Working Backwards: Nice

I know I'm working a bit out of order here, but before I go on to tell you about my weekend in Nice from 3 weeks ago, let me just tell everyone that I just had an AMAZING weekend here with my friends :) but more on that later...

So the weekend of October 23rd, me and a group of about ten of us all went to Nice for the weekend! I had work Saturday afternoon as did a couple of my friends, so we left Sunday afternoon and stayed until Tuesday morning. Even though it was stormy/rainy the entire time we were there, the city is still absolutely beautiful!! Here are some shots from the train ride along the coast:

Beautiful. We arrived in Nice in the early evening and walked straight to the apartment we were staying at - which ended up being RIGHT in the middle of the city. For the whole weekend we didn't have to worry about driving, buses, or any sort of public transportation - we were so close to everything we simply walked everywhere. It was grand.

That night we just got settled and went out for dinner at a place called "Buffalo Grill" which I think was American cuisine?? haha I kid. Burgers and fries and haricots verts. I ordered the California Burger and was really confused when it didn't come with avocado...but that's besides the point. Afterwards, we headed to an Irish pub just around the corner - thankful to find anything that was open on a Sunday (revert to previous post if you don't know what I'm talking about). And just our luck - Sundays was karaoke night!! Needless to say, it was a fun night. We had a couple drinks and sang the night away :) Cue the silly karaoke slideshow:

The next day, my German friends Thuy, Sophia, Christopher, Markus, and I went to explore the city. We grabbed some lunch at a nice little French place and I had my first real French Onion Soup. I gotta say though...the one Mallory made for me back in the states was waaayyy better :) haha but then again this was only one restaurant in all of France. I'll have to give it another try soon.

After lunch we took a walk down to the coast. There is this giant round citadel type thing that you can climb up with a great view of the city and a park on top, so we went ahead and did that. BEAUTIFUL. By the end of that climb we were pretty beat, so we walked back into town, had a cup of hot chocolate and a crepe, and went back to the apartment for a nap. That night we took it easy and went out for dinner at a pizza place. Apparently it is totally normal to crack an egg over your pizza here...buuuuuut considering I can't anything less than scrambled, it wasn't really my cup of tea. Thankfully, my friend Steph took the more oeuf-y side. After that, we headed back and watched a movie and went to bed - all 10 of us crammed in a 1 bedroom apartment, in true euro-traveler fashion!

And now, for the pictures that make you jealous of my life. Enjoy:

Working Backwards: Lyon

Welcome Back...to me! So half of my absence is not my fault, the internet has been down over here for a while and we just barely got up and running again. The other half...well...laziness :)

I have so many things to catch everybody up on! But because I've gotten to do so many cool things lately, I'm going to start with the most recent/fresh in my memory and move backwards. I hope nobody minds :)

This past weekend I went to Lyon to finally visit Mallory!! I was supposed to leave Saturday night (the 30th) around 7:15, and get there just in time for a round of drinks with Mal. My host mom, however, had to run an errand before dropping me off at the train station and I ended up missing my train :/ Marjorie felt so bad she bought me the first ticket for Sunday morning - very sweet of her considering that Sunday train tickets are much more expensive than Saturday tickets (although any ticket would have been expensive since the past 2 weeks have been vacation here in France for a national holiday). So I was on the train bright and early Sunday morning! I arrived in Lyon and Mallory picked me up from the train station.

First stop: Starbucks. Now in case you don't know this about me, I love my coffee - and I especially love my Starbucks. Ask any barista in my local area back home, since most know me by name. In fact, I love my coffee so much that it started giving me tummy aches and making me shaky. Turns out that third latte isn't always a good idea...Anyways, I decided to give it up and I haven't had any coffee since I got to France, which has been rough. I finally caved on the way home from my weekend in Nice, but I still hadn't had that familiar taste of a Starbucks iced soy chai latte. So that was exactly what I did when I got into Lyon, which was a miracle considering that EVERYTHING in France is closed on Sundays. And I do mean, everything. Grocery stores, pharmacies, restaurants, retail stores, you name it - it's closed. Except, of course, good ol' American Starbucks. It was magical.

From there, we went back to Mallory's apartment (which is super cute, by the way) and relaxed for a bit. We made some pasta, sautéed some veggies, and watched some Modern Family for the better part of the afternoon (did I mention everything is closed on Sundays??). Afterwards, we got dressed and ready for our night out. Halloween isn't something that is really celebrated in France...I mean, there are a few people who dress up...but in comparison to the states - it's NOTHING. But just because France doesn't know how to do Halloween right, doesn't mean me and Mallory don't! We layered every piece of black clothing we had (it's pretty chilly in Lyon), donned some kitty ears, busted out the eyeliner, and voilà - black cats.

