Soooo cold.....

Yes, I may have mentioned the cold. I'm sure it feels worse because I'm not used to being out in it. The photo is one I took with the self timer. I'm not sure if you can see how well rugged up I am. I actually need a hat as well. I bought a beanie before I came over, but for some weird reason I didn't bring it. Perhaps it was a fear of helmet hair. It's the extremities that I need to protect - my feet, hands, nose and ears. Brrr!! But I prefer the cold to endless rain, so I mustn't grumble. And it is winter after all! :-)
My friend Louise is coming from Brussels to stay this weekend. Did I mention that? It will be great to see her, and be the host, showing her around Poitiers. We will go into Centre Ville tomorrow, and I'm sure the shops will be heated. And there are Christmas markets as well so it should be a good day. I think we are going to a concert tomorrow night.
Ian texted me this aternoon from Genoa to say that rugby practice had been called off because it was snowing. So it's around. The big question is - will I have a white Christmas? Wouldn't that be magic? Bing and I could probably sing about that....
PS Oooh, I just had a closer look at that photo, and I see that I have multiple chins. You must understand that it's because I am sitting in a scrunched up manner, and it has nothing to do with the tartelets du chocolat from the local boulangerie.

You won't believe this....

Well, I was going to give you a breather for a few days. But I had to tell you about my latest brush with bureaucracy! This morning I took my money to an office at uni - La Maison Des Langues - literally, the house of languages. I had to pay for the translation of my bank attestation which had been faxed from my bank in Nelson. I was in luck! I glanced down, and on the woman's desk was the original fax, and the translation. Wonderful. So I paid my money, which she carefully put into an envelope and then smiled at me. So I waited. She said, in French, "I will email you when the translation is ready." "But there it is!" I cried. "I will email you when you can pick it up. Friday, or next week." "But... but..." I stammered, pointing. She just smiled. Oh my goodness! What next?? Tres bizarre, that's all I can say.
It's very cold again today, but at least the heaters were working at uni. And are here too.
Tomorrow I am helping to mark an English speaking test at the Lycee.
Hilary asked me to take a photo of the frost from out of my window. Well, you can't see much, but for what it's worth, this was taken this morning. I don't even know who owns the car. Marie-Helene and Christian left this morning for a 10 day holiday in Senegal. Not that that has anything to do with the car, but I just thought I'd mention it! :-)
Au revoir. x

Cold weather and bus travel

Today's little story was going to be about the buses, but I must first mention the weather. Today was COLD! Brrr! I feel that I have never been so cold, but of course that can't be true. After all, I can remember spending the May holidays with Grandma in Alexandra when the water pipes froze. And I grew up in Dunedin for goodness sake. But I guess I have been outside in it today, and to really make things awful, the building we were in at uni this morning had a problem with the heating and it wasn't working!! With the temperature sitting at about 2.... It was miserable, I can tell you. I sensed snow in the air. We will see!
Anyway, buses. I am a daily bus traveller through the week, and I have a bus pass! How cool is that? In general the service is pretty good on weekdays, fairly good on Saturdays and almost non-existent on Sundays. Not too unlike NZ. Unfortunately, there is very little service at night for the area in which I live, which makes going out to things rather difficult.
When I get on to Bus #10 in the mornings, it is quite interesting. No-one queues at the bus stop or respects age or disability or any other prority. It's everyone for himself. I mean, at home no-one actually queues, but usually there is a bit of an unspoken agreement that the people who got to the bus stop first get on first, and there's a bit of allowance for this. Nah, that's for wimps. You push and make sure you are first on if at all possible. When I get on, the bus is usually fairly full. And you would be amazed at how many people put their bags on the seat beside them and ignore your obvious need to sit down. This morning I said, "Pardon," and waited for a young student to move her bag so that I could sit down. She moved it with a very audible French equivalent of "Hrrrmph!" She then spent the rest of the journey rolling a cigarette. People also sit on the aisle seat and make it extremely difficult for you to push past to get to the free seat by the window. The drivers are usually pretty good, and wait for people they see running to catch the bus. Although the other day we had a driver who must have had an argument with this wife or something, because he drove like a bat out of hell and actually missed one stop even though the button had been pushed. People yelled out at him and he just yelled back! But really that was unusual. There are always young mothers with pushchairs on the bus - I wonder where they are all going. So things can get quite squashed. Most people seem to have passes which certainly saves time. If you have a ticket you have to 'compost' it - put it into a little machine when you get on. On the way to uni I usually just watch and listen to people. On the way home I usually spend the time having conversations in my head about whether or not I will buy some bread when I get off. Lol! Important stuff!
Well, I just had a read of that and I agree that it won't go down as the most riveting stuff you have ever read, but never mind. Have a good day and appreciate the fact that it is almost summer in New Zealand!

