Oui, un peu

Bonsoir!

Are you in this just for the pics? If so, read no further. Here is a link to my picasa album:

http://picasaweb.google.com/104075353963997070835


Its been a bit since my last post, but to be honest the trip to Paris was AMAZING and I don't know if it can be topped. I promise to consistently try, however. The weeks are pretty standard for me- eat, sleep, work- so nothing new to report there. Work is going really well and I'm definitely learning a lot about Consulates, The State Department, the role of the US abroad, etc. Pretty interesting stuff if I do say so myself.

Thursday I have the ultimate trip for work. Now for a little "choose your own adventure" style writing. If you have no love for the good 'ole University of Virginia (*ahem all you Hokies reading this), no respect for one of our great founding fathers, or no soul- please skip onto the next paragraph..... Now for those still reading, I get to go to Béziers on Thursday! Yeah I hadn't heard of it either, BUT apparently Thomas Jefferson visited there and even based his design for the canal that links the Potomac river with Lake Erie on the one in Béziers. In a nutshell there is a full day of events planned to celebrate the life and works of TJ, une fête, non? What more could a girl in pearls want? WAHOOWA! Check the next blog post for updates on this historic trip- I was even promised that there is a TJ plaque. Stay tuned for more...

Now that all of those with culture and agriculture are back to reading this together, let me update you on my weekend. Friday evening Brooke and I took another stab at making friends. One Irish Pub, free drink, and 45min speech by a 55yr old Englishman about the Corsica Mafia later, we decided to call it a night.

Saturday the weather was beautiful minus "le mistral". I had heard about this downfall of Provence, but I did not think it would start so early in the Fall. Le mistral is the winter wind that blows through Provence, and boy does it blow. A consistent wind for a few days straight that honestly made it quite difficult to walk sometimes. After realizing that neither of us had really discovered Marseille outside of our work and grocery store route, we decided to venture out into the city a bit! To be honest, I had not been the biggest fan of the city, but seeing more of it Saturday definitely changed my mind. From the locals I've heard that people generally either love or hate Marseille. Its very different from all the other places I've been to in France in that its not quaint and touristy. It is a residential, industrial, working port city that you appreciate if you live here, not so much if you're just visiting for a couple of days. After being here for two weeks, I am starting to consider myself living here instead of just visiting, allowing the city to definitely grow on me.

We started our day off with a trip to Notre Dame de la Garde. One of the most recognizable features of Marseille, this church sits atop the highest point in the city, offering fantastic 360degree views. My favorite part of it was not the completly gold leafed Madonna and Child reflecting the Provencal sun, but the sailboats that hung from the ceiling of the cathedral. Typical Marseille.

Notre Dame de la Garde

Brooke and I at the top (note the wind)

Best sites of the city/sea by far. Afterwards we ventured back to le Vieux Port and headed to Le Panier, the oldest neighborhood in Marseille. In writing all of this, I realize you probably want some quick facts about the city:

1. Second most populous city in France
2. France's largest commercial port
3. 1.6 mil people live in the metropolitan area
4. Humans have inhabited Marseille for 30,000 yrs (?!?!)
5. Oldest city in France, founded in 600 BC (and according to our old English friend, one of the oldest in Europe)

Anywhoo, Le Panier was very quaint and fulfilled my desire for typical Provence style France. Its hilly windy streets were populated with hanging flower baskets, drying laundry, soap/olive oil shops, and pâtisseries (oldest bakery i Marseille is here, Mom!) To fulfill our church count for the day we headed a few blocks away to le cathedrale de la major- standard Basilica business ensued. Weird French moment: On the way home we walked past the starbucks, and the line was OUT THE DOOR. Don't they realize they have much better espresso in France?? To top it off, they don't even have Pumpkin Spice Laté. 


Sunday morning we left bright and early to St Raphael/St Tropez/Cannes area for an American Legion ceremony of eight fallen airman of WWII. It was pretty impressive the amount of effort put into these ceremonies every year to keep the memory alive. Fun Fact: Two of the American Legion guys I talked to met their wives in France during the war and haven't been back to the US for 65 years. Their French is now better than their English. On the way home we drove along the coast, confirming my desire to retire in the south of France. The drive was absolutely gorgeous, and luckily the bullet proof glass didn't distort my view too much :)


Pretty much another awesome weekend. This weekend we're either going to Paris again (if Brooke can get a seat for the Foreign Service Officers Test) or Aix-en-Provence/Avignon.


Too tired to write anymore... bonne nuit!

Le meilleur week-end

SO much has happened since my last blog post, so get ready for some exciting news. Honestly, I predict that I had the best few days that I will have all semester.

