Vous m'avez reconnu. Je suis la même et pourtant autre.

You have recognized me. I am the same, yet different.

La Semaine Dernière...

Les Photos:

1. Kevin and I on the terrace at Châteaux de la Chèvre d'Or in Èze Village; 2. Café de la Poste, Goult, made famous in Peter Mayle's "A Year in Provence"; 3. Gordes, a 2,000 year-old city in the Luberon, perched on a ridge of the southern slopes of the Plateau du Vaucluse; 4. A view of Mas Du Four (Chez Hugh and Susan) in the Luberon; 5. A view from the terrace of our apartment looking toward Cap Ferrat; 6. On the balcony of our room at the Welcome Hotel; 7. Sunning myself in the Meditation Garden at Èze Village; 8. Kevin, on Palm Sunday, at the beach at Beaulieu-sur-mer; 9. Avignon; 10. A view from our room at the Welcome Hotel; 11. A view of the coastal route we took from Fréjus to Cannes; 12. Kevin in front of the fountain near Place Massena in Nice; 13. Kevin enjoying moules (mussels) at a cafe in Villefranche-sur-mer, near the Hotel Welcome; 14. Kevin in Fréjus; 15. In front of the Hotel Le Flore in Fréjus; 16. The mairie (city hall) in Fréjus; 17. Kevin with a Volti woman at the Volti Museum in Villefranche-sur-mer; 18. Goult; 19. The remains of the castle of the Marquis de Sade in Lacoste (Provence).

It has been nearly three weeks since our return from France, and I regret that I am only now writing le dernier (the last) post in my blog...mais, c'est la vie! (but that's life!)

What a wonderful last week we had in France...We rented a car and had so much fun navigating the winding, hairpin, picturesque roads of the Corniches along the Côte d'Azur! Our first day with the car we drove to Vintimille in Italy for lunch. I spoke a little Fretalian there...we bought some limoncello and chianti and had some gelato before heading back to France. On our way back to Villefranche-sur-mer, we stopped in Èze. It was a beautiful, warm day. We hiked up the hill into the village and spent some lovely hours in the jardin exotique (exotic garden), and then had une bière froide (a cold beer) on the terrace of the Châteaux de la Chèvre d'Or. Oh, if I could save time in a bottle...

The next day we drove to Provence, about four hours from Villefranche-sur-mer via the A8. Wikipedia does a better job describing the driving experience than I could do:

The primary artery is the A8 Autoroute which stretches from the Italian border (there is an Italian Autostrada the other side) to Aix/Marseille. The A8 stays close to the coast from Cannes to Italy, west of Cannes it heads more inland with a spur down to Toulon. Between Cannes and Italy there are a number of "Penetrantes" - that is roads that penetrate inland from the A8 towards (and through) the mountains. Apart from the penetrantes and the A8 most roads are narrow, very curvy and hilly when inland and extremely crowded when by the coast. It can be very pleasant to drive these roads as part of a tour but if speed is required it is generally quicker to take the indirect route using the A8.
One additional feature of the roads of this region is that the builders seem to like roundabouts (traffic circles). This leads to two problems - firstly there seem to be a considerable number of people who seem unable to grasp the concept and do unexpected things such as reversing and secondly many of them are wrongly cambered which means that if you take them too fast you end up skidding off the side.
If you drive into Monaco you can in fact drive most of the Grand Prix circuit but do NOT try racing it - the Monaco police do not have a sense of humour. On the way to Monaco you can drive the roads where James Bond has exciting encounters with Russian secret agents and where Princess Grace died.

Once we arrived in Provence, we spent a delightful afternoon and evening with Hugh (my classmate at l'Institut) and his wife, Susan, at their beautiful home "Mas Du Four" (House of the Oven) in the Luberon. I felt, as I had many times in the past 6 weeks, as though we had stepped into a postcard. When we arrived (en retard - late) à la maison de Hugh et Susan, they told us they had already made reservations for lunch at Café de la Poste, and we promptly set off in their car for a delicious lunch. After lunch they gave us a tour of the surrounding villages, including Goult, Gordes, Coustellet, Ménerbes and Lacoste. Hugh and Susan were the most gracious hosts imaginable. We returned to Mas du Four and they showed us around their picture-perfect home and gardens, surrounded by lavender, olive trees, and cherry orchards. Later, after sharing a delicious supper that Susan prepared, complete with several very lovely bouteilles de vin (bottles of wine) from their wine cellar, they invited us to spend the night. In spite of the fact that we had all stayed up into the wee hours, Susan was up early the next morning preparing us a petit déjeuner (breakfast) while we slept in after a very restful night. And then we were off to explore a little more of Provence on our way back to Villefranche-sur-mer... (comment nous commençons à dire vous remercions au Hugh et Susan de ce jour merveilleux avec eux??)

