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!