Rolls of film shot: 11

Paris Again

Made it back to the airport again. Finally found the British Airways counter, and checked myself in. But then I accidentally stood in the “ticket sales” line for 20 minutes before realizing it wasn’t the “baggage drop off” line. The only signs were on the counter itself, not at the entrance to the line. Oh well – they made up for it by letting me check a second bag so I don’t have to lug it around the airport and into the bathroom and such. I think that’s one of the worst things about traveling alone – having to lug everything everywhere with you. Trying to wedge suitcases into the bathrooms, making sure you are in the right line, etc.
I sure can’t wait to see Greg.

Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim

by David Sedaris. I can’t remember the last time I read a book in one day. Greg got me this one for Christmas, in anticipation of us seeing him live in April sometime. I also can’t remember the last time I read (and liked) a book of short stories (essays?) This was hilarious, though. Lots of stories about his family that were absolutely hilarious. I think my favorite story was about the different versions of Santa Claus, primarily the difference between the American version and the Dutch version. I can’t wait to read “Me Talk Pretty One Day,” especially after spending two weeks in France.

Last Day in Clermont

I know I’ve said it already, but I don’t know how the time went so fast! I tried to take it easy today. Got up and hung around the hotel for a while, cleaning up and packing up. I finally had to go to the post office. Good heavens – I don’t even want to admit to how much postage cost to the US, and I didn’t even go with Air Mail. I had to fill out a customs form for each one, and declare the value. I’m not sure if the declared value was more than the postage. It was probably close. But my suitcases are noticeably lighter.

I went in to town to just hang out for a couple of hours. By the time I got there, though, it was around noon, and everything shuts down for lunch from noon until 2ish. I found a couple of shops still open, tried to get some last photos, and got some lunch. I also just sat outside and read for a while – so nice!

I haven’t posted any pictures lately, so I tried to grab some today, but am not super happy with them. The weather has cleared up, but there’s been this haze all week. It’s not super humid – I can’t quite figure out what it is. But everything looks hazy. I took this picture of the big church in the middle of town from the end of the street, and even it looks hazy. (If you stand in front of the church and look down the street, you see the Puy de Dome … I have an earlier picture of this somewhere.) Should have more pictures soon, though!

The car made it back to the airport in one piece. I even managed to fill it with gas (sans plomb, not diesel!). There was no “Car Rental Return” lot, though, which was strange. You just park the car in the regular parking lot, and tell them where you left it. It’s a pretty small airport.

France is Good For the Skin

For the past few years, every winter, my hands get super dry, and the skin on my fingers starts to crack and peel. I have to put heavy lotion on them before bed. Ever since I’ve been in Europe, though, they have gotten better and are back to normal. Maybe it’s the warmer weather we’ve been having? (I guess I’ll find out, since it’s supposed to be getting chilly again in the UK.)

Greg's in London

Greg called a little while ago to say he made it to London! I'll be there ... in 12 hrs!

Brain = Full

I can't believe that it has been two weeks already. I feel like I am just starting to settle in. My brain is full, though, and I don't know if I could absorb too much more at work if I stayed. Guess I will just have to come back.

Today was my last day of work, and my brain just felt like it filled up after lunch. We didn't get coffee after lunch like usual, so maybe it was that. But my brain was just full, and I wasn't processing any more information. I've taken so many notes that I can't find anything in them anymore. My brain started on vacation a little early.

Trying to just do some clean up and get packed tonight. My suitcases were a little heavy on the way here, so I'm planning to mail some things home in the morning. Against my better judgement, I'm sending home a roll of cheese I got in Amsterdam. I have horrible images of stinky cheese sitting out in the sun for days if the packages beat me home.

Greg is officially on his way! His flight to London was boarding the last time I checked, despite some storms that looked like they were moving in.

Today was another gorgeous day, about 17 celcius. Many of the trees are blooming with pink and white flowers. But there was a threat of snow here next week.... Looks like the UK will start cooling down on Sunday. Honestly, it will feel good, since we don't get much of a winter at home.

Foie Gras!

I had my first ever foie gras tonight. (Take that, Dad, who claims I am not be adventurous enough!) It was good, though not something I would necessarily seek out in the future. I had some lamb and vegetables for dinner, and some more very very good French red wine. Dessert was some sort of chestnut pudding layered with vanilla ice cream and dark chocolate. Mm hm.

Working

I'm really enjoying work this week. Maybe it's just that I'm not as sick as I was last week. Maybe it's that I'm still in training mode and am not quite accountable yet. Maybe it's that the group I'm with this week are a lot of fun and super nice -- they make me tea in the morning, speak English with me at lunch, buy me coffee in the afternoon. Maybe it's that I'm getting used to not speaking the language. Maybe it's that I've got a routine down now. Maybe it's that the weather has cleared up significantly since last week.

