Paris, Je T'aime

Good news. Remember when I said in my last post that I was quite saddened knowing I wouldn't be travelling again until after finals? Well that didn't last long and I was actually able to skip town again this past weekend and head for the marvellous city of Par-ee (Paris for you English speakers who didn't catch on)!

I definitely lucked out on this trip. I spent only a couple days lamenting on my lack of future travels when I got an invitation from my friend Charlie to see the Australia vs. France international rugby game on Saturday November 27. That fact in itself had me quite excited and it just topped it with a cherry when I found out that the game was at the Stade de France in Paris. Yes....I was a happy camper. Then Jess decided she was going to come along to explore the city for the weekend also! So we did what we've done best and got online to check out the train schedule and book hostels. We managed to snag on right by the Montmarte area just down from the Sacre Coeur basilica.

Since we had both already visited Paris on touristy trips (4 years ago for me) we decided to spend another long-weekend just relaxing and wandering...boy do I enjoy brief moments of that lifestyle in the midst of the rushed craziness of my usual life. We arrived Thursday evening and searched out the nearest Starbucks. Vitally important since we are so lacking in Grenoble. We then spent the night wandering around by the Moulin Rouge and checked out maybe going to a show....89 Euro?? Didn't happen. The cold was a bit of a shock since we'd been enjoying the mild temperatures of Grenoble, and walking around all day outside just aplifies the "chilled to the bone" feeling, so it was time for the ski jacket, toque and definitely shoes with socks!

Friday we hit up Starbucks again for a "Latte Caramel Noisette" (their Christmas special we don't have in Canada) and headed to Centre Pompidou. We voted against seeing the museums and instead just enjoyed the "modern art" architechture and went out in search of another Starbucks. We checked out the Sorbonne (only from the ouside due to security) and walked around the Latin Quarter in the afternoon looking in quaint bookshops and some jewlery stores. It was then that it started to SNOW....we were quite excited since this was the first snow of the season and we're in the romantic city of Paris....lacking men of course but that's okay. Our evening finished with a giant Indian meal and relaxation at a "tea house" near our hostel.

How did we start Saturday you might ask? Take a guess. Starbucks. I'm tellin ya, you gotta take what you can get while it's around because deprivation sets in fast when small cups of instant coffee are the only thing around. We met Charlie there since he had to come on a later train and took the afternoon to see the Tour Eiffel and walk along the Seine river, enjoying the fall colours and the sun that decided to finally peek through the clouds. We ended up at the Champs d'Elysee where we got to experience something Canada is missing. A Christmas Market! They have little log cabins set up along the avenue selling crafts, scarves, waffles, crepes as well as food stands with giant woks of tartiflette, paella, hot wine, etc. It was a feast for my eyes and my stomach! All the trees were lit up with Chrsitmas lights and there was a ferris wheel, merry-go round and slides that were entertaining the children. It was picturesque and even better when Jess and I went back Sunday to see it in the dark. Saturday night we headed to Charlie's hostel for dinner, beer and cards and off we went to the RUGBY GAME! We had managed to claim the last 2 scarves for that rugby match earlier in the day and were pretty excited to show our colours while cheering on the Aussie team. Of course they whopped France's ass 61-16 final score. Definitely tops as one of the most awesome moments in my life. To end the day, Charlie and I met up with Jess and two girls we met at our hostel (one from Germany and one from Australia) and checked out an absynthe bar that had a definite punk atmosphere.

Sunday was our last day in Paris and we decided to get some much needed rest....which really, was a stupid plan because you never really get a good sleep in a hostel. Either way, we stayed in bed until 10, had a lunch from the grocery store and spent the rest of the day just going back to buy some things we wanted and chilling at...Starbucks. Like I mentioned previously, we also went back to see the Champs Elysee all lit up at night and headed to the train station for a 1st class trip home (they were all out of the other seats....we're too poor for that usually haha).

Needless to say the weekend was an absolute blast and I got lots of fresh air, no matter how cold it was. I quite enjoyed getting my full caffeine fix (as you can see based on the 5 or more visits) and spending time with friends. A la prochaine fois!

First Week

First? Yes, I'm about through my first full week in Grenoble since Jess and I returned from Spain last Wednesday. I'm going to try and catch up with this blog so I can be up-to-date on the information I post for you and the events will actually be current.

Well, once we got back from our Spanish gallivanting I really felt the need to relax, get established and start feeling settled in my apartment and in Grenoble. I still didn't know where anything was or feel confident in taking the tram so I had a definite need to discover such things before school started. At this point I can say I have been mostly successful and school still doesn't start until next Monday (Sept 20th).

