Toussaint: Bath

During my week-long break at the end of October (otherwise known as Toussaint), I managed to go to England, Scotland, and Ireland and visit friends in each place. While staying in London, I made a day trip to Bath with my friend Molly. Bath, as the name denotes, is a spa town known for it's ancient Roman baths. These are the best preserved Roman baths still standing today.

Bath is about an hour and a half train ride from London. It was lovely to pass through the English countryside and get out of a city for the day. Upon arrival, we passed by several quaint tea shops, something you can't as easily find in London (or at least not from what I saw). There's something kind of liberating about going to a city with out much prior knowledge about it. The main attraction I was aware of in Bath is the Roman bathhouse, but it has several other landmarks including the "Circus", a cylindrical shaped building that resembles a government building but is in fact just a series of apartments. The city is also known for being a residence of Jane Austen and for its Georgian architecture.

Molly and I spent a good 2 1/2 hours exploring what was once a spa for the elite in this Roman outpost. It was interesting to hear about the strong religious connection people had with the mineral waters. People would throw personal items into the water and say spells to punish those who had wronged them. I'm just amazed out how well preserved the baths were, with a murky green pool of water still existing in the center of the forum. It's also incredible how much information historians were able to gather from this era, mostly based off of artifacts found in and around the area.

After our time at the Roman bath we sat down for some tea and scones with jam and clotted cream. I'm not really sure what clotted cream is, but boy is it delicious! I absolutely love the tradition of afternoon tea and I think that is something I will try to bring back with me to France and the U.S. I'm already a tea fanatic, but it's nice to have a routine of relaxing and drinking tea with a snack every afternoon. Well, maybe I won't be able to do that every afternoon, but once in a while it would be nice.

Tea, scone, and clotted cream. Yum!

One of the other main features of Bath is it's Abbey. The city has long been known as a spiritual site and the construction of this Gothic structure is evidence of that. We didn't go inside but the church serves as a focal point of the city.

The abbey

After touring the Roman Baths Molly and I ventured off in search of the building known as the "Circus". We eventually found it, along with a beautiful lawn lined with trees clad with crimson leaves. It looked like a scene out of Downtown Abbey. Actually, I'm quite sure that they have filmed scenes for t.v. shows and movies here.

The circus was our last site to see for the day. After that we headed back to the train station and back to London. It was a lovely day and I'm glad I got to experience a smaller English city (or town) and I would definitely recommend a visit to Bath!

Toussaint: London

Wow. I'm seriously embarrassed at how long it's taken me to put up another post. Needless to say, this past month has been busy and filled with all sorts of adventures and challenges.

Now I'm going to describe some of my experiences from Toussaint, the week long break France grants its citizens each year in honor of All Saint's Day. It was a month ago (the last week of October), but fortunately I've been more diligent about keeping a journal than I have about keeping this blog so I have more than just my fragile memory to base this post off of.

I started off my trip by flying to London. Let me just say, British Airways is bomb! Since it was an "international" flight (I say that with sarcasm because my flight was only an hour and half-- not generally what comes to mind when I think of an "international" flight), they gave us free alcoholic drinks. I actually didn't accept mine (shocking I know, who turns down free alcohol?!) cause it was 12 in the afternoon and my immune system already felt compromised. I figured I better take care of it and not push my luck. I got to London on a Thursday afternoon and easily made my way to the East End, where my friends Molly and Amanda are living for the semester. They both go to Queen Mary University of London near Mile End. It's funny because neither of them knew each other before this program, but I was friends with them both. Molly is from Half Moon Bay so we went to the same middle school and high school and suffered through the college application process and Model U.N together. I've known Amanda since second semester of Freshman year when the group from her floor kindly adopted me. When I found out they would both be studying at this university in London for the semester, I told each about the other and I think they connected a bit before arriving in the UK.

Amanda and I galavanting around London

The following day, Friday, was splendid. We started off by going to Harrods which for me is a huge thrill. I love going in nice stores and Harrods is the ultimate department store. Whoever designs the displays does a fabulous job. After that Amanda and I slowly made our way to the Bloomsbury Ambassador Hotel for afternoon tea. We conveniently passed by some of London's most famous landmarks, including Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, Parliament, Big Ben, the London Eye, and the Thames River. It was lovely meandering about and when we finally arrived at our destination we were in for another delight. Tea, scones, mini sandwiches, cupcakes, and mini tarts awaited us at the table.

