Adventure #5: Nice - Carnivale

"Nice is nice."  That was Mark's thought when I asked him what he wanted me to include in our blog for this weekend's adventure.  March 5 and 6 marked the last weekend for 2011's Carnivale celebration in Nice, and Mark and I decided that we wanted to be a part of it.  Although Carnivale in France isn't as crazy as Carnivale in Rio, nor as crazy as Mardi Gras in New Orleans, it was still a fun and worthwhile experience.

The bus from Aix got us in to Nice around 11:30 on Saturday.  We picked up our essential city map, walked around town a bit and grabbed some lunch before we were able to check in to our hotel (side note: I had the warm goat cheese salad with honey for lunch - fantastic!!).  Even though we planned at the last minute, I was able to find a cheap hotel room near the parade route... it was a dinky 3-star, but it's not like we were there for the hotel.  We had an itty-bitty room with an itty-bitty bathroom - I had to sit sideways on the toilet because there were only a few inches between it and the shower!  Mark's favorite comment is how everything in France is smaller (mainly the beers).

Saturday afternoon was the Flower Parade.  We got tickets for the "standing area", which we both thought was ridiculous that you had to pay to stand and watch a parade.  But it was nice because the girls on the floats would throw out mimosas (tiny yellow flowers) to the crowd.  The floats were incredible.  There were about twenty flower floats and they were completely created by, you guessed it, flowers.  Even the girls on the floats had costumes made of flowers or a nature-like design.  Of course a super tall dude was standing in front of me, so it was difficult to get good pictures without his head in them.  Another entertaining aspect of the parade was the crowd.  Silly string and confetti is a big part of the celebration.  Plus, you have people shouting at the girls on the floats to throw them the mimosas - like how Americans shout for candy.  There was one little girl near us that would start shouting, "Madame!  Mimose!" when the floats were still 50 feet away.  Mark helped me catch a bunch of flowers, but I ended up giving them away at the end since I didn't want to carry them around all day.  The parade also included dancers and performers, people in festive costumes, large ocean animal balloons and even a girl dancing on a giant red ball.  We even saw a woman get attacked by a confetti machine.  My favorite was the float that blew out bubbles, and Mark enjoyed the mechanical, "fire-breathing" dragon.  They were all pretty cool.

Later that day, following a nap, we took a long walk along the Promenade des Anglais to watch the sunset and finally found La Rue Massena, a stretch of street for pedestrians only.  I remembered it from my trip to Nice 7 years ago, but couldn't remember the name or exact location.  Turns out Mark and I walked around for over an hour looking for it, only to discover that we had walked past it several times earlier that day.  Oops!  Rue Massena is a great place for people-watching.  Especially during Carnivale.  All of the children are dressed in costume like it's Halloween, and of course some adults are dressed up, too.  We stopped at a brasserie for a "happy hour" aperitif and then looked for a restaurant for dinner.  We got a table at this nice looking restaurant filled with people and good-looking food.  A table is all we ended up getting.  The staff seemed flustered and the man who I guess was our waiter was dashing through the restaurant.  After 20 minutes of nothing, we decided to leave.  I understand that service is slower in France, but Mark knew that if we hadn't been acknowledged yet then everything else would take forever, too.  And as a former server, I could tell our server was "in the weeds".  Luckily we ended up finding another nice restaurant which had better service and better selections.  Bon!

Saturday night was the Parade of Lights.  Basically it was the regular Carnival parade with all the floats lit up for nighttime.  We decided not to buy tickets this time and were able to find a good spot to watch in the "gratuit" area.  Apparently there is more free space for this parade since flowers aren't being thrown out to the crowd.  The floats are all huge with intricate details and made of papier mache.  They were also somewhat odd with very animated characters, all of which had big noses - Mark's main observation (other than the floats with topless female characters).  The ambiance for the parade was fantastic!  People were having huge silly string fights, several of which Mark and I got caught in the middle.  One little girl even came up to Mark and just threw a bunch of confetti on him.  I found dried silly string and pieces of confetti on my purse the next day.  After the parade we were able to find an English pub near our hotel with a live band.  It was a "nice" and energetic way to end our evening.

On Sunday, we dropped our extra bags off at the train station since our train wasn't until later that afternoon.  When I went to put the money into the locker, I realized that I didn't have enough money in coins.  All of a sudden, the change machine for the lockers spit out about 10 euros in coins!  It was a like a slot machine, but I didn't even have to press any buttons!  Mark and I just kind of stared for a minute, and were like, "Okay, that'll help."  So we pretty much got a free locker for the afternoon, with change to spare.  We took a little train tour through the old town, past the port and up to the chateau overlooking Nice.  It was such a gorgeous day and we had remarkable views of the city, with the Carnivale parade going on down below.  Afterwards we just wandered through la Vieille Ville and enjoyed the gorgeous weather.  Plenty of people were bathing in the sun along the "beach" - Mark doesn't consider it a real beach since there's no sand, only rocks.  I tried to tell him that's how the beaches are in several areas of France, but he wouldn't have it.  No matter, the sea and the view are spectacular even if the beach is made of rocks.

Other than the fact that "Nice is nice", Mark and I both agreed that we loved the town and wish his work was closer to Nice than Marseille.  We'll just have to make it a regular weekend-town-to-visit this summer.

