A Few Hours in Town - The Sequel

I decided to take a walk today and was just going to stay in the near vicinity of St Léger du Bourg-Denis but once I was on the road, I decided to go into town instead.  I got off the bus at a plaza called St. Marc which is very close to my new place and walked down the street where I will be living towards the city hall gardens located right around the corner. I had brought my book along and was hoping I could find a nice place to sit and read for a few hours. I stopped into a bakery and bought a bottle of water and a brownie to enjoy while reading. I found a lovely spot under a droopy tree and settled in for a little while.  The brownie was not the best I've had but it was much enjoyed. Afterward, I went to an English bookshop that is also very near to my new apartment and I bought two books for 3 euros each. After a while I got cold in the shade but as soon as I sat in the sun, I was much too hot! Argh! Only thing is, who can complain when life's this good at the moment?

The view from my reading spot.

A Few Hours In Town

This morning I had a meeting with my new landlord in front of my new apartment to give him copies of a few things he'd asked for like my work contract and passport. Emilie drove us into town a little earlier so that I could withdraw some money at the bank and go to the post office to get a sort of money order for Monsieur Hache (Mr. Ax) since she advised me it wouldn't be a good idea to pay in cash.  Since we were a bit early for our meeting, we walked around my new neighborhood which is really lovely.  Right behind my street there are a bunch of little streets that are strictly for pedestrians and they are lined with quaint little restaurants and shops as well as a little stream that runs right through the street.  I found a landrymat about a block from where I'll be living which is really convenient and discovered a bakery on the same street a few doors down from mine.  M. Hache kept us waiting for an hour and we were quite annoyed although he was pleasant and apologetic once he finally showed up.  As he explained everything the apartment had to offer I mentioned the fact that there was no couch in the apartment and he said it wasn't a problem, that in fact he had one available that doubled as a small bed and he would be happy to have it installed before I moved in. Yeah!! One less thing I now have to buy! He also offered to have the internet/cable/and phone service installed so that I needn't deal with the hassle of doing it myself. Super! All in all, I was very happy with our meeting even though, in the end, I couldn't pay him since he didn't have a receipt on hand.

After our meeting with M. Hache, Emilie and I walked around the center of town looking for a place to eat.  We were in the mood for a sandwich and I wanted some fries.  I remembered seeing a little place on Monday that looked good and was reasonably priced so we went there. Emilie had a Kebab (a sort of Gyro, that's VERY good) and I had un Poulet Frites (a chicken sandwich with fries). Lunch was delicious. Afterward, I wanted to walk around and look for a yarn store but Emilie needed to go home. I decided to stay behind and take the bus later.  I walked around and checked out a stationary store since I'm looking for a new agenda/calendar. Too many to choose from, will have to decide later. Then I walked to L'Office du Tourisme (you can guess) and asked about a book on the city of Rouen with all the practical information one needs when visiting/living here. I was told the book comes out next week. Ok. Pas de problème, I'll come back later.  I also asked about a possible yarn store in the area and was directed to Phildar a little store that has a small yarn selection. I was pretty happy to find it but a bit disappointed to find there aren't very many yarn stores in the area. The US definitely outshines France in the knitting/crochet accessories/yarn department. Big Time!!

Here's a picture of the yarn at Phildar

 

Here are a few other pictures from my walk through the heart of Rouen. More to come later! 

 

This is what I see when getting off the bus coming back to Emilie's house. Can you imgaine living here?! I can.

How do you say ...?

Sometimes you have the words and you don't even know it. For example:

Rose: "What do you call the thing that's like a tray for cheese?"

Emilie's dad: "A cheese tray."

Le Foire à Tout!

Le Foire à Tout, roughly translated as a Free For All Fair, is a kind of flea market/swapmeet sort of event that takes place in various cities throughout France. People sell their used and unwanted items and there are merchants who sell antiques as well. Plus, there are tons of food stands where you can find things like cheese, bread, honey, sausages, and candy to name a few. Today I had the opportunity to go to the second biggest Foire à Tout in France. Emilie, her parents, and I spent the day there and I had a great time. We did a lot of walking but it was another beautiful day here in Normandy so it was a pleasant experience and I took lots of pictures to share with all of you.

