Grenoble Sunday Stroll

I'm enjoying my new apartment here in Grenoble.  I finally unpacked and stashed my suitcase, did some shopping for bed linens and food basics, and started exploring my neighborhood.  I'm living with three French girls about a 20 minute walk from the center of Grenoble where all the action happens with bars, cafes, and winding streets.  I'm right next to two tram lines, which is convenient to get to the university, even though I'd like to get a bike to take advantage of the chance to get some fresh air.  Grenoble itself is very flat and bike-friendly; in fact, it's supposedly the flattest city in France!  So after my first payday, a bike is one of the first things on my shopping list.

Even with Grenoble being flat, the surrounding area is picturesque with mountains closing in the city on all sides.  The city is considered the capital of the French Alps region, and Stendhal, a 19th century French writer, once said of Grenoble, "At the end of every road there is a mountain."  To the north is the Chartreuse mountain range, to the south and west is the Vercours, and to the east is the Belledonne.  I'll admit that I cheated and looked that up just now, but soon I'll know it by heart.  It seems to be a right of passage to know which is which when living in Grenoble.  I get a peak of the Belledonne from my bedroom window when it's not cloudy.

Today is Sunday and I decided to have a nice afternoon stroll.  I walked up the main street (in fact the longest street in France - or it would be if it didn't change names a couple times) and past the fruit and vegetable market that I explored yesterday.  I kept going all the way to the Isere River which runs at the foot of the Bastille, a small fortified mountain that is one of the main tourist attractions of the city.  I crossed the river where I thought I would find a flea market.  Alas there was nothing (the website I saw the information on must be outdated), so I stopped by the supermarket there and picked up a couple things to add to my hoard of fruits and veggies at home.  I continued along the quay, pondering over which pizza restaurant I'd be trying first and when that would be.  There must have been 25 in a row!  I continued meandering along the river, eventually crossing a bridge back to the old city.  Being Sunday, the shops were closed.  However, people were still out and about getting lunch or walking around.  A couple outdoor markets were starting to put their unsold goods back into their vans.  After getting lost and finding myself a couple times I headed back to my apartment (hopefully soon it feels more natural to say "home"!).  At foot of my apartment, I stopped in the bakery and picked up their promotion: 3 croissants and 3 pain au chocolat for 2 euros!  Yum yum.

Now I'm in the for rest of the day, thinking about what I should make with my fresh ingredients.  I'm also trying to prepare myself a bit for the six classes I start this week.  I started my first two last Friday at the IAE business school where I am teaching English to masters IT students.  It started a little awkwardly, but then felt good once we got going.  I hope that the rest of my classes starting this week just keep getting better and better as I go along.  Besides the IT students, I'm also teaching undergraduate students at the urbanism school and a mix of both undergraduate and masters students at the language center on campus.  The language center caters to non-majors, so I'll be teaching students from all different disciplines.  Here's to the start of a good week! Wish me luck!

Bisous,
Danielle

Retour en France

Hello from Grenoble!

I took a summer hiatus from my blog and feel like there's so much to say about all the excited things I did over the past few months.  I wrapped up my classes in Perpignan at the end of May, which was bittersweet, but I was ready for some time back home in Colorado. Throughout the summer, I felt like I was constantly traveling between working in Winter Park, visiting family and friends in Denver, taking a visa trip to Los Angeles and melting in the heat in Omaha.  It felt good to rediscover some familiar places.

A week ago I returned to France with the offer to teach at Université Pierre-Mendès-France in Grenoble. I will be teaching language courses to university students as a lectrice d'anglais.  Quite the jump from elementary! Classes don't start for another week and a half, and I'm just trying to figure out how things work right now.  My coworkers have been quite welcoming and willing to put me in the right direction for all of my questions.

I found an apartment but it won't be available for a while yet.  For the time being, I've met some very nice new friends that have welcomed me into their home. I've already found a great community here, which is important to me.

Soon I'll need to buy a bike.... Since that seems to be the grenoblois thing to do. Everyone here rides bikes, and it's a very bike friendly city.  There's also the tram and buses so I haven't had any trouble getting around. It's also a very outdoorsy culture and feels more like Denver than anywhere else I've been in France.  You can see it in how people dress, what people carry, and how they get around.  I'm excited to explore my surroundings a bit more once I get settled in.

Soon I'll share some pictures of the beautiful views around here.  Since I'm living out of my suitcase at the moment, things have shifted around and I'll have to find where I stashed everything.

Wishing you all well and à bientôt!

Manchester and Liverpool

After my quick stay in London, we hopped on an early morning bus to go north to Manchester for a few days.  Our plan was to spend two nights in Manchester, followed by a one night stay in Liverpool, and return to Manchester for our last night before taking the plane home.

Arriving in Manchester, we walked to our hotel, which was above a local pub and next to MOSI (the Museum of Science and Industry).  We settled in and headed out for food.  We decided to satisfy our craving for a certain Italian restaurant called San Carlo.  I had a delicious salmon dish with hollandaise sauce. Yum!

