surprise for Sandi and a surprise for Bernard! Well, this had been an interesting day. Right now, I am sitting on the terrace of Hotel Marc-Hely in La Colle sur Loup looking over the hills to the walled city of St. Paul de Vence listening to the sound of traffic on the freeway (somehow reassuring to me) and the hooting of an owl.  It is cool and cloudy today - although humid too - this morning there was a bit more sun and the temperature was higher I think - or perhaps it was just my temperature that was higher. The view is lovely - near me is very green - hedges and trees - some just beginning to bud out - farther, St. Paul de Vence is white and orange on its cliff, surrounded by trees. The neighboring hills are green and dotted with orange villas. Farther, are what I (and maybe the French) call massifs - big serious jutting cols, reaching for the clouds. And as I breathe in the mountain air, the fragrance of wisteria drifts on the wind and there are numerous birds chirping. It is quite pleasant here. You may wonder what I am doing on the terrace of Hotel Marc-Hely.... When I went to breakfast this morning, I had several things to discuss with Barnard:
Then, it was his turn to worry - I informed him about the leak under the sink - he had already told me it would not be possible for me to stay another night because all the rooms were rented - and now, Sunday, he had to deal with the leak. It was a pretty bad one I think - I first noticed it yesterday when the faucets started spitting - like they do when the water has been turned off and then turned back on - but someone had been working on the room next to ours earlier in the day, and I just figured it was from that -wrong. It appears that there was a problem with the water coming from the pipe - instead of coming out the faucet, most of it was coming out under the sink. Barnard appeared horrified (as he examinded it, he said Oh la la la la - several times - each time in a more dolorous voice). He left and came back with a flashlight and a wrench - and was muttering to himself - evidently it is as easy to get a plumber in France on Sunday as in Los Altos - and he was very upset because the room had just been completely redone! I was sorry for him, but was more focused on me - because I had to pack and move. The morning was very humid, made more intense by my choice of clothing - a heavy chenille sweater and velvet jacket and scarf. I was trying to calm myself and think about the best way to pack - so I would only have to use my carry-on wherever I was going to end up tonight - as well as make a list of the stuff I had bought for customs - as well as try to pack up all my stuff and Sarah's stuff in a way that would make sense and protect everything - the wine, the olive oil, etc. It was hot and humid, the air was thick with tension and it was not a good environment to think in. I had planned on having the whole day to think about this and figure it all out - but now, I had to do it in a very short time. So I did and the only problem was that after I had gotten every thing packed up and was just ready to drag it all up the zillion stairs to the parking lot, I realized that the keys to the car were in the pocket of my jacket which was in the bottom of the suitcase that was all zipped up and ready to go. Aside...as I write this, I am sitting on the terrace looking out on St. Paul de Vence, and the yard of the hotel I am staying in is surrounded by terraces of various plants - all clipped neatly except for one area about 6 feet long that has a number of what look like honeysuckle or some vine growing up about 2 feet past the top of the hedge and waving in the breeze - the problem is that they are directly in front of the sightline to St,. Paul de Vence - spoiling my view! If I had some clippers, I would go clip them - as it is, I just have to Photoshop them out in my mind. Anyway, I finally got all packed and dragged all the stuff up to the car and loaded it up and said goodbye to Martine and Bernard and wrote politely in the guest book and for the last time, backed out of the worst parking lot on the face of the earth (that was the good news of the morning)! I set off down the road in search of Hotel Marc-Hely - which was just past the Marche-U. I found it and it turns out that, except for the fact that they don't have wireless, it might have been a nicer place to stay! A lovely view (except for the wild honeysuckle), quiet, no tortuous drive up the mountain via one way narrow walled chutes, and, best of all, big, easy parking! M. Ricard was welcoming and gave me my choice of 2 rooms. I unloaded the car, and after a brief tussle with learning how to lock the shutters, I was all set. I spent quite a while on the terrace breathing - trying to recover a bit of calm and figure out what to do for the rest of the day. Since it was after 1:00, I asked M. Richard for some suggestions about where to eat and he suggested 2 restaurants just up the street. I chose the one with native Provencal cooking - La Cle des Champs - and had an excellent lunch of magret de canard (duck breast) with a lovely sauce of cepes and something else that I can't translate. It was a large magret and came with a slice polenta (yech) - but on top were several sliced tomatoes with wonderful pesto and also chiffonade of basil and tomato and cucumber with a fantastic olive oil.  There was also a roasted tomato stuffed with rice and jambon and topped with a sundried tomato. It was very good - the sauce was wonderful. I had a pitcher of red wine and coffee afterwards. The setting was quite interesting. It was full of French families having Sunday dinner. It appeared to be in an old Mas and the dining room was small with a wonderful large fireplace in the corner. Next to it sat a family with a father after my own heart - at least 5 times during his dinner, he poked the fire to try to get it roaring. The waiter came over twice and used an interesting instrument that looked like a narrow hollow log, which he used to blow into the fire and fire it up - but the fire never did roar despite all the attention. The room was full of interesting French antiques - there was a wonderful French door/window that opened out on the terrace that had leaded glass windows and a curtain that was held up by at least a 12 foot long spear and an interesting large painting that I didn't notice until after I began eating of a man fingering a huge knife in the jungle - it was very strange! But the best part was when I left. I was looking for the bathroom and it was painted into the wall - it was a very small curved doorway - probably about 5 feet tall -which led into another door which finally led into the toilet.  All were painted in a fantastic way - perhaps by the knife painter! Amazingly, during the whole meal (and it took a while - as French meals do), there was no smoke except from the fire! So, even thought the day started out in a very unsettled way, it has turned out well so far. Now it is almost time to call Willie - another bit of good news - this room has a phone! And then later, I will go out in search of gas to fill up the car. So far, I have only put 20 euros of gas into it - and will probably need to add another 15 euros or so when I return it - it is a Citroen 3 - and it seems to get really good gas mileage - we have driven all over the Cote d'Azur for only 20 euros! But I do have some concerns about the transmission...
4:19:05 PM  |
Friday, January 30, 2015
Thursday, May 5, 2005 Nice, France
Monday, May 2, 2005 Nice, France
** Orange Alert!! ** Here is is - the one you've all been waiting for...  This morning (Saturday, April 23, we got up at 5:45 so we could make it to Nice Gare by 7:00 am for Sarah's train to Paris. I had hoped to be able to park and see her off, but we didn't have time, so we said goodbye outside the station. Here's how the intrepid backpacker looked as she set off to meet Kate in Paris and then on to explore castles in Germany, several days in Amsterdam and the Netherlands, more time with Smith friends in Copenhagen and then back to York for Spring term. Whew! I'm glad I got to spend a week with her in France and I know we'll never forget Cannes!! ;-) BTW, the pic looks like I Photoshopped it up - but I didn't - that orange is the real deal! It goes great with our little green car! 6:38:55 PM |
Saturday, April 23, 2005 Cote d'Azur
Sarah and Sandi tour the Cote d'AzurI picked Sarah up at the Nice airport on Saturday morning - we checked in at Un Ange Passe (our bed and breakfast) and that evening we had dinner at La Vie Est Belle in La Colle sur Loup:  The next day we went to Tourette sur Loup and St. Paul de Vence. Here are some pictures of Sarah in the hill towns:     We spent the next couple days in Nice - sightseeing and shopping! Here are some pictures of Sarah and Sandi in Nice - note the pebbles (!) on the beach.    On Wednesday, we went to the Grande Canyon de Verdun (we thought) - but it turned out to be the Grand Canyon de Loup - it was pretty impressive - so the real Grande Canyon de Verdun must be spectacular! Here are some pics of Sarah at Florian - the maker of the best comfiture in Nice and at the gorge.     No, those are not eggs in the soupe de poissons - they are croutons covered with aiolle (spelled wrong - but good - a nice garlicky sauce). On Thursday, we went to Antibes! It was exciting - the traffic, the parking (or lack thereof), the traffic, the unplanned trip to Cannes, the traffic, the narrow streets, the traffic! Wow! Antibes was very pretty and we saw for the first time in the Cote d'Azur, the snow covered Alps! Here are some pictures of Antibes!    Yesterday, Sarah's last day in the Cote d'Azur, we went east towards Italy. After an exciting trial trip to the Nice Gare (rail station) to make sure we knew where it was (Sarah has to catch a 7:15 am train Saturday morning) which included some unplanned adventures in extremely narrow, traffic filled streets, we headed up the Moyen Corniche towards Monaco. The route might remind one of the California Coast along Big Sur - but with many more houses and I think, much steeper. We stopped in Eze - another hill-top village for lunch and to explore. We were really high up - and the views were spectacular!    After lunch, we had cafe and chocolat chaud at Le Chevre d'Or - a hotel which is perched on the cliff. Rick Steves said it would be the best view with a 4 euro coffee ever! He was right - but actually, it was 9 euros (each) - but it was worth it!   After lunch, we went up to the Grande Corniche and drove towards Monaco. I thought we were up high before, but this was really high - much higher than Big Sur - we were in the clouds and the views were magnificient - but unfortunately, there were very few places to pull over for pictures - we got this one by stopping in the middle of the road - and Sarah shot it out the window. If you look closely, the little mountain just to the right of center is Eze - where the pics above were taken.  10:20:19 AM |
Sunday, April 10, 2005 - Sunday, April 17, 2005 Nice France
