Endings and Beginnings

Wow wow wow. I cannot believe that it is nearly May and I am in my last week of teaching and living in Nice. Friday the weather was grey and my mood matched it; I was just feeling so depressed to leave. I have 3 days left of teaching, then I will have a fun 10 days with Melissa in Dublin (and 2 in Edinburgh), then I'm back in Nice for a short week to wrap things up and hopefully catch some of the Cannes festival. May 18th I repatriate and begin a whole new chapter.

I did receive a nice little gift in the form of a large cloud of volcanic ash. While the rest of Europe was up in smoke, I was granted an extra week without my roommate (best present of all! The apartment was much more relaxed without her). Then, due to cancelled plans I welcomed a fellow Crozetian and 2 more UVA students who are studying in Lyon. It was like a mini mid-week vacation. Two days later, several hours in the sun, good food, and a nice sunburn later, my guests leave and I am reminded of all the tasks to do before leaving.

There is a possibility that this is my last post before returning to the States. I make no promises, but I do tend to get more nostalgic and thoughtful during transitions. I know I have learned and grown so much here. And I am dreading the return, but I know I will be happy once I get there. I just need to start planning my next return to France. I do not know if I will have another opportunity to live here for an extended period, and that makes me sad. I think I'll have some things to blog about this summer... the transition period. I also have a lot of goals (besides GET A JOB) that include more cooking experiments, learning to drive stick, etc. and I can blog about that!

A Striking Cultural Difference

So, I guess I've been rather absent. Again, I will use the excuse that I've been out and about, living my life here. I'm at the end of my fourth and last vacation, and Daphne just came to visit. Although we did not leave the Nice area (we did go to Italy one afternoon) I still had a wonderful time. Either way, I've just not felt the blogging inspiration recently.

A topic of conversation as of recent is how difficult it is to travel. Currently I know a few people stranded in different destinations because of the Icelandic volcano, but before that there was the train strike. So, I thought I'd talk a little bit about the French and their love of the "grève."

Since October when I started, every couple of months the teachers' unions will plan a day to strike. If it is only teachers, then they will meet in front of the Rectorat (= education hq for the city) and have picket signs, whatever. Also, there are days where nationally unions will call for strikes and there are protesters in the street for a couple of hours.

In the fall/winter the strikes did not affect much. I know of about 3-5 teachers who actually strike when the day comes, and they are older, more seasoned teachers. So, usually I still have to work, I just know that their classes will be canceled. I have also heard that students will get word of a strike and decide to be "solidaire" and not come to school.

However, the national strike in March was much bigger. I mentioned that I still had one class, but I actually got up that morning so I could go see the manifestations /protests. Since this was a national strike of all the unions, there were firefighters, rescue workers, teachers, newspapers, and all the transportations were represented. The parade started at Place Massena, continued through Garibaldi and I was shocked that an hour later (after I had returned to eat lunch) I saw them coming down Jean Medecin. (I know that means nothing to those of you who have not been to Nice, but they did at least a mile or two of parading!)

Honestly, I did not pay too much attention to what they were protesting about. I do know that usually the teachers are protesting against Education policies that might require bigger class sizes or more work hours. Also, the national strike in March came just a few days after their regional elections. I heard some people remarks about how the French just told the government how they wanted things via voting, and now they felt the need to strike. I guess I kind of equate the French's love to strike with the American mentality about the second amendment-- it's a right.

I do have to give the transportation people a little credit for getting their point across. For almost 2 weeks the trains in France have been on strike. It came right during Easter break which is a major holiday for a lot of Europe, and the strike has inconvenienced a LOT of tourists. I have some friends stranded in Barcelona currently waiting for a way back to Nice, and that's just the beginning. Only a few trains run per day and the only way to know which ones is to go to the station. Once you tick off a bunch of vacationing Europeans, you can consider your strike a success, I guess.

I'll end by asking what you think of the French and their love for strikes? Do you think they're effective? and I'll include a few pictures that I took from March.



"Following a social movement, the tramway network will be cancelled today. Thank you for understanding."

"Its just like riding a bike"

FALSE.

Today was a national union strike across France (for another post) which meant not only that half my teachers were striking, but also public transportation. But, being the dedicated assistant I am, I told Simona that I could walk to school as long as the weather was nice.

