Salut,
Lindsay and I just got back from Nice late last night. We arrived around 6 pm on Friday and searched around for a hostel that I had heard about from some classmates. Once we found it we dumped our stuff and headed for the beach. We thought that we would be basking on the shore of the Mediterranean...if only it were 40 degrees warmer! After freezing from our beach adventure, we found a cute restaurant and then headed to a bar with live music. To give you an idea of the crowd there, the band members all had hair longer than either Lindsay's or mine and the guitarist was wearing a shirt that said "No one's bitch." We left there after a little bit and headed back to our hostel to decompress.
We woke up fairly early Saturday because we wanted to do a lot of things while the weather was nice. Lindsay went into the bathroom and a few minutes later I could hear her urgently whispering my name from the stall. I went to see what was wrong and found out that we was trapped inside. We spent twenty minutes trying to open the door without avail. She tried climbing over, but based on my catching skills, we decided it was a bad idea. All of the sudden, when I was about to leave her to her doom, the door popped open. I have never seen anyone so relieved to be out of a bathroom!
After that wonderful start to the day we headed to the local market where we bought some honey, bread, and fruit and sat on the beach (all rocks, no sand) to eat breakfast and watch the waves roll in for a while. The next stop was the bus station to go to Monaco. It was a beautiful half hour drive along the sea, but a waste of time. One can see fabulously rich people, the casino, and very expensive cars...and that's about it. Disappointed, we went to Menton, an Italian border town. There wasn't much to see there either, except for the enormous floats of oranges and lemons (pictures to come). It really was amazing to see the things that they can make out of fruit.
The next stop during our whirlwind day was Eze, a cute little town with an amazing view. We happened to be in the village during their canivale. There were a couple of floats filled with kids throwing confetti. I turned around to say something to Lindsay and at the same time a man on the float pointed a leafblower filled with confetti directly at us. I was still finding pieces of paper in my hair and clothes a day afterward. While we brushed ourselves off, we climbed up a huge hill and could see miles and miles in every direction.
We took the bus back to Nice and found a sushi place that was amazing. Although sushi is not exactly French cuisine, it just looks too good to resist. After our delicious dinner, we walked along la Promenade des Anglais and bought a bottle of wine to take back to our hostel. When we came back, we joined some English, Irish, and Philipino guys drinking beers and watching soccer. It was hilarious trying to figure out what they were saying (the Irish accent is incomprehensible) and we ended up talking with them for a couple of hours before heading to bed.
Because of our Irish (came in really late) and Chinese (left really early) roommates, we slept badly and caught up by sleeping in til 11:30. It was a miserable day and we needed something to do indoors so we went to some kind of exposition with well over 500 booths. Neither of us bought anything, but it was fun looking at everything. By the time we were done, it was time to go back to the train station. Within a three hour span we went from fairly warm temperatures to two inches of snow!
Provence is purely addictive. Next weekend I'm going south again to escape the cold, but for now I have to hit the books for my midterms this week :(
Showing posts with label food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label food. Show all posts
Monday, March 8, 2010
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Marseille
Sorry for my long absence, but the past week has been crazy. On Saturday at 6:30 am I left for Marseille for what was supposed to be a day trip with 7 other people. I was nervous to see what the city was like because it seems like everyone thinks there are sleazy people waiting to grope and rob you in the streets. This was definitely not the case; in fact, I liked it so much that my friend and I decided to stay another day.
So...what did we do? The first thing we did when we got off the train was to go to the old port, which is probably the most famous part of the city. The daily fish market was going on and the port was bustling with tourists and natives. I have to say, the seafood was as fresh as you could possibly get; there were some fish that were still alive in the crates so the fishmongers whacked their heads agianst the side of the table a couple of times and they were good to go. Also featured were starfish, mussels, rays, eels, and squid (I can't figure out how one would cook a starfish or a ray). We tried to get tickets to visit Chateau D'If (the setting for The Count of Monte Cristo and The Man in the Iron Mask)at the port but the jail was closed, sadly.
Instead, someone suggested that we visit the cathedral just outside the city. In the attempt to save money, we decided to walk there...bad, bad decision. Walking at a brisk pace it took over an hour and a half to get there. I estimated it was about 3 and a half miles uphill, not including the never-ending staircase of hell one had to climb to get to the top of the mount. The cathedral wasn't really worth three hours of our precious time, but it was pretty (see pics below).