Adventure #4: Barcelona



Statue of Christopher Colombus



This weekend Mark and I went off to Barcelona.  Mark actually had to be there last Monday for work meetings throughout the week, and I left Aix on Wednesday afternoon to meet him.  Mark drove down with his coworkers and I took the bus.  Reason being is because there are no direct flights from Marseille to Barcelona.  Quite odd, if you ask me.  Both cities are the 2nd largest cities in their respective countries, yet there's no direct flight.  You have to connect either in Paris or Madrid.  So odd!  Anyways, my bus ride took 7 1/2 hours!  I could've flown home in that amount of time.  At least I had my iPhone and could watch movies during the ride.

When I arrived in Barcelona around 9pm, I met Mark and his coworkers for dinner.  I was a little late, but the paella which was served tasted delicious.  Plus, the wine was a welcomed treat after my long trip.  On Thursday, while Mark was working, I ventured next door to the mall.  I was anxious to try out my Spanish skills once again, slightly nervous that I would get it mixed up with French.  Upon entering the mall I realized that I would be way more confused than anticipated... I completely forgot that Barcelona speaks "Catalan", not Spanish.  Regardless, a mall is a mall, and I was able to keep myself occupied until Mark came to meet me for lunch.  The mall had some adorable little outdoor cafes, plenty of tapas restaurants, too.  Eventually I realized that most people in Barcelona speak English, so I would be fine.

"El Diablo"

Once Mark returned to his work meetings, I took the subway into town, not really knowing where to go or what to see.  To my surprise, the subways were SO nice!  My guess is that the public transit system was redone for the Olympics in the 90's.  No matter, they were clean and easy to use.  (If only Chicago could develop a similar, non-odorous type of transportation like Barcelona's.)  I got off the train at Vila Olimpica and just walked along the Platja de la Barceloneta until I reached the Rambla, one of the main streets in Barcelona, filled with shops and street venders.  Then I wandered up the Rambla, checking out the beautiful architecture, the shops selling pets (birds, lizards, guinea pigs, etc) and the "human statues" dressed like different characters: robots, cat woman, aliens, fruit trees, and more!  I even ventured into an open art gallery with some extremely, extremely odd figures.  Impressionist, maybe?  Not too sure since everything was written in Catalan.  There was a statue of "el diablo" - the crazy chicken!, the Giants of Barcelona, statues of crazy-eyed sheep and goats, and two half-woman half-pigeon figures.  Finally, I made it to Placa de Catalunya at the end of the Rambla.  You wouldn't believe how many pigeons (actual pigeons) were in the plaza.  Seriously, it was like a see of birds surrounded by a bit of cement.



Mark's Stein Beer

Seeing that it was almost 5 pm and I was getting cold, I decided to have a glass of wine at the Hard Rock Cafe (really expanding my horizons) and wait for Mark there.  I was delighted when the bartender told me that someone had bought my first glass of wine.  How nice!  I was slightly put off when I saw that it was some creepy looking guy in a cowboy hat.  Still, I raised my glass and mouthed "Gracias".  When he came to say hello, he asked if I was Venezuelan.  Huh?  Really, no clue how he thought that, but since his English was poor, I could only conclude that he thought I was someone else... some Venezuelan woman, apparently.  Thanks to his lack of English vocabulary and my lack of knowledge of Catalan, the Spanish cowboy with rhinestones set in the middle of each of his upper teeth, went back to his seat and left me in peace.  After Mark arrived and enjoyed one drink with me at the Hard Rock, we walked around the west side of town some more before dinner.  Of course, I had to take him to see "El Diablo"... the picture will most likely end up in the RV (in tribute to Ricky Bobby).  We did stop at one bar which made Mark's day, month, year.  They served beer in stein glasses!  Aurevoir/Adios 8 oz beers... Mark's getting a stein!  We then met up with Marie for an "early" dinner (8pm is early in Barcelona).  If only Mark was here to help me write this section of our adventure because by this time I had had my share of white wine.  I remember that dinner was delicious - Mark had a steak with Bernaise sauce and I had fish.  At the end of the night I was determined to find the Irish pub we visited 2 years ago when we spent 1 night in Barcelona.  I didn't remember the name of the pub or the hotel next door where we stayed, but I knew it was somewhere in the Gothic area.  Surprisingly enough, we didn't find it.



The next day was much clearer.  Mark was done with work early (I slept in, of course), and after checking out of the hotel we took the train to Marie's apartment in Gracia, on the north end of the city.  Since Marie had several projects due the following week for her classes, Mark and I let her be while we went out to experience the city together.  I had gotten in touch with one of the Sales Managers at Mandarin Oriental, Barcelona, and she kindly invited us to come see the property.  It was GORGEOUS! of course.  We did a short tour since the hotel was full and we couldn't see the rooms.  Upon entering the spa, I was greeted by a wonderful and familiar smell of the relaxing salon products.  Just wish Mark and I could afford to actually experience the spa.  At the end of the tour we received 2 drink coupons for the Banker's Bar, which was really generous of our guide.

Following our tour, Mark and I hopped on the hop-on-hop-off bus to tour the west side of Barcelona.  Since it was already 4pm we didn't hop-off, but it was nice to learn more about the city.  Plus, now we know for the next time where we want to actually visit during our stay.  For all of our soccer-friends, the bus tour went past Camp Nou, the stadium for FC Barcelona.  We obviously didn't go in, but it was quite impressive from the outside.  I can't imagine what it would be like on a game day, but I hear it's pretty intense.  After our tour, we walked over to see the Sagrada Familia.  Sadly, it was 6pm and the church was closed so we didn't get to see inside, but I've been told that the outside is more impressive anyways.  Something to see next time, too.



