Valentine's day for one s'il vous plaît...

Wow! Two blogs in a week! This is unusual for me. But I've had the nicest day I just felt I had to share it with you. So of course today is Valentine's Day in France as it is everywhere else but I have to admit it's a lot more tasteful here and you don't have loveheart helium balloons and Thorntons chocolate flung in your face everywhere you look.

I do not have a valentine (sob, sob) but have enjoyed a treat from me to me of an indulgent lunch at Le Select Café in Nantes. It's somewhere I've wanted to venture into since I arrived and my goodness was it delicious and in beautiful surroundings.

I sat by the window reading my book, watching the world go by and gazing at the various artifacts hung on the walls of the café including portraits, wedding photos, clocks, books...the list goes on.

I chose the Tartine du Jour which happened to be slices of bacon, chèvre cheese and a mint pesto served with salad which was beaut beyond belief. I also had a cheeky glass of white wine and a hot chocolate to follow (indulgent i know!) However, this chocolat chaud was not your ordinary Cadbury's highlights nor your standard chocolat chaud that are usually to die for in France. This was pure melted chocolate in a mug that even formed a skin on top if you didn't drink it fast enough- luckily I was up to the challenge!

Followed by a walk through the busy town, down the cobbled streets to work off however many guilt ridden calories I had consumed (although not feeling that guilty at all) I can safely say it's the best ever Valentine's day I've ever had.

I'll be sure to take any friends who visit me here in Nantes to this cute bistro and if you happened to pass through this city, make sure to stop off here.

Anyway back to packing! Home tomorrow!

help! i'm in cardiac arrest!

Check out the website to see what I mean about the cute interiors...

http://leselect.fr/

Le Select

Boire - Manger - Bruncher

14 rue du Château, 44000 Nantes

02 40 89 04 49

Times are a’ changing.

I’ve been out of touch recently partly because I felt I didn’t have anything worth blogging about but also because I was so busy I didn’t have time to blog about what I was up to. Catch 22 really.

I have now left Lyon for pastures further north. I’m obviously a northerner through and through. My time in Lyon has gone so quickly and it really was a great experience I’ll never forget.

Now I’m onto stage 2 of my year abroad. For any of you who read this and haven’t found out through means of Facebook, text, email or mama Wynn I have landed myself a sweet job presenting a radio show called English for Everyone on Eur@dio Nantes! (www.euradionantes.eu)

Having already spent 4 nights in my new apartment with a lack of Internet, a bout of sinusitis and more frustrating French bureaucracy to deal with, I can still safely say I’m enjoying it here. So if this is as bad as it can get I know I’m going to love it here.

Nantes really is a beautiful city; some even call it a ‘Petit Paris’.  It is indeed a lot more ‘petit’ than Paris but it has the culture, the old fashioned architecture and the good looking people (ha!) that Paris boasts. On Saturday, I visited the Château des Ducs de Bretagne (photos below), which was very interesting and is surrounded by some great antique shops and cafés. I then went to the cinema (alone: sob) to see ‘L’Amour Dure Trois Ans’ starring one of my favourite French actresses, Louise Bourgoin. This was definitely a good language test. I felt extremely smug when I understood the jokes and laughed along with everyone else (it is after all quite important to understand jokes when watching a Romantic Comedy). I also found myself ‘pretend laughing’ when I realised I was surrounded by raucous laughter and I was the only one sat straight-faced. Obviously there is still room for improvement!

I would say my French has improved over the past few weeks, particularly my telephone French. When looking for an apartment in Nantes, arranging visits, calling Internet companies, utility companies etc. I had a lot of practice in telephone French. It’s just the lack of face to lip read off along with bad phone lines and quietly spoken people that really make it difficult. However, I’m starting to lose that sense of intense fear when I see a French number calling my phone or the even more frightening ‘Blocked’ number calling. ‘*French number* calling’ doesn’t quite fill me with horror anymore but I do still get a wave of nausea when the dreaded ‘Blocked’ decides to drop me a call. I need to get over this phobia soon though. Hopefully I learnt my lesson the other day when I purposely missed a blocked call, waited for them to leave a message, and then found out it was someone trying to deliver me a parcel from Colissimo and had to wait the whole weekend before I could next pick it up. Doh!

Anyway I’ve got to go now and pick up said parcel but I’ve got a spring in my step as I’ve gained internet, dealt with the paperwork and got rid of the sinusitis. I’m also going home on Wednesday for just over a week to celebrate ‘birthday season’ (my whole family were born in the months of Feb-April) and my own 21^st birthday! I hope to enjoy some home comforts before I hop back over the channel to start my 9-5 or 9-7 it seems…so long student days!


P.S. I thought I'd add this link as this song has made Nantes famous, if only by name. 




bisous x

À bientôt Paris!