After all that physical exersion, we decided to head to the beach. Best decision of the day! The weather was probably 80-85 degrees without a cloud in sight. It would have been perfect if it had not been for the wind. Ten minutes in I already had a thick layer of sand all over my clothes, body and hair and I'm still getting sand out of my ears today.
By this point the others had to head back to G-Town so my friend and I set out in search of a room. I was in favor of a hostel, but she thought that it was too dangerous so we settled on a reasonably priced hotel near the old port. It was on the fifth floor, which was great because we could see all the way to the Mediteranean. After checking out the room, we looked for some authentic Southern French cookin', but it was more difficult then we expected because we'd find a building and it would be a bar, walk another 50 feet-bar, another 50 feet-bar...you get the picture. This went on for about half an hour before we finally found someplace serving something other than beer that was not over 50 dollars a meal. I had salmon (see pic below) which was excellent and my friend had a seafood pasta which she liked as well; however, the seafood did not like her because she threw it all up that night.
We headed back to the hotel at 10:00 because we were so exausted from the walking. I had literally nothing with me for staying overnight: no makeup, no pajamas, no toothbrush. My friend, however, brought stuff with her because she had anticipated staying an extra day; she very sweetly offered her toothbrush, but I draw the line in terms of sharing.
The next day we woke up at 9 or so and headed out to find the bus for Cassis, a village near Marseille. We asked for directions at the concierge desk and were told that the bus stop was on a certain street by the newspaper booth, flower shop, and telephone booth. When we got to that street there were no less than five of each of those, so we asked five passerbyers for directions and got five different answers. We looked for 45 minutes before I walked up to a woman selling flowers, and without me saying anything she said, "You're looking for the bus to Cassis, aren't you?" I said that I was and she pointed across the street and explained that it was between the garbage can and the phone booth. There was no sign saying that that was the bus stop and no time table, so if you didn't know specifically were the bus stopped, you would've never found it. After an hour and a half wait, we finally got on the bus. The view on the way was gorgeous and the town itself was spectacular. The big draw to Cassis, besides the beaches, are the calanques. I'm not exactly sure what that translates to, but they were huge cliffs that dropped straight into the sea. We hiked out to them, but it was best to have hiking boots (I was wearing Converse and my friend was wearing flipflops) and our tummies were grumbling, so we headed back into town. We ate at a cute little cafe right alongside the harbor (see salad pic) and then happened across a pottery show where I bought four handmade coasters. There was also a store which sold 100% concentrate perfumes from Provence. I got lavander as a gift and, wow, it is strong; you only need a squirt to smell like an entire field of flowers.
Th next activity of the day was to go on a boat tour of the calanques. It was amazing to see them from the water because you can see things that you can't from land, like the naked sunbathers which we wouldn't have had the opportunity to see otherwise. Anyway, I went a little crazy with the pictures because it was so picturesque.
We took the bus back to Marseille and then walked to the train station. I ended up at the house at 11:30 pm on Sunday. Total miles walked=at least 15. Yeah, my feet are not happy with me, but it was worth it. How many places have 85 degree days in mid-October? I would so go back again, but for a longer period because there is so much to see.
Cathedral at sunset
Sunset in Marseille-the photo doesn't do it justice
the Calanques
The flag kept getting in my way, but I thought this was a cool picture
lighthouse at Cassis
We stumbled across a random game of Petanque. The old guys kept arguing about whose balls were closest-so adorable.
Cool old building in Cassis
Salad in Cassis=delicious
Calanques
The water was an awesome color of aqua.
A harbor in one of the calanques.
Beach in Cassis.
The Mediteranean!
Beach in Marseille
View of the Mediteranean in Cassis.
Cathedral in Marseille.
Same.
Chateau d'If! Doesn't look as scary as in the movies.
Marseille
Harbor in Marseille
Fish market. I have no idea what kind of fish that was but there were lots of them.