Banker's Bar at
Mandarin Oriental, Barcelona



Friday night we went to a wonderful tapas restaurant with Marie in Gracia.  Afterwards we went back to MO for our free drinks at Banker's Bar.  Apparently the bartender there won the award for best bartender (or mixologist) in Spain.  Not sure if he was working Friday night, but if it was him, then he is also the slowest.  No complaints, though.  It was a great atmosphere to be in while waiting for our Banker's Martinis.  Following drinks, we headed south near the Rambla to meet some of Marie's classmates and to go to a night club.  We arrived around 12:30 am, but the club was still not open.  So we went to a nearby pub and waited until 1:00 am when the club actually opened.  Marie's friends are all very entertaining and very nice people.  By 3:00 am, Mark and I were ready to head back to Marie's apartment since we wanted to wake up at a reasonable hour and do more tourist stuff.  However, we were told by her friends that the night was just starting!  At 3:00 am?  Seriously?  They party late in Spain.  Regardless, Marie said we could go, and I went to get my coat out of the coat check... little did I know what a shit-show that was going to be.  Sorry to curse, but I have no clue how else to describe it.  Did I mention that Europeans don't really get the concept of lines?  This was a clear example.  Well, the "line" was quite long (people waiting to CHECK their coats), and once you got into the little area in front of the coat check counter, it was a mosh pit.  People were pushing and shoving and cutting in front of others to get closer to the counter.  Others were tossing their coats up to friends further up in the mosh pit so they wouldn't have to wait.  Basically, it took me over 30 minutes to get my coat back.  Never again.  If we ever end up in a club in Spain again, I will leave my coat at home.



Sanctuary of Montserrat



The three of us were able to wake up at a reasonable hour on Saturday morning, so we took the train to Montserrat, just outside of Barcelona.  The train ride in itself had some entertaining moments, like the musical duo in the subway: one man playing an achordian and the other "playing" a violin.  First of all, it didn't sound like they were even playing the same song.  Second, the violin was so intensely out of tune that we were all in agony.  I was tempted to give him money just to stop playing, but then I figured with the language barrier he might not get it.  So we endured the "music" for a good 10 minutes only to be greeted by another musician at our train stop.  The second train ride, which was about an hour, was music-less, thank goodness!  We got off just before Montserrat so we could take the cable car up the mountain instead.  It was pretty cool.  At times it actually looked like we were going to hit the mountain!  I'm sure that the view of Barcelona and the Mediterannean is beautiful, but eventhough it was a sunny day, there was a lot of haze over the city, so we couldn't see much.  Just another reason to return!  It was still a beautiful view, and I scared Mark by sneaking up on him and giving him a little push while he was overlooking one of the cliffs. (Don't worry, he didn't fall off the mountain).   After checking out the view, we went to visit the church, which I believe is just called the Sanctuary of Montserrat.  The church was absolutely breathtaking.  I took so many pictures because of all the intricate details throughout the building... it was still hard to capture the beauty of this church.  We did a little more walking through the town before catching the cable car back down the mountain.  There was still more to see, but we'll have to save the additional hiking for our next visit as well. 



Bar El Rincon



When our cable cab reached the train stop, we still had about an hour before the train arrived.  Luckily, we saw a sign for Bar El Rincon which was right next to the train stop.  Once we saw Bar El Rincon we wondered if we should actually go.  From the outside it looked a bit shady, but as it turns out, the place was pretty cute... it would be great in the summer.  So we enjoyed a drink at the intriguing train stop bar before heading back to Gracia for the night.



Overall, Mark and I had a wonderful time, as we usually do on our little adventures.  It was great to see Marie, and we hope we can go visit her again before she finishes school, which I'm sure we will.  Plus, now we know a little more about Barcelona and what to see next time!

French Class, French Parties, French Football

I started receiving a newsletter for Mark's company and learned that they are offering French classes to spouses of ITER employees at L'Institute des Etudes Francaises pour les Etudiantes Estranges (IEFEE), which means I started taking French classes last week.  The classes include 10 hours per week of French language/conversation... a great review for me about a lot of what I have forgotten over the past 7 years.  I am also taking an elective class on the Mythology in Art - all of which is taught in French.  Hopefully my skills will be back in full force soon.  In the meantime, I'm already sensing some improvement.  Plus, I've met a few people through Mark's friends at work who will help me practice conversation when we're out.

Last week and this weekend proved to be quite festive.

On Tuesday I attended a "Tastevin" with members of AAGP, one of the groups I joined in Aix.  A Tastevin is basically a wine tasting.  Someone from the group hosts it each month.  Since it was a "school night", Mark was not able to join me, but he was missed.  Several of the members work with Mark, which is actually how I heard about the group.  We tasted wines from a vineyard in the northeast region of France.  I wasn't too impressed with the reds (too oaky for me), but I did buy a bottle of the Chardonnay.  The charcuterie and cheese served with the wines were actually my favorite part of the night, including chevre (goat cheese).  That and getting to know the members of the group better was a true highlight.  I'm excited because Mark and I will be hosting the Tastevin in April!