Flash forward to a beautiful day and me cursing myself for making this promise. The last thing I want to do is go to school! So, I leave my house a little late and as Im dreading the long walk ahead of me, I see it in the distance... the blue bikes!

Just last year the Mayor of Nice, Christian Estrosi (pictured trying out the bikes) installed around 50 stations of vélo bleu around Nice, available for public use at a very small fee. It's a great effort to stay green and allows people to use bikes for cheap rather than having to buy their own. Plus, the first 30 mins is free, but I signed up for a month of unlimited service for 10€. Good deal!

But then, as I selected a bike and pulled it out of the station I had an epiphany: First, I don't remember the last time I rode a bike and second: I don't know ANYTHING about riding a bike in the city!!! Do I ride on the sidewalk or on the road if there's no bike lane? I don't know. I managed to make it onto some roads less-traveled, but I was still rather nervous. Not to mention that I am trying to keep my purse on my arm and my schoolbag in the basket. As cute and stylish and French as this sounds, I'm mostly sure I looked like a moron. At one point I even heard sirens behind me and almost thought the police were going to pull me over and yell at me for doing it wrong.

I arrived safe and sound and the first station was full, so I had to find another one. My heart still pounding, I returned my bike to its station, and walked the last few meters to school thinking to myself that I should have planned that more. I will definitely pay more attention to bike lanes and riders before I decide to take one out again. Phew.

Profitez!

Sorry for my recent truancy from blogging; as they say here, "j'en profitais" meaning I've been taking advantage of everything. Although the weather is still leaving a lot to be desired (many Niçois are asking what country they are in) the past 2 weekends have brought about beautiful sunny weather that causes me to gravitate outside.

Saturday the 6th was spent with 3 of my girlfriends taking a hike along a beautiful nature walk path. We headed east and walked all the way to Villefranche. We ate a picnic lunch near the port, and then I discovered my favorite new "downtime game." A game where you start with a celebrity, let's say Meg Ryan, and the next person must then find another celeb whose name starts with R and so on. If I were to say Ryan Reynolds (double letter) then the order of the game would reverse. It sounds pretty banal, but its my type of game, and you find ways to entertain yourself when walking around.


After lunch, we walked on over to the beach which is made of tiny pebbles more resembling sand. We took a nice leisurely siesta on the beach, where I swore to commute to Villefranche more often. Its in this cove and the beach is just lovely. After a quick shower, I headed out to have dinner with some other friends at Festival de la Moule where you can get unlimited mussels and fries for like 14€, delicious!

Sunday had turned grey and colder, but no matter because there was a Chocolate Show in Nice! I have given up chocolate for Lent, but I made my friends wait to go until Sunday because they are "mini-Easters" :) Entry was 4€ but included free tastes and one sample that some chefs were making (it was strange: pop rocks, grapefruit mousse and a chocolate stick inside). There were so many vendors selling yummies: chocolate covered marshmallows, macarons, chocolate spread, chocolate bars, chocolate without sugar, olive oil chocolate, hot chocolate, chocolate sculptures and even sweeeeet wine that pairs with chocolate. At the end, I had no desire to have chocolate for the next week.

Then, the weather stayed cold and grey, so I did not go out as much during the week. Plus, March has been a hard month budget-wise, so I was feeling a little down. Nevertheless, I spent a lot of time cooking, eating and chatting at Kiran's apartment.

Fast forward to this past weekend. It started Friday with some stirfry chez moi, and over to a new French friend's apt for dessert crêpes. In a small intimate group we chatted in French over Michael Jackson, Celine Dion and delicious crêpes. I was thrilled to finally have some friends to speak French with!

Saturday was yet another excursion. This time, my friend Alex loaded up his car and took us to Antibes to walk around. Antibes is a cute little town between Nice and Cannes where many artists have spent time. I would have liked to go to the Picasso museum, but my body would just not let me walk into a museum on such a nice day. Instead we sauntered around the city, enjoying each others company for a few hours, got some pizza at an outdoor cafe, and took the long way home. I managed to get shotgun both ways and relished in my first real carride in months :)

Saturday night was spent cooking a delicious French mac n' cheese at Kiran's (emmental cheese, parmesan on top, bread crumbs and baked) and fresh salsa for an appetizer. And then I went out to listen to some live music with a musician whom we have befriended in Nice. Fun times!

Hopefully having some Irish food and festivities tomorrow. Erin go bragh! and then a birthday and hopefully more good weather this weekend.