24.11.08

Another little hurdle overcome today. I had my chest x-ray! In fact it all went quite smoothly, but I had got myself into a bit of an anxious state beforehand, picturing grumpy non-comprehending people, and them saying that I hadn't filled out the proper forms..... In fact that didn't happen, but I did get lost getting there. Sophie, my prof, told me that it took 20 minutes to walk to the Hopital de la Miletrie. Being me, I allowed 40 minutes. Which was just as well, as it was quite a long way away and took me exactly 40 minutes and a bit of panic when the centre de prevention des maladies respiratoires, Rene Beauchant batiment, didn't seem to be appearing. The grounds were a bit of a mystery as was the building I was in. But never mind. I eventually got to where I needed to be after asking a few people. I was actually on the computer and there were no administrative hiccups. (I assume nothing!!) A nice young radiographer took a photo and that was that. I then managed to get totally lost again on my way back out to the main road. I realised when I got back to where a helicopter was parked that I had done a grand loop. But I didn't mind as I didn't have a deadline to meet at that end. I then got a bus into town as I needed to go to the bank. My bank is right opposite the Notre Dame Cathedral (pictured) and something was going on there. There were heaps of people watching in total silence, and outside in lines were uniformed people just standing there - I assume to be a guard of honour. It looked like the police, but I couldn't be sure. Certainly there were lots of firemen - pompiers - there. And people with either rugby or soccer shirts draped round their shoulders. So I am assuming it was a funeral for a fireman who was good at sport. But I don't know. I will try to find out. I could have stayed but it seemed a bit intrusive.
Nothing much else to report today.

23.11.08

Yes yes, I will get back to studying about la cause, la quantite et le subjonctif! (We have a test tomorrow.) But I just thought you might like to see this little snap of my shopping bag after my grocery shopping this morning. Very French, eh? In fact there was no bread at the supermarket but fortunately la boulangerie was open so I was able to get my baguette there. There doesn't seem to be a huge amount of rhyme or reason with opening hours, although I'm sure there is. I just can't seem to figure it out! In the same way that I can't figure out why the bakery would be closed over the lunch hour each weekday. Apart from Mondays when it's closed all day. But there you go!
I was also going to mention the driving. Actually pedestrian crossings. The French see them as little white lines someone has painted on the road for decorative effect. (Horizontal graffiti, says Stephen Clarke in "A Year in the Merde.") You would NEVER step out on to a crossing assuming that a car is going to stop. Becase they just don't! And yet, you might be standing waiting to cross nowhere near a crossing, and a car will stop to let you cross. There may be several cars behind, but no-one seems to mind waiting. I think it's the French way of saying, "Actually, I make the rules here!" Kinda sweet. But scary on crossings!
Yesterday was quite exciting because a)I tidied up and rearranged my furniture and made a little space and b) M-H took me to second-hand place and I bought an armchair. I am in seventh heaven! and c) Therese and Jean invited me for tea, and they just happen to have cable TV, and so I got to see the All Blacks play. Yay!
Today was great too. I slept in a bit, fiddled on the computer and talked on Skype - (I am alison.kroon if you want to call) and I washed my floor as I didn't quite get that done yesterday! Then Roselyne came and picked me up and I went to her place for lunch. It was a rotten day weather-wise, but it was a lovely outing. Roselyne's neighbour, who lectures in English at the university, was there too with her very new little baby. It was a lovely meal and a very pleasant day. People are very kind.
A bientot.

samedi 22 novembre

Just a couple (three actually) of photos so you can see some of my French friends! I went to Viviane and Jean-Michel's last night for dinner which was very pleasant indeed. J-M speaks English, but for all that no English was spoken. They are determined to have me speaking French! I am still incredibly ordinary at it, but I was able to tell them a funny story about an adventure I had, and they all laughed, so they must have understood! (The Toilet Adventure, for those in the know!)
Jean-Michel is in the light coloured shirt and Viviane is the darker woman - the one not wearing a scarf. The other two people are Marie-Helene and Christian, my landlords, and also kind friends.
I took my camera to school yesterday and was going to take a photo of some of the kids. But then I felt a bit uneasy about that. What sort of privacy things should I be considering? Even if I ask them, is it still OK to publish their photos on my blog?
Today I am having a big clean up chez moi, and you would be amazed at how much rubbish I need to sort out!
I am using avoidance tactics here - I need to wash my floor!
Just a reminder of my address. Not that I'm begging for mail - although it can be interpreted that way! :-) - but just so as things don't go to my original host family. (Although all things related to my carte de sejour still go there. I can't even begin to think of the new dramas which could unfold if I told the good folk at the Prefecture that I had changed my address! Lol.) Anyway. 106 Route de Bonneuil Matours, Poitiers, 86000, France.
Go the ABs!

A few more photos.