Friday night was an Aperitif Dinatoire, hosted by IFIP, the other group I joined.  Many of the members are the same people who are involved in AAGP which is nice because I get the opportunity to do a lot with them.  Mark's boss and his wife were the ones hosting Friday's event, and it was an absolute blast!  An Aperitif Dinatoire is like the evening version of a brunch.  Normally it should start around 6:00 pm, but since it was a Friday we had to wait for people to get settled in after work and started at 7:00 pm.  Rather than a sit-down dinner, it was just a buffet of appetizers, and delicious appetizers at that, plus a lot of great wine!  After a few hours of eating and socializing, we teamed up to play a game about idioms.  Some members of IFIP are Americans/English and some are French.  So we each had to write an idiom in our native language, put it in a hat and then draw a new one.  We teamed up into groups mixed with French and English speakers to continue the game.  Once we drew a new idiom we had to come up with 3 definitions for it, 2 false and 1 true.  If you read an idiom in English, the French speakers had to choose which definition they thought was the true one and vice versa.  It was a little tough for Mark since he couldn't understand what was being said during the French idioms, but one of his team members was helping to translate for him.  In addition, Mark's idiom of choice was the hit of the night: "Up shit creek without a paddle."  The French thought it was hilarious!  The French woman on my team turned to me and asked, "What's a creek?"  Overall we had a great time with our wonderful company.

Saturday was the crazy party night.  After enjoying a beautiful 60-degree day in February (sorry to all you Chicagoans stuck in 2 feet of snow), we headed to Mark's co-worker Mike's house for the start of our Poker Run party.  Mike had bought quite a few bottles of white and rose champagne for the evening, along with several delicious cheeses, foie gras (which I liked) and caviar (which I did not like).  At 10:00 pm we ventured to our apartment (since Mike's building has a noise ordinance) to continue the evening's festivities.  Of course, our dear friend Phil has this obsession with a pink and purple wig known as the Tina Turner wig.  I made the big mistake my very first weekend in Aix of putting the wig on while at O'Sullivan's and dancing around the bar to Tina Turner's hit "What's Love Got to do With It".  Ever since then the wig has followed Phil during every night out.  I like to think of the wig now as Bud Light - a sure sign of a good time.  Needless to say, the wig made it atop my head on Saturday night while we blasted Tina's classic hit.  At least I was not the only person to sport the wig that night.  I have photographic evidence that quite a few people were enthralled with the wig as well.  Since the champagne also accompanied us from Mike's apartment to ours, it made for an evening of sing-along, dancing and even our friend Tanja being hoisted into the air by two guys, Gregory and Mike, and then Gregory dancing around the room with Tanja on his shoulders.  I'm pretty sure the party went until 3am, but we don't have a clock in our living room, so I can't be sure.  Regardless, Mark and I received several texts on Sunday (afternoon) thanking us for a wonderful night.  Looks like we'll have to do it again soon.

Once Mark and I finished cleaning the apartment on Sunday, we decided yet again to take advantage of the gorgeous weather in Aix.  The Argonautes were playing at 2:00 pm, so we moseyed over to the Stade Georges Carcassonne to see what an American football game would be like in France.  Yes, Aix has its own American football team.  Surprisingly, there were a few hundred people at the opening day game.  It was kind of like a high school football game, I guess.  Still some very odd differences.  First of all, the announcer was quite energetic and slightly more informative than most.  In the States we are used to them saying the name of the person making the play and the stat of the play once it has been completed.  In France, the announcer gives the audience (which is situated only on one side of the football field) a full play-by-play throughout the game.  And as I said, a very energetic play-by-play.  What was funny was that he would even describe what the penalties meant over the megaphone so that the fans could understand the technicalities of everything taking place.  At half time Mark and I walked over to concessions, just a little "booster" table selling t-shirts, sodas and chips.  Definitely reminicent of a high school game.  I still want a t-shirt next time we go, though.  The most intersting aspects of half time were the following two things: 1. The teams didn't have locker rooms.  The players just sat on a bench next to the stands and rested there.  2. One of the refs came into the stands to say hello to his girlfriend and friends and to take a cigarette break.  Something else to add to my list of "Things that make you go Hmmm..."  What threw me off the most was the dance team that came out at the beginning of the second half.  To preface, this game was obviously NOT being held at an "NFL-stadium"... think high school again.  It was a field that was used for both soccer and football, and the dance team performed on the track surrounding the field.  Back to my point, they began dancing at the start of the second half... while the game was being played.  So the announcer would be talking about the game plays and then all of a sudden shout "Soul Force!" - the name of the dance team.  Mark and I were like, "Shouldn't they have been performing during half time?"  At least we got to see real football on Superbowl Sunday, regardless of the quality of play.  Plus, the Argonautes won 28-0!  Oh, and did I mention that the head coach of the Argonautes used to be a punter for the Kansas City Chiefs.  Yeah, that's right.  Go Argonautes!

Adventures #2 and #3: Marseille and Cassis

I would have to consider our trip to Cannes as Adventure #1.  Since our official move to Aix at the beginning of this month, we have added two more small trips to our list.