We took the metro to a different part of town, had an amazing dinner at an adorable french restaurant, and then headed to Mal's favorite Irish pub - the St. James. We weren't sure if it was even going to be open, but since Halloween is, after all, an Irish holiday to begin with, it was alive and PACKED with festive people. Me and Mal had a blast, so much in fact, that we accidentally missed our last metro and had to walk home 3 miles in the rain...hehehe whoops! Worth it.

The next day, we did some shopping, and then walked around all of Lyon. Mal took me to the Fourviere Cathedral which was absolutely STUNNING! Not only was the church itself beautiful, but it's also situated on top of a hill which overlooks the entire city. The inside was amazing too, but I couldn't take any pictures because mass was going on. Afterwards, we headed to the Roman ruins that are also in Lyon, below the cathedral. Now this was amazing to me for 2 reasons:

1) Roman ruins. That one is pretty self explanatory. Anything that has managed to make it since 57 BC is pretty darn impressive in my book.

2) THE TREES WERE ORANGE, YELLOW, AND RED!! Sometimes all at the same time!! Ok ok...I'm not crazy. I am fully aware that real fall trees exist in cities other than Los Angeles. But growing up in a tiny green coastal town my whole life, you don't see much of it. Especially like this. I was very impressed.

So autumn colors + Roman ruins = lots of pictures...and me taking a leaf home with me :)

That night we went back to the St. James with some of Mallory's friends and had an amazing time. It was fun meeting new people in a different city.

Tuesday morning I went home for work that afternoon, and now here I am! OH also, I got a haircut today, but I'll post pictures of that later (don't worry, it's just my bangs :] ).

And tomorrow, my Nice post...

MIA

Sorry everyone!! I've been an absolutely terrible blogger. Yes, I am alive. Yes, I am healthy. Yes, I am having fun :)

The internet is down at my house right now so I can only check my email on my crappy little French cell...and that's about it :/ I'm at an internet café right now, but I can't stay for long. I will post a big, long, picture-packed post as soon as the internet is up and running again! In the meantime, be patient :)

PS: no internet = no skype, no skype = no phone calls, unfortunately.

1 Month Mark

1 month down, 11 more to go!

October 12th officially marked one month since I landed in France. Crazy to think that a whole month has gone by, right?? After a few more weeks, it will be the longest I've ever consecutively been away from home/LA...second to my 5 week trip to Peru in 2007.

I suppose things are finally starting to sink in. I definitely planned this trip without thinking about the time or distance, on purpose of course. The last thing I wanted to do was psych myself out and end up being too afraid to go. But now that I'm here, the distance has definitely become a reality - especially when talking to the other au pairs. For everyone else, home is usually at maximum 2 hours away...either by plane or train. The other girls get to go home for Christmas, call their families in the same time zone, not have to worry about exchange rates in currency (for the most part). It never occurred to me when I left that I would be the most foreign one here...well, as far as distance goes.

I suppose a little bit of homesickness has been seeping through. But then I think about it, and I think about how amazing it is that I'm here. I made it! I'm living the dream. I eat brie with my dinner every night. What more could a girl ask for?

I definitely expected this around the first month. I was mentally prepared to face homesickness. Really, I just have to make it through the holidays and then I'll be fine. Starting the first week of January, I have 2 weeks vacation! And it'll be off to Paris for me :)

Maybe I need some kind of change to distract me...I have been feeling the itch for something different lately...perhaps a new haircut? Piercing? Tattoo? All of the above?? I'll keep you posted. After all, when in Rome...

I do want to give a big THANK YOU to my big brother, Johnny for sending me mail :) I was so pleased to receive not only a Halloween card, but a Congratulations card for my graduation (in June) and a Happy Birthday card for my belated birthday (in August)! Better late than never, right Johnny?? Especially since he is the ONLY ONE SO FAR to have sent me anything!!!

(Hint hint, my loyal readers...)

Ok that's a lie...Mallory sent me something too, but she LIVES in France and she's already come to visit me so really it's just no competition. Plus it just sounds more dramatic to say that Johnny is the only one to have sent me anything.

Even a simple postcard is greatly appreciated! Did I mention I collect those??? Photos would be grand too...

I will leave you with a picture of the gigantic wheel of brie that is the ongoing joke over here because my host family has to replenish it every week...because of me :)

Feeling a bit better...

