Countdown to parents

Tomorrow my parents are arriving in Grenoble to visit me for a couple days before they set off for Paris and the Loire Valley. I am looking forward to seeing them but also a little apprehensive because Vivi and Jean-Pierre don't speak English and my parents are rusty on their French; therefore, I have a feeling I will be doing a lot of translating. They're staying at the house so when they're alone together during the day I'm hoping that sign language will suffice to get their point across. Vivi was telling me what we're going to have as their welcome dinner and she's planning to make a gratin with blood sausage. I'm not going to tell them until after they try it!

Just a random thing that happened today: I have hives all over my hands, feet and back and they itch like crazy. I have absolutely no idea what they're from, because, as far as I know, I'm only allergic to dust and cochroaches (it's a long story). I better not have developped an allergy to dairy products, because I wouldn't be able to eat anything that Vivi makes.

A plus

Mountains again

Yesterday I went on a hike in the Vercors Mountains with a group from school. We drove partially up in a bus and then we started walking. At lunch time we stopped at a little shelter that is available for hikers to stay in over night; however, there was a couple who had moved in permanent-like. They had 3 huskies chained up outside the shack and the dogs started to howl we all got shivers because it really sounded like a wolf pack. Inside the squatters had 2 more dogs, one of which was in the process of having puppies exactly while we were inside eating. It was quite an interesting lunch to say the least. Afterward we took off again to the top of the mountain and it was the hardest cardio workout I have had in a while. It was really difficult to breathe and the climbing was intense toward the top of the mountain, but the view was so worth it. You could see on both sides of the mountain which I would have had pictures of if my camera was working. The way back was more dangerous than the way up-which is saying something. It started to snow ten minutes in and the trees and ground were covered. Snow+rock=very slippery path. I almost fell several times and there were lots of people who actually did (no serious injuries). All in all it was about seven hours of walking and we figured about 6-7 miles. Let's just say my calves were a little tight last night.

When I finally got back to the house, I walked in the kitchen and all the girls were wearing dresses. Vivi said, "You've got a couple of minutes to change before they come." That was the last thing I wanted to hear at that moment becasue a bath and bed were sounding mighty good, but I ran downstairs, put on a dress, tried to make my hair look presentable, and doused myself with perfume. I ran back upstairs just as the guests were arriving and had time to ask who was coming to dinner before they (friends of Vivi) walked into the kitchen. By this time it was already 9:30, then we had an aperatif for a half hour before we even sat down at the table. All in all it was a fun night because Jean-Pierre went all out with champagne and fois gras, but I didn't leave the table until 12:15 and I heard today that the guests were here til 2 am. Needless to say, I slept into the afternoon today.

I forgot to mention earlier that I'm pretty sure there were bedbugs in my bed in Marseille. Luckily there were three beds in the room so I just switched to the other one, but it was an interesting sight. P.S. I'm fairly certain bedbugs are a common inhabitant of rooms throughout Europe so bring your anti-itch cream!
bed bugs

A Plus

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

Again I apologize for this obnoxiously long post.

Bon mardi!

Random Pictures

It's a bird! It's a plane! No, it's a guy parachuting in a cardboard train!

Skydivers

Mont Blanc-tallest mountain in Europe and it separates France and Italy

Dusk

Sunrise

The moon was still up at 8:00 in the morning

Soccer game

Yesterday was the soccer game and it was definitely an experience, to say the least. I wish I could've taken pictures but my camera was confiscated by security because of the lens, and I had to pick it up after the game. I'm not sure if security is always tight at games or if it was just for these two teams, but there were police everywhere with riot gear--it was intense. Each time that Montpelier scored a goal, the fans would scale this netting that separated the fans of the two teams. They were up probably 30 feet and then the people below would catch them when they let go.

All the fans were very enthusiatic so there were lots of people who enjoyed screaming at the players when they did well, when they did badly, and when it got too quiet in the stadium. The guy behind me was yelling so loudly that I had a headache after and I couldn't hear very well until this morning. Final score 3-2 Montpelier. Because the refs were not the best, people were not happy with the result at the end; they were throwing garbage on the field and kicking things, but no fights, which was good.

After the game, we had kebabs, which are basically the Arab version of a taco. You get a pita, sauce of your choosing, lettuce, and then meat, which they carve off the carcas hanging in front of you. It was delicious and so much better than Taco Bell.

Next sporting event on the list:rugby. The French refer to it as American football for real men because rugby players don't use pads or helmets. Sounds excellent!

Bon weekend!

Everytime I think about this I can't help but smile. Yesterday at dinner (I have no idea how this came up) but Antonin told me that Vivi would talk to the American students about food and they would always smirk when she said "peanut butter." Someone finally told her that she was pronouncing it wrong and saying something a little different. I won't go into details, but use your imagination and you can figure it out. I was laughing so hard that I started crying. My other favorite mispronounciation is bear and beer. Someone said to me that there were no beers in France. Dommage! We had a good laugh about it afterward though. That's the fun part about learning another language.

Yesterday night I also got to drive a stick for the first time! I only stalled it once, but it was a very jerky ride to say the least. Don't worry--I was on a backroad so no one was in danger. By the time I leave, I want to be a pro so I'm sure there will be lots of driving stories in the future.

Today I went into town with Sabrina (Nana) because she was getting her hair done. Honestly, I was really scared to walk in the door because the hairdressers all had mohawks, there was a tranvestite getting his hair bleached in one of the chairs, and there were pictures of naked women covering all the walls, but it turned out to be a really cool salon. I didn't have an appointment, but one of the guys came over to me and said, "OK, sweetie, vat do you vant?" in the cutest accent. I didn't have anything done today because of technical issues, but I will have a surprise in about a week and a half and I am so excited! I left after about a hour and a half to eat lunch with a friend, but Nana was there for almost 5 hours-and that was just for a cut and color. Getting your hair done is an experience in France because les coiffures are extremely proud of their work and really know their stuff. It was only 80 euro (~120 USD) for her hair today. I say only because the appointment took FIVE hours and her hair was a work of art at the end.

Another upcoming event that I am super excited for is the soccer game tomorrow at 7! I bought the ticket today and it was only 9 euro because we are in the nosebleed section. The team is horrible this year, but it's all about the aura!

A plus tard

I miss my car!

If I could put my finger on one thing that I miss the most about the US, it is the freedom of movement. I am completely dependent on the buses, trams, and kindness of my family. While it is liberating to not have to worry about the ever-present mechanical problems that I face with my car, I can't go where I want to go when I want to go. For example, tonight when go out with friends in the city, I have to take a taxi back because the buses stop running at midnight on the weekends and 10:00 on the weekdays-extremely, extremely inconvenient. It's about 30 euros one-way, which is about 45 bucks. Luckily I am reimbursed for travel expenses by the school because this would definitely put a dent in the bank otherwise. Vivi suggested looking into getting an international permit and then renting a scooter or something so we shall see if I do that or not.

Anyway, on the way to the bus stop today there was a peasant that was just 50 feet in front of me. I was behind him for quite a ways and he just kept walking right along. It was really cool because it was the first time I have seen one up close and personal, but I could help but feel sorry for him because he will probably end up in a stew in a couple days. Hunting season "le chasse" is right now and the French love them some peasant for dinner.

Also, saw Julie and Julia this weekend and I highly recommend it!