Out walking.

Anyone out there.....?
Today I went walking with Anne and 3 of her friends - Micheline, whom I met on the last walk, Collette, and someone else whose name escapes me. I talked to her and she was very nice, but I just can't recall her name! We did the same route, but this time I managed to get a migraine about an hour into the walk. Rats! Zig zags and flashing lights and all the bizzo. It just makes you feel so stupid, because you don't come out in green spots. You just have to say, "Oh, I've got a migraine." Then of course we walked back and I felt pretty yuk and very leaden. Anyway, by the time we got back into town I could see again. But I now feel washed out as I always do after such things. I wouldn't normally bother to write about today, but thought I would post some photos. One of me in front of the amphitheatre which I mentioned last time, and I see I have my eyes closed. But I just wanted you to see the piece of history. (The amphitheatre - not moi.)And one of the walking group. My friend Anne is wearing the red jacket. There is also a photo of Anne and Collette in front of a fairly dramatic war memorial. "What war?" I asked. They replied with the dates - 1870 - 1871. "Yes, I replied. "But against whom?" "Oh the GERMANS!" they said. "It's ALWAYS the Germans." Which reminds me - Collette was telling me that in WWI the Germans shelled the cathedral in Reims (I think it was) every day for 4 years. Every day!! I can't think of anything to say about that. Unbelievable. And speaking of WWI - if you haven't read 'Birdsong' by Sebastien Faulkes, I recommend it. x

30 janvier

Yesterday there was a general strike in all of France, so I had no uni and no school. (Although I think some schools were open in other parts of France.) I was encouraged to go to the rally, but there were no buses, so that put paid to that idea. Apparently it was huge - the largest gathering of people seen in Poitiers, so the teachers were telling me this morning. (I don't know - I've been reading about Alienor d'Aquitaine, and she seemed to have fairly large entourages hanging around. Actually, the crusade that she went on with her first husband, Louis VII, King of France, invloved thousands and thousands of people. All quite expendable it would seem, as the crusades to the holy lands were just bloodbaths really. But I digress! :-)) I'm not sure that Sarkozy will take a great deal of notice of the strike, although he has apparently pledged to talk to the unions. They just love strikes here. The kids were asking me today what some New Zealand traditions were, and the teacher laughed and said that in France there was a tradition of Strikes!
Anyway. It is a really beautiful day today. There was a very heavy frost and now the sun is shining brightly. I was going to say it is just like a Nelson winter's day, but my Auckland friends might feel miffed. So I won't say that. :-) I know there was a frost because I could see it and I had to be careful where I walked when I left for school at 25 past 7 in the pitch dark. That's about when I leave for school in Auckland so that's not a problem. But it really is much darker here. There wasn't even any sign of that slight blue-ish glow that you see when the sun is shuffling forwards and is about to put in an appearance. But no-one mugged me on the way to school so that was good.
Today I was with an English teacher called Rose for the first time. She is lovely - one of those elegant people with short grey hair that looks good. Like my daughter in law Vanessa's mother Kay. I would let my hair go grey if I thought it might look good, but I suspect it would just look old! Anyway, she mostly works in the mornings so hadn't been able to "use" me last semester. (The teachers work a set number of hours per week - about 15. Most of them manage to arrange it so they get a full day off during the week. And some can manage to just work mornings, and so on. They don't appear to have staff meetings. I think in New Zealand we would put in twice those hours!)
Anyway, I talked with Rose's class of 19 and 20 year olds about New Zealand, and then took them two at a time for conversation practice. It was a double period - two hours. They were just lovely young people and I think I will enjoy working with them each week. The 6 girls I talked with today had very French names - not - Julie, Julie, Tiffany, Caroline, Sarah, and oh, Celine. Such nice young women. Most of whom are living with their boyfriends. The school system takes a bit of getting used to, and I have to keep reminding myself that at this level it's really like a Polytech within the Lycee. Anyway, I was then due to work with teachers Nathalie and Agnes, followed by Claudine this afternoon. Agnes came to find me to say not to worry - they were having a test. That was fine. Then Nathalie didn't turn up - she obviously had forgotten about me! So Claudine said it wasn't worth hanging round till 2.00pm for her lesson, and her class needed to catch up on some things anyway. So I came home! In fact I did my shopping on the way and just about pulled my arms out of their sockets carrying the groceries home. It's like doing weights. Only I can't whinge and say, "It's too haaaaard, Cherina!" I just have to lug the stuff home and that's that! I have to mention here that time after time au supermarche I have resisted "Le chocolat de Noel -50%" , telling myself that just because they are there I don't have to buy them. I discovered today that it's not true. Because they are there I DO have to buy them. I can thoroughly recommend La Truffe, Ecorces d'Orange Confites.
I really should do something deep and meaningful this afternoon, so I will eat a baguette with mousse pur canard superieur for lunch and think about it.

Possible useful information.

I had better get some of this written down ready - just in case. I don't want to be caught napping. And I certainly don't want to be yelled at again.