Carnaval!

Carnaval is the two week period coinciding with Mardi Gras in which there are many parades, festivals, and plenty of tourists in Nice. Place Masséna was transformed into the bustling center of Carnaval-- bleachers were erected, murals were hung, and this is where the King and Queen of Carnaval resided. So, Carnaval began a few days before Mardi Gras this year, but typically ends that day, since carnaval literally means "farewell to meat" since Lent is a time during which people do not eat meat. I was also told that hundreds of years ago Carnaval was the only time during which people could criticise the King-- thus the crowning of the King every year.

Each year there is a theme of Carnaval and all the floats are centered on this theme. In 2007 when I was here, it was Rugby and the King was a caricature of Jacques Chirac dressed in rugby get-up. (France really enjoys their political caricatures. remember this for later.) This year, the theme was "Roi de la planète bleue" or King of the Blue World and it had a very ecological feel to it. Personally, I found this years floats to be really beautiful and so much better than '07.

Okay, Happenings: Carnaval has three different Corso's or parades, that repeat almost daily during the 2 week festival. The first is the typical Corso Carnavalesque. The King and Queen start the parade, followed by all the other floats which you can only catch at the parade. Then, the Corso Illuminé is the same parade, but at night, which gives it a much more festive atmosphere-- lights and confetti everywhere! This was my personal favorite and I can say that I attended the same parade about 3 times. Then, the last parade is called the Bataille des Fleurs (Flower Battle) and this is completely different. In this parade all the floats are made of flowers, and there are many dancers and bands. This parade you must buy tickets for to gain entry, and the people on the floats throw flowers at you to take home-- mostly mimosas, with the occasional daisy, palm branch, carnation, etc. This year I had spent most of my Feb mad money and did not really wish to pay to see this parade. Sorry, no pics :/

Perhaps the best (or worst, if you're crotchety) part of Carnaval is that it really feels like a party in the streets. Children dress-up for every parade (moreso than Halloween) and confetti and silly string ("bombe serpentine"/ snake bomb) are sold by street vendors. If you escape without being adorned with these things, you weren't having fun! Immediately following the parades the street sweepers are out in number trying to clean up the trash. I found it ironic that this years theme was all about saving the planet and not wasting, but think of how much paper and aerosol was used in the floats, silly string and confetti! Enough yapping, I'll get to the pictures now :)


Le Roi du Carnaval (The King)


La Reine (the Queen)

Oh, like I said, the theme was all about saving the planet, so there was one float with babies depicting the "generation to save the planet", one was the ailing world personnified--complete with pills, thermometer, needles, IV, and a missle in the buttocks; a noah's ark where the animals had tied up Noah, etc. Then, along comes....

Super Obama! Here to save the world! (I swear, he is more of a celebrity here than in the US!)


Caricatures from years past, found on the beach by Dad and I. This is both former president Chirac and current president Nicolas Sarkozy looking a little worse for the wear!


The King all lit up during the Corso Illuminé (He was def my favorite float, with Superbama in a close second)


The mascot of Carnaval as seen on all the posters. Loved this little guy!


Adorable kids at Carnaval, confetti in hand :)


Carnaval brings many many many (too many?) tourists to the area, so there are many street artists trying to earn a few bucks (remind me to tell you the story about the cat guy! ugh) This is Michael Jackson, and he was doing his thing back in '07 when I remember seeing him gyrating on traffic posts on the promenade. Creepy? Yes. But, he was doing it before MJ died, so you gotta admire the dedication.


The last day of Carnaval, in true French Revolutionary form, the King is sent out to sea and burned! I sadly missed this in '07 because I was in London, so I was determined to see it this year and am I ever glad I did! There was a bit of confusion, but around 9 o'clock the announcer at the office du tourisme asked us to turn towards the water and bid farewell to the King. Fireworks shot out of his crown and the bottom of the float, causing him to catch fire, and it was a rapid burn! Soooo cool, but not over yet. Then, there was a few seconds of a lightshow where the Colline du Chateau (hill of the castle) was illuminated with red lights and smoke to look like it, too was burning. Then, the fireworks started! I LOVE fireworks and I can honestly say these were some of the best I've ever seen. My friends and I had picked the perfect spot to stand for the 30 odd minute show, set to music, that included some of the prettiest fireworks-- plus it was over the Mediterranean! It was the perfect ending to Carnaval and made me want to come back in the future, if only for the great fireworks!