I took an improptu visit to Paris last night, only deciding at 4pm that it was logistically possible for me to go and arrived at Le Patio restaurant for pre-première drinks by 8pm. I was kindly invited along to the premiere of the new Luc Besson movie The Lady and for afterparty drinks as well. It was one of the most bizarre yet enjoyable evenings I've ever had, meeting the loveliest people and having the opportunity to speak both French and English to truly inspiring people. I also managed to put faces to names of people who I've been emailing recently in an attempt to find a placement in the industry whilst in France. A thoroughly enjoyable evening and for that I thank my dear friend, Jon! Please go and see the film as it is absolutely beautiful and terrifically moving. Also please take a look at this: http://www.humanrightsactioncenter.org/dyr/about/

The evening took an even more bizarre turn as we were kindly given a loaf of bread by a local Parisien boulanger on our walk back to the hotel. Said loaf of bread however was devoured instantly after all I'd eaten all day was a bowl of Special K and an apple (it was all very impromptu as I said earlier). As you can see from the dreadful picture of me below (it was 3am) this loaf of bread was quite huge and posed as a very weird object to bring down to the Hotel Lobby this morning, suitcase in my right hand, bread in the left...

Rustic Clutch Bag, Gucci €900

 

 

 

 

 

 The weirdness continued this morning in the taxi to the train station in Paris where I managed to land myself with world's number 1 comedian for a taxi driver. I know this is a bit keen but I just had to write out how the conversation went as it was just brilliant!

Mr. Taxi: Vous allez en Suisse?
                (You're going to Switzerland?)

Me: Non, je vais à Lyon.
       (No I'm going to Lyon.)

Mr. Taxi: Pourquoi vous allez à Lyon? Parce que vous êtes amoureuses?
                (Why are you going to Lyon? Because you're in love?)

Me: umm...non? Je viens d’Angleterre mais j'habite à Lyon maintenant. J'étudie là-bas. 
        (umm...no? (weird reason i thought?!) I live in Lyon. I'm studying there.

Mr. Taxi: Ahh, qu'est ce-que vous étudiez? 
                (Ahh, what do you study?)

Me: La Littérature Française  Moderne, Les Arts du Spectacle et la Russe.
        (French Lit, Theatre/Dance/Cinema/Russian.)

Mr. Taxi: La Russe? Pourquoi la Russe? Vous êtes espionne anglaise?...James Bond?!?!?
                (Russian? Why Russian? Are you an english spy? James Bond?)

Me: ....Non.

(a little while later, talking about how beautiful Paris is)
 
 Me:   Il y a une possibilité que je vais déménager à Paris en Fevrier.
         (There's a chance I might be moving to Paris in February)

Mr. Taxi: Ah, ça c'est fantastique! Vous devez m'appeller quand vous revenez à Paris si vous avez besoin d'un taxi!....Votre grande mère est Jane Birkin? Parce que vous lui ressemblez beaucoup!
                (Ah, that's fantastic! You must call me when you come back to Paris if you need a taxi!.....Is your grandma Jane Birkin? Because you look like her!)


Me: hahaa...non, désoléé. 
      


(Arrive at the train station)


Mr. Taxi: Merci Mademoiselle, et à bientôt à Paris!)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Yes Mr. Taxi I hope I see you soon in Paris, well maybe not you but definitely Paris. 


So if you wondered who the real Sam was...I'm actually James Bond, I live in Switzerland and I'm related to Jane Birkin. 

??????

 

The Dreaded Surprise of the Witch Dance Commentary

Last week I was told in my Dance Theory class that I was about to take an exam on a video excerpt of a dance piece by Mary Wigman. Not only was I faced with the daunting prospect of writing an exam in French, in a French university, in France, but I was also faced with the daunting prospect of writing an exam on this....

Results tomorrow! Yipee.

Heavenly retreats.

Again I have been rubbish at blogging as there's just too much excitement going on for a little person like me. I guess you can see that the journey in Lyon is starting to accelerate even more into a crazy whirlwind which sort of equates to this:

More studies (including a 4 hour dance practical session ending at 7pm?@?! Who finishes uni at 7pm?!) 

+

 Meeting new friends/catching up with ol' time greats (i've only known these people 2 months but they're super)

=

 More soirées /chats over tea/wine/pastries than you can shake a baguette at. 

However this busy bee lifestyle was broken up with a very much overdue visit from the wrinklies (mum & paps) where I proudly showed them my beautiful city and even explored more of it for myself. We took the funicular up to the highest point in Lyon (at least I think it is) and did the touristy things that I'd wanted to do since I arrived. We visited the Roman Amphitheatre which, was truly amazing, and also visited the temporary exhibition on Roman medicine. We then trundled over to the basilica just a little further up the hill only to be smacked in the face with this stunning view of Lyon spanning over the rooftops and rivers of my new hometown.

