I’m finally back and in the swing of things from an amazing weekend! I’m sorry this blog has taken me so long to write, but I’ve been enjoying and soaking up every little bit of culture I can!
To pick up where I left off, here are some things that I’ve accomplished this past week:
1. Switched levels at school! My professor came up to me at the end of the first week and said that she was going to move me up 3 levels because I was way more advanced than the other students…Thank God! The class is 100x better and I love all the people in the class too!
2. Went to the Stade des Alpes and watched the Grenoble soccer team kick butt to win the match 5-0!
3. I now tutor a 12 year old French girl in English! I saw this ad posted at school for an English speaking girl who is willing to speak English with this ladies daughter so I called the number from the ad and last Thursday was my first day! I didn’t actually get to speak to the little girl because she was very timid and shy and it was more of an interview with the mother, but she and I spoke French for a little over an hour which was nice practice for me and so in return for my her daughter, they are going to have me for dinner and the mother is going to help me practice my French conversational skills…what a deal!
4. Did my first load of laundry at the ‘Laverie’ in my neighborhood and boy is it expensive. For 2 loads in the washing machine and 1 load in the dryer, it cost me about $16 USD...can you believe that? I’m now trying to hold off on what I wash and when because this is going to add up quickly!
This last week zoomed by and on top of that; I had to prepare for my first European adventure to the Cote D’Azur (south of Grenoble, right on the Mediterranean Ocean). There were 4 of us girls going on this trip, the 2 girls I live with and another girl from our program. The 3 of them are actually staying down there for the entire week because they are on their winter break. I, on the other hand, do not have a break, so I went down just for the weekend, but still so fun!
This not only was my first overnight trip while being abroad, but also my first time ever riding the trains in France. Our first train left from the gare in Grenoble and you knew it was vacation time because everywhere you looked there were people and luggage and chaos. As we patiently waited for our platform number to come up on departure board, I was so excited to be traveling in Europe! I’ve talked so much about traveling and where I want to go and what I want to see, and now I was actually living up to my dreams and going somewhere; it was a great feeling! As soon as our platform number came up, those feelings quickly disappeared as I entered into a frenzy. Everyone went wild as they rushed to get their ticket validated, stampeded down the stairs and through the hallways to our platform and as quickly as they possibly could find a seat, put their luggage overhead and then comes the relaxing part lol I had never seen anything like this before, it was ridiculous!
After arriving in Valence, we switched trains and were now riding the TGV (Train à Grande Vitesse), the fastest high speed train in France! As we were waiting for our train, there were other TGV trains passing through the station and it is incredible how fast they go. The fastest speed to date of a TGV is 357 mph…that’s three-hundred and fifty seven miles per hour, can you believe that? While on the train, just like an airplane, you can’t feel how fast you’re really going, but making it to your destination in a few hours time definitely shows how fast we were really traveling.
In Nice, we stayed in a hostel called ‘Hotel Pastoral’ which was about a 5 minute walk from the train station and 10 minute walk from the centre ville and the beach. For the weekend, we were staying in a 4 bed, mixed dorm room, which meant 2 bunk beds, and a private bath/shower. To my surprise, the hostel was very clean and well-maintained and it made out stay that much more enjoyable. After we got settled in, we found a Chinese restaurant right across the street from our hostel (which I managed to have for 3 nights in a row lol) and got ready to go to the opening ceremony of the ‘Carnaval de Nice’.
As we were walking down to the square where the parade was taking place, people were decked out in costumes from jokers, to frogs, to pretty much everything imaginable with glitter & face paint while spraying silly string and tossing confetti everywhere, it was great! The energy and the vibe from the audience during the parade was so intense that it made me that more excited to be there experiencing it. The parade was very unique in itself with giant balloons being carried through the street by giant alien looking creatures as well as giant hands(that’s right, I said giant hands), which tried to attack us more than once, as well as people dressed in frog costumes with neon colored crowns and face paint.
There was music blasting as well and 2 main floats. The whole point of the carnival was to celebrate planet earth and the floats were supposed to represent that, but in my opinion, I think they resembled the blue people from Avatar than anything else! But the floats were very original and creative and definitely something that I won’t forget. Especially the one resembling ‘mother nature/mother earth’ which was a blue mermaid actually pregnant with the earth haha It was a site to see!
Saturday, we ventured out to Grasse, the perfume capitol of the world! Grasse is situated in the hills about an hour away from Nice with 3 of the world’s famous parfumeries: Molinard, Fragonard and Galimard and we had the opportunity to tour the Molinard parfumerie. This parfumerie is the oldest, still family run, factory/business in France today. We learned how the factory makes perfume, what the steps of the process are, as well as how they make soap, lotions and perfume labels. Molinard Parfumerie was actually built by Gustav Eiffel himself, yes the creator of the Eiffel Tour in Paris. In the factory, Gustav Eiffel created the layout and the structure of the building, which definitely resembles the Eiffel Tour (and if I could have taken pictures, I would have, to show you the similarities, but no photography was allowed). We also learned how much time it takes to create one perfume. For example, Molinards signature perfume, ‘Molinard de Molinard’, contains almost 600 different components and took over 2 years of research and detailed tests & trials to finally finish with the product they sell today. Oh and did I mention the tour was in French? I feel like I am learning and understanding so much French for the 3 weeks I’ve been here because I understood the majority of what our tour guide said (minus certain terminology for the parfumerie)!!!