It's a good feeling though.

Aligot and Confit de Canard and French Toast

That's what I had for dinner. I ran into some colleagues in the cafeteria today, and finally had someone to go to dinner with. It was an experience! And it is true - it's nearly impossible to do dinner in under 2 hours.

So, I had a roasted duck leg for dinner, with these mashed potatoes (aligot) that were to die for! Apparently, it's a speciality of this little restaurant, and the owner made a big production out of mixing them up and serving them in front of us. The potatoes are mixed with a whole bunch of cheese (didn't catch the kind) and then he stirs them up and "throws" them on to the plates. There was a degree on the wall that said he was a "Master of Aligot."

We also had some good red wine - my first wine since I've been here. (I figured it was ok now that I'm tapering off on the decongestants.) It was a pinot noir from somewhere around here, but again I didn't catch the name. Can't figure out how I'd bring some home anyway, with the new liquid restrictions when you're flying.

For dessert, no joke, we had French toast. I think the actual translation was "old bread." But it was so good - with a little bit of ice cream some pear, some strawberry.

Back to *not* working on this midterm...

Did you know...

Tuesday was Ghana's bithday, too? Not the same year, though. I never knew we shared a birthday.

I've seen WAY too much CNN Global Edition.

Lonely

I've been away from home for 11 days now, and I'm starting to get a little lonely. I've been able to stay in touch through email and IM, but it's not quite the same as being there. Maybe it's just the fact that it's the weekend, and I don't even have any co-workers to interact with.

It was so nice to have my parents with us the weekend before I left. Really, it was just so nice to have other people in the house, and to have someone else to talk to! It was just comforting to all be together.

Don't get me wrong -- I can't for a minute take for granted the opportunity that I have been able to take advantage of. I'm enjoying traveling (well, not the travelling part, but the being in a new place part). It has challenged me in ways that I haven't been challenged either in a long time, or ever. And that builds character. :) But it sure will be nice to see Greg again. And sleep through the night.

Blogger Decided to Load in French Today.

I can't figure out why, but blogger has decided to load in French. I'll see how far I can get before it drives me crazy, or I accidentally delete something.

On Saturday, I did laundry first thing in the morning, then headed out for the day. First, I walked to the main downtown area, Place de Jaude. There's a big empty (paved) square, with tons and tons of restaurants, shops, a movie theater, a mall. I still don't think I couldn't have driven there, but my sense of direction seems better on foot these days (more time to make decisions!). This picture was taken on the way to Place de Jaude. I was almost tempted...

But no, the pastries didn't tempt me. The purses and shoes did, though!!! When I walk into the shops, they salespeople try to help me, and I say I don't speak French, and then they're either really helpful or really suspicious, and keep trying to help me in French. I walked around for a long time and made a couple of purchases.

I took the tram back to the hotel, since there's a stop directly in front of the hotel. I won't say I mastered the system -- I got a ticket and got on, so I was legit. But I think you're supposed to get your ticket validated when you get on by inserting it in this machine when you get on, but I couldn't get it to print anything. Oh well -- that's for next time.

After I got back, I decided to drive up to the top of Puy de Dome. I probably should have had a more extensive map, but it was ok just following signs. Of course, on the way back, there weren't signs saying "you came from this way," so that was a little more challenging.

So I am driving up this mountain and the car beeps at me. (My first thought -- what did I hit?) Turns out it's FREEZING cold and insanely windy up there. The car tried to give me some message that I interpreted as "it's cold and there's a chance of ice." The views were gorgeous. A little hazy, as you can see in the pictures. I had to go back to the car to change rolls of film, because my fingers were freezing. I wasn't thinking about it being so cold up there, so I hadn't brought my coat or gloves. All I had was the light corduroy jacket I was wearing when it was 60 degrees back in town.

It was funny to see the snow. Since it's so cold and windy, you could see on the branches of trees of trees that the side of the branch that got sun were clear; the other half was covered with ice. I've also never seen such wind-blown ice as on the photo of the fence.

I got a couple of quick pictures of Clermont-Ferrand from above at a pull off on the way back down the hill into town. That's Clermont with the big black church in the middle of it.

Now, I'm trying to work on a midterm for an MBA class. It's about the last thing I want to be doing on a Sunday afternoon in France. Needless to say, it's going very slowly. It's got to be in on Tuesday night.

Strangers saw my underwear!

I did do laundry this morning ... without incident! It actually wasn't too bad. There were machines open when I got there, and instructions with pictures on the wall. You poured the detergent into these compartments on top of the machine, and everybody else had liquid. I was a little concerned about the powder (... but you know what happened when I tried to buy liquid), but it seemed to go in with no problem.

It has been a while since I've been to a laundromat. I guess it's the great equalizer. Everybody sees everybody else's underwear. Well, other than the woman that was washing a blanket, I guess.