We drove south and went to Avignon, and from there to Fréjus. Fréjus was the first place I ever visited in France, and I wanted to re-trace my steps. I was there in 2000 with my mother, Jennifer, Nancy and Fran, and I have such happy memories of those first days in France. We stayed at the Hotel Le Flore, and I remember dragging our heavy suitcases up several flights of stairs in that hotel! Mon Dieu! It was wonderful to go back to that beautiful town and re-live those memories...From Fréjus we took the coastal route to Cannes. What a magnificent drive! It reminded us of the California coastline, coming down from San Francisco, through Big Sur. We hopped back onto the A8 in Cannes and got off at Èze Village. I had been there several times in the daylight but had never seen it at night. What a magical view of this ancient perched village, lit from below...I will never forget it.

We spent our last two nights in Villefranche-sur-mer at the Welcome Hotel. The Welcome is located right on the waterfront. Our room had a balcony with a view of the bay, and in the morning, we looked out at the fishermen coming in with their morning catch...in the evening we looked out at the twinkling lights of Cap Ferrat...

On our last day we had our last French breakfast of pain avec du beurre et la confiture et café au lait (bread with butter and jam and coffee with milk) before the taxi came to take us to the airport in Nice. I felt such a joie de vivre (joy in life) for those six weeks in France, and so it was with grande tristesse (great sadness) that I said au revoir... I will always be grateful for that wonderful experience. I can truly say, j'ai vécu mon rêve (I lived my dream). À la prochaine...(until next time...)

Musique de guitare à l'Au Clair Obscur

Les Photos:

1. Patrice, Le Chef /owner of Au Clair Obscur in his Red Sox shirt (in our honor!);

2. Kevin, Julien, Stephan (mes professeurs at l'Institut), Patrice and, behind him, Raphael (a former professeur at l'Institut)

Last Friday, we had another magical evening at Au Clair Obscur (click on the blog title for a link to the restaurant). Shelley, our apartment manager and new friend, helped organize a group of friends/expats for a dinner together. There were about a dozen of us (expats, new students and former students from l'Institut, an American sportswriter/author from NYC), and others who came and went (including Aude, mon professeur). After dinner, Kevin had a great jam session with Julien, Stephan, Patrice (le Chef) and Raphael. They played some French music and some American music, and I only wish I could have recorded it..."Live from Au Clair Obscur"! We were there until 2:30 AM! Another wonderful evening in Villefranche...

Le Musée Océanographique de Monaco

Les Photos:

1. Moi, in the first (wooden!) submarine (designed by an American); 2. exterior view of the museum; 3. a view of the shark tank!

Kevin and I spent a wonderful afternoon in Monaco at le Musée Océanographique. The museum was founded in 1910 by Prince Albert I. The aquarium is considered to be one of the best in the world, and it is really quite amazing! It is situated right on the ocean, and it uses a system that pumps fresh salt water directly from the sea into the tanks. The museum is completely dedicated to the evolution of oceanography. Check it out at: http://www.oceano.mc/ Très intéressant!

Joie de Vivre!

Les Photos:

1. Menton; 2. street musicians in our neighborhood in Villefranche; 3. A view of the Bay of Villefranche while we were walking to the train station; 4. Kevin in Menton; 5. our last dinner with mes amies, Elizabeth, Vibike and Karen; 6. Fort Mont Alban; 7. Kevin and I at the summit of Fort Mont Alban; 8. a view of Villefranche and Cap Ferrat from the summit.

Kevin arrived in Nice on a spectacular, sunny Sunday afternoon, and we settled into our new apartment, Villa St. Remi on Avenue Gallieni. It is lovely! Here's a peek: http://www.holidaylettings.co.uk/photodisplay.aspx?home_id=27553

After settling in, we strolled down to the waterfront for un verre de vin rouge (a glass of red wine). Elizabeth happened by on her way to the beach to find beach stones to bring home to Australia for her children. Next, along came Aude, mon professeur, and we said bonjour, ça va? (Hi and how are you?). Shortly after, Vibike and Karen came strolling by! We all had a drink together, and then went to a nearby restaurant for dinner (photo above). As we walked to the restaurant, we spotted new friends, Shelley and Riccardo (our apartment manager and her fiancé), having a drink at the Welcome Hotel Wine Bar. http://www.welcomehotel.fr/anglais/index.htm We will by staying at the Welcome our last two nights in Villefranche...