It is also crazy to think that the master perfumer has a palette with 5,000-6,000 different scents isn’t it? A lot of time and effort is put into making our perfumes the way they are today, and boy, just think how many different types of perfumes and colognes there are today? A lot… and they are all made in a parfumerie like this one…
We also were able to visit the Museum of International Perfumes in Grasse with collections dating back to ancient Egypt and Rome all the way up until today. Here, the focus was on the scents of perfumes as well as the history of the perfume bottle itself. There was display room after display room with cases full of unique perfume bottles from different eras and parts of the world. It was so mindboggling to think there are this many different types of perfume, but then again everyone has different tastes and scents they associate with and come to like.
Here are some of my favorite bottles that were on display:
Let me also add that today was the perfect day for 'Stephanie's blonde side to come out'. Not only did I run into a pole while trying to read a map of where we were going (with no warning from the other girls walking right next me by the way), I also managed to slip on black ice and land on the corner of the curb with my knee and who knows what I hit my forearm on, but came home with 2 very large black and blue bruises (the pic is from 4 days after, so its more yellow and green now) on my arm as well as a swollen/bruised knee. It's funny thinking back on how it happened now, however at the time, I didn't find it as amusing as many of the bystanders who were thoroughly enjoying my clumsyness!
Sunday came quickly this past weekend, but my train didn’t leave Nice until 17h30 so I had time to explore the city. We walked to the Quai des Etats-Unis, which is a walking path that stretches for miles along the coast of the Mediterranean. The sun was out and shining too, which made for some great photos! A cool part about the beaches in Nice are that they’re all rock beaches, no sand.
The last site we saw, before I had to board my train, was the famous Russian Orthodox Church. You would never think that Nice has a Russian church, but oddly enough they do! It is very out of place for a city like Nice, but the architecture of the church was breathtaking! It even felt like we were in Russia while at the church grounds. It was a sight to see!
To pick up where I left off, here are some things that I’ve accomplished this past week:
1. Switched levels at school! My professor came up to me at the end of the first week and said that she was going to move me up 3 levels because I was way more advanced than the other students…Thank God! The class is 100x better and I love all the people in the class too!
2. Went to the Stade des Alpes and watched the Grenoble soccer team kick butt to win the match 5-0!
3. I now tutor a 12 year old French girl in English! I saw this ad posted at school for an English speaking girl who is willing to speak English with this ladies daughter so I called the number from the ad and last Thursday was my first day! I didn’t actually get to speak to the little girl because she was very timid and shy and it was more of an interview with the mother, but she and I spoke French for a little over an hour which was nice practice for me and so in return for my her daughter, they are going to have me for dinner and the mother is going to help me practice my French conversational skills…what a deal!
4. Did my first load of laundry at the ‘Laverie’ in my neighborhood and boy is it expensive. For 2 loads in the washing machine and 1 load in the dryer, it cost me about $16 USD...can you believe that? I’m now trying to hold off on what I wash and when because this is going to add up quickly!
This last week zoomed by and on top of that; I had to prepare for my first European adventure to the Cote D’Azur (south of Grenoble, right on the Mediterranean Ocean). There were 4 of us girls going on this trip, the 2 girls I live with and another girl from our program. The 3 of them are actually staying down there for the entire week because they are on their winter break. I, on the other hand, do not have a break, so I went down just for the weekend, but still so fun!
This not only was my first overnight trip while being abroad, but also my first time ever riding the trains in France. Our first train left from the gare in Grenoble and you knew it was vacation time because everywhere you looked there were people and luggage and chaos. As we patiently waited for our platform number to come up on departure board, I was so excited to be traveling in Europe! I’ve talked so much about traveling and where I want to go and what I want to see, and now I was actually living up to my dreams and going somewhere; it was a great feeling! As soon as our platform number came up, those feelings quickly disappeared as I entered into a frenzy. Everyone went wild as they rushed to get their ticket validated, stampeded down the stairs and through the hallways to our platform and as quickly as they possibly could find a seat, put their luggage overhead and then comes the relaxing part lol I had never seen anything like this before, it was ridiculous!
After arriving in Valence, we switched trains and were now riding the TGV (Train à Grande Vitesse), the fastest high speed train in France! As we were waiting for our train, there were other TGV trains passing through the station and it is incredible how fast they go. The fastest speed to date of a TGV is 357 mph…that’s three-hundred and fifty seven miles per hour, can you believe that? While on the train, just like an airplane, you can’t feel how fast you’re really going, but making it to your destination in a few hours time definitely shows how fast we were really traveling.
In Nice, we stayed in a hostel called ‘Hotel Pastoral’ which was about a 5 minute walk from the train station and 10 minute walk from the centre ville and the beach. For the weekend, we were staying in a 4 bed, mixed dorm room, which meant 2 bunk beds, and a private bath/shower. To my surprise, the hostel was very clean and well-maintained and it made out stay that much more enjoyable. After we got settled in, we found a Chinese restaurant right across the street from our hostel (which I managed to have for 3 nights in a row lol) and got ready to go to the opening ceremony of the ‘Carnaval de Nice’.