Friday, April 15, 2005 7:05 PM Today was the funeral of Prince Ranier and also my last day at Alpha-B Institute Lingistique. It was also kind of anti-climactic. After class, I had a nice lunch with Suzanne and then she gave me some very interesting literature about her island which is in between Sweden and Finland. We have been talking about Finland and America and it was very interesting to look at the pictures and read about where she lives. Her island is a 2.5 hour ferry ride from Stockholm. I knew little about Sweden and practically nothing about Finland but now I think I'd like to go there! Plus, Suzanne says we can stay with her - she can see the ocean from her balcony. Her island, whose name I will add later - right now it is buried in the bottom of my suitcase - Åland I think - with the little circle over the A - used to belong to Sweden and then during the early 20th century - I think during the Russian Revolution maybe - became a part of Finland - but the people always identified with Sweden - and spoke/speak Swedish. But then later, an agreement was reached so that it would continue to belong to Finland, but be autonomous and be able to make its own laws and be self governing. So, according to Suzanne - it continues to be very Swedish. It is one (the biggest) of thousands of islands between Sweden and Finland, most of which are uninhabited. In the pictures (where it is almost always summer), it looks very pretty. Evidently, many people (tourists) take cruises among the islands and/or rent cottages along the beaches and coast. I asked her my usual question - what do people do there and she said fishing and agriculture and also quite a few work on the ferries that go to all the islands and to Sweden and Finland. She teaches Swedish to immigrants/refugees from Iraq and Iran - Whoa! What a culture shock that must be - Iran to Finland! Wow - I just realized that this is the third Friday I've been in France! I bet (hope) Willie is going crazy - I know how I get when he is gone a week for those Educause things - perhaps he will appreciate me more when I get home! ;-) I also realized I haven't heard from Sarah - ff there were any problems, she was going to call - so I assume she will be joining me tomorrow morning! Earlier this evening, I joined Madame in watching the funeral of Prince Ranier - it was very solemn and (although I didn't understand much) evidently, the security was intense. They had pictures of helicopters, and soldiers and a battle ship patrolling the coast - I didn't know Monaco had an army - maybe they were French - I can't figure out why this would be such a big deal security-wise (Madame told me later that it was because there were so many heads of state - the Spanish King and lots of other European royalty I can't remember). Also, there was much discussion (which I didn't understand) of the succession - since Albert isn't married, I think Caroline's son (Andrea - who looks to be about 20 or so) will be next in line after Albert - but there was much discussion on the news - I think of all the possibilities. Death has been monopolizing the news since I have been here! When I got up this morning, Madame was braising endive - and tonight for dinner we began with tomatoes stuffed with crab with mayonnaise on top with hard cooked egg and white asparagus. It was lovely. Then we had ham stuffed with the endive - braised in the liquid with nutmeg and spices. It was very good - we watched the news - funerals and pope elections... Now, Madame just took Whiskey for walk and the phone rang - I hope it isn't Sarah! I will tell Madame when she gets home - and if it was, hope she left a message. Waiting...OK - she just got back and now she's talking to someone on the phone - so when she checked the message it must not have been Sarah. Good... So anyway, it was anti-climactic today because when school was over, I didn't really have anything to do - I feel like I've seen everything in Nice that I want to see (without Sarah - there are some museums - Chagal and Matisse - but I figure she'll want to see those) - and usually in the late afternoon, I do my homework and study - but today there was no homework - and it was too early to pack. So it was strange - I also wanted to check the weather (Meteo) to know what to wear tomorrow - rain and cold...through Monday - GRRRR!! Looks like it could be museums this weekend... Tomorrow, I will get up early again and pack - and Madame will take me to the train station to pick up the car around 9:00 - I sure hope things go well getting from the train station to the airport! 6:22:27 PM |
Thursday, April 14, 2005 8:44 PM Wow - I can't believe it's Thursday already! Tomorrow is the last day of class and I will be sorry - over the last few days I have grown very comfortable here in Nice. There is lots to tell today - but first, I'm glad I don't have to drive tomorrow - Monaco will be closed most of the day for the funeral of Prince Ranier - including the highway through Monaco - so that all the "dignitaries" can get to the church and the service and the cemetery - the A8 is the major route along the cote d'Azur and it will be closed tomorrow for a long time! There will be major traffic problems in the morning going into Monaco and in the afternoon, going towards Italy. It was another perfect sunny day on the Cote d'Azur today. We continue to practice the imparfait - each evening, we have a dialog to write and each day we read our dialog and then Corrine discusses it with us and helps us make it better. We also have dialogs we read together (that she gives us) that contain lots of new vocabulary and language usage - it is very interesting. I was thinking that this would be a good method to use in my French class at home, but of course, it would never work because there are 5 people in my class here and between 30-40 in the class at DeAnza. After class, I went searching for a restaurant I saw last night in Rick Steve's guide to Provence - Les Viviers. It was about a block away from my school and it was very nice - probably the nicest restaurant I have been in since I have been here - very pretty and pas tres cher. Rick said to make a reservation, but he must be talking about summer because I didn't have any problem - I had the formule bistrot for 15 euros - which was Langoustines paetees epeautre et cepes - and Fraiseurs for dessert. I also had a quarter pitcher of rose and a coffee after the whole thing. It was very pleasant - I may go back again tomorrow! After lunch, I floated out on a cloud of rose - and just drifted around Nice - it is nice now that I know the city well, because I can just wander and not have to worry about getting lost. Today I found 3 bookstores - real bookstores - I haven't found any before! I looked at French cookbooks and travel books (they advise that it is safe to drink the water in California, but caution against crime). I got great postcards at several bookstores and also found a print store that had wonderful French cards similar to the ones I got 2 years ago in Orange that are now hanging in the dining room. I got several more to mount when I get home. I also got a book of French verb conjugations that evidently is de rigueur for all French schoolchildren. Madame has a copy that was her son's and I have been using it regularly - it is very helpful - and I think it will continue to be so. It also has explanations of all the tenses and exercises and examples - all in French of course. After I finished my homework, I started going through it and adding the definition of each verb - which will also be helpful(!). While I was walking home, it must have been the time to collect the mail, because suddenly, the streets were filled with little yellow cars with La Poste on the side - it was like an invasion of yellow bugs! I also scoped out the parking lot by the Musee Moderne - I have been thinking about where to park if Sarah wants to visit Nice when she gets here on Saturday - I hope we will be able to fit all the luggage into the trunk of the car - but I got the smallest car - so it could be tight - and it is not good to leave luggage or anything in your car here. In addition, it is REALLY hard to find a place to park. So yesterday, when I was at the museum, I noticed that they have a parking garage (I have only walked by it every day!!) - and it has security cameras and video surveillance! So today I checked out the prices and it is very reasonable - and it is in a very good location - central to lots of stuff - so I think that's where we'll go to park. I hope Sarah brings her walking shoes! Tonight, Madame had another wonderful dinner - I was wondering what she was making because it smelled so good - it turned out to be lapin - rabbit. She cooked it in wine with herbs and potatoes and onions and mushrooms. It was excellent and I don't know why more people don't eat it in the US (probably because they are cute and furry like the Easter bunny - but chicks are cute and furry and we eat chickens...). We had salad and then pave d'affinois and fruit for dessert. I took a picture of Madame with her lapin. Tomorrow I am having a goodbye lunch with Suzanne - she stays for another 2 weeks - there are lots of people here for 4 weeks - and lots more who come for much longer - I have met several who are here for 6 months. Wow! Tomorrow I also have to pack - which should be interesting. I have all my stuff next to the bed now in the bags each came in - now I have to figure out how to get it into my suitcase. It's not looking good for Sarah - who wants me to take stuff back to the US for her! 6:20:03 PM |
Wednesday, April 13, 20058:31 PM Today was sunny and warm again! It was a very pretty day with a brilliant blue sky and wonderful clouds this evening. I took several pictures of them but unfortunately, from my balcony, I have a pretty narrow view - so in most of the pictures, there are roofs and/or antennas in the way! I'll have to Photoshop them out! After class today, I got the pastis for Wiilie and also a bottle of what is supposedly the great wine from the Nicoise - called Bellet. I got a red - so perhaps we will have to have it with some Mediterranean food when I got home. I also got some perfume - finally - of the 2 kinds I brought, one was a sample and ran out almost instantly and the other had atomizer problems - so I have had no perfume at all on the trip - this isn't allowed in France (kind of like not having a water bottle in California) and I have been afraid of getting busted each day (!) - but now, finally, I have some - and it is new - I hope it isn't available in the US yet - so I can be tres chic! It is called Summer by Kenzo who also makes Flower - which is my favorite perfume and the number one best selling perfume in France (according to Sephora, who should know). I had lunch at an Italian restaurant in old Nice - La Table Alziari. It was a restaurant recommended by Rick Steves and also the restaurant associated with the olive oil Madame recommended as the best in Nice. But I didn't think the restaurant was so great - it was nice eating outside, but I got there late, so I was the only one except for the "patron" who spent the whole time pacing around. I got a braised veal dish - but the meat was very fatty - although the stuffing and the sautéed onions and vegetables were excellent. Afterwards, I walked to the Promenade des Arts and decided to go to the Museé Moderne. All (or many) of the art building are located along this one street called Promenade des Arts - including the theatre and several museums. The Musée Moderne has this HUGE sculpture outside of a neck and the bottom of a face with a block on top - it is pretty strange - especially since it's so big and you can't miss it! The museum is a wonderful building- with 3 (or maybe 4, I'm not sure) wings on each floor built around a big courtyard in the middle. It is full of modern art - many Americans are here including Andy Warhol, Robert Indiana, whose famous LOVE painting is here, Robert Rauchenberg and others. There is also work by Yves Klein, who (I don't know this for sure but I suspect) must be the inspiration (??) for the blue men in the Intel commercials. He has a whole wing devoted to him and there are lots of blue men and a whole swimming pool sized place surrounded by white walls filled with blue pigment - like sand at the beach - only blue -very compelling! There is also work by Niki de Saint Phalle, and American/French woman who does very bizarre stuff indeed. I also saw some interesting wrapped pieces and sketches by Christo - who did the recent installation in Central Park in New York - including one proposal to wrap all the trees on the Champs d'Lycee (not spelled right I don't think, but I can't find how to spell it). I suppose if one likes this type of "Modern Art", this would be a very good museum, but I found it got old quickly - especially when I compared it to the Musee Maeght. However, as I say, the building