Final installment of Winter Break: Paris

I have been studying French for nearly 10 years. Going to Paris is like a pilgrimage to visit long-lost sister. So, when Dad finalized his trip, I knew I had to take him to Paris. Dad's first trip to Europe would not be complete without a café, a view of the Eiffel, and some culture at the Louvre.

So, before dawn on Monday morning Dad and I boarded a TGV (train à grande vitesse/ high-speed train) to gay Paris! I was hoping the sun would come up as we were along the coast, because that train ride is always great, but it didn't. So, we took in some of the countryside, seeing snow as we traveled further and further north. And, precisely 6 hours later, we arrived at the Gare de Lyon. After checking into our hotel room near the train station, we took off on our whirlwind adventure.

First stop: the Louvre. Actually, from the metro stop to the entrance, 4 gypsies "found" gold rings and tried to convince us that we had dropped them and ask for money. Ridiculous! Four times in 10 minutes! Anyways, the Louvre was pretty packed (all of Paris seemed packed, more-so than I remember from my April visit). We hit all the highlights and a little extra: Venus de Milo and Winged Victory. Then, I saw the Jacques Louis David room, and was really happy since I missed it the first time. Then, we saw La Jaconde/ The Mona Lisa and some other daVinci's and Michelangelos. From the Louvre, we followed the Seine (passing Musée d'Orsay and the Hôtel des Invalides) to see the Eiffel tower.

If Paris is my long-lost sister, then the Eiffel is the anchor to my heartstrings. Upon reaching the base, my face was plastered with a smile-- and I think Dad enjoyed it too. We got in line for the elevators right around sunset and stood on the 2nd floor right as the last glimpses of light were leaving (and ya'll know how I love my sunsets).
We were in line to get to the summit when the lights were turned on and the first time the Eiffel sparkled. I also missed the sparkling on-the-hour last time I was in Paris, so I was determined to see it this time. At the summit I got pretty freaked out due to my fear of heights, but Dad just loved seeing Paris all lit up-- and the view was gorgeous, just a little high for me. It was a really great night. On the way to the metro, we stopped at the Trocadero to watch the tower sparkle again, and it was so magical and beautiful!

Now, allow me to digress to say that the winter in Paris is not really my friend. I enjoyed myself, but the cold was biting. I wore so many layers and Dad and I were huddled and freezing for most of our Eiffel adventure. We never could find the temperature, but it had to be 20° F or less that night. I was wearing as much clothing as I possibly could, and I was still cold. I don't know if I would brave Paris in the winter again, but it was fine for this time.

We ate at a small italian place near the hotel, and I have to add in that Dad was so proud to order in French: "spaghetti bolognese s'il vous plaît." It was actually interesting having to play tour guide to my Dad.... (digression) A lot of people initially spoke to us in English and it didn't bother me, but I was always there when my French was better than their English. However, I was a bit surprised that so many of the Parisians resorted to English and weren't rude about it. I hardly even bothered to speak French in Paris because they were so willing to speak English with me. It was also cute when someone would stop me in the streets to ask directions or about the parade in Nice and Dad would just seem so impressed when I carried on with them in French. I think it would have been cool for my mom to see the interaction because she's the one constantly asking me to "say something in French!" but it's much more authentic when I'm conversing with someone else.

Anyway, Monday night we rested our wind-burned rosy cheeks and slept through the night. Tuesday morning (coincidentally Mardi Gras, which I didn't celebrate for the first time in many years) we got a slow start around 10 with some coffee at a cafe in the train station. From there we metro'ed to the Place de L'Etoile to see the Arc de Triomphe. I think this was a favorite of Dad's; he told me he could imagine the Allied troops marching down the Champs Elysées to liberate Paris and so much other history is marked at that point as well. After the mandatory tourist photos, we walked down the Champs Elysées to Place de la Concorde, stopping for some souvenirs. For lunch, we stopped near Ile de la Cité at a brasserie and had a sit-down lunch. I don't think we took complete advantage of the food Paris had to offer, but we were more into the sights.