As if this little trip wasn't enough, we then drove an hour and a half out of Lyon to the heavenly region called The Ardèche to a little place we used to visit when my brother and I were little. This little place is named Lamastre and there really isn't much to do other than sit, drink beer, talk to the locals and eat good food- sounds like hell to me. The highlight of this ghost town though is a hotel on the top of a windy road I like to imagine as the yellow brick road. It leads to the beautiful Chateau D'Urbillac where we stayed for one night. I think we all agreed it wasn't the same out of season and 10 years later but still has a special something in my heart. Check the pictures below to see the cutest room I stayed in, complete with a bust wearing a feather bower. I thought 'kitsch', Papa Wynn said 'weird'...

Cheeky!

I then had another heavenly retreat back to Egham to see my buddies. Obviously Eggs isn't the most heavenly place but the people I was visiting are so great and I miss them very much. It involved lots of tea drinking, gin drinking and stocking myself up with any English delicacies I may have missed over the past couple of months (not many I must point out). So now onto the second half of the first semester with not really a fear in sight, apart from perhaps what type of tea to drink...


...i'm joking.

France's latest fashions, Lemming Mafia and meeting Dory...

Wowee it's been 2 weeks since I last posted. But don't fear I haven't fallen off the face of the earth, I've just needed some time to find my feet. I was told they're at the end of my legs..ho ho ho. This past week has been quite eventful and I think I may just show you all in a series of pictures.

I saw at least 3 women wearing a pair of glasses that can only be explained through a form of pictionary so I drew you a picture....

...???? one squared frame one round frame. They're not even 'kooky' for want of a better word. Watch this space, I'll probably have a pair by the end of October, they could catch on.


On Sunday we went to the Lyon Aquarium! It was actually really fun and quite relaxing once we'd escaped the screaming french kids and just sat, chilled and watched the sharks swim, as you do. We also met Dory :)

And then this evening I was invited to a 'Games bar' or 'Café Jeux' which i'd never heard of but thought I'd go along anyway. It turned out to be the coolest little bar and absolutely packed full of people of different ages and different nationalities. We attempted to play Lemming Mafia and I ended up winning despite the fact I hadn't a clue how to play throught the whole game. I got some skillz what can I say...

A Day in the life...

As the days have started to take some form of routine, and I organise and colour code my 'emploi du temps', I feel I can describe a day in the life of me in France. I've now decided which classes I'm going to take and they include: (roughly translated) theory of cinema and images; theory of Laban notation in dance; French modern literature (modern being 19th century); History and Aesthetics of theatre and dance; and for some strange reason...Russian. I had my first Russian lesson today and absolutely loved it despite being thrown in the deep end having missed last week's seminar. My friend had decided to study Russian and I've always wanted to learn it plus I felt it was a better language to learn alongside improving my French as it isn't similar in any way unlike, for example, Spanish or Italian. Therefore, hopefully I won't get confused! 

So a day in the life...

First I'd like to welcome you to my humble abode, which is gradually starting to look like a home...

This morning I left my apartment at the relatively early hour of 9 o clock, ready to jump on the tram to university. My Tuesday lectures are at the Bron campus of Lyon 2 which is a 30 minute tram ride away. However, at 9 o clock on a weekday morning, one cannot simply 'jump' on the tram. You have to press the button to open the doors as a crammed pack of miserable faces stare at you in disgust at the prospect of you even attempting to get onto this particular tram. I've made the mistake in the past of thinking "Oh I'll just get the next one..." only to find every tram for the next few hours is just as crowded. So I plough onto the tram, elbows at the ready and find myself a 'me sized' corner to huddle in, preferably by the door for optimum ventilation. I've been on busy tubes in London, but this cuts the mustard. Perhaps it wouldn't even be that bad if everybody made sure to shower and deodorize in the morning, but those important necessities obviously pass French people by...(I'm massively generalizing here, I love the French.) 

Then something happened on the tram that was a snapshot, which I mentally captured, of something that was crazy good to watch. Basically, someone walking or perhaps even a cyclist must have crossed infront of the tram, causing the tram driver to break and thus forcing every standing person on the tram to fall at a perfect 45 degree angle, in a sort of Michael Jackson Smooth Criminal move that most could probably never recreate. Believe me, it wasn't just your average domino style stumble. It's moments like these on the sweaty, smelly, sardine packed tram that don't make it seem so bad. Another plus side is the fact I find something new to look at along the journey every day, such as these beaut paintings on the sides of buildings...

Or even just outside my apartment...

"La vie c'est pas du Kiwi"...of course.