Salmon dinner-such presentation
So...what did we do? The first thing we did when we got off the train was to go to the old port, which is probably the most famous part of the city. The daily fish market was going on and the port was bustling with tourists and natives. I have to say, the seafood was as fresh as you could possibly get; there were some fish that were still alive in the crates so the fishmongers whacked their heads agianst the side of the table a couple of times and they were good to go. Also featured were starfish, mussels, rays, eels, and squid (I can't figure out how one would cook a starfish or a ray). We tried to get tickets to visit Chateau D'If (the setting for The Count of Monte Cristo and The Man in the Iron Mask)at the port but the jail was closed, sadly.
Instead, someone suggested that we visit the cathedral just outside the city. In the attempt to save money, we decided to walk there...bad, bad decision. Walking at a brisk pace it took over an hour and a half to get there. I estimated it was about 3 and a half miles uphill, not including the never-ending staircase of hell one had to climb to get to the top of the mount. The cathedral wasn't really worth three hours of our precious time, but it was pretty (see pics below).
After all that physical exersion, we decided to head to the beach. Best decision of the day! The weather was probably 80-85 degrees without a cloud in sight. It would have been perfect if it had not been for the wind. Ten minutes in I already had a thick layer of sand all over my clothes, body and hair and I'm still getting sand out of my ears today.
By this point the others had to head back to G-Town so my friend and I set out in search of a room. I was in favor of a hostel, but she thought that it was too dangerous so we settled on a reasonably priced hotel near the old port. It was on the fifth floor, which was great because we could see all the way to the Mediteranean. After checking out the room, we looked for some authentic Southern French cookin', but it was more difficult then we expected because we'd find a building and it would be a bar, walk another 50 feet-bar, another 50 feet-bar...you get the picture. This went on for about half an hour before we finally found someplace serving something other than beer that was not over 50 dollars a meal. I had salmon (see pic below) which was excellent and my friend had a seafood pasta which she liked as well; however, the seafood did not like her because she threw it all up that night.
We headed back to the hotel at 10:00 because we were so exausted from the walking. I had literally nothing with me for staying overnight: no makeup, no pajamas, no toothbrush. My friend, however, brought stuff with her because she had anticipated staying an extra day; she very sweetly offered her toothbrush, but I draw the line in terms of sharing.
The next day we woke up at 9 or so and headed out to find the bus for Cassis, a village near Marseille. We asked for directions at the concierge desk and were told that the bus stop was on a certain street by the newspaper booth, flower shop, and telephone booth. When we got to that street there were no less than five of each of those, so we asked five passerbyers for directions and got five different answers. We looked for 45 minutes before I walked up to a woman selling flowers, and without me saying anything she said, "You're looking for the bus to Cassis, aren't you?" I said that I was and she pointed across the street and explained that it was between the garbage can and the phone booth. There was no sign saying that that was the bus stop and no time table, so if you didn't know specifically were the bus stopped, you would've never found it. After an hour and a half wait, we finally got on the bus. The view on the way was gorgeous and the town itself was spectacular. The big draw to Cassis, besides the beaches, are the calanques. I'm not exactly sure what that translates to, but they were huge cliffs that dropped straight into the sea. We hiked out to them, but it was best to have hiking boots (I was wearing Converse and my friend was wearing flipflops) and our tummies were grumbling, so we headed back into town. We ate at a cute little cafe right alongside the harbor (see salad pic) and then happened across a pottery show where I bought four handmade coasters. There was also a store which sold 100% concentrate perfumes from Provence. I got lavander as a gift and, wow, it is strong; you only need a squirt to smell like an entire field of flowers.
Th next activity of the day was to go on a boat tour of the calanques. It was amazing to see them from the water because you can see things that you can't from land, like the naked sunbathers which we wouldn't have had the opportunity to see otherwise. Anyway, I went a little crazy with the pictures because it was so picturesque.
We took the bus back to Marseille and then walked to the train station. I ended up at the house at 11:30 pm on Sunday. Total miles walked=at least 15. Yeah, my feet are not happy with me, but it was worth it. How many places have 85 degree days in mid-October? I would so go back again, but for a longer period because there is so much to see.
Cathedral at sunset
Sunset in Marseille-the photo doesn't do it justice
the Calanques
The flag kept getting in my way, but I thought this was a cool picture
lighthouse at Cassis
We stumbled across a random game of Petanque. The old guys kept arguing about whose balls were closest-so adorable.
Cool old building in Cassis
Salad in Cassis=delicious
Calanques
The water was an awesome color of aqua.