A bleak sort of day here today. But there are still many leaves on the trees so it can't be winter quite yet!
I have booked to go to Al Ain (UAE)over the new year. Talk about Nigel No-Mates! I am fortunate enough to be going to Grenoble for Christmas, (thank you Jennifer, Andrew, Ruth and Murray) but was at a bit of a loss for new year. I think when one is away from home like this it's important to be proactive about going places. There's no point in sitting and waiting to be asked. So I have invited myself to go and stay with my friend Hilary's friend Sheryl, who lives there! Actually, I have met Sheryl, and we are friends on Facebook! So we are quite close really. Lol. I was a bit startled about how much the fares were, but as I think I have said, you either pay for travel or stay home, and this is my big chance! So it will be really good to see Sheryl and hang out with her, and to be warm as well. J'aime beaucoup being warm.
Oh, popping in that bit of French reminds me.... when we were in Italy, Louise made a pretty good fist of being understood in Italian. I don't know any Italian at all, and one night when asking someone on the train where we should get off, I found that I was asking in French!
I thought I would pop in a few more photos. The one of Louise and me at the Bogliasco Railway Station is one from Ian's collection. The two with me in them were taken on the Cinque Terre walk, and the other one is Ian and Louise in the main square in Bogliasco.
And looking at the photos makes me think - you know how people nick garden gnomes then take them round the world and send back postcards from the gnome to the owner? Well, I think that my Papatoetoe Intermediate jacket could have a blog of its own. It has appeared in just about all the photos I think! Travels of a School Jacket.
Anyway! Thanks for the Listener Les, and the papers Dorothy. Much appreciated.
Amities. xxx

Italy #6

Friday. The week was drawing to an end. As they do. Ian, Louise and I went to Portofino, playground of the rich and famous. We could have caught the train to Santa Margherita and then a bus to Portofino, but Ian had been there before and decided that he was confident about driving. So that was good. Louise and I were a tad anxious, as The Lonely Planet talked about the death-defyingly narrow road and we both had visions of plummeting down a cliff face. However, it really wasn't too bad at all. In the summer no doubt it is incredibly crowded which I'm sure makes driving tricky, but we weren't very high up and it was fine.
Portofino, as I said, is a very popular holiday destination. It really is a very pretty little village although it's quite small. I suppose most visitors sleep on their luxury yachts. As it's a hangout for famous people I searched for a glimpse of Paul McCartney but sadly didn't spot him. No, I don't know if he has ever been there, but he just happens to be a rich and famous person I would quite like to run into. In order to sing a duet, you understand. Actually, he wasn't the only missing person. There was no-one there at all! Well, the three of us and a very light sprinkling of other people. About 6. That's all.
We wandered round and went for a walk up to the castle which Ian says has really panoramic views. Sadly, it was closed. We then walked round to the lighthouse and marveled that OSH hadn't been there to put up some protective barriers! A big plunge to the rocks a long way below. I certainly wouldn't want to take kids there on a school trip! We then fossicked in the tourist shops and bought a few postcards and odds and ends. Louise and I also bought a nice poster each and mine is now on the wall just above me as I type. We went into a shop full of original paintings and I totally fell in love with a very large painting by an artist called Antonio Cargnel. The woman started showing a bit of interest when I asked questions about it. I doubt that it had been her busiest day ever up to that point. Well, it still wasn't, because of course I couldn't afford 5000 euros. But never mind! Portofino is full of designer boutiques - Armani, Gucci, etc etc. But understandably they were all closed for the season. Still, there is something very pleasant about going somewhere out of season. We had lunch in Santa Margherita, a nice town of about 10000 people and a favoured retirement spot I believe. It being lunchtime, and the off season to boot, there were no shops open. Foiled!
So that was our day in Portofino. Ian had rugby training in the evening, and Louise and I walked along to a local restaurant. I am always wary of saying things that are less than glowing, as it sounds a bit like a moan - 'Oh, it's not like New Zealand! And where are the chips?' But to be honest, it was just an average meal. With chips, in fact! But that's OK.
On Saturday morning we basically just pottered and packed, and then Ramiro and Maria, who were using Ian's car to drive to Turin to watch Argentina play Italy, took us to the airport. It was a glorious day - far and away the sunniest day we had had in Italy. When we flew out of Genoa (checking for bowls of spaghetti) and over the Alps, it was really quite spectacular. The connections were good and we didn't have to wait too long for our trains. And that was that. A wonderful week in Italy. Brian D tells me I am starting to enjoy myself too much and it has to stop. Lol!