Doesn't this frog remind you of the geico gecko?
As we were walking down to the square where the parade was taking place, people were decked out in costumes from jokers, to frogs, to pretty much everything imaginable with glitter & face paint while spraying silly string and tossing confetti everywhere, it was great! The energy and the vibe from the audience during the parade was so intense that it made me that more excited to be there experiencing it. The parade was very unique in itself with giant balloons being carried through the street by giant alien looking creatures as well as giant hands(that’s right, I said giant hands), which tried to attack us more than once, as well as people dressed in frog costumes with neon colored crowns and face paint.
welcome to the 'Carnaval de Nice'!
people were spraying us with silly string left and right
the giant hand
one of the frogs!
There was music blasting as well and 2 main floats. The whole point of the carnival was to celebrate planet earth and the floats were supposed to represent that, but in my opinion, I think they resembled the blue people from Avatar than anything else! But the floats were very original and creative and definitely something that I won’t forget. Especially the one resembling ‘mother nature/mother earth’ which was a blue mermaid actually pregnant with the earth haha It was a site to see!
Saturday, we ventured out to Grasse, the perfume capitol of the world! Grasse is situated in the hills about an hour away from Nice with 3 of the world’s famous parfumeries: Molinard, Fragonard and Galimard and we had the opportunity to tour the Molinard parfumerie. This parfumerie is the oldest, still family run, factory/business in France today. We learned how the factory makes perfume, what the steps of the process are, as well as how they make soap, lotions and perfume labels. Molinard Parfumerie was actually built by Gustav Eiffel himself, yes the creator of the Eiffel Tour in Paris. In the factory, Gustav Eiffel created the layout and the structure of the building, which definitely resembles the Eiffel Tour (and if I could have taken pictures, I would have, to show you the similarities, but no photography was allowed). We also learned how much time it takes to create one perfume. For example, Molinards signature perfume, ‘Molinard de Molinard’, contains almost 600 different components and took over 2 years of research and detailed tests & trials to finally finish with the product they sell today. Oh and did I mention the tour was in French? I feel like I am learning and understanding so much French for the 3 weeks I’ve been here because I understood the majority of what our tour guide said (minus certain terminology for the parfumerie)!!!
It is also crazy to think that the master perfumer has a palette with 5,000-6,000 different scents isn’t it? A lot of time and effort is put into making our perfumes the way they are today, and boy, just think how many different types of perfumes and colognes there are today? A lot… and they are all made in a parfumerie like this one…
in front of Molinard parfumerie
the boutique
We also were able to visit the Museum of International Perfumes in Grasse with collections dating back to ancient Egypt and Rome all the way up until today. Here, the focus was on the scents of perfumes as well as the history of the perfume bottle itself. There was display room after display room with cases full of unique perfume bottles from different eras and parts of the world. It was so mindboggling to think there are this many different types of perfume, but then again everyone has different tastes and scents they associate with and come to like.
Here are some of my favorite bottles that were on display:
here are the perfume bottles of today
Let me also add that today was the perfect day for 'Stephanie's blonde side to come out'. Not only did I run into a pole while trying to read a map of where we were going (with no warning from the other girls walking right next me by the way), I also managed to slip on black ice and land on the corner of the curb with my knee and who knows what I hit my forearm on, but came home with 2 very large black and blue bruises (the pic is from 4 days after, so its more yellow and green now) on my arm as well as a swollen/bruised knee. It's funny thinking back on how it happened now, however at the time, I didn't find it as amusing as many of the bystanders who were thoroughly enjoying my clumsyness!Sunday came quickly this past weekend, but my train didn’t leave Nice until 17h30 so I had time to explore the city. We walked to the Quai des Etats-Unis, which is a walking path that stretches for miles along the coast of the Mediterranean. The sun was out and shining too, which made for some great photos! A cool part about the beaches in Nice are that they’re all rock beaches, no sand.
While walking along the shore, I saw people walking up and down these staircases to what seemed like a lookout tower on the top of this hill overlooking the entire city of Nice, so we decided to go and check it out. And boy am I excited we did. We climbed about 6-7 flights of stairs to reach this lookout area, but the entire climb up as well as from the point, the views were spectacular! You could see for miles down the coast, you could see the old town of Nice as well as the Alps. It was perfect and I am so grateful and lucky to have this opportunity to explore Europe and what it as to offer...and it wouldn't be possible without my parents.They are so awesome allowing me to study abroad this semester, and I love them with all my heart!
we climbed up the top of this lookout point
and here were some of the views:
Overall, this getaway was a great first adventure and I look forward to the many more I’ll have in the future!
Love and miss everyone at home!!
Stephanie
March 5, 2010 at 10:48 PM
Stephanie,
Sounds like you are having the time of your life! Your writing style is so good. When we read it it feels like we are right there with you. Keep up the good work, have fun and be safe.
Love you and miss you.
Uncle Scott