A harbor in one of the calanques.
Beach in Cassis.
The Mediteranean!
Beach in Marseille
View of the Mediteranean in Cassis.
Cathedral in Marseille.
Same.
Chateau d'If! Doesn't look as scary as in the movies.
Marseille
Harbor in Marseille
Fish market. I have no idea what kind of fish that was but there were lots of them.
Salmon dinner-such presentationAgain I apologize for this obnoxiously long post.
Bon mardi!
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Weekend of firsts
Hello all,
Things are going very well here in France. This week I tried to find a couple of museums that I wanted to see and discovered one frustration with France. You cannot find anything. The signage is absolutely horrible and when I asked people for directions they had no idea. The first museum was the Musee de la Revolution Francaise. I took the train from Grenoble to the stop that was called Vizille-something else. The museum itself was in Vizille, and seeing as it was host to a rather important museum, I assumed that the train would stop right by it. When I got off the train, I walked around and bit and could find no trace of the museum so I asked a middle-aged guy where it was. Turns out Vizille was a ten minute bus ride away. He offered to take my by car since it was not very far and (very stupidly) I accepted. I realize that he very easily could have been a axe-murderer, but sometimes you gotta have a little faith in people.
The other museum that I tried to find (Musee de la Resistance and la Deportation) took me three days to locate. There would be little signs saying Musee with no mention of which meseum it was and then they would just stop. I tried looking at the map on the back of the brochure, but it was missing streets. Then I tried asking people and they either had no idea or they would say that it was just around the corner (which it wasn't). Extremely frustrating considering I was wearing three inch heels and was practically crippled after finally finding it; however it was extremely interesting and saddening because it focused on the French resistance fighting against the Germans during World War II and gave first-hand accounts of people who had been deported to death camps and survived. Interesting fact that I discovered: Jean-Pierre's grandparents hid Jewish children in their home in the mountains and Vivianne's grandfathers were both resistance fighters.
The time that I do not spend at museum's is usually spent at the shopping mall in Grenoble. It's awesome! I found a store called NewLook that has a whole floor dedicated to women over 5'7''. I went a little overboard on pants, and then because I had really long pants, of course I had to get some really tall shoes to match, and then some purses to go with the shoes... you get the picture.
In the future I will be playing volleyball also. I got to sign up with the club at the university and I'm really excited about it. We meet every Tuesday from 6-8 to play games. It's pretty intense because they assign you a team by skill level and positions, but I'm feeling good about it. I'm kind of curious to see if they wear the usual volleyball gear of spanx and kneepads or if that's an American thing.
This weekend I had a couple of firsts. On Saturday, Vivien, Sabrina, a friend of Vivien, and I went to a couny fair. Usually I don't really enjoy that type of thing, but this had skydivers, parasailers, and hot air balloons. I thought there was going to be a really serious injury because the skydivers and parasailers would hit a wind spiral, spin out of control, plumet toward the earth at 100 km/hr and then at the last minute they would pull up into a landing position. The announcer kept yelling "C'est enorme!" and it really was impressive. The best part however was the way that we got there. Drumroll please....motorcycle. Both the guys are really into motorcycles, and these are not Harley Davidsons, they are racing bikes. It was enorme! I wish I would have taken a picture because I was wearing one of Vivien's huge motorcycle coats with protective padding, a huge helmet, and then my brand new three inch high boots. I have a feeling there's going to be a lot more motorcycling in the future.
Another first was in the culinary realm. For lunch on Saturday Vivianne said that we were going to have steak-frites and asked if I wanted my meat "cuit ou tartar." (Translation: cooked or raw) In an effort to be more French, I said that I would take it tartar. I assumed that by raw it would be slightly cooked but red in the middle, but when she brought it out it was really raw. I mean it was a patty of ground beef that had not touched any heat whatsoever. I'm very proud to say that I ate it all and enjoyed it greatly with a little mustard and some Whertchester (not right, I know). The others took theirs with a raw egg, but that was going a little too far for me.
The other first on Saturday was my first taste of Chartreuse. Vivien, Antonin, Antonin's girlfriend, and I went to a pub in Grenoble called O'Callaghan's. I decided to get something that was a traditional drink and oh man! It is 110 proof and a sip of it and you can feel the effects, but it was really good. It's herby and very green, which threw me off a little. But all in all we all enjoyed ourselves along with the 5 thousand other people who were there.