Italy #5

........And on Thursday we caught the train to Milan. Tres elegante. We would have preferred not to have been accosted by gypsies when we arrived at the Railway Station, but there you go. We all make our living in different ways I guess. It was actually quite disconcerting - Louise and I were using the machine to get Metro tickets, and we were managing perfectly well. However a young man and young woman smothered us and attempted to 'help' and of course demanded money. I have no doubt also that they would have pocked our pickets too, given half a chance. But we managed to get ourselves out of that one. Thankfully.
Anyway, we got into Centre Ville and wandered round the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II shopping centre. Which is a very grand arcade. Just looking thanks. Do you know that tucked away in there is a 7 star hotel?? I had no idea that such places existed. I wonder what you get for the money? We then 'did' the cathedral which was lovely as they all are really. AND - we went up on to the roof! If you have the latest Lonely Planet - Italy, (or perhaps you could peek at a copy in Whitcoulls), you will see that the cover picture is of people strolling on the very same roof. Now I am no great shakes on heights, and it was raining, but it was OK! Great in fact. I just didn't look down. There was a little set of stairs which went even slightly higher but I didn't quite make that. However, I was pretty chuffed about it all. I was helped by the fact that you could go up in a lift and didn't have to climb rickety staircases.
In the afternoon we went on a bus tour which was great despite the rain. We retraced our steps a bit, returning to the shopping area and the cathedral but that was fine. Having a guide this time meant we found out lots of information. For example, there is a mosaic of a bull in the arcade. If you grind your foot into a part of him where it must hurt, you get good luck. Great! We also saw the La Scala opera house and went into one of
the boxes. People were reharsing on stage and I ached to go into the audience and watch. It wasn't quite like Nelson's Theatre Royal, but there were definite similarities! It must be fabulous to see a performance there. After that,
we visited the Castello Sforzesco, a big red brick fortress in the centre of town.
And so to our main reason for doing the tour. (Which was very expensive!) We went to see Da Vinci's 'The Last Supper'. According to our sources, mainly The Lonely Planet, you have to book about 2 weeks in advance, or join a tour, all of which seemed to be at 9.30 am. We happened to find an Information Centre and by absolute chance discovered a company which did tours at 2.30pm. So that's how we came to be there. The painting is in an old refectory, and just getting admitted to the room it's in was an experience in itself. Into one holding pen, doors shut, wait a bit, move into the next area.... and so on. Anyway, we finally got in and I wasn't sure what to expect. I remember being decidedly underwhelmed when I saw the Mona Lisa, but seeing The Last Supper was fairly emotional for me. Just amazing. I have to confess that I didn't know that it had been painted directly on to a wall. So it is much larger that I had realised also. It is in a very fragile state due to old Leonardo having used the wrong sorts of paints, and poor care over the years, and I guess just plain old age. It also came close to being bombed in WWII. The colours are pretty faded as you would expect, but I thought it had a kind of radiance. Gosh, it sounds like I had some sort of Road to Damascus experience, doesn't it? Nah, but I'm so glad I saw it. We also talked to some New Zealanders there, who spotted the 'Papatoetoe Intermediate' on my jacket. It's always exciting to meet fellow countrymen I have to say. Oh, and I discovered a wonderful book on children's art at the shop nearby so am very keen to use it when I get back to school. (Quite a way off yet!)Well, I have always been keen on art but this had some new ideas.
So back to the station, and some relief at the absence of gypsies. However, what we did find was a group of students
protesting. The station was crawling with riot police and soldiers -
very unnerving, but we got away OK, although late enough to make us
miss our connecting train. We had to lurk around the Genoa station
with the homeless people for a while! Railway stations are not the gretest places at night I have to say.
So that was our day in Milan. Umbrella Sellers lurking everywhere, gypsies at the ticket vending machine, protestors demanding smaller class sizes - well, fair enough!- armed police; but we still got a great impression of the place. I could happily go again. Next time I would like to shop and stay in the 7 star hotel! Lol.
The photos pretty much speak for themselves. Two taken on the cathedral roof, one taken out of the tour bus window, and one of me getting some good luck. Of course you couldn't take photos of The Last Supper, but naturally one chap did. The guard happened to be reading her newspaper at the time. Oh well..... Oh, if you are interested, you could google The Last Supper. It's interesting to read all the theories about the painting. I didn't know all that stuff before.
Au revoir.

Italy #4

Well, I was going to write a chapter a day, but I have done my homework, I don't have a TV, I have checked my bank statements, so what the heck. Here goes with the next episode. Wednesday, and Genoa. Genoa, according to the Lonely Planet, has a population of 604,800 and I have no reason to doubt that. It also says that when people first see Genoa they are reminded of bowls of spaghetti piled high. Well..... I'm sure there is a vantage point somewhere where one can verify that. I looked hard when I flew out but still didn't quite spot it, but never mind!
Anyway. Genoa was founded in the 4th century BC and was an important Roman port. It still looks to be an extremely busy port, actually. Genoa was the first northern city to rise against Nazi occupation and the Italian fascists during World War 2, liberating itself before the arrival of the allied troops. I didn't know that and I think it's really interesting. Genoa's most famous son was Christopher Colombus. There is some debate about whether he really was from Genoa, but regardless, his old childhood home is there, and we looked through it!
So back a bit. We decided to have a 'local' day on Wednesday, and as Ian wasn't so busy with rugby stuff that day he came with us on the train into the centre of the city. Basically we just mooched around walking round the streets - some very narrow indeed. We looked through the cathedral, which is rather lopsided, as they ran out of money and couldn't afford to build the second tower. It's quite an interesting looking place in black and white checks. Or is it stripes? I can't remember. We saw Chris's house, as I said, and as it rained for much of the time we also played, "Let's fend off the Umbrella Sellers" again. We saw Genoa's Arc de Triomphe, which is probably spelt differently. And we saw the gardens which show Colombus's 3 ships. Kind of a floral tribute.
I was quite taken with the woman singing (in the photo) and it just seemed to me to be a very Italian thing. It may not be, but she was singing an Italian song and playing the accordion and I thought she was just great. The graffiti that you can see was not so great and I'm sorry to say that it was everywhere in Italy. Really disappointing and somehow surprising.
Also you can see me outside the black and white cathedral, and Colombus's three ships. Wasn't it brave to go exploring in those little ships, with no fresh food after a while, and the ever-present risk of falling off the edge of the world?! My intrepid high seas adventures have been limited to the ferries and the Earnslaw, really. Anyway, back home on the train again and that was Wednesday. Another goodie. Stay tuned.