Amanda, surrounded by deliciousness

After tea we headed to King's Cross Rail Station to find Platform 9 and 3/4. We spent almost 20 minutes searching for it before we decided to ask for directions. The shopkeeper we asked was quite amused by our question (he must get it all the time) and asked whether we were walking or flying there.

We eventually found it, as is evidenced by this picture, and happily spent 30 minutes in the shop next to the platform, dueling with wands and embracing our inner witches. We also took pictures pretending to enter platform 9 and 3/4. All in all it was a swell day.

The rest of my time in London I spent going to museums and visiting monuments. Thankfully, most of the museums in London are free so that was nice. My favorite (of the ones I went to, which actually wasn't too many because of my limited amount of time) was the Victoria and Albert Museum. It displayed artifacts from some of the great Eastern empires as well as "local" British historical artifacts. I spent a few hours there absorbing all the history and reveling in the concept that they were able to preserve 500+ year old clothing.

The bed of Ware, which can supposedly hold up to 15 people in it

Beautiful Middle Eastern mosaic

I also went to Kensington Palace (where Prince William and Kate Middleton reside), but didn't have a chance to go in. My favorite "monument" in London by far was Westminster Abbey. It was a hefty 15 pounds (and that's WITH a student I.D.) to get in but it was well worth it for I've dreamed of going in and seeing the tombs of some of Britain's royalty for ages now. It was interesting to look down on the tile floor and see "Charles Darwin" engraved into the stone and many other notable names. Most famous British people living until the late 1880s have some sort of tomb or memorial in there. It was especially cool for me to see the tombs of Elizabeth I, Mary Queen of Scot's, and Margaret Beaufort, all notable women who played an important role in the UK's history and all of whom have had a Philippa Gregory historical fiction novel written about them. I'm currently reading the one about Mary Queen of Scot's detainment in a castle in Northern England and the years leading up to her eventual execution.

Moi, in front of Westminster Abbey

My biggest regret from this trip is that I did not get to visit Hampton Court Palace or Windsor Castle. Prior to arriving in the UK, I had planned to spend my last day in London at one of these castles while my friends were in class. Once in London however, the "worst storm in 20 years" hit and the rail lines were down as a result. I was pretty disappointed but hey, it just means I'll have to go back some day. Instead I spent two hours inside of Westminster Abbey (as mentioned before) and went to the Imperial War Museum. The latter was not as impressive but it entertained me with it's spy exhibition and information about the London Blitz during WWII.

I also went to Bath while I was in England but I will save that for another post. Stay tuned for more!

Traditional British telephone booth

Westminster Abbey

Turkish/Indian food at an International food market in London. YUM.

Cassis et Aix-en-Provence

Last weekend I fell in love with France again. Not that I ever fell out of love, but it's been hard to see the beauty when I'm overwhelmed and stressed out. All that went away as I headed to the South of France with some girls from my program to enjoy some sunshine and explore unfamiliar cities. Well, sort of unfamiliar. We went to Cassis, a little sea village on the Mediterranean just a 40 minute bus ride from Marseille that none of us had ever been to before. After our stint at the coast we headed inland to Aix-en-Provence, the famed French ville known for its lavender, cafés, and artists. I'd been to Aix before with my mother, two years ago this past summer, so it was interesting to be back with a different crowd.

Cassis

Now that you have a small synopsis of the trip, I'll go into more depth about it and why I have a renewed appreciation for France. First of all, the idea to go down there sprung up when we discovered Ouigo, a subsidiary of the French national rail line, SNCF. Ouigo offers fairly inexpensive (in European terms- for me and other USD dependent folks, everything is expensive here) train tickets throughout the South of France. Our tickets from Lyon to Marseille were 10 euros, quite a steal if you ask me. I could easily spend that amount on a drink in a bar. Our tickets for the way back were slightly more expensive but it was worth it to see 2 cities (or towns?) in 2 1/2 days.

We arrived in Marseille bright and early, before the tourist office even opened, so naturally we sat down and had coffee and pastries. We walked near the port for a little bit and stood underneath this really trippy mirror reflection roof thing. Yes, I realize that was really articulate but I'm not even sure what it was. After dillydallying around for a little bit we found the bus headed for Cassis and hopped on it. The drive there was through green and rocky terrain. It reminded me of the movie "Manon des Sources", a French film starring Gerard Depardieu I watched several times in my high school French class.