Place of Birth: Queen Mary Hospital Hospital, Dunedin.
Father's name: Gordon Snook
His father's name: Lawrence Snook
Blood group: RH O negative
Usual Hair Salon:Schnipps, Manukau Mall
Stylist: Lynette
Form teacher in the third form: Miss Prisk
Number that Carole Paterson and I spent a whole 4th form maths period practising to see who could write it the neatest: 5
Place I came in the left-handed writing competition in Room 10 in 1982 at Enner Glynn School: 2nd.
Names of the Boniface brothers who played for France in the New Zealand rugby tour of 1961: Guy and Andre (With a little French slant they just might want to know that.)
Club for the cool people at Palmerston North Teachers College in 1965 and 1966: The Folksinging Club.
Number of items in 'glory box' before marriage: 1 ('Pine' Crown Lynn dinner set. Quite nice. Bought from The Treasure Chest, George St, Dunedin.)
Length of time Bassett played in the first Golden Oldies soccer game in the Otago FA tournament in 1989: 10 seconds
Favourite artist: Claude Monet. (That should get me some Brownie points too.)
Favourite mall: Sylvia Park
The present I wanted most of all for Christmas when I was 5: A blackboard
Recording artist who sang "I Told Every Little Star" in 1962: Linda Scott
The time at which two trains would pass each other if train A leaves Station B at 9.15am and Train B.... nah. I would just have to give up on my C de S if they ask me that one!

That should be enough to be going on with, but please add any thoughts you have. You are probably getting a bit of an idea about how the Prefecture works by now. :-)

C*rt* d* Bl**dy S*j**r

Well, where do I start? There comes a point where it all stops being funny. This morning, as I had been instructed, I went to the Prefecture. I arrived bang on 9.00am and got a wee ticket. I was number 811. I waited for 50 minutes for my turn, but I was absolutely fine about that. I just watched people, and worked out which woman I hoped I got, and which one I definitely didn't want. Well, you know Murphy's Law, don't you.....? I got the rudest person I have met so far. I asked if she spoke English and she snapped that no, this was France and she spoke French! (She is working in a area where they deal with foreigners on a daily basis, but far be it for me to suggest how they do their business.) And that's fine; so she couldn't speak English. But wouldn't you think she could have spoken slowly for me? Nah! Don't be silly. She rolled her eyes, spoke aggressively, kept telling me I had it all wrong..... I just kept smiling, hoping that would do the trick. (Rhonda Dickson's mother told me that I had a smile like Elaine Miscall who was Miss New Zealand in 1963. I'm afraid it was not effective in this instance however! Darn!) Anyway, she wanted my bank attestation again, and I had it. But no, once again there was an insistence that it be in euros. I explained the whole, 'well, we use dollars in New Zealand' story, but she wouldn't budge. Why didn't I have a French bank account? I explained that I had decided that it was easier to just load my credit card account and draw out cash and use that. Which has been working just fine. Well, it apparently isn't just fine! I also said that as it was proving very difficult getting a carte de sejour I didn't need to go through another difficult process. She seemed quite surprised when I said that. Whatever could I mean? She also wanted to know where my Social Security card was. "Ah," I said. I was organised here. I was able to explain that I had been to the person at the uni who Knows About Such Things and I showed her my student card and where the social security card part was. WRONG! I am not a student, I am a visitor, and I had to get a social security card. "Where do I go for that?" I asked. SHE DIDN'T KNOW!! I also asked if I needed to have the chest x-ray that they were wanting, as I had one done in November. She didn't know that either and didn't care. Anyway, as my visa extension expired today she made me another extension. "Des photos?" she barked. Well Ian, thank goodness for that little Italian photo booth where I used up the extra credit and got some more photos taken 'just in case'. It meant I actually had some photos with me. Then when all was done from her perspective, I did the unthinkable. I told her that I had changed my address. Originally we had all decided that it would be easier to pretend that I was still living with Therese and Jean, but as they are often away and I sometimes get mail from the Prefecture I thought that I had better officially change my address. Well!!!! Eyes rolled, she shouted, she went and told the woman in the booth next door.... When did you move? Before Christmas, I replied. (Quite a lot before Christmas in fact!) So now I need to go through the whole business again of Marie-Helene and Christian showing power bills etc, which I had to do before.
So. I thought I did very well in that I only bought one small piece of chocolate on the way home. I called in to tell M-H about it all, and she was furious. To cut a long story short she has been on the phone to all and sundry and is currently waiting for someone to phone her back. It is almost at the point where I need to contact the NZ embassy. I actually think that the main problem today was the woman's rudeness. Is it really necessary??
So I now need to have another medical on February 4th, and possibly another chest x-ray too. We will see. I'm not sure what else I need to do, but I suspect that they may want to know my children's birth weights and the names of all the cats I have owned since 1973. Jacket, one that got run over in Marsden Road whose name I don't recall, Sally and Jessie. (Actually, you don't really own cats, do you? They own you.)