Italy #3

And so to Tuesday..... Louise and I decided to take the train to Pisa, which involved a bit of doubling back as Bogliasco isn't big enough for all the trains to stop there. But that was OK and off we went. On the way we met a lovely young couple from Hawaii who were in Italy on their honeymoon, and who said they would be very happy to feature in my blog, and were keen to see it. So hi there, Laurie and Jeff! Here you are!
Pisa was great. Seeing THAT tower was a bit like seeing the Eiffel Tower for the first time. It fair takes your breath away really. Hard to believe it was real. We decided not to climb up it but enjoyed just wandering round the area and checking out the kazillions of street stalls. And when it started raining, fending off the hordes of Umbrella Sellers. Where do they come from? They just appear as if by magic. Anyway, we managed to squeeze in a little bit of shopping too, oddly enough, and in fact ran out of time so had to buy McDonalds to take on the train. Which I might add I nearly had all to myself, as Louise hopped on a train to see if it was ours and the doors started to close and she got off just in time! I had the food but she had the tickets! Lots of things to laugh about afterwards. It was a good day. The photos are of the wonderful Leaning Tower of Pisa, including one of me trying to straighten it up. There is also a picture of Louise at the railway station and one of Laurie and Jeff. You know, I'm surprised that more things don't lean. When you consider all the magnificent buildings that were erected way back in history without the advantage of modern technology; well, they did a brilliant job every time! Apart from once in Pisa of course. Lol.
A bientot.

Italy #2

First of all I got my uni exam results today. No great surprises. Reasonably good marks for written stuff and average marks for oral. Oh well.....
Anyway, back to last week in Italy. On Sunday we (Ian, Louise, Ramiro, Maria and I)went to Cinque Terre. We went in a slowly trundling train to La Spezia and then worked our way back. Cinque Terre is a World Heritage Site and a National Park. It is a series of 5 higgledy piggledy and very cute villages clinging to the cliffs around the coast. For centuries the locals have eked out a living here, growing olives and grapes in the terraced and drystone walled vineyards. In fact, if the land wasn't worked it would quite literally slip into the sea.
There are walkways of varying lengths connecting each village. We just walked from Riomaggiore to Manarola. To do the whole walk takes about, I don't know exactly - about 12 hours. We might possibly have walked to one more village, but in fact the next walkway was closed due to a slip, and timewise what we did was just right. It was a beautiful walk, but I'm glad we didn't do it in the summer. I wouldn't want to be jostling for position on those paths! We were able to amble at our leisure and enjoy the views. The seat I am sitting on is a lovers' seat, and people bring along padlocks and lock them and throw the key into the sea. So I was probably supposed to be sitting there with someone, but never mind. I didn't have a padlock anyway!
I know that my photo of a sunset wouldn't necessarily win any prizes, but I think it's great - the sun setting over the Mediterranean! Stuff of dreams for me.
On Monday we slept in a bit and the trains were on strike and the local village shops and museums were shut, so we just pottered around really. Italy #3 will tell you about Tuesday in Pisa!

Digression #2

And pics of gorgeous houses were requested. I was quite taken with the way that trompe l'oeil was used on so many buildings. It was really impressive, and kind of beautiful and tricky at the same time.
(For anyone wondering, here is the Wikipedia definition: Trompe-l'œil, which can also be spelled without the hyphen in English,[1] (French: "trick the eye", IPA: [tʁɔ̃p lœj]) is an art technique involving extremely realistic imagery in order to create the optical illusion that the depicted objects appear in three-dimensions, instead of actually being a two-dimensional painting.)

A digression.

This isn't quite Italy Part 2. It's a picture of a squirrel as requested by Hilary. She also wanted Italian rugby players. Well the best I can do is Ian, a Dunedin born Italian club team coach, and Ramiro, one of his players. He is actually Argentinian but I don't think we should hold that against him! Also in the photo are Louise, and Ramiro's fiancee Maria. Ramiro and Maria both speak English, and Maria is also fluent in Italian. Aren't some people clever? I wish I had pursued the languages thing when I was younger.
Hold on for the next instalment.....