Reflecting roof near the port in Marseille

Once we arrived in Cassis we checked into our boutique hotel and wandered through the town streets. Naturally, I gravitated towards the sea as it'd been a while since I'd been near a large body of water (if you don't count Lyon's two rivers, the Rhone and the Saone). The water, as expected with this region's name (the Côte d'Azur), was a brilliant blue. It wasn't as inviting as I hoped what with the heavy breeze and choppy waves but I was tempted to go in nevertheless. Before going in, however, we decided to explore and made our way towards Port Miou, one of the three "calanques" Cassis is so famous for. It's hard to describe so here are some pictures to give you an idea of what a calanque is.

On our way back from the Port Miou we stopped at a rocky beach and finally decided to take the plunge. Well, Kirsten and me that is. I had been wanting to go in all day but when the time finally came I almost chickened out due to the small waves that were present but Kirsten put things into perspective and finally convinced me to go in. I'm so glad that I did. That would have been a shame to be at the Mediterranean and not go in the water.

Kirsten and me waving from the Mediterranean

Cote d'Azur

Port Miou Calanque

After spending a full day and a morning in Cassis we made our way (via train) to Aix-en-Provence. Like I said, I'd been there before but very briefly so it was nice to be back and do things that I hadn't done before. We basically spent all Saturday afternoon strolling around the very French streets of Aix, basking in the sunshine, eating Mexican food and ice cream, and eventually finding our hostel (which ended up being much farther away than we expected...oh well). The thing that I found the most exciting though was, believe it or not, finding decent Mexican food! Yes, I know, I should embrace French culture and leave my Mexican food cravings behind in California but I couldn't help but be excited to stumble upon this treasure. Below are some funny posters that were in the restaurant/take-out place. 

For dinner we went to a very quaint restaurant that Kirsten found in her guidebook. It wasn't too expensive for what we got and had a very authentic atmosphere, which I liked. The best part was that we were seated outside in what felt like a backyard, with ivy growing all around and nothing but French being spoken around us. It was nice to get away from the tourists and feel more immersed in la vie française.

On our last day in Aix we spent the morning at the Musée Granet, which holds collections from artists such as Cezanne, Picasso, Dali, and other famous painters that were known to have spent some time in Aix. I'm no art connoisseur but I really enjoyed the exhibit and would definitely recommend it. 

Overall the weekend was pretty great and I'm glad I was able to spend some time in the South of France before it got chilly (as it is right now, raining and about 50 degrees). I would love to go back to Cassis in the Spring or Summer when it's warmer and visit the two other calanques that I never made it to! 

Below are some more pics from the trip. 

Cassis

Aix-en-Provence, also known as the city of 1,000 fountains

Beaujolais

This past Saturday all 40+ students in my program went to a winery in Beaujolais, France, just 45 minutes from Lyon. Beaujolais is one of the many famous regions in France known for it's wine. I had heard of it before coming here, but only because my mother, a culinary enthusiast, bought a bottle of Beaujolais wine for me and told me about it. Needless to say, it was nice to get out of Lyon for the day and get a little taste of the French countryside.

After the brief bus ride there, we all made our way into a rustic looking building where the owners of the small winery told us about the kinds of wine they make. We then tasted three wines, accompanied by some delicious hors d'oeuvres fresh out of the oven. The owner gave an explanation of the vineyards and what we were drinking, all in French. By the way, besides when I hang out with all Americans, most of my interactions are in French, unless I say otherwise. I'd like to think I understood everything he said but I kind of zoned out halfway through and ended up having a mini photo-shoot with Ana and Katie. Oops.

After we tasted wine we all headed hungrily towards a giant wine cellar-turned-banquet hall where tables were set in a classic, country-French manner. Each table had a blue and yellow flower-patterned table cloth. So French. It reminded me of the curtains in my sister's room haha. We all sat down for two hours and were treated to a series of typically French food, including pâté (which I personally despise but I tried it anyway just to be polite), salad, beef (perhaps bourguignon? not sure but if my mother were there she would have been able to tell me), potatoes, cheese, three kinds of sweet treats, and of course, bread. Lots and lots of bread. Oh, and since we were at a winery, our meal was accompanied by plenty of wine. It was very lovely and nice of this couple to open their winery/vineyard/home to us and treat us so nicely. I know part of our program dues went towards this excursion, but it was nice nonetheless to have what felt like such an authentic experience.

After stuffing ourselves silly we went out into the vineyard and had a photo shoot. Below are some pictures from this part of the day.