made up for it - the roof especially - there was this incredible staircase up to the top (which had a sculpture of The Queen (made entirely of plastic soda bottles) at the bottom which was pretty cool. Once you got out on to the roof, it was great! It must be one of the highest points in Nice and there are stairways that wander up and down all over the 4 sides of the open area in the middle - plus on one side is a garden with more art installations. There were great views of Nice, the mountains and the sea. As I was walking around, a workman (BTW, there was practically no one at the museum - and while I was on the roof I only saw a few other people) told me to be careful on the steps because they were working on some of them. And indeed, when I got to the other side, several steps were missing and I had to sort of clamber over them - this would never be allowed in the US - it reminded me of the narrow stairs and sheer drops in the castles in the Loire. Anyway, the garden installations were outstanding - and I spent quite a while doing self portraits in these mirror things with quotations on them to reflect the sky and surroundings - there were bridges in the garden, but instead of water under the bridges, there was crushed blue glass - it was very cool. The rooftop garden was refreshing, but I was tired from all the walking - luckily I got in at the student rate and also checked my pastis and wine (which were really heavy) in a locker - and when I retrieved them, I got a bonus - my euro had been returned in the change slot! So, I hiked home and this evening I've been writing postcards and doing homework practice on the Imperatif - which as usual, I can understand, read and write, but have problems speaking. Some friends from school asked if I would like to join them for dinner tomorrow night - they know a seafood place that's supposed to be good - (today they were having an argument over how to say mussels in English and had to interrupt a conversation I was having with someone else to check) - but I'm not sure about going - they all live close to the school and according to the bus map I have, there aren't any busses that go to where I live after 9:00pm - so I'm not sure about getting home - I'll have to see how it goes. They have been very strong about warning us not to walk around dark streets in Nice at night (no duh) - and at least 2 people I know have had wallets stolen so far - one in an Internet café and one at McDonalds - although why someone from Chezoslovakia would go to MacDonalds is beyond me - but interestingly in both cases, it was the guy who was ripped off, Anyway, I'm not excited about taking the bus home at 10:00 PM, so I'll have to see. Madame just informed me that the elevator is broken - (sounds like Paris!) - so I'd better get some sleep so I'm fresh for the hike in the morning. 6:19:05 PM |
Tuesday, April 12, 2005 9:00 pm Today was rainy and cloudy again. But I think tomorrow and Thursday are supposed to be sunny and warmer...class was good today - we continue to learn the imparfait. After class, I had a quick croque monsieur with Suzanne and Anja - but it wasn't very good - actually, it was really bad - white bread -yech! But it was only 2 euros so I guess I can't complain. Suzanne and Anja went back to class and I decided that today would be a shopping day - I just sort of walked along rue Victor Hugo towards the direction of the Cours Selaya where I wanted to get some soap and olive oil - but on the way it seemed like every shop had incredibly cute clothes - I wish Sarah was here - except we would probably spend a ton of money! I got a great scarf at Promod and then found a good perfume store that has tax free prices and also a "cave" with the Pastis that Willie likes and also some of the wine of the Nicoise area (and later I found the same Pastis in a tourist shop in the Cours Seyala for 10 euros more!) But today I was just looking for wine - I figured with the other stuff, it would be too much to carry - so I'll go back for that tomorrow. While I was wandering the streets, I saw a pet store with lots of puppies in the window - I watched for a while because they were so funny - there was a beagle and a poodle - the poodle had a long tail like the beagle and they were fighting over a ball. The beagle would pounce on the poodle and then bite its tail and pull on and shake it like Thisbe does! It was so funny. I went to the Molinard store and got some violette soap and also to the chocolate shop for several types for a tasting. Then, I got a can of olive oil from Arbuzi - which is supposed to be the best. On to another store where they had dish towels like I got in the Carpentras market 2 years ago - and then I found this fantastic shop that had amazing clothes - I got an incredible dress/coat that is so unlike anything I have seen at home! I will have to take Sarah there! I have also been checking out perfumes - Kenzo has a new one called Summer and I like it - I have stopped by Sephora several days now to try it and I think tomorrow I will probably buy some. Along with the wind and the pastis, that will probably be the last of the shopping (Willie says Yea!) unless there is something really great! I lugged all this stuff home and Madame gave me a promotional brochure from Caerfour- they are promoting the products of the Cote d'Azur - so I went back to the mall (just a block away) to check it out. I got another bottle of olive oil (from Aix) and some olives. I also got some great black pants that will be super with my new dress/coat from Le Ceil est Tombe! Madame had osso bucco for dinner with wine from Anjou - it was great! I am going to do a little reviewing now and then read before I go to sleep. I should also talk about Madame's garage. She keeps here car in the basement garage - which is really scary. The ceiling is about 5 feet high and to get out, one drives the car into this box-like thing which you have to open with a key. Then the car is turned off and a button (outside the car) is pushed. The box is an elevator that goes very slowly. When it gets to the street, one gets out again and pushes the button to open the door. Then the car is started and backed out and turned around and driven out to the street. The whole thing took about 10 minutes just for her car! I was a good thing it wasn't a busy morning! 6:18:25 PM |
Monday, April 11, 2005 8:55 PM Today was rainy, gray and cold. I hope it doesn't stay like this long! We began the second week of class with another review of the passé composee and then moved on to discuss the weather because it was so nasty. We learned how to say the sky is gray and cloudy, it rains, it snows, it rains a little bit, it's thundering, it's lightening, it's raining really hard and it's raining comme une vache qui pisse! :) Then we moved on to the imperatif. This is used for a past event that continues or happens habitually - like waves on the shore or bees buzzing, or to describe something. Different from passé composee. Also different endings to remember - I"ve been practicing the conjugations all afternoon and think I have a grasp on it. We'll continue tomorrow. After class, Suzanne and I had lunch (veal roast and gravy with scalloped potatoes) and had a nice discussion about Finland and America. Then we split up - she went shopping and I came home to study. Not a whole lot to report today - but it is nice to be learning new things - this imperatif will be useful when I get back to California (I hope!). One nice thing that I forgot about was this afternoon, Willie called me - it is nice to hear his voice - I wish he were here - although, as Suzanne remarked today at lunch, it is nice to have an opportunity to do things one one's own - if he were here, I probably wouldn't have met many of the students at the school or gotten to know them as well. I think there is a lot to be said for vacations alone - it gives one a sense of empowerment as one if forced to deal with events and happenings alone rather than relying on someone else. I'm glad Sarah is having this year in England and also this time to travel. Reading her emails about the various troubles and hassles and how she handled them makes me very proud of her and more certain that she can take care of herself. BTW, I saw when I looked at the uploaded weblog, that all the characters and accents did NOT make the trip to the blog server well. All the euro signs disappeared - so I guess I'll have to use character codes for them in the future. Also, Madame told me a story today about Italy - she said to be careful if we go because on the border there are small villages with markets and at the markets they have stuff like Hermes scarves for 10 euros. BUT, when you come back into France, evidently they are cracking down and if they find them, they confiscate them and fine whoever bought it! I was telling some students at the school about it today and they said, "Well, couldn't you just say you didn't know?" But I think most people know that Hermes scarves cost more than 10 eruos! Maybe the French should have Missoni sweaters for 15 euros! 6:17:08 PM |
Sunday, April 10, 2005 8:35 PM Not much to report today. It was sort of cool and rainy today - and we had a slow morning reading Nice Matin (the newspaper) about the lune de meil of Charles and Camilla. I did the wash at a French Laundromat - which was about as exciting as doing it in an American Laundromat. Then, I walked all the way to the Prominade des Anglais to find the Brasserie Queenie which offers free wireless access. I was there 3 hours writing email and uploading pictures and blog posts. I had a pizza and white wine, but I didn't even taste it practically because I was so busy writing and working - I also had an online chat with Sarah - and read all the emails I missed last Friday and saved them so I could read them again tonight. When I finished, the sky had cleared a bit and the Prominade was full of people - so I walked along enjoying the blue water. I met another student from Holland and we walked together for a while. There were skaters and bicyclists and kids on scooters and gobs of people - it was very nice. We separated at the chateau and I walked on around the harbor again. This time I walked down close to the boats. All the ones I walked by were huge - HUGE - and most were from England with a few from South Africa. The pentanque game was still going on in the park as I returned. Cyril has joined us for dinner and I have some studying to do before I go to bed. I did talk to Madame this morning about next Saturday when Sarah comes - and she is going to take me to the railroad station to get the car - that will be much easier - I won't have to drag my luggage all over. She also assured me that the trip to the airport will be easy - it is well marked (in French of course!) and there is no construction. I have looked at the map - and I think it will be ok. Tomorrow, another week of French begins. I hope my speaking improves this week! BTW, I have a new desktop picture of the view from the top of the chateau on my desktop - so I see Nice and the sea everytime I move from one application to another - lovely! 6:10:44 PM |
Friday, April 1, 2005 - Saturday, April 9 2005 Nice France