Our hotel "The Oxnoble"

After that, we decided to walk around town a bit.  We were already in the center and lots of people were out and about.  The outdoor pubs were full since it was a warm, sunny day.  I was still regretting not packing my sunglasses...

The Manchester cathedral flying the English flag for St. George's Day

That night, we took a needed break and went to the movies.  In France, foreign language movies are often dubbed... and honestly that just gets on my nerves, especially when it's an actor you know with a different voice.  I'd prefer subtitles! In England, we were able to watch movies in their original versions.

Manchester canal

The next day, we decided to tackle the museum.  In the 18th century, Manchester was at the heart of the Industrial Revolution.  We learned about the importance of textiles and electricity for the city.  We saw a variety of trains, planes, and automobiles.  They even had a replica of the first computer that stored memory.  It was about the size of my bathroom in all!  After that, we walked around the nearby canal, which had a relaxed feelings and pubs alongside.  All of the flowers were beginning to bloom too!

Manchester canal

For dinner, we enjoyed Indian food.  Indian food is very common in Manchester; they even have a stretch of road nicknamed the Curry Mile, since there are so many curry restaurants.

The next day was our day in Liverpool! Liverpool is about an hour away from Manchester by either bus or train (we took the bus).  Our hotel was conveniently located in the center.  What first struck me about Liverpool was the interesting and varied architecture.  They had impressive buildings with Roman columns alongside modern angular buildings as well as Victorian brick houses.  

Liverpool from Albert Dock

Liverpool from Albert Dock

We walked to Albert Dock, one of the most touristy areas of the city hosting the Beatles Museum, Tate Modern Art Museum, the ferry, and other sites related to the history of Liverpool.  We took in the art museum and then went to find some fish n' chips.  It's the place for it after all!  We continued our day with a trek to the cathedral, which happened to be much farther than we thought.  Though we could see it from the docks, it was about a 45 minute walk, somewhat uphill, to get there.  The cathedral itself was very impressive and large with an incredible stained glass display.  Inside was unique.  Rather than only acting as a religious space, the cathedral set aside an area for an art gallery display as well as a cafe, restaurant and gift shop.  It was quite unique.  

Gallery space in the Cathedral

After a couple more hours of walking and seeing the sights, we went to find a good place to eat.  We consulted TripAdvisor back at our hotel and learned that the top rated restaurant in our area was a Japanese one.  We went to try it, first being told that there was no space and to come back later.  We passed our time at a pub drinking Pimms, a unique, light and refreshing drink.  Once the time arrived, we headed back to the Japanese restaurant and were in for a treat! I ordered seared tuna with teriyaki sauce and salad and rice on the side. It was incredible, melt in my mouth delicious.  I was happy with my choice.

The next morning came too early, and we were headed back to Manchester.  It was starting to drizzle rain for the first time on our trip.  My big plan for the day was afternoon tea!  Luckily, one of the best tea rooms was around the corner from our hotel, so we went there to enjoy an Alice in Wonderland inspired tea.  We enjoyed a large pot of green tea, various finger sandwiches, pastries and scones.  I sure was full!

Tea time!

For my first time in the UK, it was definitely a good trip! We kept busy by seeing different cities and trying different things.  I'm happy that I was able to get a taste of each city.  They were all unique with different feelings.  London was the big city with lots of things to do.  Manchester was a smaller community with a nice relaxed city feeling.  Liverpool seemed to have more hustle and bustle going on and it was difficult for me to understand their accents.  Someday I'll be back to the UK, but this was a nice introduction.

First Time in London!

I arrived back in France safely last night after a week-long trip to England.  It was my first time in the UK.

We left Perpignan on Saturday morning and flew direct to London.  The airport in Perpignan is extremely small with a very limited number of flights.  Lucky for us, Ryanair, which is a budget airline that operates in Perpignan, flies direct to London.  I received my first passport stamps for both Perpignan and London!

After arriving in London Stansted, which actually isn't in London, we hopped on a train to get us into the city.  We stopped for lunch (I had a delicious duck stir fry) and we made our way to the hostel, Palmer's Lodge Swiss Cottage.  It's a unique place, situated in a historic building with a knight's armour hanging out by the staircase.  It was a perfect base for our three-night stay. We dropped off our things and promptly left to start exploring.  We took the Underground to Baker Street (famous for Sherlock Holmes) and started walking.  It's fun to explore a city's architecture and culture just by wandering around.   Eventually we decided to change pace and hopped on the tube to go see Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, and the London Eye.  These looked and felt like the "London experience" that I was expecting since they're some of the most photographed tourist sites in the world!

It was getting late, so we found some dinner and then met up with a friend.  We joined him for a birthday party and then went to a pub/ dance place for the night.  Getting back at 4AM, we took a quick but much-needed snooze before meeting up for brunch the next day.  Brunch at The Breakfast Club was delicious (I went with the "All American" option including eggs, potatoes, bacon, and pancakes). 