My roommate Ana and I

At this point in the day, we were all sleepy and ready to go into a food coma but our program director kept reminding us that the day was not over. We were led to a traditional brick oven where, to our delight, fresh bread was being made. A couple of people got to take the giant wood spatula and take bread out of the oven. I wasn't one of the lucky ones, but we did however, get to all take home a mini-loaf of bread. It was delicious and warm and an awesome way to end the day. The couple who hosted us and made all this delicious food was adorable and we were all appreciative of their graciousness. I bought a jar of homemade apricot jam and ate it with my warm bread when I got home.

The bread baking process.

Overall, it was a lovely day out with the kids from my program and I'm glad I got to experience the delight of a French winery!

Wifi and language in Lyon

I'm alive! Haha, not that people couldn't infer that from my Facebook presence...but I haven't blogged as much as I hoped to mostly due to the fact that access to Wifi has been infrequent. Still waiting to officially have it in my apartment but hopefully that will be soon. I'm crossing my fingers!

Well, I'm finally moved into my apartment and waiting for a few things to come together and then my life will finally be established here. As soon as I have real internet I shall document my experiences more thoroughly. Until then, sporadic updates it is!

The apartment is great. I absolutely love the view, my roommates are awesome, and we have a nice big kitchen to cook in. I'm excited to invite people over during the holiday season to make Christmas cookies : ) . I'm hoping it will snow so a) I can have a real Christmas and b) I get to take advantage of my view and see all the rooftops covered with snow. We shall see.

Anyway, life in Lyon has been interesting. I'm so glad I'm here for a year. I feel like I tell myself that every day but it's true. This whole experience wouldn't be as gratifying if I were to leave in 3 mere months. It's already taken me 1 month to start to feel established, so 3 more would go by way too quickly. My language skills could definitely use the full 10 or so months!

Speaking of language, I suppose I've been improving, but it's hard to tell. Some people are easier to understand than others. The most difficult part for me is not having a broad enough vocabulary. Or when I can't understand someone. That is really frustrating but I know as time goes on it will only become easier. Also, sometimes I know the right words or phrases for something but I mispronounce them so people don't understand me. It's slightly embarrassing, but all part of the process nonetheless. Being in a city where the majority of people do not speak fluent English is a humbling experience, I must say.

I speak French with my roommates because Ona (the Spanish one) speaks French better than English and because we are all here to improve our French, after all. I also meet with a French friend, Manon, once a week just to have conversations in French (and I help her a little bit with English). I met her through the apartment-search process. I think having full conversations is particularly helpful because it involves more than just asking to buy a baguette or inquiring where the nearest restroom is.

Overall I'm really pleased that I chose Lyon because it's a big enough city that keeps things interesting but it's also not overwhelming like I fear Paris might have felt. It feels very comfortable. And not everyone speaks English so that forces me to speak French, another benefit. I'm excited to discover what more this city has to offer : )

Below are some photos from my time here so far.

Lyon sunset

Delicious gelato/ice cream made from local, organic ingredients!

Artsy pic from my apartment

Mission Accomplished

Salut! Yes, it's been a while. I haven't been blogging as much as I planned to but I'm hoping that as I begin to get more settled into a routine it will come more naturally.

Well, after two weeks of feeling uncertain about where I will be living and discouraged about my obstacles with the phone and bank, I am happy to say that those issues have been resolved! Last week I decided to commit to living in an apartment with my roommate Ana from CISL, the hostel-like temporary housing we resided in for two weeks while searching for apartments, and Ona, a Spanish exchange student we met through ILP (Intensive Language Program). Ana goes to UCSB and is a fellow Bay Area lady but we did not know each other before this program started. She is only here for one semester so Ona and I will have to find someone to replace her for the second semester here (preferably someone French).

Ona is from the Catalan region of Spain and will be here for the whole year like me. She speaks better French than English and since we are all here to improve our French, we will only speak with each other en français. I realize that it is not as ideal as living with native French speakers, but at least we will eliminate the tendency to speak English around each other. Hey, maybe I'll even learn a few Spanish phrases here and there. 

Our apartment is in Croix Rousse, the 4eme arrondissement of Lyon. It was formally known as the "silk-weaving district". It's a little far from where I will be taking most or all of my classes, at l'Institute d'etudes politiques, 2 metros and a tram, but it's a hip area that I feel safe in. There's a farmers market there 7 days a week, although I'm not sure how long that will last as we continue to creep into Fall and then Winter.

