Home Again, Pt. 3

Waiting outside the train station to catch a shuttle, I heaved my carry-on (I put all my heavy non-liquids in it. I didn't want to pay for my checked bag being too heavy!) on top of my suitcase and rolled into the shade. It was hot in Paris, almost 90 F, and humid.

When one finally arrived, I rolled over and asked the driver if he went to the Ibis Hotel. He pointed back at the station, sending me to the door that exited the other side.

I thanked him, confused, and rolled myself and my belongings back through the glass doors towards the other side of the station and realized that in fact, I didn't need a shuttle, because the hotel was just outside! I went in after a huge sigh of relief (I was hoping to avoid a Liam-Neeson-necessary adventure...) and booked a room for the night.

I took the elevator up to my room on the fourth floor, slid my stuff inside the teeny door, tossed my carry-on on the double bed and -- no shame here -- I cried. After a stressful day of missing the flight that I was so ready to be on, having to fend for myself in a different language and foreign and confusing airport, I was tired and sad. I settled myself, ate a less than mediocre lunch in the hotel restaurant and then rested in the room.

I headed down to try dinner, hopeful that the restaurant would be better this time around. However, I did hedge my bet by choosing to skip the salad and go straight for some hamburger -- steak haché -- and fries and a dessert. That dessert was the best thing that happened to me all day; three scoops of ice cream - two strawberry and one mango.

I eavesdropped on a conversation happening behind me and it turns out I wasn't the only person to miss the flight -- evidently the flight seemed to have left nearly half empty! I went back to my room and watched a strange film in what I assume was dutch, and then passed out.

---------------------------

The journey is almost over!

Hope you all don't mind that I've broken this into so many parts, but I don't want to bog you down with seventeen pages of me whining.

Do you wanna share some travel stories to make me feel a little better about missing my plane!?

Photo of the Week!

After reading (if you read them!) those posts about my adventure getting home, I figured some photos to remind you of France would be a nice refresher.

I don't mind remembering either!

(All the photos here are taken by yours truly!)

This photo is at the Charmeil Golf Course near Grenoble. It was stunning!

At city hall, this was right out front but there was a beautiful park and garden next to it.

Some ducks in the City Park/Garden. And an imposter! Pigeons...

Are you wishing for some green grass too?

Stephanie

Home Again, Pt. 2

After hearing from the rather brusque flight agent that I couldn't board my flight back to the states, I was dazed.

What do you mean I can't get on the plane? It's still here?

But I am a good kid, so I did what he told me and headed towards the information desk. There, I tried to get in line, and was yelled at by another agent for coming to close to the desk before it was my turn (these people were grumpy and had no time for me, evidently!).

Eventually I got up to the counter and told them what flight I was on. The woman took my passport and the slip of paper that I had written the flight information on and tic-tacked away at her keyboard. I talked quietly with a very tall and beautiful woman next to me, whose flight left ten minutes before mine for Rome. (They held her plane for her...)

The woman, looked up and said "I will put you on the same flight tomorrow." I nodded, and smiled politely: You couldn't get me there today? Really? But I wasn't gonna push my luck -- I saw the airport Police on my way in -- they carry machine guns!

I stood awkwardly for a while, since she hadn't given me anything, and then she finally looked up and gave me back my passport.

I headed to the nearest payphone, gave the operator my credit card numbers and soon enough my Dad picked up. It was the middle of the night at home, so he was a little groggy, but I let them know what happened, and that I would find a hotel soon. After we hung up, I took off my scarf and put it into my carry on because I was about to die of heatstroke, and headed to the Charles De Gaulle Information desk.

After a few moments of confusing mistranslation, I had the name of a hotel written down and I headed to the shuttle area to catch a bus for my hotel. So I stood, and waited, in the heat. And waited...

To be continued...

Home Again, Pt.1

Or, How I almost didn't make it home from France.