3 monuments down, 1 to go. Our last stop in Paris was.....(drumroll).... Notre Dame Cathedrale. Located on Ile de la Cité, we saw the home of Quasimodo. I had hoped to leave time for the tower tour, but it was closed because of ice, so that is a next-time Paris goal. Anyways, we walked around the outside to admire the flying buttresses and then inside to walk around. Around three we bid "à la prochaine!/'til next time!" to Paris and headed out to Charles de Gaulle airport to catch a plane back to Nice. I'll skip over the stress that I usually feel trying to get to the airport on time, and say we landed safe in Nice and enjoyed some Mac n Cheese (thanks Dad! 4 boxes!) and some Glee before bed.

Wednesday was my last day to enjoy with Dad in Nice, but sadly the weather was gross. We did head out to see what the deal was with the flower parade, but it was cancelled (and I got flowers on the street since they wouldn't be throwing them at the parade), so we grabbed a bite to eat at Blast American Bar. I had heard they served a full breakfast and hoping for some, but alas we were an hour too late. I still had fajitas and Dad a "chili burger" (on the side?). We also went souvenir shopping for a bit, but eventually were too cold and wet to continue. So, we spent the rest of the afternoon lazing about in my apartment-- time not wasted since I won't see Dad until I'm back at home in 2.5 months. For dinner we went to a (chain) restaurant called Hippopotamus and it was the best meal I'd had in Nice! I ordered a grilled chicken breast and got (unlimited sides) ratatouille and potatoes au gratin on the side. The ratatouille was great and the potatoes were amazing! Then, dessert was a crème brûlée and mousse au chocolat for Dad. Seriously, so. so. good.

Thursday morning I escorted Dad to the airport with grey skies, and on the way back it started raining. I enjoyed catching up with friends the rest of the weekend, but this vacation had been the Vacation of a Lifetime!

Voilà! And I promise to write soon about Carnaval, now that it is officially over.

Dad's in France!

And now for Part Deux, my Dad's trip to Nice!

Thursday brought about a lot of anxiety as it snowed in Nice and Dulles had been closed "until further notice" as of Wednesday thanks to giant snowstorm #3 of the season. Luckily, Dulles reopened in time for his flight and things went off without a hitch. Dad arrived on time in Nice mid-day on Friday. I was very impressed that he had gotten sleep and seemed pretty rested from his flight-- mine in October left me jetlagged for what seemed like forever. I was also just stunned to see my Dad in France with me!!! It was almost like role-reversal because I was the expert and had to lead him everywhere considering his French consisted of "Merci" "Bonjour" and the occasional "Gracias" (haha, love you Dad!) Anyways, after feeding him a tuna sandwich and plopping his suitcase into my apartment, we went on a walk. We walked around Nice, saw the sunset on the Med, returned my library books, got some dinner (pasta for me, pizza topped with pasta for him) and walked home.

I started feeling bad when Dad got tired near the library. I know he was jetlagged, but I realized I also had to be conscious that not everyone, especially my 54yo Dad, walk everywhere everyday. Plus, as I told him, I am still in college-walking mode which means I weave between people on the sidewalk all the time. So, I tried to be more conscious of how much walking we did.

But Saturday we trudged on. Sadly the weather could not provide Dad with much of a respite from winter, a cold wind blew off of the ocean, but Dad still thought it was better than snow! (He even hugged a palm tree on the promenade!) We did a walking tour of Nice, and stopped to munch on some typical Niçois specialties-- Socca and Farcis (cornflour crepe and stuffed veggies) and some Fries. Dad was a good sport as far as food goes-- I think the Garwood boys were fed meat and potato bottles ;) Then that afternoon we went up to the Colline du Chateau (Castle hill) and took in the beautiful sights of Nice. We did a little grocery shopping and had a delicious fondue dinner that night before heading out to the Corso Illuminé-- Carnaval Night Parade! I will write more later about Carnaval, since it is still going on, but let's just say we had a great time!

Sunday we went took the bus to Monaco-- the second smallest country on Earth. We toured the hill with the Royal Palace (Prince Grimaldi, woot woot) the Cathedral where Princess Grace (Kelly) and Prince Rainier are buried, and then made our way up to the world-famous Monte Carlo casino. There we admired Rolls Royce's, Ferrari's, and several other luxury cars. When we returned to Nice we watched some Glee, ate dinner, packed for Paris and headed to bed. Oh, and it was Valentine's Day, so I had gotten 4 mini patisseries for us to split for dessert-- they were amazing!

Now, Sorry to stop before the end, but I myself have gotten bored/distracted while writing this. More to come later for our whirlwind trip to Paris and an entry about Carnaval!
Bonne nuit!