Feeling better, finally!! Not completely recovered, of course...but better nonetheless. I couldn't go to the doctor on Thursday because it just happens to be the only day of out the week that they close (just my luck). So instead, I skipped school on Friday and rested all afternoon. Luckily, during the week I don't start watching the baby until 2...and she naps from 2-5, so I just nap when she does :)

I just went to the doctor this morning, as Marjorie insisted, and he pretty much told me what I already knew - I have a cold. I was a little confused...he wrote up a prescription for a bunch of stuff that's available over-the-counter in the states. But the whole visit only cost 27 euros, and most of that is reimbursed...so I guess that's just how free healthcare works. Why not go to the doctor for a cold? He gave me the french equivalent of afrin, sudafed, some kind of antihistamine, cough syrup, and vicks vaporub. It's all helping A LOT. I can finally breath through both nostrils at the same time, which is awesome. Tomorrow and Monday are my days off, and Marjorie says I'm not going to school Monday either so I have plenty of rest ahead of me!

Turns out being sick here hasn't been so bad after all. The first day of having a cold actually made me really home sick! I wasn't looking forward to being miserable for a week with nobody to baby me, but Marjorie has been amazing. Olivier (her husband) left this week for 5 months, so it's just us girls in the house. Thursday night, Marjorie made me soup for dinner and pulled out the sofa bed. She made me cookies and hot cocoa and the three of us had a girls night in the living room watching a movie :) Not so bad at all...

Obviously, I haven't left the house all week...so there are no exciting France updates. Just my boring ol' health. I've been slipping into nyquil induced comas at night (SO glad I brought that with me from the states!!) so excuse me if I haven't answered your late night calls...my bad! I promise I'll catch up next week.

Miss you all!!

Aix and a Cold

Ok...I am well aware that I've fallen into the bad habit of starting my posts with apologies, but this time I really have a good excuse! I caught a bad cold on Monday and I've been miserably sick since then. Marjorie is closing the salon for the afternoon and taking me to the doctor later today. So with that said, I'm NOT sorry for the lack of posts lately ;)

This past weekend, though, was a lot of fun! Saturday night I went out with some of the other au pairs. They happen to be going out in my neck of the woods, so I lucked out with having a ride (we all live in different parts of the neighborhood, and I'm the only one without a car). They picked me up Saturday night and we went out to a bar downtown and after to a club called "La Plage". It's fun having so many different nationalities all hanging out together. It was like the beginning of a bad joke:

"So an American, British, Hungarian, Danish, Dutch, and German girl walk into a bar..."

But we had a BLAST! I haven't been out since I got here, so I was excited to finally leave the house. The girls are a lot of fun too, thank god they asked me to go out with them. However, nothing makes me feel more foreign than going to a bar in France. It's surreal.

Sunday afternoon 4 of us took a mini road trip to Aix-En-Provence, which is a town about an hour north from Toulon. It was BEAUTIFUL! Kudos to Steph (my lovely British friend) for organizing the trip. Aix is the city where Paul Cézanne lived and painted, so that was pretty cool for me to see, as an art history major.

Pictures from our lovely day in Aix:

Monday I had school and ended up coming home straight after because it was raining, unfortunately. But because it was my day off and I didn't have to work until 2 the next day, I went out with a few of my friends that night. I took the bus to Thuy's house, had dinner with her host family, and from there met up with Judit and Daisy and went to my friend Sophia's place. Thuy and Sophia are German, Judit is Hungarian, and Daisy is Dutch. We're a bit of a multicultural bunch. Anyway, we went to a friend's house and had some drinks and laughs there for a bit. I ended up spending the night at Sophia's house. Thing is, Sophia lives in the hotel that her host parents own and operate. Usually, she has her own room in the hotel...but right now it's being remodeled for about a week or so. Temporarily, they're put her up in a room above the hotel...as in on the roof. The view is amazing, of course:

However, the room was also very, very cold...and as I was sleeping in the spare bed, I only had one blanket. Needless to say, I woke up not feeling so hot. Every since then, this cold has made me pretty useless this week. Hopefully I'll feel better soon enough...I'm starting to go a bit stir crazy.

I'll let you all know how things go at the doctor's, but for now it's time I slip into another daze of cold medicine and Disney movies...

Horse House or Whore's House?

The past few days have been fun, lots of work and some school. As far as food updates go, last night I ate duck, pheasant, and hare. Apparently there is a difference between a rabbit and a hare. I always thought that one is used in fables and raced tortoises while the other does not, but apparently there's also a difference in size and speed. Hare's are much larger and can be hunted. The reason I know this is because Olivier's mom and er...boyfriend, Patrick, are visiting this weekend and Patrick is a hunter. Looks like I've come a long way from my vegetarian ways...

Also, I have almost completely finished the wheel of brie the Bon's bought for me last week. Whooooops...

Now, for the past week or so I have been taking the baby out for walks along our street for some fresh air. When Olivier took me around the first time, he explained that this old house was once, a very long time ago, either a "horse house" or a "whore's house". For the life of me, I could not understand his accent and I was too embarrassed to ask him to clarify. So, I will let you, my readers, be the judge:

Horse House or Whore's House?