Okay, so that's a little melodramatic, but I was in fact stuck in France for an extra day.

After having a really wonderful last day visiting with Christelle, my host's grandmother and then a great final dinner cooked by Yann, I made it to the train station early to get to my flight on time.

I understood that I needed to be at the airport an hour early, so I choose a train that would get me to the Charles De Gaulle airport about one hour and ten minutes early.

The train was entertaining, I sat behind some cute kids. Unfortunately, the train was also about 20 minutes late.

I finally made it to my check in area in CDG, and when I asked the girl which line I should go into, she asked which flight I was on. Mind you, my flight was scheduled to leave at 11:10 and it was about 10:30 (though I wasn't aware of the time).

Me: Charlotte.
Her: Oh. You are too late.
Me: What?
[She turns and waves a man over towards me, telling him I was there for the Charlotte flight]
Him: Do you know what time it is?
Me: No... but -
Him: Come with me.
[We walk a few feet back where he motions to a departure screen, the time is at the top.]
Him: It is 10:38, and the boarding is closed at one hour before departure. Do you understand? You have missed the flight, you can talk to information.

Me: ... Thank you?

To be continued...

A France! - Jams Pt. 1

While I could easily write an entire post about jams and jellies, I won't do that today. Music - and let me tell you, the french like their music. They are always singing or whistling, and they don't care if other people hear!

Here's the lowdown from me on French music:

The French love a good beat, on the two big music stations we've listened to, nearly every single song is upbeat and fast-paced, regardless of the language. Some examples that I hear very often are Pyromania by Cascada and In My Head by Jason Derulo (cheers to Steph Barber!) for the English speaking side of things, and Désolé by Sexion D'assaut (which I love) and Je Veux by Zaz, both in French.

They appreciate thoughtful lyrics, also regardless of language. An example of a song that does not have that quality? California Girls by Katy Perry (Slightly questionable video, but kinda funny). It is still played, because its really catchy, but lyrics... everytime it comes on, Christelle and I mock Katy Perry's perky head bob.

The best combination of these songs is one that is upbeat with an uplifting message. A current hit is Shakira's Waka Waka (This Time For Africa). It doesn't hurt that it's the official song for the FIFA World Cup this year! The first goal they show? The French team! Another classic (which has been covered in French by Julien Clerc) is Let the Sunshine In from HAIR! It's a personal favorite of mine, and I love the French version too.

Want to know more? Listen to one of the popular stations here: NRJ, which I prefer, or Radio ISA, which plays a larger variety and more French music (They have a Shania Twain dance remix!).

Voila! But before we go, French phrase of the day!
Today the phrase is je ne sais pas, which means "I don't know!"
It's pronounced as juh nuh say pah, with that first j very soft, almost a sh.
We say this a lot. :)

Allez!
Stephanie

Obsession: Octopus

Octopus, those friendly and mythic sea creatures have always been a favorite animal of mine. In fact I think of a lot of marine life is awesome, things ranging from beluga whales to manta rays, but my favorite marine animal is the octopus.

[personal photo, rocky point!]

Luckily for me, the rest of the world seems to think they are pretty cool.
So today, a brief round up of octopus and the trinkets that are in their image!

First, fulfill your need to know more about the octopus and its elusive underwater lifestyle on Wikipedia: Octopus. (hey! I can cite that as long as this isn't a research paper, calm down.)
Then see if you can watch live octopus video at the Hatfield Marine Science Center's Octocam!
(I'm particularly excited for that one.)

In need of some octopus accoutrements?
Find yourself an Awesome Gold Octopus Necklace, or the slinky black Octopoda, or have the sweet Baby Octopus Necklace dangle from your neck.

Not so much for the jewelry? Oh, there's more my friends.

Clothes to reveal your love for the octopus? (And my friends who love bicycling, you're welcome!)

Maybe a bag or a nice purse?

Or I'm a fan of home decor...