Adventure #2: Marseille



Weird band in Marseille



Mark and I were trying to figure out what to do for our 2nd anniversary, other than a steak dinner at home.  We debated about going to Lyon for the weekend, but after buying a new TV screen for our apartment (much needed), we settled on spending a day in Marseille.  For 10 euros/person roundtrip, we were able to take the bus from Aix to Marseille.  Since we had gone out with Mark's coworkers the night before, we had a bit of a late start, but still got to Marseille by 2pm.  During our walk through the center of town from the bus station to the old port, we saw quite a few interesting sites.  And I'm not talking about the beautiful architecture.  We saw two protests and a really weird band.  The larger of the two protests was about Tunisia - they didn't want the former President to stay in Paris, and the smaller one had to do with the government - probably protesting the extension of the retirement age to 62.  On a happier front was the really weird band.  I think it must have been students, but they were wearing incredibly odd clothing and playing tubas, trombones and trumpets.  One guy even had a Batman belt.  I didn't get a good look at what was written on their collection box, but since there were 10 or 12 of them, I figured they were students raising money for their school band.



We could not have asked for better weather.  It was sunny and about 15 C (mid-60's F).  Mark and I found a table outside at one of the restaurants along the port.  We had tickets for a tour ride at 4:00, so we decided to just order a drink while we waited.  In one of my previous blogs I wrote about "customer service" in France (or lack thereof).  Well, this was another classic example.  Mark and I had been sitting at our table for about 10 minutes before the waitress finally addressed us.  She then asked if we were eating, and when I told her we were only drinking she replied that it would be 5 minutes because she wanted to have a cigarette first.  Hmmm...  We ended up spending more time waiting at the table then actually drinking our beer because by the time we got them we had to go meet for our tour.  At least we don't have to worry about tips!



View from Notre-Dame de la Garde





Notre-Dame de la Garde



After our drinks we took a little train tour through part of Marseille.  The tour started in le Vieux Port and passed by several forts, la Corniche and Notre-Dame de la Garde.  One of the forts was Chateau d'If, the famous prison from Alexander Dumas' novel "The Count of Monte Cristo".  Yes, it was a prison, but it was really neat to actually see the place that inspired part of the book.  One day Mark and I plan to take a ferry tour out to see the chateau.  Notre-Dame de la Garde was exquisite.  The golden statue at the top is 12 1/2 meters tall and weighs about 20,000 pounds!  This was Mark's first visit to a European church, so needless to say he was quite impressed with the interior of the basilica.  In addition, the view from Notre-Dame de la Garde at 531 feet altitude was breathtaking.  We could see all of Marseille, the various ports and the Mediterranean.

Following our tour we decided to walk through the town for a while.  We stopped at a few pubs for a drink and almost stopped at an Irish pub called O'Malley's (Apparently this should be a tradition - going to Irish pubs in every town we visit).  Sadly, O'Malley's was packed for a rugby game and we couldn't find a place to sit.  We did get to watch the end of another rugby match at a different bar.  It wasn't as exciting as the first match I saw, but anything is better than soccer.



La Prefecture



During our ramble we walked down one of the main pedestrian shopping streets, which I believe was called Rue Saint-Ferreol.  At the end of the street was a gorgeous building called La Prefecture.  At the time, Mark and I had no clue what the building actually was, but Brian informed me later that it's an administration building.  La Prefecture is probably where we will have to go to renew our visas next year.

Our last venture of the evening was at La Fetische for dinner.  Mark and I enjoyed a nice bottle of local wine and a fabulous meal.  Me: Caprese salad with pesto (diced tomato and mozzarella - slightly different, but delicious), steak and frites and an apple tart.  Mark: Shrimp with avocado spread, sashimi tuna and tirimisu.  It was the perfect way to end our day in Marseille.

Adventure #3:  Cassis

Brian and Joan came to visit us this past weekend!  They came in Friday night, we had dinner at our apartment (4-cheese stuffed shells and homemade meatballs) and then headed out to O'Sullivan's.  It was pretty crowded so we only stayed for one drink before venturing out to some new bars Mark and I wanted to try.  It was a long night, followed by drinking games back at our apartment.  Needless to say, we had a rough start on Saturday.  Well, at least Mark did.  Since Brian and Joan drove their car to Aix (a small car that still could not fit in our garage!), we drove down to Cassis for the afternoon.



Cassis



Yet again we had a beautiful day.  Slightly chilly, but warm in the sun.  Cassis is normally known as a beach town, and I believe it is very popular in the summer... especially with the boat tours to the Calanques (these beautiful inset waterways where people anchor their boats and spend the day in the turquoise water - a definite adventure for the future).  We found a table in the sun and enjoyed a nice lunch.  Brian's friend Nicole, from Nice, her son and her "manny" joined us as well.  Lunch was accompanied by some tantalizing rose wine from a vineyard 5 minutes away.  Oh was it good!  We tried to visit the vineyard after leaving town, but got there right as it was closing.  Then Brian wanted to drive us along the  Route de Crête, a road that goes along the cliffs of the Med with breathtaking views, but it was also closed due to too much snow along the road.  We were still able to find a path that led us to the top of a cliff overlooking Cassis to the west and Ciotat to the east.

After our site-seeing, we visited Brian's friends Lionel and Tiffany (he and Lionel had worked at Club Med together back in the day).  Lionel is French, and Tiffany Canadian.  They have a young son named Seven who is absolutely adorable.  What a fun couple!  We were only going to stay for a drink or two, but instead ended up staying for six hours.  We ordered pizza, tried some more fabulous wine and enjoyed great conversation.  I hope to see them again soon.



Lunch in Aix



Brian and Joan's visit ended on Sunday with lunch at a restaurant along Le Cours Mirabeau.  We were all decked out in our Bears gear and tried to stay in the sun during our meal (as you can tell, we mostly eat outside at restaurants - even in the winter).  Mark and I gave them a quick tour of the center of town and visited Saint-Jean-de-Malte, one of the churches in Aix, before they headed back to Perpignan.  I look forward to visiting them soon... possibly for a rugby match!

