Adventures at the Vieux Marche

About two weeks ago, I took my first trip down to the Vieux Marche (Old Market) located just next to the spot where Joan of Arc (here called Jeanne D'Arc) was burned at the stake. The market is located just next to L'iglise Jeanne D'Arc, and everyday you can go to the multiple stands filled with fresh flowers, veggies, fruit, le FROMAGE (cheese!), meat, fish of every assortment, spices, et cetera. Sunday, however, is market day - aka, the best day to go!



My first Sunday a la marche, I was a bit more timid. I went to one stand for apples and bananas, and continued on my way. However, this past Sunday, I was on a mission! I was determined to buy all the supplies for a proper French baguette (sandwich), plus a little more just for a few good snack!

I entered through the cast iron gate on the Northeast corner. Bad idea. One of the first things I saw was a horse head. But it must be a delicacy here, because it cost over 120 Euros! My next stop was just nearby, at the fromagerie. I had eaten an awesome sandwich made with Maroille cheese the day before, so I hunted for that. Trying to describe how much I wanted - apparently you can't buy just 1/4 of a wheel, you have to buy half - was a bit difficult. But they cut my portion and wrapped it up for me. Maroille cheese is native to the Picardy region of France, which is just Northeast of Normandy. Another thing about Maroille cheese - it's very smelly!

Then I made my way over to one of many fruit and veggie stands. When one of the workers approached me and I couldn't catch what he said, I responded with: Je suis desole, mais je ne peux pas parler le francais tres bien (I'm sorry, but I can't speak French very well!) Then he just laughed and made some joke. Oh the French!



But he was extremely nice as I pointed to what I wanted; quatre tomates, trois pommes, salade, etc. I left the Marche with quite a little garden in my sac.

I stopped by a boulangerie (fresh bread) on my way out for a loaf of bread, planning to make sandwiches that would last a few days. Silly me, I forgot that since they don't use any preservatives in their bread here, it really only stays good for a day or two!

My last stop was the florist on la Rue Jeanne D'Arc. I bought a lovely little potted flower pot for just 3 Euro, which I named Amelie. Sadly, despite my tender love and care the past week, Amelie isn't looking too spunky. Any hints?

I've got a sneaking suspicion...love actually is all around.

The title of this blog post hails from the 2003 film, Love Actually. The movie tells the stories of all kinds of love - love between strangers, friends, parents and children, couples - and much like this youtube link (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EYAUazLI9k), watching it always brings a smile.

Webster's dictionary has nine definitions for the word love, but I prefer #4: "[Love is] an unselfish loyal and benevolent concern for the good of another."

I tend use the word rather loosely. For example: I love the pizza at Pepe's near the Vieux Marche in downtown Rouen, and I love the warmth of the two wool blankets on my bed here. However, it was the sighting of the following graffiti, and the aide of my friend in translating it, that made me do a double take on the subject.



Roughly, "I love you with all that I am, and I hope that you know who you are."

In my short time here in Normandy, I have been blessed to see beautiful churches, cathedrals, streets, and parks; but this simple piece of art - perhaps an eyesore to some - has really stuck with me.

I like it because it shouldn't be there. I like it because I'll never know if the "you" the quote refers to will ever find out who wrote it. And I like it because the message transcends all cultures and languages. As trite as this may sound, there are more things that bring all the people of this world together than those that separate us. Love is one of those things.

So from Rouen, much love to you all <3

The bells of Rouen are ringing

Even after seven days here, I still feel a slight chill when I hear the bells of Rouen ring each hour. I assume the call is coming from la cathedral de Notre Dame, but since there is a gorgeous, several-hundred year old church around almost corner, it is difficult to decipher.

La Cathedral de Notre Dame, or often referred to as the Rouen Cathedral, was made famous by Claude Monet, as he completed over 25 paintings of its facade during different times of day. Unfortunately, a large portion of the facade is currently under repairs, but it is still breathtaking.



Today, I saw its interior and went on a tour. My guide spoke almost no English, and I found his French harder to understand than most. Throughout the tour, he kept looking at and me and giving me little snippets of English/French history, where it was relevant to the history of the Cathedral. Eventually, he acted shocked when I said I didn't know a certain city in England. Finally I realized: He thinks I'm British! So when I explained I was from les Etats-Unis, he wasn't as offended about my lack of knowledge in English history and geography.

I also toured Le Gros Horloge, built in 1389 and one of the oldest clocks in Europe. I enjoyed a great panorama of the city from the top of its bell tower; I could see my neighborhood of Mont Saint Aignan. Earlier this morning, finding Le Vieux Marche - the Old Market - was wonderful. Fresh vegetables and every type of cheese imaginable, a vegetarian's French paradise! My tour de Rouen finished at L'iglise de Jeanne D'Arc (Joan of Arc), a beautiful, very interesting (architecturally) church built in the 1970s, with stained glass windows that had been saved from a 16th century church that was mostly destroyed by Axis forces during WWII. The funniest, and most embarrassing, moment of the day was when I attempted to ask a priest if I pay him for the informational brochure about the church. He laughed and pointed to a coin box - he was there for confessions!