Saturday, April 9, 2005 9:15 PM  Another lovely day. I slept well last night for one thing and I didn't have to get up early for another! It was nice to have a leisurely morning - and a long shower. Madame has a very nice shower and it was pleasant to enjoy it this morning and not feel like I have to rush so much!Someone must either be a fool or have just gotten married outside my window - there are a LOT of horns honking - now a moment of silence - now they have all started up again - maybe it is a winning soccer match...who knows - I'm just glad it isn't 2:00 am! After breakfast, I walked up to the bus station and met the rest of the group and we went on the bus to St. Paul de Vence. It took about an hour to get there and it was very pretty - along the Prominade des Anglais and then past the airport and through some little villages - as we climbed higher. I could see out the window over the hills and valleys -it was similar to the Povence we had seen 2 years ago, but more built up - instead of huge valleys with a few "mas" here and there - it was very crowded with houses. As we got higher, we could see St. Paul de Vence in the distance - there are other hills that have houses on them, but this one looks old - it has a big wall around it to fortify it and then all the building is inside the wall. There is other building of course, outside the wall, but it is the only walled village that I could see in the area.  We got there around noon and Caroline, our guide, took us on a brief tour - we walked uphill past the hard, bare area in front of the local café where every afternoon, the men (I've never seen any women, but Madame tells me there are some who play) play pantanque. We walked inside the walls and it was very pretty - lots of flowers, very narrow streets - and the day was beautiful.  The weather forecast was for cold and rain - but it turned out to be very warm and sunny - with a brilliant blue Caroline took us around the village, up to the top where we could see for miles.  I could see the Mediterranean sea and the valley around us, which was dotted with tres cher maisons - some of which had several swimming pools. In the cote d'Azur, swimming pools are not covered like they are in Florida, so it was very easy to see them shimmering in the sun. Also from the top, we could see the cemetery. We walked down and into it - and saw the grave of Marc Chagall. The tombs were interesting - above ground and lots of flowers, both real and also ceramic. It was a beautiful view.   We also saw the fountain of St. Paul de Vence.  It was very interesting because the fountain part had water in it one could drink and then behind it, was another set of fountains, lower down to the ground with non-potable water which flowed into a big basin. Caroline explained that in the old days, the ladies of the village would gather there to do their washing - the sides of the big basin were sloped so they could put their clothes there and then beat them with rocks. It was a wonderful place and I took lots of pictures of the fountain and the basins.  The town is typical - like other hill towns we have seen - narrow maze-like streets, but because this one is famous, the streets are lined with art galleries and tourist stuff - similar to the Cours Seyala, but more expensive. Soaps we looked at yesterday, were twice as expensive in St. Paul de Vence! We found a rooftop restaurant in the sun to have lunch - unfortunately, the food wasn't great - I had charcuterie -which was ok - but it was so hot, it was hard to enjoy it - I (and everyone else) had dressed for cold and rain, but it was hot and sunny - so we sweltered in the sun - many tables, including ours, didn't have an umbrella, and the Perrier was not cold...but it was pleasant to sit in the sun and look out at the rooftops. After lunch, I discovered that the rooftop restaurant was right on top of the fountain. Suzanne and I went into a gallery because I wanted to find a painting or print that would remind me of this part of France - and very near the restaurant we found a gallery that had a lovely print on the door of the fountain. We went in and the artist who did the print was there, so we talked to him for a while and we both bought one (o10 ) and he signed each one for us - it was very pleasant! We wandered around the town and I took tons of picture - I really like my digital camera - its is so liberating to be able to take zillions of pictures and then if they don't look good, just throw them away - until it was time to meet to go to the Maeght Museum. The Maeght Museau - St. Paul de Vence The walk there was quite steep (on the road) and then we took what was I think a shortcut straight up a rocky hill. The museum was incredible. I enjoyed it more than any other museum I have been to in Europe. The location was magnificent and the buildings and galleries had been placed with such care to emphasize the art - I have to take Sarah there! It was so cool to see - ** see ** sculpture and drawings I had studied in school - and especially in such a lovely setting. There were not many people there, which was great - and they let you take pictures which was amazing! It was full of wonderful, funny, thoughtful pieces and as I walked through, I could see how the artists, Miro, Braque, Matisse, Leger, Calder, Giacometti and others had influenced each other. The sculpture outside was unbelievable - there were fountains and gardens and incredible views - it was just amazing. I can't believe it isn't more well known - what a jewel. Here are some images from the museum and then the story continues...   "Self Portrait"     Unfortunately, we only had an hour at the museum - I told Caroline that in the future, I would suggest 1 hour in St. Paul de Vence and 3 hours at the museum, but there were clearly many in our party who weren't that impressed with it. Perhaps a choice - shopping or art??? After the museum, we hiked back down the hill to the bus - which was late - and extremely crowded. I headed for the only free seat I could find - which was in a group of 4 - 2 headed forward and 2 headed backward. I tried to get in to the one going backward, and it turned out that not only were the 3 other seats occupied but there was a huge dog on the floor taking up all available floor space. I pushed in anyway, because I was tired, but it was a very tight space - and the ride home was very uncomfortable - and hot - there was no air in the bus and the back really shook - the closer we got to Nice, the more I felt I had mal de mer...one good thing was that we went into the airport - which gave me a chance to check it out for next Saturday when I pick up Sarah. I think (I hope) it should be fairly easy - it isn't that big - there is parking close by - and there are only 3 arrival locations - all close together. So, if I can figure out the traffic signs and avoid the construction, I should be ok - plus I also have 45 minutes from the time I rent the car until her plane arrives. I think I should get to the car rental place (which is the train station) early - just in case. When we got back to the bus station, Suzanne suggested a coffee, but I was still feeling mal de mer, so I headed back home - it was almost 7:00 and I was pretty tired. The streets were filled with people - the young people on the tour today (and others as well from the school) were meeting tonight at 11:30 to go out partying - 11:30. Hummmm. It is now 9:53 - I would never make it! When I got home, Madame had another nice dinner - we started with crab and tomato salad with mayonnaise, followed by Crème de la Reine - a puff pastry filled with a cream, mushroom, meat filling with a Rosé from Provence. Then, we had cheese and fruit - while we watched the news about the clean up of Rome after the Pope's funeral and the wedding of Charles and Camilla - the English sure do have great hat makers! Tomorrow, I must do my laundry - there is no laundry in the building and Madame's washing machine is broken, so I have to go to a laundromat by the Post Office. After that, I'll walk to the Prominade des Anglais, where there is an Internet Café that gives 1 hour free wireless if you buy lunch. Then I can upload all this - I hope it's nice and sunny! The Mistral is blowing like crazy - the awnings are flapping outside - evidently, this is not normal - but it is expected to continue for a while. The weather forecasts have special part devoted to le vent - color coded for each particular area! And so, a fond farewell to St. Paul de Vence... 3:55:56 PM |
Friday, April 8, 2005 6:57 PM Please work - ok Wow - I was just getting ready to write up what happened today and all of a sudden, my keyboard didn't work anymore. ARRGHH!! So, I did a restart and all appears to be well now. So... Today was a very good day! I went right to sleep last night and didn't wake up until the alarm clock went off this morning - it was great! The bus came a minute after I got to the bus stop and before class, the computers were on and I checked my mail -there were lots of messages from Sarah and Willie. I was just reading the one from Sarah about her adventures when Suzanne (from Finland) came up and asked if I was going on the trip to St. Paul de Vence tomorrow. I said yes and she asked why I wasn't at the meeting yesterday! ARRGHHH!! I didn't know about any meeting yesterday - so I quit in mid-message to go find out about the trip, figuring I would come back after class and continue with the messages. But things happened and I never got back to the computers and now here I am, on Friday night and I would love to be able to read the messages, but I can't. GRRR!! And I probably won't until Sunday at the earliest! Double GRRRR!! But anyway, it was a good day - we have to be at the bus station tomorrow at 10:45, which means I can sleep late (yea!). 10 people are going including Suzanne, who seems to be a kindred spirit as Anne would say, and I think it will be nice. Even nicer is that it is included in the fee I paid at Worldlink so I don't have to pay o20 like everyone else! Class was quite interesting today. Last night for homework, we had to write a description of a place we had been and use the passé compose as well as descriptions of the senses - smell, taste, hearing, etc. I spent a lot of time on mine and had to look up a LOT of words - I described the lavender seller's stand at the market in Orange 2 summers ago - I thought it was quite good - I included descriptions of the sunlight filtering through the curtain and the aroma and color of the lavender and the buzzing of the bees. So right away, first thing, Colleen (Madame la Prof) comes in and tells me to read mine out loud to the class! So I did and while she loved the images, she also talked about how I again used the imparfait instead of the passé compose - I didn't know - I just made it up in English and translated it to French - I don't have a clue what the imparfait is - then the next student read hers - and it was also very good - very evocative of Spain - she described Barcelona - and she did the same thing - used the imparfait. We went on around the class and each description was better than the last - it appears that we have a class of writers! We had lovely descriptions of Santorini, a museum and garden in Nice, a **poem" about music and dreams by a very young Swiss boy - it went on and on (there are 7 in my class). I was amazed at how creative the writing was - especially considering how young so many of the students are. It was also interesting how, during the critiques, where Colleen would explain the descriptive words and what they meant to anyone who didn't understand and also the verbs and how they should be conjugated, a couple of the boys were sort of squirming in their seats like they were bored - and maybe they were - but they were the same ones who produced the poem and another very lovely description. It was a wonderful moment - or actually series of moments. Oh, I forgot to mention, that almost all of the students used this imparfait instead of the passé compose - so at one point, I suggested to Madame La Prof that perhaps next week we should learn this imparfait thing- and she said it was next on the list - that's good news for me - since I already know (although not too well) the passé compose - I know it, but I don't know all the past participles - which one has to know to use it correctly. I plan to study them this weekend if I have time. After class, I met Suzanne and Daniella (Germany). Daneilla is having some problems with her host and is going to move - so Suzanne and I went to lunch - I had a very good lunch -fish with a cream basil sauce with snow peas and carrots - very good. We spent quite a while talking (in French) - Suzanne is very good, and speaks slowly - I learn a lot from her - and I feel comfortable blundering about and asking for help - and she doesn't wince when I mangle the language - she just listens and responds. After lunch, she suggested that we walk up to the bus station where we are supposed to meet tomorrow morning so we could check out the location - and if Galleries Lafayette was on the way (which of course it was), we should stop by there as well. So we did and it was a good thing because the bus station was NOT where they had circled on the map - and we had to ask several times before we found it and then we had to figure out which was the correct bus and where it would be tomorrow morning. It was a very good thing that we did this! Afterwards, to congratulate ourselves on a job well done, we went to the Cours Selaya (which was right across the street) because I had told her about the Tissues shop (Linen/dishes) which she is also interested in. So we went there and looked at dishes and tablecloths - they have this wonderful tagine (on sale too) that is magnificent - and I am working on a way to get it home. We ambled around the narrow streets of the Cours - and also found a really nice shop with French soaps and also the linen dish towels I have been looking for - so I wrote down the address so I can find it again - a good idea in the Cours Selaya - it is like a maze! Then, we had coffee at a café and watches les français. Today was kind of cool and rainy - not really rainy - drippy - but Nice was full of people - it seems everyone walks.  