The small town of Andelys is beautiful.

         There were tables and tables of antiques.                 

In the backgroud you can see the town cathedral.

 

Even here you have your standard icon posters. 

Obama is hugely popular in France.                                     

  A quaint little hotel.

  

The local movie theater.

  

The cars here are TINY! According to Emilie's dad, you don't even need a license to drive one of these. That's how small they are. 

Lots of yummy food!

The following pictures are of my purchases for the day.

 

As soon as I told Emilie and her mother I was looking for one of these, I spotted it at one of the little antique stands. The tag said 15 euros but when I asked the lady what the price was she said 4 euros! Score!

I spotted this aluminum poster when Emilie was looking at a Bob Dylan book. I was caught by the contrast of the 19th century portrait and the ever modern Coca-Cola. Kind of like Rose meets La France! I had to have it. Plus, the price wasn't bad, 3 euros.                                                                                                            

 

Emilie's mom caught me eyeing this little table set for vinegar, olive oil, mustard, salt, and pepper and told me it was on her. Too sweet. It's perfect for my new little apartment. 

My last purchase was this set of lamps. They are in perfect condition and will also go in my tiny place. The girl selling them, gave me both for 7 euros. Another deal!

So there you have it. My first foray into the flea market experience in France. Looking forward to more of them, especially since I'm always on the look out for a bargain on something I will only use for a year. I have a feeling the Coca-Cola poster will be traveling to the US, though!

Thanks for reading!

Never try to speak a foreign language when woken up from a dead sleep!

Since I'm still combatting the dreaded jetlag, I've been getting extremely tired during the late afternoon. The past few days I pushed through till bedtime but today I finally gave in and turned in for a nap. Emilie and Laurence had gone out for a bike ride and I was soon dead to the world. Some time later, the phone rang and although I ingnored it the first time around, I decided to answer it when it rang for the second time. I thought it might be Emilie trying to reach me. The following is a translation of the conversation that took place:

Rose (extremely groggy): "Hello."

Woman: "Hello, Emilie?"

Rose (confused): "No, it's Rose."

Woman: "Oh, Rose. This is Emilie's mother. Is she around?"

Rose: "Oh, hi, um, no she's not here. She and Laurence went, um, they went..." (how do you say bike ride?!)

Emilie's Mom: "Shopping?"

Rose: "No, they went, um,they went... on the bicycle!" (WHAT?!)

Emilie's Mom: "Oh, ok. Could you please tell her I called?"

Rose: "Yes. Thank you!" (Thank you?!)

Emilie's Mom: "No, thank YOU! See you soon. Goodbye."

Rose: "Yes, see you soon. Goodbye."

I don't actually remember hanging up the phone but I do remember the embarrassment I felt when I woke up and remembered the brief exchange. "They went on the bicycle."?! And then I thanked her. For no reason! (Groan) Geez Louise!!!

Eight years ago today...

As we now know, our generation's "Where were you when...?" question, pertains to September 11, 2001. For me that day holds a completely different set of memories and feelings than most Americans since I experienced it in another country: France. I had only been in Aix-en-Provence for a little under a month when I walked out of my school on a gorgeous September afternoon not expecting anything other than a pleasant walk home. A man came up to me as soon as I stepped out into the street and in French asked if I was an American. When I said, "Oui.", he stuck a microphone in my face and began to bombard me with questions on how I felt about what had happened in New York. Mind you, at that point in time I was long from being fluent in French and I was only able to catch a few words here and there. Words like, "planes", "crash", "towers", "New York", "Pentagon", etc., etc. When it was finally clear to this man that I had absolutely no idea of what he was talking about, he asked me if I had heard the news. Meanwhile, my friends who spoke even less French than I did, were frantically asking me what the man was saying. I told them it had something to do with planes crashing into the World Trade Center but I didn't believe the words as they came out of my mouth. Somehow I had to be mistaken. Alas, this was not the case. The man who I later realized was a reporter told me I should get to a television as soon as possible. We all ran to the nearest bar and the bar owner was kind enough to switch the channel to CNN in English. We all stood there and watched in horror at what looked like a movie. We were just in time to watch as the second tower collapsed on live TV. The next few days will forever solidify my belief that French people are lovely, generous, and kind. The school set up a dozen phones that were made available to us free of charge so that we could contact our families back home and on more than one occasion, I had people come up to me and tell me how sorry they were about what had occured in my country. Plus, the city of Aix held a city wide 5 minutes of silence for the people who lost their lives on that tragic day. So even if I sometimes feel left out of conversations where Americans talk about what it felt like to be in the U.S. with no airplanes overhead, a somber mood throughout the country, and the taping of curtains and windows, I'm glad that I was in such a country as France.