Le weekend a la campagne

Bonsoir tout le monde,
I have just got home after my weekend in the country. I met Sophie at the lycee where she is a sign language interpreter person and we have been for a couple of walks and kept in touch via email. (During the week. She doesn't have the internet or TV at her place!)Anyway, she invited me to go and have a restful weekend in the country so I did. It was actually a minor drama just catching the bus in the first place. The bus from here to the station was fine - I am a whizz at that now. But once at the station I could see no sign of where one catches the TER bus. I had looked on line but no clue there either. Anyway, I walked round, asked some people - who didn't know, then searched a bit more. I then asked the woman in the bookshop who directed me up some stairs and beyond the carpark...... Oh look, already this story is too long and it hasn't started!! Lol! Suffice to say those directions were wrong and finally I found an official looking person who gave me the right directions. And I finally found the bus station. Tucked away beside and behind the railway station and completely un-signposted. Crazy! (Also, Ian and Louise, my umbrella died during all of that rushing about in the horrible weather, mostly outside, and I had to put it in a bin. Where were the umbrella men when I needed them?)
Anyway, it was about a 40 minute trip to Chalandray. I couldn't see much as it was raining pretty hard. Sophie met me off the bus and we drove to her little village called La Joussamiere. With a total of 9 houses! Sophie would have automatic entry into the Green Party, and her house was just great - very Authentically French Country. In the real, as opposed to Gift Shop sense. (But don't knock the gift shops!)I had some home made soup for lunch and then we went for a walk as it had stopped raining and we needed to make the most of that! We just read and pottered round for the rest of the afternoon and evening. Also, I had a really sore back - I have been quite a crock lately - and Sophie who just happens to be skilled in that area, gave me a back massage. Which was very pleasant. But my back is still a bit sore. Oh yes, for a hottie last night I had two bricks which had been heating on the log fire burner thingee. Very effective!
This morning we went to a market in Thenezay, but it was so cold that there were hardly any stalls there. Sophie bought a few bits and pieces and we also went to the Charcuterie where she bought some Coquille St Jacques for lunch. Shrimps, scallops, mushrooms in white sauce on shells, and grilled. A very typical French Sunday meal, apparently. (As opposed to banana sandwiches which was a Kroon family Sunday lunch tradition! :-)) We went home via Chervre which is famous for its windmill, and also has a small castle from the middle ages which had fallen into disrepair but is currently being restored. It is attached to a church, and Sophie strolled in, with me tagging along, in the middle of a service! I felt most uncomfortable; it was a bit intrusive I thought. Anyway, we didn't stay long. We walked around the streets of the village for a bit, but the cold won in the end and we scampered back to the car.
After a lovely meal, accompanied by the rest of the NZ sauvignon blanc we had started the night before - (which, to be perfectly honest was a bit disappointing. And it had cost me a fortune at Dubai Duty Free. It was a bottle of Villa Maria Marlborough. I wouldn't recommend it) - we both had a nap! I was woken by Sophie tapping on the door saying it was 5.00pm and time for a cuppa! So I got up, and after the tea sorted out my stuff and we headed back into Poitiers. We were going to see a movie called Seraphine, which was set in France in the period 1914 though to the 1930s. It was based on a true story and was about a woman who was a, well, very working class person, I suppose, but who was also an artist and painted wonderful paintings a bit ahead of their time. She was a bit crazy, and ended up being totally so. It was a bit long and dragged towards the end, but overall I enjoyed it. I got the gist of it all right, but I'm sure you all would have. I also managed to understand some of the dialogue. I really should go to more movies.
So that was my weekend. It's still very cold, and Sophie assures me that February will be worse! The photos are of me in the village of La Joussamiere about to go for a walk, and Sophie bringing in the firewood.

Wonderful news.

It is 11 degrees today and the sun is shining!

On the edge of your seats....

Yes, I know you are dying to know how I got on at the Prefecture! (That's it in the photo.) Okay..... I didn't go! I met Guy at lunchtime and he had been talking to his new best friend there, who told him I needed a social security card as well as various other things, and I was to turn up on MONDAY morning with all the forms. She said I wasn't to worry - it was all going normally. Oh yeah?? :-) Anyway, Guy went with me to where he thought I needed to ask about the social security card. And that office was closed for lunch! This is a university! People need such places to be manned. Have they heard of rosters? Anyway, I must have looked very dejected, or as if I was about to cry. (The first one true, the second quite possible.) Because the very nice lady at the Accueil desk told us to go through the Closed Door! Another woman growled at us and said, (in French) "It's closed!" But our even newer best friend explained that she had invited us in! So we waited while the Kind Lady asked Someone Who Knows About These Things what I needed to do about the social security card. Well, it seems that I don't need one at all - it's all built in as part of the student card! But, but!!! A very unfortunate occurrence! I appear to have mislaid my carte d'etudiant! I will continue to search for it, but I confess that I don't remember seeing it since being back from the Middle East. It's no use saying "I don't normally lose things" because I think that was once true but in recent years I would have to say no longer applies. :-( 'Tis a sad sign of ageing! Bother. However, if I don't find it tonight I will go into uni tomorrow to the Person Who Gives People Their Cartes D'Etudiant, qui s'appelle Madame Henry. And to be honest I don't think it will be too much of a drama to get another one. I may also get a reputation for being flakey at the same time, but what the heck?! Some people must lead quite humdrum lives!

Stop Press! I have found it! Sadly in a bit of a scrunched up state and it has obviously been wet at some stage. Oh dear! But I will press it under some heavy books overnight and see if that helps. Sigh....

But wait, there's more.....