Italy #1

Here I am again. I arrived back from a week in Italy at 7.00pm tonight - or should that be 19.30? I'll write about it bit by bit, otherwise you'll get sick of reading it all. This way you can take a break and you'll know where you're up to. So here is Part 1. It was a bit like a dream really. I've been briefly in Italy once before, but it still was just amazing, and there was always a sense of "Am I really here?" I left Poitiers on the train last Friday afternoon and met Louise when the train arrived at Charles de Gaulle airport. Now I knew that it was a big place, but when we found the shuttle bus to take us to Terminal 2G I didn't realise that we would be driving for about 10 minutes - practically to another town! Anyway, off we flew to Genoa and it was great to see Ian when we got there. (My brother, for anyone who doesn't know that.)One of the rugby chaps had driven Ian's car there and also took us back to where Ian lives. Which is in a little village called Bogliasco. In fact it's probably part of Genoa City, but I couldn't be sure of that. Genoa and the area nearby seem like a string of beads, with little villages and larger towns stretched all along the coastline.
On Saturday we slept in for quite a while. I don't know whether black out shutters are a good idea or not! Then we walked around Bogliasco,which is right on the sea front and just lovely. It seemed very authentically Italian to me. And to think I was looking at the Mediterranean Sea! We also walked along a coastal pathway to another little place called Nervy. All very picturesque, and I saw squirrels in a park! That night we caught the train into Genoa - Brignole Centrale station - and met one of the players from the rugby team. A very nice young man called Marco who spoke beautiful English. We went to a pizza place where a room had been booked to watch the All Blacks v Ireland. It was apparently the first time that the TV there had been tuned to rugby! Incidentally, all the young men from the rugby team were good looking and immaculately dressed - they all looked like North Canterbury farmers' sons in fact!
And as you know I'm sure, a good win to the ABs.
When it was time to leave, we discovered that the lovely balmy evening had turned to custard. Well, not actually custard, but torrential rain. We had no choice but to run through it to the station, which was a wee way away. We got utterly soaked to the skin, to put it mildly. And it brought out the first of the Umbrella Sellers we saw on the streets every time it rained after that. They were everywhere!
So we got home tired but happy. And very wet! The photos are of me by the sign saying not to bring your trumpet into Bogliasco, and one of Ian and me on our walk round the seafront. Sorry that Ian has his eyes closed - it must have been mid-blink. I will find one with his eyes open for a later bulletin! And I will put in one of a squirrel if requested to do so! :-)
So that's all for Part 1.
Happy birthday dear Hayden for the 16th. xxx

Two down.....

I had my first written exam yesterday and then the oral exam this morning. Yesterday was OK. Actually, the oral thing went better then I had expected, but all the same it is definitely my weak spot. But we will see. Two more exams tomorrow. Including listening comprehension. Aaagh! I can't understand what people are saying in English if they don't Project Nicely, so you can imagine my problems with French! Lol.
I meant to mention also, re my you-know-what - at the Prefecture they wanted to have details about my parents. Now I can understand that to a large extent - most people applying for this thing are students, and probably young. But it still seemed bizarre filling it all in. Dad was born in 1918 and Mum in 1924, and they both sadly died more than 20 years ago. It would be difficult making contact. Oh well.....
The photos are a couple of views - inside and out - of my studio. What you can see there is pretty much my kitchen shelving in total. I am getting used to shopping more often, because of a lack of storage and no freezer, but sadly am eating too much white bread. (With lovely crunchy crusts!) Because that's what one tends to buy when just popping in to the boulangerie or supermarket.
Thanks again Les for the Listeners which arrived today. I've always said that it's the small pleasures in life that give it meaning, and I think that's true. Although in fact getting mail here is really a rather large pleasure!
It's raining steadily here today, but it's not as cold as it was in Paris.
Yay for Obama!