Okay, so I'll start with the first day of work. Working a 9-5 job is really weird to be honest. I have never done it, and part of me kind of prefers the 24/7 workday of camp, but it will be nice to establish a routine and dare I say get a taste of the "real world". I hate that phrase. I'll take the bus to work everyday, but lucky for me I wait for it at arguably one of the prettiest bus stops in the world. My first day of work started off only I as I would expect for myself- oversleeping an hour. But we managed to be on time which was really lucky... When we arrived at the consulate there was a visitor! The new Desk Officer for France in Washington was visiting the consulate, which was a nice introduction to what everyone in the office does and what not. More importantly, she brought macaroons from Paris. Win.

Overall I think I'm going to like work and the people there a lot. I'll be trained for about the first week, so nothing too exciting until then.

NOW the real excitement. Brooke and I left early Friday morning to take the TGV (bullet train) to Paris for the Rentrée. The month of August is vacation time for the French, so the period in September when everyone returns to work is referred to as "rentrée". What better way to kick work off than a party? So we journeyed up to Paris for that, and to pick up our security badges. After we got off the metro we had a bit of trouble finding the right entrance to the embassy. After walking in a circle for a few minutes we paused to look around. How did we finally find the right entrance you ask? We spotted a black Chevy SUV being searched by a guy with an American flag lapel pin. Dead giveaway. I'm pretty sure the Americans who work for the Embassy are the only ones in Paris, or France for that matter, with Chevy SUVs.

Once at the Embassy we met some officers in various sectors and learned a little more about their responsibilities and what not. They are also very into giving out cards, so i now have a nice little collection.

Then on to the party, which just so happens to be next door to the French president's house. Seriously, probably the most awesome thing I've ever been to in my life. The residence was incredible, as were the desserts/wine. For not knowing anyone at all, Brooke and I managed to do pretty well with meeting people, including the ambassador himself!

Brooke, Ambassador Rivkin, and myself

Ambassador's residence- not too shabby

 

 

 

The next day in Paris we wondered around the old Jewish Ghetto (located by the Pompidou Centre) and went to some great vintage shops. Digging through vintage Parisian clothes- surprisingly fun. I had my first croissant of the trip which probably contained approximately one stick of butter.. mmm... I will definitely be making more trips to Paris.

We returned home to Marseille late Saturday night, which was nice to be back in quasi-familiar territory. Today the weather was gorgeous, making my run that much better. Sundays definitely seem to be the day for Regattas. I could probably see 100 sailboats from my room at one point. Sailing is definitely one of my goals while I'm here. Is it bad that Brooke and I are trying to find a friend... but more specifically a friend with a sail boat? I didn't think so.

Off to watch the sunset...

Coucher du soleil

I am about half way through my second day in France! But, lets start at the beginning because there is much to tell.

My flights went well and customs was a breeze. That's all good and well, but don't you worry there was definitely some excitement at the beginning of my transatlantic fight... i mean flight. As i'm settling in and preparing myself for 7hrs of stiffness, I hear the flight attendant yell, "Sir, you DO NOT push me!" My thoughts, "Yesssss drama."

I was REALLY hoping that it would go down like this

... but it didn't. The angry passenger in the aluminum tube of rage was upset that the flight attendant moved is bag to make room for a priest's (no i'm not making that up) larger suitcase. The flight attendant was a seasoned feisty veteran and viciously fought back. I'm also pretty sure for the rest of the flight she withheld giving him the can with the remaining soda after pouring his drink. Wicked.

The only noteworthy part about my layover in Brussels was when going through customs the officer asked why I was going to France, looked at my passport and said, "Oh Annette Devereaux, you must be going to visit relatives." A typical assumption from an unknowing European. Thanks Grandpa for letting me know the truth about my heritage :)

And now there is Marseille. Brooke, who is the other intern, and the Consul General's driver, Patrick, picked me up at the airport. Don't worry Mom, the car was bulletproof, not kidding. It even had its own parking spot for vehicles of such caliber. The rest of the day was a delirious haze of sleeping and sauntering to a store for some food. The real treat of the day, and hopefully every day to come, was the sunset. Oh my. Here are some pics of the sunset as seen from my apartment:

I could get used to this. The view in incredible! The first picture is right out of my apartment window. Not too shabby. I was instantly reminded of a time in Haiti when I was trying to describe a sunset to someone. Not knowing the word for "sunset" in French I explained how each night the sun falls from the sky into the land. Very poetic if I do say so myself. Today I looked it up and the proper phrase is "coucher du soleil". I kinda like my version better. Moving on, I also love the corniche that I am on. When walking down the street to one side are houses upon hills that slope down, and to the other side is the Mediterranean. On my morning run today I discovered a couple of beaches just down the street that might have to come into use this weekend. Moral of the story is I love the area my apartment is in, but to be honest I haven't explored much beyond it. Baby steps people, baby steps.

My first day of work is tomorrow and its rumored that I get to drive in with the Consul General on my first day, but I believe she has been out of town so who knows. I guess the bus will do... as long as its bullet proof... just kidding... not really... but kinda.

À demain!