On the way home, I went by many, many boulangeries - each time one walks by, one gests a big whiff of yeast and fresh bread - mmmmmm, and there is a great fish market/restaurant on the Place Garabaldi that I love - they have baskets of sea urchins, oysters, crabs and mussels glistening on ice each time I go by - people stop as they pass by to have a plateful of mussels or oysters, which they eat standing up along the rue. It is tres français! Right next door is a vegetable market and today they had huge artichokes and also big baskets of asparagus - the usual green but also white! Yesterday they were o9/kilo but today they were o7.50/kilo. Still tres cher! It's so strange how easy it is to say "yesterday they were 9 kilo" in English, but to say the same thing in French, (past tense), I'd have to stop and think - heir, ils sont été 9 euro - it doesn't flow out....9:23 - I just got back from dinner - Madame outdid herself tonight. When I got home late this afternoon, she was putting together salmon en papiotte - salmon wrapped in foil. She had added olive oil, fresh fennel fronds, red pepper, lemon and spices and then baked it for about 20 minutes. When she opened the wrapping, the aroma was outstanding! We had bread and a nice chardonney with it and then cheese and kiwi for dessert. MMMM! There was something I was going to write about the French, but now I can't remember it - I'll have to add it later If I think of it. Meanwhile, I sure wish I had the emails from Willie and Sarah to read...Bonne Nuit. Wait - maybe this was it - I am wondering if the news at home is as filled with the Pope and the Prince and the Prince as it is here. Every channel is filled with stories about the Pope and all the millions of people (many so young - at least on TV) in Rome - it looks like a huge party - with major security, health and litter problems! Then there is the funeral for Prince Ranier - one of the women in my class was going to Monte Carlo this weekend and I asked her (jokingly) if she was going for the funeral - and then she realized that this might not be good weekend to be there - and in fact, in the paper this afternoon, in the ads, where there is information about concerts and plays, etc. in the various places near to Nice, all the ones for Monte Carlo had a big ANNEUE though them - cancelled. And then, there is the wedding of Charles and Camilla - nothing but bad luck. The headline said: "A desperate time for Charles and Camilla". It's pretty interesting how - I was going to say graphic but perhaps honest is a better word - how honest the reporting is in the paper - for instance, there was also an article about the Michael Jackson and they didn't mince words about what a witness reported today - I doubt if his details would be in any American newspaper. Likewise, on TV, they are much more causal about nudity - in all the ads for lotion and other beauty/health products, nudity is pretty common and unremarkable. Also, the postcards sold in Nice can be pretty revealing - not like the ones you see in Sarasota!! A very different society culturally. 3:54:34 PM |
Thursday, April 7, 2005 9:09 PM An excellent dinner with Madame! She prepared smoked trout with salad and French Bread with a nice white wine. Then, there was a carrot salad. The trout was wonderful - I asked her if she ever had it for breakfast with crème cheese, but she said that was not something that les Français had for breakfast. After the trout, she had 3 kinds of cheeses, brie, a firm white cheese from Italy and a marscapone that had layers of cheese, cream and gorgonzola - it was superb! We ended with strawberries that she enhances with a 5 spice mixture and sugar and pepper! MMMM - and this was after I told here that I would like a light dinner since I was going to have a large lunch today! It turns out that I was really lucky since the large lunch I was planning didn't work out - I was returning to a restaurant I was at the other day that was supposed to have veal marango with gnocchi but when I got there (at about 1:15) they were sold out - I couldn't believe it! I had ravioli bolognaise - which was pretty good, but it wasn't what I was psyched up for. But Madame's dinner made up for it. Another rough day at French class - I was really really tired this morning - it appears that the pattern is that I fall asleep just before the garbage trucks come around 1:30 am, then wake up to listen to them and all the noisy "motos" that seem to come out at 2:00 am and then, finally I go to sleep. It was really hard to get up this morning - I really wanted to just turn over and go back to sleep - but I didn't - but I was really tired and it seemed like Madame le Professor zeroed in on me as soon as she walked in - she asked me to initiate a dialog - and I just missed it completely - I couldn't even think of the word for we - nous - finally I just told her this wasn't a good morning for me (in English) and she slacked off a bit - later I managed to recover a bit - but it was so humiliating - luckily, a few other people also seem to have moments of disorientation - and I have a lot of empathy for them after this morning - (probably kids who have been out drinking until 3:00 am - at least they have an excuse.). I think it would be really nice if we had time in the morning for questions about the work from the day before - when I get home, I review and do the homework and I have lots of questions, but there is never an opportunity to ask them. She just comes in and starts right in with the new stuff. Today we discussed Prince Ranier's life. The Pope and Prince Ranier (and to some extent, Prince Charles - but only as his wedding relates to the Pope and Prince Ranier) are dominating the news. 4 million people are in Rome! Anyway, we used the passé composee to review his life.  After class, I escaped, feeling unFrench once again, and walked over to the Cours Seleya to my lunch - which also wasn't what I expected. But then, after lunch, I spent some time sitting on a bench on the Prominade d'Anglais looking at the sea. It is really pretty here - the weather is pleasant - today a fairly strong breeze and probably about 63 degrees - sunny with a few clouds. I can't believe how many French women wear scarves - it seems all of them! Anyway, then I walked along the front of the chateau and around to the harbor.  As in all French towns, there is a big monument carved into the rock of the hill that memorializes the war dead.  I also stopped at Florian - a confiserie that Madame told me about that she says has the best comfiture and chocolate in France - that's a pretty hot recommendation! When I went in, the shop was filled with about 35 kids who looked to be about 5 or 6 on a field trip. They were zooming around trying the comfiture, the chocolate, the... I have to stop writing this and comment about how loud it is outside - and it's not even time for the garbage - someone has been honking their horn for the last 15 minutes and there is a constant drone of motos like a go-kart track has just opened up the block and tons of people are talking! It is amazing! Even more amazing is that it does quite down around 10 or so - so when the garbage trucks come at 1:30 - it just shakes the rafters! Anyway, the kids were grabbing all the samples in sight - they were pretty cute - but it drives me crazy how competent they are at French at 5 - ARRGHH!! I wouldn't have wanted to be their teacher this afternoon after all that chocolate and jam (another good grammatical problem - I wouldn't have wanted to be). After they moved on, I tried some of the stuff - this shop raises their own fruit for the comfiture and all their products and everything is made by hand. The first thing I tried was candied violet - they were great! Then I tried the candied rose petals and verivain (verbena) - they have post cards with recipes and pictures by famous chefs in France who have used their products to create great food - so I got a mixture of rose, violets, verivain and other petals to use with fois gras (if they still have it when I get back to California). Then I tried the comfiture. The violette was outstanding - I knew I was going to get some but then I tried the rose - and it was even better and then I tried the jasmine - and it was unbelieveable! I think they may also supply the flavors for the ice cream at Place Rosette. I got a can of rose comfiture and 2 jars of jasmine and violette - as well as some chocolate and a bottle of violet essesnce to use in drinks (like Kir Royale). The only problem is the stuff weighs a ton! They also have another shop/factory very near where Sarah and I are staying - with a garden which has the trees and flowers they use - so I hope to visit that later when Sarah joins me. On the way out I tried one of the sort of jelly bean-like things I was offered when I came in - and it was great too - it is amazing how fresh all their stuff tasted - just like the real fruit or flower - not artificial. I have never been a jelly bean fan - but I may get some to bring home for Willie to try...mmmmmm.  On the way home , I passed a park where a bunch of old men were playing boules/pentanque so I took pictures of them. It was very French. This was the same park where this morning, waiting for the bus, I saw a woman with 5 little yapper dogs who pounced (the dogs, not the woman) on this really big dog that was walking through the park with its owner. The yappers were barking up a storm! The big dog brushed them off like flies and joined in with a huge foghorn bark. I was glad I wasn't trying to sleep - I don't know how anyone sleeps around here! You'd think I'd be used to noise with the highway outside our windows, but this is different noise. Also, while waiting for the bus this morning, I was surprised to see a big truck go by and I thought, "that looks like the cement trucks at home (fits right in!) along Foothill Boulevard" and sure enough, on the side of the truck it said Kaiser! Small world.BTW, we also watched some French TV show tonight and they had 2 (supposedly) American professional basketball players on - one of them looked like Danny Ferry and one looked sort of like Magic Johnson - but they both spoke French like they were born here. ARRHHH!! I told Madame that I thought it was not possible that American basketball players could speak French like they were speaking unless they were native because most American professional basketball players can barely speak English - but she (who could understand what they were saying) said that they really were American. 3:52:37 PM |