It's Official!

It's official - we live in France!

Our trip back to Chicago was longer than anticipated.  I arrived in Chicago on December 14 and Mark came the following day.  Unfortunately our meeting with the French Consulate got pushed back from the 15th to the 27th so we weren't able to spend Christmas with Brian and Joan in France or go to Palermo for New Year's Eve.  There's always next year, though, and it was great to be able to spend the holidays with our families in Chicago and go out with our friends again before the big move.

The visa meeting wasn't quite what I expected.  I thought we were going to have to sit down with someone and get interviewed, but all we did was hand our paperwork to a woman behind a counter, pay for our visas, and electronically get fingerprinted.  That was it, and it only took about 5 minutes.  The next day, while we were out in the burbs, Mark got a message from the Consulate saying that his passport was only valid for one more year, but it needs to be valid for 15 months.  So we had to drive back to the city on Wednesday to get Mark a new passport.  Luckily, Chicago has an expedited passport office.  However, I thought it was going to take another week for us to get our visas.  When Mark dropped his new passport off at the Consulate on Thursday morning, they told him to come back that afternoon for our visas.  After the stress of those past few days, it was great news to know that we would get back to France on the 2nd.  (Mark stopped getting paid on the 3rd if he was still in the States).

We flew into Barcelona via Pakistan International Airlines.  That alone was it's own experience.  The airline was very nice, plus it was a new plane.  We had our own tv screen with several American movies and tv series, although we spent the majority of the flight sleeping.  The food was fine... airplane food.  And the staff was really nice.  Yes, there were a lot of Pakistani's on the flight, and there were several passport check points, but all in all, it was totally worth it for a direct flight to Barcelona.  Brian picked us up in Barcelona (which was slightly stressful since my cell phone wasn't working and we just had to hope Brian could find us), but we did get to spend Sunday night at Brian and Joan's in Perpignan.

Finally, Mark and I made it to Aix on Monday afternoon and moved into our new apartment.  We did some shopping the following Saturday to get the last few essentials for our place; including an oven!!!  Yes, it's an oven that sits on the countertop, but it works.  On top of our excitement for having our own place (finally), Mark is thrilled that our Slingbox works (thanks Charlie!).  Now we can watch American television and not just CNN International.

I've spent most of my time walking through town to get my bearings.  I've visted the market practically every day and really enjoy cooking with such fresh ingredients.  Our first week here I bought fresh cod from the seafood market, and boy was it good.  Jill got me an amazing Provencal cookbook for Christmas that provided me with the wonderful cod recipe.  The best part was that Mark actually ate fish and liked it.

Mark and I walked through the outskirts of town our first Sunday in Aix.  It was pretty quiet since most places are closed on Sundays, but then we noticed a large crowd near the Rotund.  Apparently there was a big parade for La Feter l'Epiphanie which commemorates the end of the holidays.  The parade consisted of peopled dressed in traditional Provencal clothing and playing traditional music on flutes and drums.  Once the people reached la Rotund, several of them performed a dance while the crowd gathered around.  There were even three camels!  It was quite interesting and unexpected.  Afterwards, Mark and I walked through the antique shops set up along the Cours Mirabeau.  It seems to me like there is always something happening along that street, which is wonderful because it always tends to surprise me!

The next night was our 2-year anniversary.  I surprised Mark with a gigantic steak dinner.  We were both pretty excited that I found such a big steak in France, but our super market is great.  So was the steak.  I was able to bring some Chicago Steak Seasoning back from the States, so that definitely added to the deliciousness of our meal.  We may not have a grill, but I'm learning to improvise on a lot of things in the kitchen and bought a grill pan to use over the stove.

Wednesday, January 12 was a slight breakthrough for me.  I joined a group called International Friends in Provence (IFIP), an Anglophone group in Aix, and decided to attend the coffee morning scheduled for that day.  I went to the cafe, not really knowing anyone in the group or who to look for.  I just sat outside and hoped I would spot a group of people gathering together.  No such luck.  Eventually I spotted a woman who was looking around the cafe and had a very American-like resemblance.  An easy way to spot an American is by their shoes.  Most French will wear flats or Sketchers as "comfy" shoes, but Americans will wear your basic gym shoe.  She was wearing black, somewhat baggy clothes and white gym shoes.  I was able to stop her before she left and turned out I was right.  She was American and a part of IFIP.  AvisAnne and I took a table inside, and as it turns out she had met Mark during the Thanksgiving dinner he had been invited to for another Anglo-group I am joining.  She was very friendly and informative, and I'm excited to get more involved with these groups.  Mainly it was just nice to meet someone new.  Eventually we were joined by another two women, one French and one American.  The American, Valerie, lives in Florida but also has an apartment in Aix and another in Paris.  Valerie was also looking into joining the group, and she and I ended up walking around together after coffee.  She showed me her gorgeous apartment on the Cours Mirabeau and then took me to the bookstore in town with native-English books and DVD's called Book in Bar.  We had both planned to participate in IFIP's book club the following week, so we reserved copies of The Elegance of the Hedgehog (since they didn't have any copies in stock).  I was able to pick up my copy the day before the club meeting, and amazingly read this very intense, very philosophical book within a day and a half.  I met some more women at the meeting, all very nice, but of course all older than I am.  Still, I really enjoyed myself and their company.  The following day Valerie and I met for coffee.  Although she is 65 I must admit that I enjoy her company the most.  She was a former French teacher and now organizes a workshop each year for other French teachers.  Valerie has been so helpful and inspiring, offering up ideas on what I can do to practice my language skills, activities to keep me occupied, and even job ideas that could help me prepare for my teaching career once Mark and I move back to the States.  It's just a shame that she isn't in Aix year round, but perhaps I could go visit her in Paris! ;-)  The most interesting thing Valerie and I have done is visit an AquaGym class.  She took me to this gym facility (not in Aix), and we tried out the class.  I was so surprised at how well I understood everything, and it was a great workout, but I think I'll just join a gym in town.  As for the other women in IFIP, many of them have husband's who work either for ITER or Europocar.  I didn't get much of a chance to talk to them about what they do, but one of the women, Barbara, met Mark back in November, and she's the one who told me about all of these groups.  It was great to finally meet her, and she's been keeping me abreast of events for the Anglo American Group of Provence (AAGP), the other group I'm joining.  A lot of these events are coming up in the next few weeks, so it will be wonderful to be involved more.  I'm even hosting the IFIP book club meeting in February and possibly a Tastevin (wine tasting) for AAGP in March!