I'm on a roll here!
I've always said that it's the little things that make up life's pleasures. And it's true. I decided this afternoon that I needed to post some stuff at La Poste. It would appear that I am going to be at school and/or uni all day every day this semester, so as I had an afternoon free I made myself get on to it. First of all I walked back to the Tabac and got my AFS stuff photocopied. I chatted for ages with the man, who told me that I was speaking much better than when he first met me. And do you know, I was! Sometimes it just happens. But he was really nice, and was asking me qestions about why I was here, about my family, what I will do when I go back, and the one I am always asked - at what age do people retire in New Zealand! I continue to mystify them. Anyway, I then walked to La Poste, which is sort of in the next suburb. There is always a long queue and I think I have talked about that before. Well, no queue! And not only that, I got the nice man who has served me before and who has gone to a great deal of trouble. I posted the AFS stuff and I also had resources and bits and pieces to send back home. (Gillian my petal, I have sent them care of you again! Hope that's OK.)He spent ages finding the right sized boxes/packets and helping me get it all sorted. I can remember once waiting at the Stoke Post Office and an elderly man who had waited for ages in the queue was given a form to fill out, and made to go away and do it and then join the back of the queue! I felt really sorry for him. Well, we don't do that in Poitiers! Certainly not! He just waited patiently while I filled in customs forms, addresses etc. Just as well there were other "tellers" or whatever they are. It cost a small fortune to post them, but I feel relieved that I've done it. Then I had a wee parcel for Hayden and Vanessa. He fiddled round for a while, then said, "Look, the best I can do is this packet and it will cost you 40 euros (on today's exchange rate about $110)to post. Much too expensive. If you go along to the bookshop and buy a packet it will then cost you 6 euros (about $16)to post." Well! So I went along the road and bought a packet very cheaply, after the kind lady left her post to help me and tried squashing the parcel into various sizes until she found one that fitted. And back I went to la Poste and in fact it only cost 5.50 euros.
I have some homework waiting for me which I am quite anxious about, but nonetheless I am thinking that it was a pretty good afternoon.
And oh yes, I know what I meant to mention, re my Middle Eastern holiday. (You can tell I'm avoiding my homework, can't you? :-))When we were in the Grand Palace Hotel in Al Ain, Sheryl and I were admiring the beautiful rugs/carpets for sale at astronomical prices. We asked the woman if many were sold at $60000 (for example.) She said no, but those that were sold were to Russians! I don't know why i was surprised, but I was. Fancy that!

Sick

Not very, but a little bit. I think that the antibiotics I took in Al Ain must have stripped my stomach of all the good bugs. Or something. I felt a bit miserable at uni yesterday then when I got home at lunchtime I just crashed. Being sick in a foreign country is a bit scary! I was getting awful stabbing pains in my stomach - real doubling over stuff. I was still getting stomach pains this morning so stayed home. However, help was at hand! France is a nation of hypochondriacs and there is a pharmacy on every corner, dispensing excellent advice! (And I am only exaggerating slightly about the pharmacies - there really are pharmacies everywhere. And in very small villages there will be a pharmacy, a hairdresser and a florist.) I slept till about 10.30am this morning then got up and trundled down the road to seek advice. So now I have some stuff to take and believe it or not I feel better already. It may be in the mind, but certainly the stabbing pains have stopped. And I was relieved that I didn't have to see a doctor. I'm sure they are very nice people, but I shudder to think of the red tape involved. Which reminds me - I am going to the Prefecture tomorrow! Cross your fingers. Oh yes, I was going to buy a hottie but changed my mind - in NZ dollars - $60!!

Spelling

Refer to a previous entry - the name is spelt Xiao. :-)

Exam results.

This morning I went to university, and posted on the notice board were the results of last semester's exams. From lowest to highest it goes: passable, assez bien, bien and tres bien. I didn't see very many tres biens and there were none in my class. But there were about 4 biens in our class and I was one of them! Yay!! I am a bit needy and like to do well, but really wasn't sure how I would rate. Je suis tres content.
So now I am in level 3 (Delf B1) and we will see how that goes. Most of our previous group are in my class which is great, as they are such a good bunch.

Walking and other things.

Abraham Lincoln
And in the end it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years.
I must remember that when I go to uni tomorrow as the "oldie"!
Yesterday I went for a walk with Anne, who is a professor in the French department at uni. I had met her briefly before and we had passed the time of day, but that was all. At this point I probably need to mention Guy, commonly known as Toilet Man. Some of you will know of him! Back in early November I happened to go to the only unisex loo at uni and came upon a man washing his hands. As you do in toilets. At that point I wasn't aware that it was a unisex loo so asked in my best French if it was for women too. He replied that he didn't know. When I came out he was waiting for me! He had picked up my foreign accent - funny that - and wondered if I was interested in practising my French with him as he was at uni part time studying English and wanted to practise that! So we swapped email addresses and I went off to my exam, then to Italy. However, we did eventually catch up and have been meeting to 'talk' most weeks. He is my age, very nice, and, of course, married! However, he is good to talk to, as conversational French is what I need lots of. He is also being very helpful with my carte de sejour stuff, and in the process has made friends with one of the women at the Prefecture, whom he seems to talk to regularly on my behalf!
Anyway, I decided that what I needed was more chatting in French, and someone to walk with, go to the movies with, go to the theatre with, (sorry about the dangling participles) who wasn't a married man. It's perfectly all right to meet in the cafeteria once a week, but I suspect his wife might be a little unhappy if we started going out to the movies. So when I caught up with him on Thursday he got hold of Anne and she joined us, and to cut a long story short - actually, no, it was a short story to begin with - she asked me to go walking with her yesterday. I don't seem to have the ability to tell something simply, do I? I could have just said, "Yesterday I went walking with a new friend." But what fun would that have been?
Anyway, j'ai pris le bus au Centre Ville and found my way to Anne's apartment. Which is right by the Palais de Justice. Off we set on our walk. I discovered all these new places and everything was just wonderful! First of all we walked to see the remains of an amphitheatre which was built in Poitiers in about 40 AD. It was considered to be the largest amphitheatre in all of the Gallo Roman empire. It was amazing to see some parts of the original structure right there in the middle of town! It actually stood intact until about 1857. At that point I really started regretting not having brought my camera with me. We then walked to Parc de Blossac towards the southern tip of the old town. It's a very large and elegant park based on an English design, with clipped limes, formal gardens and walkways, fountains, a small zoo, (not very nice really), places to play boules, a small outdoor theatre, stunning views.... Quite wonderful really. I was aware of it, but had no idea where it was till yesterday. Now I will be able to go again. I imagine that in the spring and summer it would be just brilliant.