L'administration francaise

Or another title could be - "Carte de Bloody Sejour". Aujourdhui, apres midi I went to the Prefecture with Marie Helene. (I seem to have lost my accents.) Anyway. First of all I went and had more photos taken, and they were the best so far! Incroyable! Off we went and lined up in a queue. We then got given a scrap of torn paper with a 5 written on it in felt pen. Well, a bit homespun, I thought, but at least I know I'm number 5. But no, what the little paper was for was to be exchanged for ANOTHER piece of paper with another number on it! Woo!
At last it was my turn. Sadly, I got the young woman who had come top in her class of Being Unfriendly to Strangers 101. No, the new power bill we had from my host family wouldn't do. (To show they lived there.) It was over a month old. (I couldn't even DREAM of telling her that I no longer lived at that address!!)No, she didn't need the photos that had been asked for in the letter. OK. One problem seems to be that they don't accept that I'm a student. Students are young. I am a visitor. I expained exactly what I was doing in France, and it was backed up by letters from AFS. But she couldn't read English and anyway, she didn't want to know. In good French style a few of her colleagues gathered round and there was an animated discussion. Thank goodness for M-H who kept trying to put forward my point of view. The other problem was money. I had been asked, before leaving NZ, to provide a statement of my bank accounts which I did. I am not rich, but have enough there to live on. And my salary is going in regularly. But no, the statement wasn't in French. And it was no good to them because it wasn't in Euros. No, I explained, we don't use euros in New Zealand. We have dollars, and they are worth about half a euro each. She looked very suspicious again. Well, she said, I had to provide an attestation from my bank, and it had to be in French. I said that I didn't think anyone in my bank spoke French, as not a lot of people in New Zealand did. She gave me a REALLY hard look when I said that. I suspect that despite working at the Prefecture with Cartes de Sejour, she hadn't heard of New Zealand. Honestly, I am trying so hard to make this work well, but talk about things conspiring against me Trev! Anyway, after a coffee and some chocolate - the chocolate shops here are pretty wonderful! - we came home and I have emailed the bank and we will see what happens next.
Incidentally, as we walked back to the bus, we went into a shop called Serge Blanco, which is sort of like a Canterbury shop. When the chap discovered I was from New Zealand he raced out the back and got a kids' dress rugby shirt with New Zealand on it, to show me. (I could just see the wee boys in it Jane.) He said there is more demand for New Zealand gear than any other sort. So it was nice to know that. Not everyone thinks it is a place I have invented in order to sneak into France illegally!
Well there we are. My first exam is tomorrow. but the real test is seeing where I get with the Prefecture!
Au revoir.