Vive La France!

So, I finally have a chance to sit and talk about my arrival in this wonderful country. As all of you know, I'll be here for a year and just arrived on Tuesday morning after one loooooong day of travel. I had two flights on United Airlines and at times I thought I'd never get here. The first flight was uneventful although, I did see Rose McGowan who was sitting in first class. The second flight which was the longer of the two was a bit more interesting in that we almost made an emergency landing when a woman who was sitting a few rows back from my seat began to hyperventilate. They called for any doctors on the flight and luckily there were three including a cardiologist. One of the captains/pilots came to check on the situation and I overheard him asking the doctor if she felt the woman needed a hospital right away. I never heard the answer but was a little nervous when soon after the seatbelt sign was turned on. We never did land and an hour later I noticed the woman was sleeping in her seat. So much for that.

Once I arrived in Paris, I had to wait for a while at the airport since my friend, Emilie, who was picking me up had a meeting at school that she couldn't miss. I didn't mind at all but was becoming extremely tired as the morning wore off and when we finally arrived in Rouen, I was practically dead on my feet. I went straight upstairs, took a much needed shower, and was asleep about 5 minutes later. I slept from 5pm to 8pm when Emilie woke me up for dinner. I had slept like a log. Later, I went to bed once again. I slept till 5am and since it was so early, fell back asleep till 9am. I thought I had the jetlag beat but it hit me again the following day (today). I woke up once again at 5am only this time I wasn't able to fall asleep and ended up reading till 8am when I was able to sleep once more. When I woke up, it was almost noon and I felt like I had a massive hangover complete with a headache and a nauseated stomach.

So far, the things that have struck me the most are the differences I see all around me. I'm not a stranger to this country but I'm still pleasantly surprised and interested in all of the differences I see. From the tolling of the church bells at 7am for about 5 minutes to the layout and product selections at the grocery store. As a matter of fact, stay tuned for a blog dedicated soley to the French grocery store. I tagged along with Emilie on her shooping excursion to the grocery store and since I had nothing to buy, I had a lot of time to observe and take in all of the goings on in the store. By the end, I was furiously jotting down different ideas on what to post about on my blog.

Today, I was able to open a bank account in one of the local banks and Saturday I hope to get a new cell phone. I also went to a rental agency to look for a furnished apartment and I might have found my apartment for the year. It's a bit small since it's actually just a studio but the location is awesome. It's in the middle of everything and I loved that I'm able to access everything easily. I have two bus stops right on the street, a park right around the corner, 4 different markets, and 3 grocery stores not to mention an English bookstore just around the corner. It's the first place I've seen and I don't want to make a hasty decision but I got a good vibe. It's a lot smaller than my apartment in Aix but I don't think I'll ever be that lucky again. Plus, it's a bit old and shabby but with a bit of sprucing up, I think I can make it a happy little home while living in Rouen. I have two other appointments on Saturday and Monday so we'll see what happens. This late in the year, there aren't a lot of options therefore, I can no longer be too choosy.

Anyway, that's the jist of what I've been up to these past few days. I had a meeting with my boss to go over some work stuff and she was very nice and accommodating. I got a bunch of paperwork, including my schedule, the keys to the office, and a card for photocopies. We have a meeting on Monday where I will be meeting my new co-workers.

This weekend, Emilie is taking me to a sort of local flea market. I will take some pictures so stay tuned.

In the meantime,thanks for reading!