First things first was food. I had gotten so sick of consistently eating out at restaurants and trying to find something that was decent priced, which proved to be more challenging than expected. Let me tell you that it is NOT a good plan to shop for all your apartment basics plus a full fridge of food all at once. Yes, I did think it was a task I could conquor and was later proven wrong. Friday afternoon Jess and I ventured out to Casino Geant (kind of like a Superstore). I later discovered this was probably the most expensive place to buy groceries but it was nice to be able to get everything at once and not have to search through numerous stores. Needless to say I piled my full shopping cart of groceries into 3 of those enviro-savvy bags (since they don't give you plastic ones). When you have laundry detergent, milk, dish soap, glass jars plus a jumbo pack of toilet paper this becomes a bigger load than you might think. Finally we waddled outside with our bags and realized it was pouring rain. Getting soaked was really not my concern since I was more worried about how I was going to carry my bags from the tram to my house (5 min walk). In the end two French, 19 year olds actually took pity on me, when I had only managed to walk 1/2 block in 5 min, and helped me all the way to my apartment and up the 4 flights of stairs. Thank you humanity! I have some faith in you again.

Over the course of the next few days I attended orientation presentations for school for a couple hours each day. Since I decided to relax a bit and not skip town for the second weekend in a row I ended up with a lot more free time. Some of that was spent doing more errands and some spent trying to get rid of a sore throat but I had a definite highlight. Saturday (Sept 11) the Bureau des Sports (Sports Club at school) had free tickets to see the FC Grenoble rugby team play right in town! I LOVE that they speak of rugby as casually and as often as we do in Canada about hockey or football. Tickets are cheap and games are easy to find. One of the presenters today even used a rugby analogy in class....that NEVER happens at the U of A. I am a happy camper.

Other than that I discovered that some movie theatres in Grenoble have smaller screens than there are in some Edmontonians houses and there is very little leg room while only 30 people or so fit in the theatre.

In a sense I'm anxious for school to start but I guess thats mostly to know when my exams and assignments are due so I can get planning my weekend trips. The task right now is to try and find accomadation in Munich for Oktoberfest. Kind of had to wait until I had my school schedule just to make sure I could manage the trip but now everything is booked or $200 a night or more.

Note: If you notice a lack of photos posted on my Facebook it's because my waterbottled flipped and opened in my purse on my way to the rugby game...and my camera did not survive. I can turn it on and have access to my images and can take a few but many of the functions don't work properly. I'm hoping to find a way to fix it or else I'll have to suck it up and buy another (even though they're more expensive here than in Canada) because I won't last another 14 weeks without one.

Hope you all are enjoying at least some of my ramblings!

Official

I'm pleased to report it is officially legal for me to live and study in France. My trip to Vancouver was successful, and tons of fun, and the French Consulate gave me my student visa on the spot. It's nice to have that stress over and done with because there's not really anything major I have left to do from this point until I arrive.

As some of you know I am a list person. Thus, I have multiple lists on the go so I dont forget anything; lists on email, Word, paper, stickies, in my mind and in my folder of France documents. You'd think that many lists would actually make me more confused, but somehow it all works out and I keep track of all things necessary.

Also, I've started packing already. Yes, I'm fully aware there are still 28 days until I leave but I figure this way I'm less likely to forget anything or not be able to find things I need when I'm desperate to pack. There's still lots to figure out such as how I am going to pack few enough items that it won't cost me a small fortune in luggage fees to come home in December. As well, I'm hoping to play rugby with "Les Givrees" women's rugby in the fall which means I'll be bringing most of my rugby gear with me (aside from the warmer clothes I might have to buy there since I'm used to practicing in 20 degree weather rather than the zero degree mark). Plus I'll also be bringing along my snow gear for skiing and boaring in the Alps (if it snows early enough since the ski season in the Alps usually doesn't start until mid-December). All of the sudden my giant suitcase and a backpacking bag just don't seem like enough space...

Anyways, I don't want to bore you with the details running through my mind. Needless to say I am distracted by France. I dont think this next month could go by fast enough but at the same time I'm quite enjoying my summer and all the activities I've had a chance to do before I leave. Let me tell you that the longer a person can go before they start a countdown the better. I think I started a good month ago at least and it just makes time seem to go by so much slower.

I'm a little bit frustrated (being a person who likes to plan in advance) because we don't get our school schedule until September 9th. This means I don't get to start planning my weekend trips to far-away-lands until over a week after I arrive in Grenoble. This seems counter intuitive to me since you'd think they'd want students to be focused on the begining of classes and have planned their trips already during their summer and prep time rather than just as school starts. Maybe they just like to play ignorant to the fact that school is probably the last priority for many exchange students and that the tally of countries visited clearly takes presedence.

Alright well this has been enough rambling for now but I'll probably make another post or two before the departure date (August 29) depending how absorbed I am in tying up lose ends and seeing whomever I can before I say aurevoir to Canada!