Existing for the Ring

Some notes from the end of the semester happenings in Nantes and elsewhere.

Italia--Part II

Here it is, finally—Part II! Hopefully soon I’ll have up Clisson/Vineyard/last days in Nantes and then once I get home I can focus on telling everyone about my mini-adventures in Germany and Giverny!
It wasn’t until this drive back to the house that I learned of a certain Icelandic volcano whose name is entirely too long and Icelandic to look up and write here (you don’t know any other Icelandic volcanoes, though, so this should work). My flight, however, was not until Sunday afternoon so I was not yet concerned.

La Dolce Vita, Capisci? (Italy Part I)

Hello faithful (though perhaps at this point, nonexistent) readers!  It has been quite a month!  This is mostly because of my recent trip to Italy and the ensuing craziness that a certain Icelandic volcano caused.  The rest I don't remember much of but if you are still intrigued, please, read on....

Friday morning I left for Rome where I was to be staying with some family (no, friends, sadly the way we are related does not make me Italian.  Sigh...).  Since the French were once again on strike at just about the most inconvenient moment possible (little did we know, there were moments even more inconvenient looming...), it was pretty hectic as at 8:28 a worker at the train station told me my train was cancelled and I should jump on the 8:30.  After I got to Paris I stayed in the airport for a ridiculously annoying amount of time drinking coffee and doing homework for the paper on Vatican II I was writing but by that night I was in Rome eating pasta and calamari drenched in butter sauce.  A good start.

Overdue Much?

After realizing that my previous blog entry could have been called "From Barcalona to All Alone-ah in Girona" for even more rhyming fun, let me give you a quick recap of Spain followed by some recent happenings in Nantes/whatever comes to my mind. (PS-a few pictures added to the last post...)

I was able to navigate all the way to Sevilla by myself where I met the rest of my group for a gorgeous three-hour bus ride to Granada.  Once in Granada, we embarked on a terrible several hour hunt for our hostel that wasn't even that great once we found it.  We called it a night.  The rest of our time there we went to the Alhambra which is an awesome jewel of an Arabian-type palace just sitting in the middle of Spain!  It was as most reviews said: not much to look at from the outside but once you get on the inside, it's just wow. 

From Barcelona to All Alone-uh

Hello everyone!  So right now I'm on my first of two breaks this semester (I like France's breaks better than the US's) and I decided to go with some of my friends to Spain.  We left straight away on Friday night and took the night train to Barcelona so when we woke up we were right there ready to start the day.  Barcelona is absolutely gorgeous and I'd recommend it to anyone!  The weather that first day was also really great--full of sun and a temperature that lets you go outside with just a sweater--and it's always slightly bizarre but on-the-whole fabulous seeing palm trees in February.  The next day was rainy unfortunatly but we didn't let that stop us.

Mini-Adventures Galore!

Finally we’re settling into our schedules here in Nantes! Classes are confirmed and have been attended multiple times, I can get to and from many places in Nantes via tram (though I still won’t touch the bus), and I’m even in the process of becoming a regular at a creperie. Not everything is completely set in stone yet (I’m going to be trying a new club and possibly a new dance class on Thursday and Friday respectively and my internship won’t start until March 1) but it’s certainly starting to feel like a routine. This, of course, meant it was time to shake things up a bit! So on Saturday we had our first of three IES-sponsored field trips—this one to the seaside town of St. Malo and the famous Mont St. Michel.

Ima Survivor

The anticipation is over.  This was my Thursay (warning--this is a long one):

I woke up at an hour when the sun had not risen, when darkness was still upon Nantes, an hour when one should never be awake to see the clock.  It was, I think, 4:11.  And then I went back to sleep, because for some reason my body randomly woke me up and I didn't need to stay that way.