The apartment itself is in a typically old building but the inside is modern looking. I have yet to see it with furnishings (Sunday is the big day!) but it has a big kitchen and a beautiful view of the city, two things I can't complain about. Below is a picture of the view from our apartment.

View of Lyon and the Basilique de Fourvière

I'm excited to move in this Sunday and to be more settled in France. Things are finally coming together for me and Lyon is starting to feel more and more like a home. 
 

Apartment Hunting and Other Things

So I hoped to have written another post by now but life has been so busy and stressful the past week and a half that the last thing I've wanted to do is write about my struggles here in Lyon. I'll mention them briefly but I'd rather write about the other stuff I've experienced here so far, not all the obstacles I've encountered. 

First off, the apartment search has been far more difficult than I ever imagined it would be. Before arriving in Lyon we were advised to search for apartments online and sent several listings but for some reason I, and several other people in my program, was under the impression that it would be better to wait until I actually got to Lyon to choose where I'd be living for the year. I didn't know back then which neighborhoods were the best and thought it'd be smarter to wait until I was here to really find a place. Boy was that a mistake. Now more than ever I wish I had been more fervent in my search this summer and not taken it so casually that I would easily find accommodations upon arriving. By the end of this week I will know where I'm living and hopefully be in my new (or like most places here, "old") home. 

Besides the fact that I'm still not sure where I will be living, I've also encountered issues with getting a French phone plan and setting up my French bank account. Needless to say, these first two weeks have been really difficult, but I know once I have these things settled I'll be able to fully appreciate France and take advantage of this experience. 

Now I'll mention some of the observations I've been quietly making about France. 

1. French people come in all different shapes and sizes. Yes, contrary to belief, some French women do get fat. Although I don't think the obesity rate is nearly as high here as it is in the states, not everyone has the stick-thin figure we seem to think they do. The culture surrounding food here is of course very different and that makes a difference in the way people think of and consume food, but overall, people seem very average-sized. 

2. So. Much. Bread. I've been to France twice before so this wasn't that much of a surprise but I still kind of can't get over how much bread is consumed. I swear every time I go into Simply, the supermarché (super market) near where I'm staying temporarily, almost everyone in the store has a baguette in their basket. 

3. Men in Lyon (maybe not all of France) are aggressive. One of the most shocking things for me that I don't remember from the previous times I was in France, possibly because I didn't really witness it then, is how aggressive the men here are. Obviously I can't classify all French men as being like that but as a woman here I feel objectified quite often. It seems almost impossible to walk down the street without someone staring at you or calling out to you. I'm quickly adopting the tactic French women employ, which is to look straight ahead, as if you're on a mission somewhere, and ignore it completely. Also, mace is illegal in France so our program director advised us girls to carry some sort of aerosol spray (like hairspray) on us to detract any unwanted predators if need be. Not sure how effective that would be but let's just hope that none of us have any encounters like that and are smart enough not to walk anywhere alone at night. 

4. Not many Lyonnaise people speak English well. This is something I really appreciate. It forces me to speak French, or at least try, and although it can be frustrating when communication is lost, I know it will only help me in the long run. 

5. Apparently American accents in French are cute? This is news to me. I would have never have guessed. I always assumed my butchered pronunciation of French words was obnoxious-sounding, not cute. Hmmmm. I guess it's all the more reason to practice, now that I know that the French have an appreciation for our silly little accents. 

6. Kebabs. They're everywhere. They're almost as prevalent as baguettes. But not quite. Anyway, I'm sick of them and all the meat I've been eating here in general. I miss my lentel-kale stews at Manley = ( . Vegetarian Indian burritos, however, are fantastic! I've had two so far and am thinking that's what I will probably procure for myself for dinner tonight. They're pretty cheap (4.50 euros without cheese or 6 euros with) and huge and filling. Also, they give me that spice I so miss from Mexican food.

7. Little old French women and French children are adorable. Enough said.

8. Pickpocketing: a European phenomenon. For some reason I feel like pickpocketing is so much more common in Europe than in the U.S. Probably because it is. In defense of their high rate of petty theft, Europe claims to have a lower rate of violent crime than the U.S. That's believable, but annoying nonetheless that every time I get on the metro I have to be weary of those around me and guard my purse. When I first got here I was slightly paranoid about it but have since gotten used to being more cautious. 

Okay maybe 8 is a strange number to stop at but I think I've run out of observations for now. My hope is that the next time I write, it will be from a café or the living room of my new apartment.

I'll post pictures on my blog when I have better Wifi and it doesn't take 100 years to upload them! Ciao!