Sunday, May 17
After a bang up packing job (if I do say so myself) and a final morning with Elodie and Erwan, Elodie took me and my bags to the train station and saw me off. I miss her already!
Turns out the "layover" in Paris meant an entire train station switch... meaning getting my bags off of the Montparnasse train, through about 10 stop on a metro line and into the train station at the Gare de l'Est. Turned out ok, though and I had plenty of time to make the journey.
Otherwise, the train ride was pretty calm. My eyes started to droop a little midway from Paris to Strasbourg (the stop between Paris and Mulhouse) so I went back to the club car for an espresso and was behind a gentleman that only had a 50 in his wallet to pay for his Orangina and the guy didn't have change for it. After a couple of lines of discussion, I asked the man how much it would be for the Orangina and my coffee and asked the gentleman if I could vous inviter for the drink (meaning treat him). They both said how nice it was of me to offer and that usually it's a gentleman buying a beverage for a young lady, etc etc... I'm pretty sure I was blushing, but I was happy that I had the French and the opportunity to do it.
I got started on The Book of Love (follow up to The Expected One) and was reading about the valleys I was riding through. They actually make a couple of references to Chartres in the book, which is less than an hour outside Paris... I could maybe take a day trip to see the labyrinth they talk about next week.
I arrived and called mom at home just to say I made it and Anne and Cecile came to pick me up at the Mulhouse train station. We rode home and talked about the options for my week. I assured Anne not to worry about me... She felt bad that she had to work Monday through Wednesday and I said I absolutely expected her to be at work while I was here, so not to think twice. I'll probably spend my days exploring the ville and reading in the park close to here.
The weather is gorgeous here: at least 20 degrees warmer than in Rennes. I guess that's standard. Anne says the temperature can change pretty fast here (like it does in Rennes), so I'll probably still tuck my umbrella in my bag whenever I leave. I actually got some pics of the changing countryside on my train ride, but I may wait til tomorrow to upload them. Anne's internet plugs in on one side of the apt and I have to charge the laptop battery on the other side, so I have to time things well...!
We got me all moved in and had dinner and watched Pride and Prejudice in english with english subtitles. Turns out the movie is actually more clever if you can catch all the quips! I enjoyed it more this time around, reading along.
We're thinking dinner for Cecile's last night (Monday) will be traditional Alsacian food, whatever that is... something like a pizza but I can't remember the name and Anne hasn't found anything she really loves yet... We'll give it a go. She suggested day trips to Switzerland or nearby towns and I really probably will stay pretty close for the first few days. I just want to get a feel for a new city and speak some French.
Thursday Anne and I may go on a "wine tour" or something like that in the area. Friday, her boyfriend Thomas gets in from Rennes and about midday we'll all head to Strasbourg together to meet up with some of their friends. Anne and Thomas will probably come back to Mulhouse Friday night and I'll stay in Strasbourg to check out the sights there for the weekend.
That's all I know for now... off to find a supermarche to replenish my Cold & Sinus stock. It is spring all over France and I'm gloriously allergic to it all!
Turns out the "layover" in Paris meant an entire train station switch... meaning getting my bags off of the Montparnasse train, through about 10 stop on a metro line and into the train station at the Gare de l'Est. Turned out ok, though and I had plenty of time to make the journey.
Otherwise, the train ride was pretty calm. My eyes started to droop a little midway from Paris to Strasbourg (the stop between Paris and Mulhouse) so I went back to the club car for an espresso and was behind a gentleman that only had a 50 in his wallet to pay for his Orangina and the guy didn't have change for it. After a couple of lines of discussion, I asked the man how much it would be for the Orangina and my coffee and asked the gentleman if I could vous inviter for the drink (meaning treat him). They both said how nice it was of me to offer and that usually it's a gentleman buying a beverage for a young lady, etc etc... I'm pretty sure I was blushing, but I was happy that I had the French and the opportunity to do it.
I got started on The Book of Love (follow up to The Expected One) and was reading about the valleys I was riding through. They actually make a couple of references to Chartres in the book, which is less than an hour outside Paris... I could maybe take a day trip to see the labyrinth they talk about next week.
I arrived and called mom at home just to say I made it and Anne and Cecile came to pick me up at the Mulhouse train station. We rode home and talked about the options for my week. I assured Anne not to worry about me... She felt bad that she had to work Monday through Wednesday and I said I absolutely expected her to be at work while I was here, so not to think twice. I'll probably spend my days exploring the ville and reading in the park close to here.
The weather is gorgeous here: at least 20 degrees warmer than in Rennes. I guess that's standard. Anne says the temperature can change pretty fast here (like it does in Rennes), so I'll probably still tuck my umbrella in my bag whenever I leave. I actually got some pics of the changing countryside on my train ride, but I may wait til tomorrow to upload them. Anne's internet plugs in on one side of the apt and I have to charge the laptop battery on the other side, so I have to time things well...!
We got me all moved in and had dinner and watched Pride and Prejudice in english with english subtitles. Turns out the movie is actually more clever if you can catch all the quips! I enjoyed it more this time around, reading along.
We're thinking dinner for Cecile's last night (Monday) will be traditional Alsacian food, whatever that is... something like a pizza but I can't remember the name and Anne hasn't found anything she really loves yet... We'll give it a go. She suggested day trips to Switzerland or nearby towns and I really probably will stay pretty close for the first few days. I just want to get a feel for a new city and speak some French.
Thursday Anne and I may go on a "wine tour" or something like that in the area. Friday, her boyfriend Thomas gets in from Rennes and about midday we'll all head to Strasbourg together to meet up with some of their friends. Anne and Thomas will probably come back to Mulhouse Friday night and I'll stay in Strasbourg to check out the sights there for the weekend.
That's all I know for now... off to find a supermarche to replenish my Cold & Sinus stock. It is spring all over France and I'm gloriously allergic to it all!
posted by Jess at 2:31 AM
3 Comments:
Don't vacation too hard now...sounds like you need to slow down a bit. this from the guy who's still staying up all hours to watch basketball.
Seriously...between the architecture and the food what's left? [left comments on a few pics]. Tell me again how you know all these people? From your trip during college?
Trust me, I'm very leisurely vacationing! I'm getting way more sleep than I need, eating anything I want and walking it off during the day (I hope).
Elodie and Anne are friends from the semester I studied in Rennes. Elodie is a world traveler herself but is currently cozying up to Rennes to be close to her boyfriend. Anne is a hard-workin' lawyer in Alsace (in Mulhouse) and I actually met her through Guillaume who was a foreign exchange student ambassador at Universite Rennes 2 (and my boyfriend for a time). Elodie was another one of the ambassadors but we became fast friends!
Olivier I met at the front desk of the hostels I was staying at in Paris. Gaetan I met at a hole in the wall bar midweek when I went out for a post-dinner glass of wine in Paris. Turns out I'm even good at meeting people in other languages/countries.
You never meet a stranger. One of the things that make you so damned likable! Great that you've kept up with the old friends. I'm not nearly as goos about that.
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