With full bellies, we continued our day with the British Museum, which houses the famous Rosetta Stone.  We only had time for a couple exhibits, including Ancient Rome, Egypt, and Japan.  That night, we decided to see the city from a different point of view, and met up with a free Jack the Ripper walking tour.  As the sun set, our guide led us through what was the dirtiest and most dangerous part of London (in the late 1800s), the Whitechapel district.  He explained the events that occurred during the murders by a man whose identity we can still only speculate.  Our guide explained the most likely culprits and the theories surrounding them.  

The gardens in bloom

The next morning woke us bright and early and we joined another walking tour, this time to learn about arguably the most famous area of London.  We saw the National Gallery, Buckingham Palace, the royal park, Churchill's bunker (or rather sat on top of it), Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, among other places.  We also witnessed the end of the changing of the guard that went to St James' Palace.  Our tour ended at a pub, where we grabbed a bite to eat.  I had my first fish n' chips.  We decided to go back to the National Gallery via Piccadilly Circus and see some of the art.  Sadly, many of the rooms were closed due to a strike, but we still saw many great works of art.  We had a little time left, so we went to see the iconic Tower Bridge and I enjoyed a creamy ice cream there.  It was our last night in London.  We grabbed a romantic dinner nearby the hostel and got to bed early since our bus for Manchester was leaving first thing in the morning.

The three days were a great introduction to London, but I feel like I barely scratched the surface of all that the city has to offer.  London is definitely a big city with a big city feel. 

Changing of the guards

The Rosetta Stone at the British Museum

Always being watched

National Gallery

Buckingham Palace

Big Ben (which is actually the bell inside the clocktower) and the iconic red telephone booth

Tower Bridge

With love from London...

Les Géants de Villefranche-sur-Conflent

On Easter Sunday, I wanted to do something special.  While searching online, I discovered that the cute town of Villefranche-sur-Conflent was having an Easter event involving paper maché giants!

We arrived with the 1 euro train from Perpignan around 9am and had some time to walk around before the event started.  We ambled from the train station up the river to the fortified village.  The village is surrounded by a large wall and part of the river with Fort Liberia overlooking it from the nearby hill.  We entered through the drawbridge and gate.  Walking around, we came upon a mushroom exposition.  It was exactly what it sounds like... a display of some mushrooms with a little explanation.  After that, we found ourselves in a chocolate shop then a cookie shop, sampling our way through the town.  We did some shopping and I got myself some cute new sandals.

We saw some individuals starting to set up their giants.  They were very tall hollow figures that someone could stand inside and lift up.  Then, they could dance too!   Around 10:30, the party was starting.  The giants were assembled and people were gathering with their instruments.  There were about four sets of giants, always with a man and a woman, accompanied by a band.  The bands were varied; most had a drummer and some funny horns that sounded slightly like a kazoo.  I noticed that some of the groups were speaking in Spanish or Catalan.  I believe this type of event may have evolved from a similar event in Spain.

The giant couples started dancing and spinning along and the parade started.  Just as they started going, I noticed an old woman watching from the window.  Some others noticed as well, and a group of men decided to offer her a flower.  They lifted one up who presented a happy, yellow daisy, the man and old woman exchanged bisous (a kiss on each cheek), and the old woman started crying with tears of joy.  She was so touched by a simple act of kindness.  

The parade was moving on and everyone walked from one end of the village to the other (in about ten minutes), gathered for a few more minutes, and walked through the town again.  All in all, everyone was in a very festive mood.  They enjoyed the funny music and dancing.  I was enjoying it too!  After the festivities were done, we found a cafe to spend our afternoon in.  We spent a couple hours enjoying our paninis and sangria and sitting in the sun before returning home by train.  Even though it wasn't my typical Easter Sunday, it was fun to be somewhere festive and happy experiencing someone else's traditions.

Hello in there!

Villefranche giants getting ready for the day.

Making an effort to share a daisy with this woman.

Bisous. Thank you.

Then there's these tourists taking pictures up the giant's skirt...

Little man walking through town...

Musicians leading the way through town.

Catalan knight at your service.

Drummer boy

La Sanch Video

Here's a quick supplement to my post about the Sanch procession in Perpignan.  You can really feel the grimness excuded by the drums and the cloaked and masked men in this video.

La Sanch

The Friday before Easter or Good Friday, I witnessed a very unique tradition in Perpignan called La Sanch.  It seems to be a tradition dating from 1461 that is only maintained in a few towns and villages in this part of France.  

La Sanch means "the blood" in Catalan.  It was a long procession that was somber and quiet.  Men played drums and wore long robes with a tall pointy hat in black or red.  These robes made it impossible to identify the person, which supposedly was originally to hide the identity of criminals, penitents and executioners on their way to the gallows.  Others carried heavy images of Christ or the cross to reenact Christ's Passion.  Women wore black veils.  Some recited verses and some were silent.  Another unique part of the outfit was that some people walked the procession with bare feet to symbolize their connection to Christ. 

To learn more about La Sanch, its history, and its significance, visit this link:  http://www.anglophone-direct.com/La-procession-de-la-Sanch. 

It was a really unique procession, and many people arrived in Perpignan for the day to witness it.  It was a beautiful, warm day with people lining the streets and an eerie silence, broken by a bell, drums and chants as the procession took place.