On Monday Kevin and I hiked up the mountain so I could show him my school apartment and L'Institut de Français. We continued our climb up to the Moyenne Corniche. There are three corniches that run along the mountain to Italy http://www.riviera.fr/cornich.htm. From there we found the path that leads to Fort Mont Alban.

This fine example of 16th Century military architecture is located at one of the highest points in the city of Nice. Originally built as a point of defence for the region, at over 220 metres above sea level, for a long time the fort has been used as a viewing point for locals and tourists who want to experience some of the spectacular views that are available. In one direction you can see the whole of the city of Nice and the lower Alps, in the other direction a selection of pretty villages trailing off to the horizon.

The views from the summit were spectacular and well worth the climb (pant, pant!). Luckily, living on the mountain for a month was good preparation for the climb up!

On Tuesday, we took the train to Menton, a lovely seaside city near the border of Italy (previously mentioned in my blog about the citron festival there). It was a beautiful day, and we walked all through the old part of the city and along the beach.

We spent the last two days in Nice, in the old city and at the marché (market) to stock up on olives, cheese, nuts, and wine. We are living la vie douce (the sweet life) in Villefranche...

à la prochaine... (until next time...)

Au revoir... À bientôt!

Les Photos:

1. A view from the terrace at school where we spent our "pause" each day; 2. Matthew, moi, Karen, Diane and Tim on the terrace; 3. with Karen and Diane at the entrance gate to "Institut de Français"; 4. Diane and Karen at our last school dinner; 5. Vibike, moi and Elizabeth at the same dinner; 6. Our teacher, Aude, pouring champagne on the last day of school (remember they collected all those euros for language infractions??); 7. A view to Saddam Hussein's yacht in the Bay of Villefranche.

An interesting note... For two weeks there was a yacht moored in the Bay of Villefranche. I found out that it had belonged to Saddam Hussein. The yacht became the property of Iraq after Saddam's departure from power, and it was purchased from the state by a Jordanian. He is now selling the yacht, and it was moored here while en vente (for sale).

Is it really possible that I am already writing the last post from Institut de Français? I cannot believe how quickly the time flew. When I arrived at the Institut, I was amazed to find out how little French I really knew; after four weeks I am amazed at what I have learned (and, equally, what I have yet to learn!). They went à bride abattue (full throttle!) that last week. By Wednesday I realized I had had just enough. It was like that moment when you are climbing a mountain, just before you reach the summit and the last stretch suddenly seems insurmountable (Kevin is a witness to my actual mountain climbing experiences and so knows full well what I mean!). Once again, les professeurs balanced the difficulties...an easier session in the chambre de torture, a fun seance pratique (we learned to make Crêpe Suzette with Chef Nathalie), and a great last dinner out at Le Serre with our classmates and teachers. By the last day though, we were all ready to say au revoir to Institut de Français , but not to each other. More difficult than trying to learn a 1500 word vocabulary, more difficult than learning pages of verbs in every possible tense and all the (many) exceptions to all the (many) rules, the most difficult task of the past month was saying goodbye to the good friends I made here. School ended on Friday, and we had one last weekend together. Diane went back to England on Friday; Elizabeth returned to Australia, Vibike to Denmark and Karen to New York on Monday morning. Thank God Kevin arrived on Sunday and was here to hold me up for those final goodbyes to those very special friends. We had dinner together on Sunday night down on the waterfront, and I was so happy that Kevin arrived in time to share that last special meal together. I am optimistic and hopeful that we will see each other again, but like everything in life, it will never be quite the same...you can't go home again. So, it is with deep gratitude in my heart for this amazing experience that I say au revoir and à bientôt, mes amis...

Quoi de Neuf?

Les Photos:

The beach at Cannes in the first photo, and the restaurant on the beach where we had lunch (Elizabeth and Diane are on the far right); the train station in Villefranche; Galeries Lafayette at the Place de Messena in Nice; musicians at the Place de Messena; Eze; my class photo; class in "Le Grand Salon" at l'Institut; dinner at Au Clair Obscur with the class; one of my teachers (Julien, on left) and the chef at Au Clair Obscur; the parade at La Fête du Citron.