Then Anne and I pushed on and I ran into one of the girls from my uni class - Chow. I know that's not how you spell it, but it's not Ciao, so I'll just have to leave it like that. We all chatted for a while and while we were doing that a friend of Anne's happened by. Micheline was out walking too, so after saying au revoir to Chow and her boyfriend, the three of us went on walking. We walked up hills and down dales, beside the River Clain, over bridges, watched a man launch a little rowboat, saw ponds and even creeks still frozen over from last week's very cold snap, saw a very grand house a little like a small chateau, and generally had a great time. I quite like the look of winter; that sort of almost poetic state of waiting for spring. Bleak, but promising. Or something. Anyway, when we finally arrived back at Anne's we realised we had been walking for 3 hours! Hilary, would that be the equivalent of walking the Buller half-marathon? Do you think I could do it? :-)
So that was yesterday. I felt it a bit in my legs, but not too much. However, I have been a bit tired today and am only resisting the tempatation to have a nap because that might put paid to a good sleep tonight. I have planned as well as I can my English lessons for tomorrow at the Lycee - it's all a bit over my head as I know nothing about the present perfect or pluperfect tense or whatever, and I have been asked to teach it round the theme of healthy eating. Well, I know about that so I'll do my best.
Keep in touch. :-) I love reading the comments - it feels like we're chatting! (Brian D - where are you? :-))

Samedi le dix-sept janvier.

Jane gave me The New Zealand Women's Diary for Christmas and it has some good little quotes in it.
"You don't drown by falling in the water. You drown by staying there." (Anon)
"It is good to have an end to journey towards; but it is the journey that matters in the end." (Ursula K. Le Guin)[Love the semi-colon Ursula!]
"We could never learn to be brave and patient if there were only joy in the world." (Helen Keller)
"Do no resent growing old. Many are denied the privilege." (Anon)
Corny I know but I like 'em. I always read such things and think I will drop them into my conversation at very apt points. But my memory is such that in fact I don't! So I thought I would write some down.
This morning I have done my washing and generally tidied up and cleaned my studio - I even washed the floor! This afternoon I am going for a walk with a new friend. I hope I am, anyway. It is actually raining at the moment. But I will get the bus into her place in Centre Ville anyway and we will see.
The photos are of the Palace Museum in Al Ain. Me pouring coffee, and an exterior shot. It was the home of the current sheik's father and is kind of like it would have been when he lived there. It had a nice feel to it. Coffee made in those pots is a really big thing in the Emirates and Oman, and Vikki has quite a collection of antique coffee pots.
A bientot.

Weekend in Oman and Return to France.

Another chapter. The second weekend (Friday/Saturday) in Al Ain we went to Muscat in Oman. You might recall that I once lived in Muscat, albeit somewhat briefly! Anyway, Don and Vikki were great friends and very good to me while I was there and we have loosely kept in touch over the years since. And they are still there, although fairly sure that they will finish up in July this year. (Don is a cousin of my old school friend Marg.)So off we went to see them. We left on Thursday after Sheryl got home from school.
More ridiculous nonsense at the border and at one stage we didn't have our passports and didn't exactly know who had them. An uneasy feeling. Finally we got through. I didn't think it was so funny this time - I felt a bit grumpy. But of course you can't say anything!
Anyway, it was a fairly straightforward trip, apart from getting lost on the last leg. We had a great map from Vikki, and we had to take the next exit after the Grand Mosque. Unfortunately we saw a mosque which looked quite grand to us, so turned off. However, it turned out to be a Mosque That Was Only a Little Bit Grand. So we were barking up the wrong tree, as it were! Once we talked to Don on the phone and I, as the navigator, realised what had happened, it all worked out. But it took us a long time!
It was great to see Don and Vikki again and we all sat up till quite late, eating and drinking and talking. Lovely stuff.
The next day we packed a picnic lunch and went for a drive in a wadi in the 4 wheel drive vehicle. it was amazing really. Such a stark, rugged but quite beautiful landscape. Apparently geologists love Oman, becase when the land was thrust up from the sea, it kind of tilted on its side, so the layers are easy to see. I probably haven't got that quite right, but it's fascinating anyway. The wadis are under water when it rains, and that includes quite a few ancient and biblical looking villages. Isn't this town just what you saw in Sunday School books?
We stopped and had our picnic for lunch and were joined by quite a few curious and no doubt hungry goats.