Since my days mostly consist of going to the market and trying new dishes, I feel that I should always have a small portion of the blog dedicated to my culinary adventures as well.  I previously mentioned the cod I made, which was fabulous, but nowhere near the phenomenal swordfish I made our second week in Aix.  Kudos once again to the fresh fish market.  The woman who sold me the swordfish even gave me tips on how best to cook the fish.  With those tips and Bobby Flay's recipe for Grilled Caponata, I was set.  To my delight, it was another success with Mark as well.  On a side note: Mark and I have come to the odd realization that in French grocery stores chicken is very expensive while pork is ridiculously cheap.  I bought 4 chicken breasts for about 7 euros and 6 pork chops for 3 euros.  Guess I need to work on my pork recipes.

Last weekend we visited Marseille as an extended way to celebrate our anniversary.  Details for that adventure will be given in my next blog.  Then, last Sunday we invited some of Mark's coworkers over to watch the Bears vs. Seahawks game and dinner.  Roberto is originally from Mexico and has lived in France for serveral years now.  He was pretty familiar with American football, so we didn't need to provide him with much explanation.  Gregory, on the other hand, is French.  He's a rugby fan, so he understood the basic concept of the points system, but we still had to explain a lot about the game.  Luckily he came before the game started and Mark gave him an overview to prevent too many questions during the game.  Now that I have watched soccer and rugby matches on television, I can see why Europeans can't get into football... there are so many commercials!  We are used to it as Americans, but I began to realize how disruptive these commercials really are when it comes to the action of the game.  That plus the fact that the plays stop so often (and it was a really long, slow game).  But Roberto and Gregory still had fun and enjoyed the game.  I guess we should've invited them over again this past Sunday... maybe the Bears would have had another victory.  C'est la vie.

Donna Summer - My Inspiration!

I was walking back to the hotel yesterday, having just left the bank, when Donna Summer's classic hit "I Will Survive" popped into my head.  I hadn't even heard that song playing anywhere, but it definitely summarized the past few days.

I walked around town on Tuesday, visited the flower market and fruit/vegetable market, looked for all the famous fountains in Aix, and did some Christmas shopping.  I went into a clothing store looking for a particular gift and found myself confronted with the sales woman.  "Oh no, I have to try to understand her." (They talk so fast)  But I survived!  I even surprised myself a bit because I understood everything she said, including asking me if I wanted the items gift wrapped.  Sweet.

Wednesday night I made a yummy Chicken and Shrimp in a Creamy Dijon Pistacio Sauce for dinner.  Of course, when I went shopping for the ingredients I had to buy shrimp with the heads still on... that's how they're sold in France.  So I survived yet another trip to the grocery store (I feel like I'm making improvements every time and can finally understand the cashiers).  The next feat was making the shrimp.  Yes, this would be an experience.  I dumped the shrimp out of the little fresh-bag and stared at the bowl while the little shrimp stared right back up at me.  Deep breath... another deep breath... and I did it!  I survived!  I pulled the heads off of ten shrimp!  Agh!  And I didn't need Mark's masculine nature to do it for me.

Yesterday was probably my biggest nerve-wrecking experience.  Mark and I need insurance for our apartment.  That meant I had to go to the bank to ask about insurance.  Oh dear Lord.  I went to the bank along the Cours Mirabeau because I figured it was the biggest branch in town and someone must speak English.  Turns out I had to go to the branch on our checks which is along the Cours Sextius.  At least I knew where it was.  I was able to successfully let the teller know I needed to speak to someone about apartment insurance.  She got an office agent to come help me.  We sat down.  She seemed nice.  Apologized for it being too hot in her office.  I told her what I was looking for.  She nodded.  Then she started talking fast French!  Aaahhh!  It's hard enough when it's just conversational, but when we're talking about a quote for apartment insurance... now that's another story.  Yet somehow, I survived!  Of course there were a few moments of "Je ne comprends pas".  Even so, I was able to tell her the details of the apartment and understand her when she asked if we had any dependents living with us, if the apartment was furnished or not, and if we wanted to buy the insurance now or wait.   Definitely gonna wait.  Luckily, Mark was able to buy the insurance through the branch at his office where he set up the account - I'm not sure if I would've survived another interpretation extravaganza.  But maybe, just maybe, I would survive.