Wednesday, April 6, 2005 8:43 PM April has been a bad month so far for Europe. Since I've been here, there has been practically nothing on the news except the Pope and today he was joined by Prince Ranier. Plus, unlucky Prince Charles has had to postpone his wedding to Camilla because of all the funereal. At least it gives us something interesting to talk about during dinner. The images of all the zillions of people in Rome (300,000 tents) are amazing - they are selling T-shirts for the Pope's funeral! Last night, the garbage trucks came again at 2:00 am - I guess I'm just going to have to be resigned to it - perhaps because of lack of sleep today was not a great day - although the bus ride turned out to be great! Not far from Madame's house, only 1o30, quick (15 minutes) and easy. But the class today was a review of stuff I've already had (although, to be fair, it was probably covered in more detail than in my DeAnza classes). One of the students told me to look in the book we got yesterday to see what was going to be covered and it looks to me like I am in a class that is a review of stuff I have already had - perhaps next week I will get moved to a higher level class - but the problem is that, for whatever reason, I am having major problems speaking. I seem to understand quite well and can write and read pretty well, but there seems to be a major disconnect between the brain and the mouth. It was very discouraging today - I had lunch with Suzanne (from Finland) and she was just chattering away and I sounded like someone 2 weeks into French 1 - it is really frustrating - I was very discouraged today after class and the thought of walking all the way home and doing homework didn't help - so I decided to just resign myself to never begin able to speak French - maybe it's enough just to understand and read and write. It's also weird how long it can take to explain stuff - because there is no English, there has to be a long conversation to try to explain what a term or concept means - with acting and drawing (by Professor Colleen) and much discussion. Once, one of the students just blurted out, "do you mean XXXX" in English and she said yes, and everyone instantly understood - but that was the only time. On the way home today, I went slower and tried to focus on being in France and enjoying the scenery - it is very Italian here - the Nicoise were presented with a choice in the 1860's - they could join France or Italy - and they chose France because it was more stable - but the town is very Italian. I took another walk through the Cours Selaya because there were a couple shops that had nice posters of towns and activities in the Cote d'Azur - I found one that has a picture of a Cooper on the beach in Nice that I got and I also went to a linen store that was having a sale on lovely French pottery - the kind they have at Cover Story in Los Altos - so I got a mug - they have a wonderful tagine that is quite reasonable, but I have to figure out a way to get it home....but I have some time to think about it! I decided that tomorrow after class, I will walk back towards the beach and have lunch at the same restaurant I went to earlier this week and then walk around the chateau to the harbor - it looked very pretty from the top of the chateau. Then, Madame told me about a chocolate shop that she says has the best chocolates and comfitures in Nice, and that is reasonable - so I will check that out too - it will be a nice walk after a big lunch and that will be good. Finally, on the way home, Madame also told me there was an Internet café before the bus stop, so I'll look for that too and see if they will let me connect my computer so I can upload some of this to my blog. Then, I guess I'll go home and do homework. I wonder if other students are feeling discouraged, although many of them seem to know each other (the young ones) or perhaps they have just made friendships quickly - anyway, it would seem to me that there must be some similarities in the learning process people go through when they are immersed in a language - and I think it would be good if those were pointed out - perhaps what I'm feeling is normal - but I don't know that - so I just assume that everyone else is doing fine and chattering away and I'm just dumb. It seems to me that knowing what to expect, knowing what the average person experiences would be very helpful. Perhaps I'll suggest this on my evaluation. One woman from Germany told me today she was (unhappily) surprised that there were so many kids here on their breaks (like Sarah's) - perhaps things are also different if more of the students are older. Maybe the garbage trucks will be on vacation tomorrow (actually tonight)...I hope... 3:51:51 PM |
Tuesday, April 5, 2005 8:56 pm The first day of classes... There was one poor guy who sat in our class all morning before he realized that he was in the wrong room - and that's why he couldn't understand anything. He was 29 but looked about 19 and was a doctor -but he was in France to take photographs and learn French. He found his class after the break. But I felt for him because the class was pretty intense. Most of the stuff that the teacher - Colleen?? - said I could understand, and when I couldn't, she was good at explaining - in French of course - but there were a lot of verbs and vocabulary I didn't know. In the classes at DeAnza, things are carefully presented in the book- and verbs and prepositions, etc. are carefully controlled - probably so we don't get overwhelmed - which I am. Some stuff I knew, and I feel like I can understand quite well - at least n class, but when it comes to talking, I am like a mute. I had lunch with a woman from Czechoslovakia - Lenka - she is studying French and English - so our common language was French - because she didn't know much English - the conversation did not sparkle - it was slow and halting - although both of us did take some time to laugh at the situation...here we were in a pretty nice outdoor café, having pizza (great) for me and spaghetti (for her), struggling to converse. After class and lunch, I walked home (the walk this morning took 45 minutes - I am undecided tomorrow whether to try a different route or take the bus - both are fraught with terror - the bus especially since I don't know where the stop is - I mean I know it's rue Victor Hugo and avenue Jean Medicin - but Jean Medicin is completely torn up and the street signs are sparse - so I'm not sure where to get off. But I should probably try it since it might rain and then I'd have to take the bus - and if I don't know where to get off, I'm up the creek... I spent the whole afternoon reviewing the class materials today and doing the homework for tomorrow. There is so much new stuff - and it is really hard to remember it all. I sat next to a woman from Germany who has been at the school for a week and I asked her how she was doing and she said she knew very little when she came - but she did quite well in the class - so maybe there is hope. This weekend, a trip is planned to St. Paul de Vence - Rick Steves says it's the most visited town in France - the most famous hill town on the Riviera - but not many people are here now, so it should be fun - plus we are also going to the Foundation Maeght - which is a private museum for modern Mediterranean aert like Picasso, Braque, Caldor, Miro and Chagall. It is 20 euros - which seems reasonable - and it should be fun! Tonight, Madame's grandson Cyril was here. He is 3 and he is really cute. At 3 he can speak better French than I'll ever be able to - which is certainly discouraging. However, he did like the Scharfenberger chocolate I brought - he ate up half of it in no time! I'm going to review a bit more now and then get some sleep - they collected the garbage again last night at 2:00 am - the French must be more patient than Americans - which reminds me - when another guy in my class introduced himself today as an American - Madame was all over him - American could mean North or South American - so he had to be specific - putting him/us in our place in the world. So we are North Americans from des Etats-Unis... 3:51:07 PM |
Monday, April 4, 2005 6:10 Quelle jour!  Madame took me to school this morning in the Nice traffic- which was pretty intense because several of the major highways through town are totally torn up so all the traffic has been re-routed. I could probably have walked just as quickly - but it was nice for her to take me so I could be sure I was going to the correct place.We were divided up into groups and each group had a member of the school give an overview of school and basic info - totally in French - it was a good thing I had read all the stuff about the school before (in English) because it was mostly the same but it was easier to understand having read it in English before! Then we had the test - which was not easy - in fact, I was pretty discouraged). Although, as Samantha said, if we got all the questions right, we shouldn't be there. But I didn't have to worry about that - I'd be glad if I got 10% of them right! I was feeling pretty good last night, but this test certainly put me in my place! There was also an oral part and when she asked what I wanted to learn, I had to use English to explain I need to know I could be, I should have, I would go, I might, and other conjugations - it's amazing how little of grammar I know and more amazing how much more I become aware of my own English grammar as I learn more about French grammar. I think I could have done much better (that's a good example of some tense that I don't know in French but should - could have done), if I would have taken (there's another one) the test right after French 2 last winter - but c'est la vie - I'll probably be in with the beginners. ARRGHH!! There was a break for lunch so I had a panini at a café and then stood in line at the post office for 30 minutes to try to get some stamps - but there were only 2 clerks and the line was out the door - some things are the same in France and the US - I never did get the stamps because I had to be back for the tour of Nice at 1:15. There are lots of young people at the school and a good number of pas jeune people like me - many are there for their work - they come for several weeks to learn the language for use in business. Some of the students are there during their school breaks (like Sarah's) to improve their languages for tests they must take in their subjects. Many are from Germany, quite a few from England - English seems to be the common language everyone can speak but most people try to speak in French and use English when they ran out of French (which was good for me!) It also seemed to me that most of them had a much better command of the language and vocabulary than I did - which is depressing or maybe it says something about our educational system that I can get an A in French 1 and French 2 and still be at a very low level...AND all these people speak English REALLY well - especially the Germans! At 1:30., we took off on the tour - I'm going to have to get our guide to mark the map because the way she took us was much more attractive than the way I've been going - her way went right by the Chanel boutique! She whipped us through the Cours Saleya - I was glad it wasn't the first time I was seeing it, because it was more like a race through the streets than a tour. As we went along, she would stop periodically to give us some info on where we were and about the history of Nice - all in French. But I could understand most of it - not each word, but I got the general idea. She guided us up to the stairs and we hiked up (again) to the chateau - but this was a different direction than I went yesterday - past a huge waterfall - it was quite warm and we could see some swimmers at the beach - more than yesterday. We walked all through the park and back down the stairs and back into the Cours Saleya to the Place Rosetti, where