Overall it was a wonderful day. I just loved it.
On Saturday Don went to work, as their weekend is Thursday and Friday. Vikki took Sheryl and me to the souk at the old port. I love souks! It was great. Vikki is well-known there, having lived in Muscat for about 9 years or so, so we were able to get mates' rates! You can see Sheryl contemplating whether ot not to buy an Omani hat. She didn't, but did manage one or two other things. :-)
We were given tea in little cups by one of the people, and that was a nice little ceremony.
We had lunch at a little cafe, shopped a little bit more, then went back home. In the photo of Sheryl and Vikki, you can see the Sultan's private yacht in the background.
And from there Sheryl and I set off on our return to Al Ain. We stopped at Sohar for a snack for tea and wandered around a bit. We were in a real minority. Not only were there no white people about, but there were no women. But you always feel safe, and I have to say that the fact that there is no alcohol must play a big part in that.
The drive home seemed to take no time at all, and - wait for this - we went straight through at the border!!! It only took the time needed to get from one booth or building to the next. And all the stamping etc was done there. We didn't have to get out of the car, queue up.... Which leads me to believe that if it's possible to do that once, then why...... Oh forget I asked that! :-)
Anyway, it was a great weekend and I loved seeing Muscat again. The people were all very friendly. Oh, and football fever raged! Everywhere, even in the heart of the outback, there were flags draped out of windows and heaps of bunting. The Arabian Gulf Football Tournament was taking place and Oman were doing all right. The cars also were all decorated with Omani flags etc. It was very festive.
On Sunday Sheryl went to school and I pottered. I was still feeling quite sick from the virus I had had for about a week. So after school Sheryl took me to a doctor at the hospital. Which I guess I should have done earlier, but I just assumed it would get better by itself. The doctor was a nice Indian who was quite fascinated by my hair. Not a lot of men are fascinated by me as a rule! :-)
The photo is of me taking my medicaments!
And on Monday I got a taxi to the Emirates Office, and from there got a bus to Dubai. At Duty Free I found some NZ sauvignon blanc, and felt compelled to buy it. Well, I like it! And one day I might entertain and I will need it!
The flight once again was terrific. Half empty, and I had 3 seats to myself. I watched two movies - Mary Poppins, because I wanted to, And Second Hand Wedding. Well, I just loved it, but it made me sooooo homesick. There I was crying and crying! Got to Paris, and followed the signs to get to the Ibis Hotel where I was booked for the night as I was too late for the last train to Poitiers. I walked quite a way, with far too much hand luggage as usual. Then I got a shuttle train. Then I hopped off that and got on a bus which had a list of hotels on the side including Hotel Ibis. I asked the driver if I was on the right bus just to make sure, but he didn't reply. Anyway, after a long drive we finally stopped and there was the Hotel Ibis. You know what I'm going to say, don't you? The receptionist said, "Oh no, you aren't booked in here. You are booked in at the other Ibis Hotel. You caught the pink bus and you should have caught the red one. " Like, I was supposed to know that??? And it was dark!!! She told me I needed to go back and wait for the shuttle and retrace my steps back to the airport, basically. I stood my ground, because I knew I just couldn't, and in the end she rang the other hotel and changed the booking. I have to say that it was very basic accommodation for what cost me about $260 NZ. Not even tea making facilities, and certainly no mini bar!
Anyway, the next morning I caught the packed shuttle to the station at the airport, and happened to be sitting next to a very nice young man who started talking to me. It transpired that he was a member of the French Americas Cup team and was on his way to Valencia, and then on to New Zealand! He was lovely. I might even show more than a fleeting interest in the Cup next time.
A good train trip home and that was that. There was snow lying on the ground everywhere and it was particularly thick from Tours to Poitiers. It looked very picuresque, but also very cold! It's sort of good to be back at "my place", and I need to unpack properly and get some food!
Incidentally, I have put some photos on Facebook if you want to see some more.

More photos

Here I am back in Poitiers and oddly enough I have noticed a drop in temperature. Like, about 25 degrees or so. :-( I will write more tomorrow when I'm not so tired but I thought I could do some backdating and add a few more photos. It was a lovely holiday in Al Ain, thanks to Sheryl. Thanks to Sheryl too who took me off to the doctor and I finally got some medicaments - on day 8! Well, you just assume that it will go away by itself.....
The photos are aspects of the Abu Dhabi mosque, including me in visiting garb, Ali and me studying the menu when we had our authentic Omani eating experience, Sheryl and me sun-basking at the Hilton(sigh!), and a photo taken of a mosque lit up, on our way home from Nizwa. (I was a little bit reluctant to publish the one of me at the Hilton, as my Bingo arms are a bit predominant, but I have swallowed my pride....)
Anyway, I STILL can't get my photos to arrange themselves where I want, and not where THEY want. They are very random and not at all well-behaved.