I left off my last post en route to La Fête du Citron in Menton. (http://www.feteducitron.com/) What a fabulous experience! We caught the train at 7 PM from Villefranche, about a 30-minute ride to Menton. Menton is the last city in France before you get to Italy. February is the month they celebrate the citrus, and what a celebration it is! The parade was magical...beautiful floats, all made of oranges and lemons, marching bands (the one in the picture is from San Remo, Italy), dancers, singers, fireworks, thousands of bubbles being sprayed from floats, catching and reflecting the light, heaps of confetti spilling from the sky all night...the children (and a lot of adults!) all had a can of silly string in hand, and we were all covered with it by the end of the night! By the end of the hour-long parade, the crowds had joined in with the parade. It was a "pinch me" moment... to be standing there, a part of the festival, looking out over the parade to the lights of the Italian coast...

Friday night our class went out for dinner together. It had been a particularly difficult day/week for all of us, and one of our classmates had announced she had to leave a week early so it was our last chance to all be together (we have truly bonded as a group). It was a wonderful evening...good friends, good wine, much laughter and some silly French and "Franglais" all mixed up together. At the end of dinner, one of our teachers, Julien, came into the restaurant and joined us for a drink. He pulled a guitar off the wall and sang us some French songs and some American songs (imagine Johnny Cash singing Folsom Prison Blues with a French accent). The fun really began when he was joined by the chef of the restaurant! Initially the chef was still cooking, but he leaned his head over the counter and joined in the songs...it was straight out of a Hollywood musical! He banged his pots and pans in perfect rhythm with Julien's guitar... When he had finished in the kitchen, he came out and grabbed another guitar from the wall and joined Julien, playing and singing for us. It was really something special. Yet another "pinch me" moment.

On Saturday Elizabeth and Diane and I went to Nice for some more shopping at Galeries Lafayette and a walk through the old city. The picture above from a window at Galeries Lafayette says "Quoi de neuf?" (What's new?). This is a casual French greeting used when you run into a friend... You might answer with rien de spécial (nothing special), pas grand chose (nothing big) or le train-train (the same old thing). It's a slogan being used at GL right now to signify what's new for spring...I had to capture the phrase for the blog because it's something we say to each other every day!We took the bus from Nice to Eze after lunch. Eze is another medieval city, built high up in the mountains. You can only travel into the ancient city on foot because of the narrow passageways. When I was in France in 2000 with my mom (and Jenn, Nancy and Fran), we went to Eze. We had also been to Nice that day, to the marché, and we had bought olives, a baguette, cheese and fruit for a picnic. We had our picnic on the way up into Eze, and it is a memory that is as clear to me now as if it happened yesterday. I couldn't help but feel another bittersweet pang when I was there yesterday...

Today we set out for Cannes. It was another beautiful day...the sun was shining, the skies were blue...but the public transportation on the Côte D'Azur was a nightmare! We waited for the 10:30 AM train from Villefranche...and we waited, and we waited...it never arrived. The schedule was changed on the marquee, and we learned there would be a 12:30 train. We went back into town and had a café au lait and then went back to get the train. We had a lovely train ride along the coastline to Cannes. After arriving in good time we had lunch on the beach at Cannes and then had a stroll around the old part of the city. We headed back to catch the 4:35 train to Villefranche...and we waited, and we waited...it never arrived. The marquee changed the departure time several times. We finally caught a bus back an hour later than planned...but it stopped in Nice unexpectedly and did not take us on into Villefranche! We had to walk to the bus station from the train station to find a bus back to Villefranche...we found a bus was leaving shortly...magnifique! Alas, it was cancelled and changed to a different bus at a later time at the last minute...and again, we waited, and we waited... By the time we got back to Villefranche, we were exhausted! C'est France, c'est la vie... We headed out for a glass of wine and a light supper, and thus ended our last weekend together in Villefranche...

Now the hour is late, I have yet to do my weekend homework, and tomorrow beckons... It is hard to believe the last week is here. I am relieved (the intensity of immersion learning has reached a crescendo, and I am ready to leave on a high note!); I am sad that this wonderful experience is drawing to a close; and most of all, I cannot bear to say goodbye to my friends here. I hope we'll see each other again... in France, Australia, Denmark, England or Cape Cod, but it is an experience that won't be repeated for any of us again in quite the same way. I will ever be grateful I have been lucky enough to have it.