we were going to see a church but unfortunately, there was a triple funeral going on - so we had ice cream instead. Our guide told us that the ice cream at the Place Rosetti was the best in Nice. I had violette and it was really good - I met several women around my age and spent the afternoon after the tour with 2 - one from Frankfort Germany and the other from Finland. We shared tastes of ice cream and the rose was also very good - this place has all kinds of strange flavors like lavender and cactus and tomato - I will need to back and try several more... It was interesting to walk around with these women because they both spoke better than me, but unlike the French, they spoke slowly, and listening to them, even though I wouldn't have been able to say what they said, I could understand it. On Mondays in the Cours Saleya, there is a brocante market and we walked through it looking at all the stuff and talking to each other in French - it was extremely cool - we remarked several times how exciting it was to be speaking and understanding! Most of what I said was pretty elementary, but at least I could get something out - and it was cool because often, at one time or another, all of us would ask how to say some word - or ask if the way we were saying something was correct - it was great for me because Suzanne, the woman from Finland, was really good and she often used the passé compose, and the more I heard it, the easier it was to understand it and remember the correct verb form and then try to use it. It was also neat because sometimes we would use English and then start up again in French - I felt very cosmopolitan! We had coffee at a café near the opera and then, as it was almost 6:00, headed back home. We each live in different directions - Daniella lived with a family near the airport - quite far, and Suzanne lives sort of in the middle, and I live more to the east. However, I am getting to be pretty familiar with the layout of the city, which makes sense since I have spent the last 3 days walking all over it), so I was able to get home pretty quickly - and I also discovered several shops that I had walked by on Sunday and later thought would be neat to go back to - but at the time I had no idea where they were because the Cours Saleya is like a maze of tiny narrow streets in no pattern - but now, I know where the tissues (linen) store is that had the great cups on sale and also the spice store - but it was closed today - dommage! So tomorrow, the real classes begin - it will be interesting to see the method used - I hope it's quick! I also hope they give us a book so I can study and look up the various verb forms.   It's interesting to imagine the kind of construction that's happening here in the US. I think it would never happen - they are building this tram system - an above ground rail - and it's as if El Camino Real and El Monte (or Bee Ridge and Bahia Vista for the Florida folks) were completely dug up and unavailable to cars - and it won't be done until 2007! There is dust and dirt everywhere and all the stores along these roads have construction stuff right up to their doors - they must be going crazy! But it will be great when it's done! It would be a great thing to have in California (or Florida), but I can't imagine people being patient enough to get through it.When we were having coffee this afternoon, I was also thinking about how each of us had a different English accent - Daniela's was German and Suzanne's was very interesting - it was very formal - sort of like the English you hear in English period movies - and mine is American. I found each of their accents charming - it was the same today when occasionally, our guide would speak English to make sure we understood (for instance when she was cautioning the kids to stay in groups at night and watch their drinks in bars) - her English with a French accent was so cute - I wonder if, when I speak French, if anyone finds my accent charming or cute...seems like a stretch! 3:27:50 PM |
Sunday, April 3, 2005 Must remember to download the pictures...maybe I better do that now, except it's so comfortable here on the bed - and I didn't get to sleep until about 4:00 am last night...it's 5:22 now, and once again, I don't know how I'm going to make it until dinner - I hope this is the last of the jet lag... I'm feeling very pleased with how I have been able (in the last day) to begin to put long strings of thought together in my mind (in French I mean). Last night, when I was unable to sleep, my mind was busy having a conversation in French - after 2 days of being surrounded by it, I think my brain may be having cognitive dissonance - I was definitely thinking in French last night - but maybe it was delirium caused by lack of sleep. Anyway, it is nice to be able to complete a relatively complex thought in French - it would be even nicer if I could speak the thought - but so far, this only happens in my mind. As soon as another person is involved, I revert back to an apparent IQ of 20. It is so frustrating - today at the chateau, I asked this couple if they would take a picture of me and I used the totally wrong form of prendre - they were nice enough not to point it out to me - but when I realized it, it was so aggravating because I know how to say it - if I have time to think about it -but in a rapid fire situation (like life), sigh....but tomorrow the lessons start, so maybe things will improve - I am optimistic.  Much better food today - last night Madame told me about 2 restaurants near the Cours Saleya, and since the lunch yesterday was not great, I thought I'd give them a try. Le Pub (I made sure it wasn't more English food - but why would a French restaurant be called Le Pub) (** see note) is just down from the markets, on the same street with the olive oil store and the soap store - but it took me quite a while to find it - meanwhile I was walking by zillions of people in town for the market and to have lunch in the sun - the day was gorgeous! All the restaurants along the market were packed with peopleI think lots of tourists - Italian, German, British but lots of French too - almost all the English I heard (and I didn't hear a lot) was not American English. Anyway, as it got later and later, I was getting hungrier and hungrier and sure that when I found the place it would be packed too, but at last I found it and I got a table - I had walked right by it - it's kind of a low key kind of place - but the food was super! It was full of "real" French people and the big screen tv was turned to live coverage of the Pope lying in state - big news here. Before I even had time to look at the menu, my waiter recommended the plat - which was o12.30 - he said it was really good, (which Madame had already indicated), so, without even looking at the menu, I ordered it. It was Pojarski de Veau Princesse avec Gratin de Brocolis et des carrots et pomme de terre roti. It was great! He brought out a big au gratin pan with it all arranged inside, served it up and left the rest for seconds - the sauce was wonderful - actually, everything was wonderful! He also left me the list of Plat de jours for April - and I was really sorry I hadn't gotten it earlier because yesterday they had Magret de Canard au Poivre Vert avec pommes croquettes et petits pois - mmmmm! It's really too bad it's so far from my school - but if I don't stay for afternoon classes, I could probably make it in time - too bad Willie isn't here because next Wednesday, they are having Rognons de Veau!!  After lunch, I went back through the market to find a spice store I had bumbled into earlier - they have lots of herbs and spices - so I'll have to take Sarah there when she gets here since she needs more. Once again, the vendors were cleaning up and leaving - so I'll have to try to get there earlier so I can get the full effect - tomorrow is an antiques (brocante) market - but I also have class - so I'll have to miss it for now...Since I had had such a hearty lunch, I decided that a walk up to the chateau would be a good idea - the day was beautiful - warm and a light breeze - so I walked up by the ponchettes (the flat buildings that house the Cours Saleya), up to the steps  up to the chateau. I took a lot of pictures on the way up and I just imported them into iMovie and they came out really well! I am very pleased.  The trip up took a while - it's a high cliff and there are a lot of steps (you can see them if you look carefully at the picture) - but I took lots of pictures along the way - the beach was really pretty and from that high, you couldn't tell that it was so rocky - and the rocks certainly didn't stop the bunches of people who were laying on them - and they are not little rocks either. The vegetation  appears to be almost the same as California - I recognized most of the plants. The view from the chateau from_chateau goes here was outstanding - there weren't a lot of people when I was there  - so I got some really nice pictures.  On the other side of the "hill", is the port - so I was also able to take pictures of that part - there was a huge cruise ship getting ready to go to Corsica - and I could also see the area where Madame's apartment is located.On the top of the chateau is a huge park and it was filled with families having picnics and kids with soccer balls (le football) playing. There was also an archeological area where ruins  from the Greeks had been excavated - which was very cool. I wandered around the park for a while and then took the zillion stairs back down and walked along the Prominade des Anglais - named for the English who came to Nice and financed the building of the hotels and path along the beach. Next, I decided to walk over to my school so I would know how to get there tomorrow - which I later figured out was a bad idea because it was a long way - and I had already walked a loooooonnnnggg way at the chateau - but by the time I realized it, it was too late. Plus, there is so much construction (trouveau) in Nice, it is easy to get lost - which I did, which added to the length of the trip! Finally, I found the school, which was sort of anticlimactic - since it was closed and I had the long walk back to Madame's apartment! Arrgghh!! Mes pieds et mes jambes sont fatiqué!!But, now I'm home and resting as I write this - I just downloaded all the pictures and put them into a slide show with music by Edith Piaf and showed Madame - she was impressed! She said she used a typewriter for 30 years and didn't want anything to do with computers! We're having dinner soon and then, I hope I'm asleep by 9:00 so I'll be fresh for the big day tomorrow! ** The actual name of the restaurant is Le Pub Opera - because it's next to the Opera! 3:24:17 PM |