Paris

I wrote this yesterday - Saturday. I won't bother going through and changing the yesterdays and todays. And the good news is - I am finally on line! And my phone, which i thought was working but wasn't, should be OK by tomorrow. It's all very exciting. Let me know if you have Skype - so far I only have one contact! The photos - the one of Elizabeth W, Colleen, Tim W and Tim I think gives a sense of just how cold it was. The street scene is showing our hotel on the Rue Diderot. Well, the sign saying Hotel, at least!
Today is Toussaints – All Saints Day. It’s cold and windy in Poitiers, and it was wet overnight. But I guess it’s the last month of autumn so only to be expected. And that of course means that winter can’t be too far away. As I mentioned, I have been on holiday and yesterday I got back from a couple of days in Paris. I have to say that Paris was VERY cold, and at times very wet too, but it was lovely.
So, last Tuesday I got the bus to the railway station here, strangely enough arriving far too early. There are other qualities which Mum had that I would have preferred to inherit, but it seems that I am stuck with a thing about being early. Anyway, I had a very pleasant trip. I was sitting by a lovely young girl from La Rochelle who was off to visit her boyfriend in Germany. She doesn’t speak German and he doesn’t speak French so they communicate in English! She was just delightful. I had bought Paris Metro tickets in Poitiers and was planning to get to the Gare de Lyon that way. But she organised me on to a Number 91 bus which was direct and far less complicated. And indeed, about half an hour later I arrived at the Hotel Helvetia, which is about a block away from the Gare de Lyon (station). And checking in at the same time were Tim and Elizabeth, my lovely neighbours from Auckland. It was soooo good to see them. I could have cried with joy! It’s actually only been 2 months since I did see them, but it seems like so much longer than that. They have been travelling around with friends of theirs, Colleen and Tim, and it was lovely to meet them too. That night we went out for a meal at a wee café we found round the corner. It had a great atmosphere and good food. On Wednesday, after a breakfast at the café next door to the hotel with a waitress who let the side down somewhat, we headed off for the start of our adventures. Firstly we walked to Notre Dame and had a look inside. [Did you hear the one about the Hunchback of Notre Dame, the bell ringer? He missed his timing one day, the bell hit him and he tumbled over the parapet. “Oh dear”, the crowd said. “Who is that?” “I don’t know, but his face rings a bell.” (It gets worse.) Anyway, they needed a replacement so his brother applied and got the job. All went well for a while until one fateful day when exactly the same accident occurred. “Oh dear! Who is that?” “I don’t know his name but he’s a dead ringer for his brother.”]
Anyway! To move on…. Then we did the double-decker bus thing. I had done that two months ago, but it was actually really good to do it again, as I forget things quite readily, and also I picked up new things. BUT…….. It was C O L D!!! My fault for sitting up top I guess, but the view is so much better there. At least it wasn’t raining. After lunch, Tim went for a bit of a run, Colleen and Tim went to the Louvre, and Elizabeth and I went to the Musée d’Orsay. Well! How wonderful was that? Just fantastic. I have got a bit of a thing for Monet and to see so many of his original paintings…. It just took my breath away. One of my favourites is Regatta at Argenteuil, and there it was! I know that most of you have probably been there so I won’t rave on, but it was just great. We didn’t see everything, and in fact missed an exhibition of Pastels which no doubt would have been great to see, but in fact there is only so much you can take in. And I was pretty happy.
Oh yes, while I remember…. We were looking at paintings done by some guy on the footpath outside the museum, when this young girl came past and picked up a ring off the footpath. She showed it to us and made a big fuss about it being gold and how much it would be worth. “Ooooh” I said. “You had better take it to the Police.” She then tried to give it to me, and then asked for money to buy a coke for having done me such a big favour. I had been fairly naïve up to that point, but it then became quite apparent that it was a trick! So I forced it back on her and wondered how many people they duped with that. As I’ m sure you know scams like that are a bit of an art form in some big cities. The beggars are quite distressing, and you never know how genuine they are. Tim was waiting for us one time at the Metro entrance near the Arc de Triomphe, and he was watching a woman lying on the ground, whimpering, with her face covered and her hand out for money. While he was there she popped up and perkily had a coffee that an associate had got for her.
The meal that night at another restaurant we discovered, was even better than night 1, with a delightful waitress. Great stuff.
On Thursday morning, after discovering that the waitress next door still hadn’t cheered up, we headed off on the Metro to Montmartre. Colleen and Tim hadn’t been to Paris before and I thought that the Sacre Coeur and Montmartre came into the ‘must see’ category. (Me being so knowledgeable, having been to Paris twice before, for the long time in total of about 3 days!) Anyway, we got accosted again, this time by some chaps from Kenya doing those plaited bracelets. In fact, it’s assault really, the way they grab you and just start plaiting. I was insistent that I didn’t want one, but my chap told me it was free! Well, he wasn’t very happy at the finish when I gave him €1 only. He wanted €10!!
I really like the Sacre Coeur cathedral, or church or whatever it is. It’s kind of quirky. We had a good look round then walked over to the Montmartre area and hung out in the souvenir shops! I make no apology for that – I loved it! In fact I only bought a scarf and went in with Colleen and Tim for an apron for Elizabeth, whose birthday was the next day. Another thing I love is looking at the artists. Despite the freezing cold and impending rain there were quite a few there beavering away. (And wanting to draw you, or cut out your silhouette. Now what would I do with a silhouette of my head??) Colleen bought a lovely painting but I managed to restrain myself. We had lunch there and a chap was playing the piano – perfect!
We then walked round to the Moulin Rouge, using my local knowledge. Lol. I just had a feeling I knew where it was, so I was pretty relieved when we found it. A few photos later, we hopped on the Metro again and went to the Champs Elysées. We just wandered down one side and up the other, (a bit like Friday nights in town in Dunedin in the 60s). But it was good to do that, and it’s something I hadn’t done before. It was raining quite a bit by then, but we decided to go to the Eiffel Tower anyway. We hopped on a red bus as our tickets were good for two days. In fact I had left mine in my other jacket pocket but clutching the headphones did the trick! It was now very, VERY cold, very wet, and getting fairly dark. Tim W was really keen to walk up the steps of the tower. I know it would have been great especially with all the lights coming on, but no matter how hard I try I just can’t do heights. And certainly not when you can look through the stairs and see way down below. Aaagh! I’ve been up the tower before so wasn’t really missing out, and Elizabeth kindly waited with me while the others went up. I could have waited in the lift queue but it was raining and it was in the open. Anyway, it was great for Colleen and Tim to go up. So back home on the Metro and after a hot shower and a few drinks and nibbles, we went and found another restaurant. The meal was superb. I think our evenings out were a real highlight of the trip!
So that was pretty much it. The others left the next morning after breakfast – in the hotel this time – and it was sad to see them go. I found an internet café and checked my emails, then went back to the hotel and packed up and went to Montparnasse Station on Bus 91. And as the bus pulled up I happened to spot a large shopping mall! Fancy that. So I was trundling over towards it when I suddenly became aware of a guy bending down beside me, and picking up….. you guessed it – a gold ring! He started the patter – Look what I’ve found, it looks like it’s gold etc – and I told him as clearly as I could to Go Away! I could hardly believe that it happened two days in a row!
An OK trip home and that’s it. I had a really enjoyable time. Today I have done some washing, and grocery shopped, and I did the Listener crosswords from the two Listeners that Lesley had sent and were waiting for me when I got back. Lovely! Tomorrow I must do some study. Although what I really need is some conversation practice with someone.
Until next time! xxx

Red Tape

Well, I had a long piece written and saved on to my memory stick about my lovely time in Paris. It will have to wait. I am just gutted - I have just received a letter from the Prefecture about my Carte de Sejour. I need more photos, more evidence that I have money in the bank, another letter from my hosts as proof that I live there and they do too.... all stuff that I have done before. And then I have to go in and take a number and wait. I have exams this week, but am free on Wednesday afternoon. Oh goodness, they are closed on Wednesdays. I am running out of time. My visa expires on November 16th, Hayden's birthday. You cannot believe how much I am over all this red tape.