And, voila! None of these people asked me to feature their items, I merely chose cute things as I browsed Etsy. :)

So I hope you enjoy, and perhaps have a desire to at least check out a real live octopus, if not wear a replica around your neck.

Before I go, french phrase of the day!
Today's phrase is ça va? Which means "How is it going?" Or "Doing alright?" Though directly translated it literally means "It goes?"
This one has a fun letter with a tail, called a c cedille, and is pronounced very simply: sah-vah?

Until next time!

A France! - Say Whaaat?

Hello again!

Today my entry will be on sounds in France. Though it seems as though certain things wouldn't be affected by language or related to language, already in my few days here I have noticed a difference.

In the US, in general we all use the same words to signify certain sounds. Those of you who paid attention in English in high school will remember that these are called Onomatopeia. (Side note: I spelled that right on the first try!)
Some common examples are "Achoo" for a sneeze, "WaaaaAAaaaa" for the siren of a police car or firetruck, or "Boom!" for an explosion. I will admit the written version of the siren is rather weak. My apologies.

I was suprised to learn that in France, these sounds are not the same! I think since I am in the house with a baby around, I might be more exposed to it, but here are the ones I have heard so far:

"Atchoum!" for, as you might imagine, a sneeze. And when someone sneezes here, they actually enunciate the M!
"Paaaaaam, pooohhhn" for the siren. This one makes sense because the siren actually sounds like that here. I will perform this sound at your request when I am back.
"Boum" is nearly the same as its English counterpart, but they really pronounce the "U". Little Achile being the typical boy, says this very often. He crashes his toy trucks together and says it over and over, "Boum! Bada bada bouuum!"



Your french phrase for the day is: à tes souhaits!
à tes souhaits is the french equivalent of "Bless you!" and I have been saying it alot! There is a lot of pollen out now that the summer has arrived. This is pronounced like: ah tay'soo-ay. But you say it very quickly!
Won't you look smart, blessing people en français?

Til next time,
Stephanie

A France!: Some History

Bonjour mes amis!

Today I think it is pertinent to give you a little background of my trip. I probably should have thought of this a week ago, but you know what it's like before you leave on a trip -- crazy! So here's the deal:

When I was about three, my parents opened up our home to a young french exchange student, Christelle. She lived with us for the summer and had a wonderful time. We all kept in touch over email, and actually visited her once after taking a family bus tour of Europe. Fast forward to today, a few months ago, I asked Christelle if (being a french minor and general lover of france) I could come and visit her for a month to become fluent in the language and just be in france. She said "Mais, oui!" and the planning began.

After saving all of my paychecks for a few months, I bought my plane ticket and just two days ago, I arrived at the Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris. After taking the TGV (which is the european speed train: Train de Grande Vitesse) I settled into Christelle's apartment in the city and soon met her husband Yann and their sweet bébé, Achile.

Though Christelle works in Grenoble, her husband Yann works and they live in the nearby city of Voiron. Both cities are full of old buildings and more history than you could imagine! So for today, only some photos of the cities. I don't want to fill you with too much information in one day.





Oh, and here's a bonus! Everyday that I post in France I will share a french word or phrase with you.
So for today, le petite dejeuner. Le petit dejeuner means breakfast and is pronounced like: luh p'teet day-zhu-nay.

C'est bon, non?
Until tomorrow!
Stephanie

Bonjour à France!

Bonjour mes amis!

For the next month, all of my posts will be coming to you from across the pond. Lucky me, I get to spend a full month with a close (and very generous) family friend, her husband and their super sweet bébé! My posts will be mostly the same, but with more photos of the city and the various frenchie things I encounter.

It should be noted that the keyboard here is different. Many of the symbols do not require the shift key, and the q and a are switched among other things.

No photos for this first post, I haven't taken many nor have I had the chance to download them.

All in all, it is very exciting, and I hope by the end of the month I will have you all convinced to come to France right away!

à bientot!