Piccies

 

 

 

 

I have tried a very roundabout way of posting photos, via Picasa on Sheryl's computer. Not ideal, but here are a few photos anyway. Alice the Camel, whom we followed from Al Ain to the Omani border. Desert picnic, featuring Chris, Ali and Sheryl. Interior of the fort. The souk at Nizwa.
I'm still struggling with this throat infection - whatever it might be. Basically I have been pretty sick and in bed for 3 days. I am crossing my fingers and hoping that I will be OK tomorrow! Meanwhile, I am missing snow in Poitiers! Yes indeed, it has been snowing there for a couple of days now I believe.I have mixed feelings about that. I would love to see it, but.....

UAE Part 2

Well, today I have a very sore throat and feel as if someone has whacked me. So I will be staying in bed or resting on the sofa. Sheryl has gone back to Dubai to pick up her son who was hiking with a group and got stuck somewhere overnight. It was a bit of a worry as initially they couldn't be contacted. But fortunately they are OK.
Back to January 2nd. We had a lovely blobby day which included going for a swim at the Hilton Hotel and having a Creme Brulee Chiller (a drink!) at a mall. Lovely!
Yesterday was another great day out. We started by heading towards Abu Dhabi. The first thing we did when we arrived was visit a mosque, which was just spectacular. We had to wear abeyas and headscarves, and I rather enjoyed that. I like dressing up, but also it felt really cool and in a strange way, quite liberating. The mosque has only recently been built and is still having finishing touches being added. I think that sometimes the decor in such places can be garish to the point of being bizarre, but honestly, I thought this place was beautiful. Over the top, yes, but stunning all the same. After that we went for a bit of a walk along the beach and also had a bite of lunch.
Then we went to the Grand Palace Hotel. It's where all the tennis players are currently staying - those playing in a tournament in Abu Dhabi, including Federer, Nadal et al! We did actually see some guys who were obviously part of the circuit, but we didn't recognise them. I don't think they recognised us either. The hotel is an amazing building. All done out in the most luxurious manner, as you can imagine. I had a look round an exhibition which showed all the proposals and scale models for the development of Abu Dhabi. There is going to be a new art gallery in partnership with the Louvre, a new performing arts centre; in fact a great deal of development in cultural areas. But also there is going to be an emphasis on the environment, and protecting the wetlands and so on. Which is great, as you couldn't really in all honesty say that Arabia is an area that worries a great deal about that. Anyway, we wandered round the hotel and soaked in the atmosphere.
Then we were off to Dubai. All these journeys are a fair distance, but the roads are very good and the speed limit is 120 kph. Which we kept to, as Sheryl's car is leased and if she goes over 120 alarm bells come on! But we were always passed by cars which must have been breaking some sort of land speed records I suspect.
We went to the Jumeira Beach Residences area, which is very upmarket, and visited a friend of Sheryl's who lives in an apartment there. Very nice, but floor 22 is a bit too high up for me! It was dark by the time we left, and we headed off to the Madinat Souk. It was all lit up and looked terrific. It was just great wandering round all the shops there. I could have spent quite a lot really. But I didn't! We were going to have tea there, but it was quite late, and I had started feeling really unwell so we just headed back home to Al Ain and ate some sandwiches in the car on the way. We couldn't get the car radio going so Sheryl asked me to sing! Lol. I sang a large repertoire of hymns, as the Sheik of Kuwait (I think he's from Kuwait)has just died and all the flags were flying at half mast. I hope I wasn't being disrespectful as my renditions were very croaky!
So that was yesterday. I think I will just hop back into bed and have another rest and hopefully I can knock this whatever-it-is on the head. I have tried to add photos - I don't know why they aren't downloading.
xxx

A Day Out.