On a more serious note, Mark and I are happy to have another survivor among us.  Mark's dad had some surgery done this week, and we are very pleased that Jim has made it home safely.  Love you, Jim, and can't wait to see you for Christmas!!!

Things that Make You Go Hmmm...

So I'm in a new country.  Naturally I'm going to make observations about the differences between USA and France.  I will preface these next comments with the fact that I love southern France.  I am extremely excited to be living here.  These comments are just about some of the adjustments Mark and I will have to face during this experience... these are the things that make me go "Hmmm..."

AIRPORTS:  The Marseille airport seemed to be fine.  However, as soon as I walked down the ladder from my plane, I hopped on a bus that took us right to baggage claim.  Then I immediately walked outside.  So I haven't quite experienced that airport.  Madrid airport, on the otherhand, was an interesting experience.   When I went through immigration, I was "greeted" by the grumpiest looking man I have ever seen.  I don't know how else to describe him other than the fact that he looked absolutely miserable... maybe constipated.  He took my passport, stamped it, and then looked around at nothing for about 30 seconds.  I just stood there thinking, "Okay, dude.  You gonna give me my passport back or are you going to stare into oblvion for a few more minutes?"  It was just weird.  I then had a 30 minute walk to my connecting gate.  However, one hour prior to boarding time, I still did not have a gate assignment.  I didn't have a gate assignment until my boarding time!  When I went to the gate it said for Niza (Nice), not Marsella (Marseille), both flights leaving withing 5 minutes of each other.  There were 30 people standing around wondering which flight was actually at that gate.  Sadly, the attendants at the desk had no clue either!  Eventually they sent the people for Nice to another gate and the people for Marseille to the gate next door.  Ten minutes later the people for Nice were back at the first gate.  Ugh!  It was a mess.  Hmmm...

Luckily I got in last Wednesday before the airport completely shut down!

NO TRANSLATION FOR CUSTOMER SERVICE:  I'm not sure if this actually exists in southern France.  Paris, yes, of course.  But southern France, not really.  Don't get me wrong, the people here are extremely nice!  But the difference is this - In America we say in business, "Under promise, Over deliver."  This way our customers are not upset if we don't live up to expectations.  It's the complete opposite here.  The French "Over PROMISE and Under Deliver."  For example:  Mark and I are moving into our apartment January 1st.  We will be coming back to the States December 14th to get our visas (hopefully), go to Perpignan to visit Brian for Christmas, and then head to Palermo for New Year's.  We asked the owner of our apartment, since she's moving out December 10th, if we could finalize the lease on the 13th, and get the keys so we could leave the clothes we already have here in the apartment (versus one of Mark's coworkers' houses).  We told her we wouldn't be moving in until the 1st, we just wanted to put a few things in the apartment.  She was totally fine, and said it wouldn't be a problem at all.  Awesome!  The next day we get a call from the landlord.  He said if we wanted the keys on the 13th then the owner would want us to pay rent for the second half of December.  Huh?  So I know it's not a big deal, but I just find the owner's actions a little odd.  Hmmm...

LACK OF APPLIANCES - Our apartment is super cute!  I'm very excited to move in next month, but it's lacking a few things we Americans are pretty used to having.  All of the appliances in the apartment are up-to-date, but here's what's interesting:  We have a washing machine... in the kitchen.  No dryer.  I guess this means I'll be hanging our knickers out the window!  No dishwasher... fine I can live with that, I've done it before.  Here's the kicker:  No oven.  Yup, no oven.  If you know me, that is a big deal.  I cook.  And when I am living in a new country with no job, cooking can keep me occupied and content.  Apparently not many French apartments have ovens.  None of the apartments Mark looked at had ovens.  There was a microwave/convection oven in the apartment which the owner said she'd leave, but we know how that goes... she's taking it with her now.  There are plenty of meals I can cook on the stovetop, and I've actually lived in an apartment before for two years that had a non-working oven (but that's when I didn't really cook, just microwaved).  So hopefully Mark and I can find a combined microwave/oven after we move in.  Hmmm...

SHOWER - Oh the shower.  If you have ever been to Europe you probably know that many shower heads are not raised to the height of one's head, but rather at knee level.  You know, those shower heads you have to hold with your hand to actually bathe yourself?  That's what we've got in our hotel right now (luckily we have a raised shower head in our apartment... that is, unless the owner changes it before she leaves!).  But let me tell you, showering has been interesting.  My first attempt, I sprayed water all over the bathroom because they don't have shower curtains either, just a small piece of glass that goes halfway across the tub.  So finally I made the decision to just sit down in the tub, that way the shower head is now at the same level as my head.  It's a different experience, but I'm getting used to it.  And surprisingly it was a lot easier to shave my legs sitting down rather than standing!  Hmmm...

GREY GOOSE - This may seem odd, but Mark believed that since Grey Goose vodka is made in France that it would be cheap and easy to find in France.  Budweiser is cheap and easy to find in the US, right?  Couldn't really find Grey Goose anywhere.  We finally found it at the Geant Casino (like a Super Walmart).  Definitely not cheap.  After the conversions, it was about $20 more expensive in France.  Hmmm...

TIPPING - This is one difference I can get used to!  No need to tip in France.  If the server does a good job, just leave a little extra change, maybe a euro or two.  Sweet!...