I re-awoke at another hour when the sun had not risen, when darkness was still upon Nantes, and again an hour when one should not be awake to see the clock (unless under threat of admonishment from high school cross country coaches; but even then...).  This was about 6:25.  It had a lot in common with 4:11, except it was 2 hours later and it was actually necessary to get up this time.  That was unfortunate because getting up at 6:25 is seldom pleasant.  But I persevered and got ready for the day and eventually made it downstairs for breakfast (i.e., bread, Nutella, and coffee) and then caught the tram.  At my first stop, I bought a pain au chocolat in case I would need a sugary pick-me-up later in the day (as I would).

Necessities and My 1st Class at the Fac

Converstation between my host mother and me today; my vague memory translated roughy to English:

Host Mother:  What time will you leave the house tomorrow morning?
Me:  I have a class at the university at 8:30 so probably between 7:30 and 7:45.
HM:  Ok, because there will be construction going on nearby and they're going to cut the water lines at about 8 or so, so we won't be able to use the water.
Me:  But there will be coffee, right?
HM:  Yes, because that will be before 8.
Me: (Smile of relief) That's good.  I'll need it.

Since I don't have a lot of time tonight (I have to get up early, as you now know), I'll comment on  two things:

Tours around Tours and the Return to Nantes

Hello friends!  Well, the other students and I have returned to Nantes* after a 3 1/2 day orientation in Tours, a city in the Loire Valley that is close to many chateaux.  In all, we visited 5:

• Loche: A mideaval chateau overlooking an adorable little city.
• Chenonceau:  Had a lot of beautiful grounds but we were given entirely way too much time to explore.
• Blois:  Completed during different epochs and so it has different architectural styles all around it and right next to each other in the same building (all of which I know nothing about, but for an architecturally-inclined person, I'm sure it's even more fascinating).
• Chambord:  A very large chateau that housed the Mona Lisa and some other paintings/cultural artifacts ("les otages de guerre") during World War II to protect them from the Nazis.  The historical, cultural, and human consequences are almost too much, positively and negatively, and a cause for contradiction of the heart (saving paintings over people?).
• Usse':  We only visited here for about 15 minutes and didn't go in because it was on our way home but it was the inspiration for the Sleeping Beauty castle! (shown below)

Here

Hey everyone--just a quick note that I am here finally and missing you!  (Unless I don't like you, in which case, I'm glad we've got an ocean between us....I jest.)  Travel here went really smoothly and I didn't get lost at the train station (mostly because I followed some other IESers that I found).  Probably the worst thing was that I ate a soggy sandwich at Au Bon Pain in Philadelphia.  Au Bon Pain, as the name suggests, had some really good-looking bread that I was thinking I should buy (it's hard to resist a good-looking baguette) but I stopped myself with the knowledge that I would have the real thing when I got to France.  Which I did.  Which was delicious (tomato and mozzarella sandwich-yum).  After a little while, my host mother came to pick me up and I got to meet part of my host family when I got to their house (three live at home and the three older kids live outside the home).  It was kind of difficult with everyone coming at me in French at the speed of light, especially because I was a little off from the flight, but not too jet-lagged (I'm mostly just a little fatigued and every so often I feel a little nauscious [sp?] but nothing too bad).  Then we had dinner--soup with chunks of ham in it, lasagne with spinach and salmon (which I must get the recipe for), and an apple crumble for dessert.  It was yummy :)  We actually had a quiche for the first course tonight at dinner that was spinach and salmon, too.  I'm hoping that this combination is a trend!  Now we are in the city of Tours just a couple hours away where we'll have some orientation and visit some of the castles of the Loire Valley, which should be pretty.

Until next time!

Once again...

Hey everyone. So it's time to open up the rusty old blog again because I'm going to France for the Spring. More specifically, I'll be in Nantes. "Where is that?" you ask. Well, let me show you:

I'm leaving this Tuesday and should get to Paris on Wednesday morning and then I'll take the train to Nantes. Stay tuned to see if I, in fact, make it to my destination (assuming I do, I'll go with the other American students to Tours in the Loire Valley for an orientation) and how I fare using my terribly mis-pronounced French.