And so to yesterday. Another beautiful day. Sheryl and I and two of her friends/colleagues, Ali and Chris, went to Nizwa in Oman for the day. We probably left a bit late, but it's the holidays and we weren't up to rushing. So at about 11.00am we left Al Ain, and headed towards the Omani border, which is quite close to here. Well. The locals love paperwork and that's OK - that's what they do. And I'm used to it! :-) It's hard to explain or even remember accurately just how many checkpoints there were. First of all we had to get some forms for the car, and then we had to park the car and go into a big building with our passports and get a pink form. On which I had to record my father's name amongst other things. (The French have shown an interest in my father as well!) We dealt with one chap, who gave us back the forms, and then we had to wait for another chap in the booth right next door, so he could stamp the pink forms. We also had to pay 25 dirhams per person so we could cross the border. We drove on about 100 metres and had to stop at another grand edifice and hand in the car's piece of paper which had been stamped. That was the Emirates part of things. Then we reached the Oman side. We had to hand in evidence of car insurance, hand in our passports again which were carefully scrutinised. We had to park the car, get out and go into another building. Our passports were checked again and stamped. I noticed that mine was taken into another room, presumably for a supervisor to look at! There were other forms, bits of paper etc etc. All in all it took close on an hour. Crazy, but part of the experience.
Anyway, it was a bit further to Nizwa than we had anticipated, so when we spotted a tree providing some shade, we stopped and had a picnic on the side of the road. It was well past lunchtime and we were a bit peckish. We got quite a few toots from passing motorists!
We stopped at a wonderful castle/fort at Gibran. We had a great time looking around and talked to a lot of Omani people who were very friendly and really interested in us and what we were up to. (OSH would have had a field day there - little windows high up with no grates or any way of preventing small children from falling though!) It really was great though. Built in the 16th century I believe. And cleverly designed so that there were lots of cool spaces. Beautifully haunting and Arabic, if you know what I mean. I loved it. And do you know, some of the ceilings had a pattern remarkably similar to some of the ceilings in the Loire Valley chateaux. I am fascinated by the way languages have developed in different countries over thousands of years, and those sorts of connections - the ceilings - are really interesting too.
After an interesting little unintentional off-road jaunt, we finally reached Nizwa. It was 4.00pm! No worries. We wandered around the souk inside the walls of what was once a fort, built in the 17th century. The souk was great. I have not been spending much at all since arriving in France - apart from on travel - as I really can't afford to - but I did buy a silver pendant on a chain. The others bought a few little bits and pieces too. It was interesting to see large groups of abeya and burkha (not sure of the spelling) clad women all clustered round the silver jewellery, and buying it like mad.
We then sought out an authentic Omani eating experience. Now I don't want to sound like a Kiwi "Where are the chips?" kind of person, but honestly, it was pretty awful! Hard to know if it was indeed an authentic experience or just a very ordinary restaurant. We got shown into a dusty room with 70s decor, and sat on the floor. We all had a bit of trouble with the cross legged thing for a start! But that was OK - part of the deal. Then the bit of plastic was put down and the meals came out. Not great, I have to say. But interesting! Other people in other rooms walked out, but we hung in there. These things are always worth a try. But perhaps another time we would try somewhere else!
And then we set off for home. We played a few guessing games, but the others moaned that my quiz questions were about sport and who would even want to know who won the very first NPC championship? :-) We stopped somewhere and had a coffee and while we were there the young men were all driving up and down the street in convoy, tooting loudly! The boys were in town, obviously.
Ali assured us that we would get to go straight through the border controls on the way back. Well, no. Untrue! It was just hilarious. A bit of a repeat of the procedure earlier in the day, but with a few add-ons. I had to have a photo taken of my eyes for a start. Then the two very nice young men who did that couldn't get the stamp to show the right date. They actually got the giggles sitting there trying to make it work. They were quite gorgeous looking, made even more striking in their pristine white dishdashas. Anyway, we were tired and slightly hysterical by then, and when we were waiting for the date stamp to get sorted, and answering questions about New Zealand, we ended up singing Pokarekare Ana to the young men. Who clapped and were very appreciative. I might add that we picked up on their attitude and friendliness. It wouldn't be a good idea to burst into song as a general rule, I imagine.
Once again, passing through all the checkpoints and doing the same thing over and over took about an hour. We finally arrived home about 11.30pm. It was a great day and such a lot of fun.
I can't get any photos to download, so I'll add some another time, but I'll try to publish this anyway. Sorry about the lack of piccies Hilary. I know you're very visual!

United Arab Emirates. Part 1.

Happy new year to you all! May 2009 be almost everything you would want. I have got so much to say about my couple of days here - I don't know quite where to start. And I guess I need to summarise. I will do my best.
I flew with Emirates from Paris to Dubai and was able to stretch out across 3 seats - luxury. However, I didn't sleep at all, so was somewhat jaded when I arrived at 7 in the morning. I was met by Sheryl and her son Richard, and we drove around a little bit, then went for brunch at a lovely cafe run by New Zealanders. We then dropped Richard off to stay with some friends, and Sheryl and I went to a mall to search for togs for me. As mine haven't arrived from NZ! I was shattered with tiredness by then but managed to clomp around. But no luck. The only togs were bikinis for tiny tiny people. I am not a tiny tiny person. Incidentally, the mall has a skifield inside it! We sort of resolved the togs problem by me wearing Sheryl's togs and Sheryl wearing a strapless bra, a singlet top and matching knickers. She actually looked quite trendy. And off we went to the beach. Oh how wonderful! A swim in the sea and a wee lie on the beach in the sun. Then we drove back to Al Ain. I managed to stay awake till about 7.00pm and slept through till 7 the next morning. Sheryl went to school, and after I had had breakfast I went back to sleep till lunchtime! So I have pretty much caught up now. :-) After school we went to the Hilton Hotel and had a swim, a read and a mild sunbathe there. Oooh, I get all goosebumpy thinking about it.
Then last night we went to a barbecue attended by most of the people who work for the same company as Sheryl. Cognition. (They are working as advisers for the Abu Dhabi Education Board.) Well, what a surprise! I kept meeting people I knew! Adele from Nelson, Colin who was the Principal of Kings High (Dunedin) until recently and whom I had met, and it transpired in conversation that he knows John's nephew really well, and he taught Vanessa at Hillmorton High.... It goes on! I then met a guy who comes from Manaia in Taranaki (Ian, he knows Graham O'B really well)..... I won't bore you with all the rest. (Well, there isn't much more really.) It was lovely to go to a party with New Zealanders. And I saw the new year in for the first time in more than 10 years. It was all good. The photo is of Sheryl, me and Al, a friend of Sheryl's.
Today we went to Oman. I need to go to bed now so will tell you tomorrow about The Great Visit to Nizwa With Adventures to Rival and Perhaps Even Surpass the Poitiers Prefecture. Oh yes!