Saturday, April 2, 2005 8:42 Pas anglais tout jour!! It was a strange night last night - I went to bed right after dinner (which evidently is normal for Madame) - but woke up around 2:00 because 1) they were collecting the garbage all over this area including all the glass and heavy metal items) and 2) there were really strange noises out on the balcony. At first I thought Whiskey (Madame's chien) was outside rustling around - but it wasn't that - I didn't find out until this morning that it was the wind (le vent) blowing like crazy! The balconies have sort of an awning-type material threaded through the posts and the wind was blowing it and making very strange noises. I was awake and asleep the rest of the night on and off, but didn't really wake/get up until 9:00 even though I had the alarm set for 7:30. I have to admit that I was kind of hesitant to get up because I couldn't figure out what I was going to do all day.  After breakfast (croissants and coffee), I took a shower (Madame has a very nice shower) and planned the route and tried to figure out where to go - around 12:30, Madame had to leave and she offered to take me to the Hotel Negresco (pictured yesterday with the big round pink roof) and let me out there. She may have offered to do this earlier, but I am not sure - often she says things to me and I don't have a clue what she is saying - or maybe I'll pick up a word or 2, but the rest is lost...anyway, we took off and I had plans to walk along the Prominade d'Anglais, goes here but the wind was blowing 90 miles/hour so that didn't last long! It was really pretty - the water was very blue - but the waves were really crashing and my earrings were horizontal instead of vertical, so I figured this was not a good day to do the walk. I headed inland to the Cours Saleya, which is where the flower and other markets are and also the old town of Nice. I passed a number of big hotels and interesting looking restaurants on the Prominade d'Anglais, and thought about going in for a coffee but I hadn't been out that long, so I tried the steps by the Opera goes here which lead up to this terrace that goes along the Cours Saleya on the roofs -which is supposed to be a great view and also which is usually closed- I think for either security or safety reasons), but for some reason which I have been unable to translate, it is open this weekend - something is going on this weekend - but I can't quite figure out what it is...each night on TV, we see updates about it - btw, it appears that the TV accompanies our dinner - last night I was freaked, but actually it is probably a good idea because it gives us something to talk about and helps me (sort of) learn new words and just get a feel for the language. So we hear a lot about the Pope and Prince Ranier who are evidently dying.Anyway, when I got up on the roof / terrace, the wind was blowing even harder, and I was afraid I was going to be blown off, so I headed back down and went further inland a few blocks to the market. As markets go, it wasn't very good I didn't think - on the other hand, many of the merchants were closing up because it was about 1:15 - but I thought the Carpentras market or the one in Orange or Isle sur le Sorgue were much better - it also wasn't very big - but it was out of the wind and on each side were lots of restaurants - and lots of tourists- Madame Thao always told us never to eat in a restaurant that has English translations because they will be tourist traps - but all these places (along with the ones along the Promindade d"Anglais, had not only English but Italian, Spanish, Japanese, German - you name it translations on the menus. I walked around for quite a while trying to find a more "authentic" restaurant, but eventually I figured I better pick on of the touristy ones because it was getting late (for lunch). So, because this is a seafood kind of area, I chose Le Quai which was right in front of the flower market. It was full of French people which I figured was a good sign and amazingly, no one was smoking. I had salad nicoise to begin, followed by moules et frites and crème caramel for dessert. It was çomme çi comme ça but it was interesting to listen to all the French flying around. After lunch, I walked all around the old town of Nice which has very narrow streets that are filled with tourist stuff - spices, yellow pottery with olives, yellow and blue tablecloths, napkins, baby clothes, etc. in wild provencal patterns, olive oil, soap, crickets - which I think are called cicadas here - each shop has sound effects so when you walk in it's like hearing them all cricking away - didn't exactly get me into a shopping frame of mind - also, a little yellow and blue goes a looooong way - but there were gobs of people there buying it up- lots of Brits. There was one area that had some interesting stuff that I may go back to - there was the Molinard Perfume shop, which had some really nice soaps, and several olive oil companies with big tanks where they draw off as much oil as you want and a wine shop that had some interesting wines - so I might go back there -but most of the market was a maze of narrow streets with the same junky tourist stuff. I was undecided about what to do as the afternoon progressed, and though about trying to find my school, but I got kind of lost and then thought about going to the castle, which is this huge hilly area on the coast which used to have a castle, but now is a park, but I figured the wind would probably blow me off - and as I was thinking all this, I realized, after seeing several familiar shops and streets that I was walking in circles - and that it was after 5:00 so I decided to head back. Except that I couldn't figure out where I was - and in the old town, the streets aren't listed on the map because there are so many of them and they are all so narrow - luckily, when I looked up, I saw a bunch of trees so I figured I was near the castle and that if I headed away from it, eventually, I would come to a street on the map - which is what happened. Interestingly, a big centre commercial (mall) is just down the street from where I am staying, and I knew already that there was a Pimke there, so I stopped to check it out. It was not too big as malls go but they had great shops - I got a great black leather purse that I can fit my computer in for 9 euros and will probably go back for a trés jolie pink leather purse that I also saw - I can't wait until Sarah gets here - she will love it! There were lots of other shops, especially shoe shops that had GREAT shoes - and a huge Calfour which was packed with people buying groceries - I mean packed!! Madame said later (I think) that many people get paid at the beginning of the month and so they were stocking up. I also stopped at Sephora to get a new bath scrunchy (1 euro) and try out a new Kenzo fragrance called Summer that I really like. It also turns out that the perfume I brought (a small bottle of Jessica McClintock) has suffered atomizer failure - so I need some anyway... After I got home, I tried to explain my day to Madame, with limited success, and we watched TV - the pope continues to dominates the news and newspapers. But, excitingly, we did see the program Sarah and I watched at Christmas in Paris called C'est quoi ce jeu? It is a very bizarre game show with 3 contestants who wear funny costumes and get weeded out as the game goes on - the host asks a series of questions that have to be answered very quickly - one series had names - Jacques or Claude and the contestant had to answer the correct name when a last name was given - like Chiraq. Another was a series of statements and the contestant had to answer vrai or faux - it went very quickly and I probably would never watch anything like that at home, but it was good for practicing French because I had to translate the question and figure out the answer - I think I got about 2 right - but I've only been here 2 days. Madame must think I am a complete dunce - but when I listen to conversations, I am getting better at hearing individual words - but it goes very fast - I could also use a few more verb tenses - I think the conditional will be very helpful. Dinner was charcuterie with cornichons and sun dried tomatoes, followed by croissant avec frommage et jambon, a cheese course and strawberries for dessert. I hope I sleep better tonight and I also hope they don't collect the garbage again at 1:00 am! 3:23:46 PM |
 Friday April 1, 2005 7:01 am or 5:01 pm (depending...) Trying to stay awake. Dinner is between 7:30 - 8:30. It's 5:01 pm in Nice now - I don't know if I'm going to make it. Here's what happened so far... Willie took me to the San Francisco airport and once again we waited forever in line to check in - although not as long as the last time thank God! We got a quick bite to go and then said goodbye and I went through security and on to the gate (after checking the price on Hermes scarves in the duty free shop ($300). The flight to Frankfort was full, of Germans - very white and blond. It was interesting to hear German - I haven't heard so much since I was in Germany in 1976 - couldn't figure it out then, still can't. The plane was old - no in-seat screens which was a real disappointment because that meant I couldn't track the flight -which took 10 hours btw. Also, the video projector in the cabin I was in didn't work either - so no movies - it was a long 10 hours. I read a book and got about 2 hours of sleep. They gave us vouchers to fill out because of the video problems - evidently we will get extra miles or $$ off a future ticket - which is great for me because I probably wouldn't have watched the movies anyway - Princess Diaries 2?? Hummmm.. Anyway, there was an altercation (in hissing German) right across the aisle from me - one woman put her seat back and the one behind her went ballistic - just went crazy about how she just could not deal with it - this went on and one and several flight attendants were called - she got her way - the woman in front was more gracious than I would have been. After that, the flight was pretty dull since there were no movies, no graphic to tell me where I was and no window to look out of. One interesting thing was that just as everyone was settling down to sleep, (around 10:00 pm), it started to get light outside. By 11:00, it was full daylight, hard to sleep and at midnight, they served breakfast. We got in to Frankfort shortly after that. My rolling carry-on worked just fine and I rolled through passport control and through miles of airport to get to the gate for Nice. We went through the gate check in and down the stairs to a bus - which bussed us way out to the runway where the plane was. It was sunny and warm and bright - and the plane (Luftansa - probably spelled wrong) was much bigger and nicer than the United plane. I sat next to a woman from Frankfort who spoke to me in German - and I was so tired I couldn't thin what to do or say - so I said Bitte, which now that I think of it, was pretty good, since I don't know German - but she thought I didn't hear what she said and repeated it - so I told her I didn't speak German (no duh) and she started right up in English. It turned out she taught English and French to high school students. She was going to Nice for the weekend, It stayed sunny as we flew over Germany but clouded up as we flew over the Alps - and then got very cloudy the closer to le Mer we got - I was getting worried but then once we got to the sea, the clouds broke and as we flew in along the coast, it was bright and sunny. We flew along Antibes and then into Nice and there are palm trees and red roofs everywhere. It looks sort of like Santa Barbara with the mountains in the background and the road along the coast - but also like Florida. The architecture is very Italian - since it was Italian until the mid 1800's.  I was wondering who would be meeting me and it turned out to be my hostess, Madame Girardin, who was holding up my note that I had sent her last week. She reminded me of Aunt Rita. We went out to the parking lot and as we drove along the Prominade d'Anglais through Nice, she talked (in French), non-stop about what we were seeing. She doesn't speak English (so she said), which will be good for me as I will learn more, but it is also frustrating! We are each armed with a French/English dictionary at all times! My room is small but nice - I have a balcony and I can see other Italianate buildings out my window with plants. Madame Girardin told me that ochre is the color of Nice and there is an ochre building right across the street (not in this picture - actually, the building is not as attractive as some others). We talked for a while and she showed me Nice sight-seeing stuff and then suggested that I should "repose" for a while. So I unpacked and laid down and almost drifted off several times - which would probably be a bad idea especially since I have my contacts in...so I decided to write down some first impressions while they are still fresh - and then Willie called and now Madame just returned from taking Whiskey (her dog) for a walk. I have reset the clock on my computer to French time. Now all I have to do is stay awake until dinner.2:29:04 PM |
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