I'm sorry for not posting very often, but it will be every week at the minimum and I'll try to post a couple times a week.
Things are going very well here in France. This week I tried to find a couple of museums that I wanted to see and discovered one frustration with France. You cannot find anything. The signage is absolutely horrible and when I asked people for directions they had no idea. The first museum was the Musee de la Revolution Francaise. I took the train from Grenoble to the stop that was called Vizille-something else. The museum itself was in Vizille, and seeing as it was host to a rather important museum, I assumed that the train would stop right by it. When I got off the train, I walked around and bit and could find no trace of the museum so I asked a middle-aged guy where it was. Turns out Vizille was a ten minute bus ride away. He offered to take my by car since it was not very far and (very stupidly) I accepted. I realize that he very easily could have been a axe-murderer, but sometimes you gotta have a little faith in people.
The other museum that I tried to find (Musee de la Resistance and la Deportation) took me three days to locate. There would be little signs saying Musee with no mention of which meseum it was and then they would just stop. I tried looking at the map on the back of the brochure, but it was missing streets. Then I tried asking people and they either had no idea or they would say that it was just around the corner (which it wasn't). Extremely frustrating considering I was wearing three inch heels and was practically crippled after finally finding it; however it was extremely interesting and saddening because it focused on the French resistance fighting against the Germans during World War II and gave first-hand accounts of people who had been deported to death camps and survived. Interesting fact that I discovered: Jean-Pierre's grandparents hid Jewish children in their home in the mountains and Vivianne's grandfathers were both resistance fighters.
The time that I do not spend at museum's is usually spent at the shopping mall in Grenoble. It's awesome! I found a store called NewLook that has a whole floor dedicated to women over 5'7''. I went a little overboard on pants, and then because I had really long pants, of course I had to get some really tall shoes to match, and then some purses to go with the shoes... you get the picture.
In the future I will be playing volleyball also. I got to sign up with the club at the university and I'm really excited about it. We meet every Tuesday from 6-8 to play games. It's pretty intense because they assign you a team by skill level and positions, but I'm feeling good about it. I'm kind of curious to see if they wear the usual volleyball gear of spanx and kneepads or if that's an American thing.
This weekend I had a couple of firsts. On Saturday, Vivien, Sabrina, a friend of Vivien, and I went to a couny fair. Usually I don't really enjoy that type of thing, but this had skydivers, parasailers, and hot air balloons. I thought there was going to be a really serious injury because the skydivers and parasailers would hit a wind spiral, spin out of control, plumet toward the earth at 100 km/hr and then at the last minute they would pull up into a landing position. The announcer kept yelling "C'est enorme!" and it really was impressive. The best part however was the way that we got there. Drumroll please....motorcycle. Both the guys are really into motorcycles, and these are not Harley Davidsons, they are racing bikes. It was enorme! I wish I would have taken a picture because I was wearing one of Vivien's huge motorcycle coats with protective padding, a huge helmet, and then my brand new three inch high boots. I have a feeling there's going to be a lot more motorcycling in the future.
Another first was in the culinary realm. For lunch on Saturday Vivianne said that we were going to have steak-frites and asked if I wanted my meat "cuit ou tartar." (Translation: cooked or raw) In an effort to be more French, I said that I would take it tartar. I assumed that by raw it would be slightly cooked but red in the middle, but when she brought it out it was really raw. I mean it was a patty of ground beef that had not touched any heat whatsoever. I'm very proud to say that I ate it all and enjoyed it greatly with a little mustard and some Whertchester (not right, I know). The others took theirs with a raw egg, but that was going a little too far for me.
The other first on Saturday was my first taste of Chartreuse. Vivien, Antonin, Antonin's girlfriend, and I went to a pub in Grenoble called O'Callaghan's. I decided to get something that was a traditional drink and oh man! It is 110 proof and a sip of it and you can feel the effects, but it was really good. It's herby and very green, which threw me off a little. But all in all we all enjoyed ourselves along with the 5 thousand other people who were there.
I'm sorry for not posting very often, but it will be every week at the minimum and I'll try to post a couple times a week.
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