But much of my time here, thus far, has been organizing and starting my classes here. The school is ESC Rouen (L'Ecole Superieure de Commerce a Rouen), but it's name was recently changed to the Rouen Business School, in order to make it seem more "international". Personally, I prefer ESC Rouen much more.

Last Wednesday and Thursday consisted of an intensive session of French. I tested into the 3rd of 6 levels of French, and I was fine with that considering I've taken French only a year now. However, I was also informed that my Civilisation Francaise class-starting tomorrow-would have students from levels 3-6 in it. Meaning, of course, that I'm the least knowledgeable in my class. That should be interesting!

My intensive session consisted of quite an interesting group. There were 4 Americans, 3 Columbians, 1 Canadian, 1 German, and 1 Mexican. I found it most amusing when I understand the Columbians' and Mexican's French, and the teacher couldn't! Guess my Spanish skills helped a bit with that.

Classes start full throttle tomorrow, so I'm off to bed (and to do a bit of review of French grammar/vocab)!

Je suis arrivée a Rouen!

After a series of flight delays, changes, and cancellations, I made it to Rouen at approximately 4PM local time, yesterday.

The journey was "pas mal" (not bad) though. While the Chicago-London flight was delayed two hours, which of course pushed me back to a different London-Paris flight, I spent the time with my wonderful friend and roommate Missy Frye, who was on her way to Barcelona once she got to London.

I'm pretty sure I slept all but 30 minutes of the flight, just long enough for dinner and breakfast. After we landed, I even slept the 20 minutes it took to get to the terminal. What can I say? J'aime les siestes. (I love naps).

Once I arrived to London, I was promptly told by British Airways (BA) staff that my flight to Paris was cancelled, and they pointed me to a queue that looked about a mile long. Fantastique. It took me about an hour, but once I got to an attendant he explained there were no more flights to Paris that day, and that BA would put me up in the Marriott nearby.

Then, proceeding on my way via on the "Hotel Hoppa", I met a girl from Zionsville! Her name was Ali, studies at Clemson U in South Carolina, and we quickly concluded we would have to explore London together that night.



After a quick nap and a bit of e-mailing, we headed out to the bus stop that would take us to the Picadilly line, on the London Underground. I attempted to show her London the way Renee showed me, but I accidently got off on Embankment instead of Westminster. On our walk up the Seine, we saw a large clock in the distance. Even though I had been to London before, we were both unsure if it was Big Ben. The conversation went something like this:

Ali: Wait, what is that?
Me: It's Big Ben!
Ali: Oh, that's awesome!
Me: Wait, I think it's Big Ben.
Ali: Is there more than one big clock in London?
Me: I don't think so, but I'd be very embarrassed if it wasn't and we thought it was...(this convo about "Is it, or isn't it" went on for some time).

Turns out, it was Big Ben, so no worries there! We strolled around the Parliament, Westminster Abbey area and grabbed sandwiches on the way: We were famished! Shortly thereafter, we headed up to Covent Garden. I'm surprised we made it there safely-even though the street corners were clearly labeled "look right" or "look left"-we got too close for comfort a couple of time with London city buses.

Our first stop was the pub The White Lion, a memorable spot from my first visit to London with Renee. I bought Ali her first legal drink (she's 19), a pint of London-made beer. I completely forgot if you tip bartenders in England, so I asked a woman nearby. Well, she was Australian but she did tell me that you do not, unless it's table service. And even then, you don't have to. She said sometime to the effect of: "Why would you tip someone for getting a glass, pouring beer, and putting it on the counter?!" I guess that's why the bartender was surprised when I handed him a pound.



We hopped into one more pub, where I forced her to buy some fish & chips. I was very amused by a video on the screen titled "Fireplace: The Movie" (in the credits, there was fire control!). Soon thereafter, we headed back to the Marriott, because I had a 5AM wake-up call. I was not about to miss my 9:10 am departure from London!

Getting to the airport, through check-in, even security, was a breeze! Had time for breakfast at a neat restaurant called Safari, where I enjoyed a cup of Earl Grey Tea, of course. I'm honestly surprised my plane flew out. Everyone in England and France is talking about this cold weather. For about 5 minutes on the London news yesterday, all they did was show pictures of snow. In a word, epic.

Once I arrived in Paris, French Customs didn't even look at my visa. Navigating the airport and catching a direct bus downtown was easy. The part that was not easy: I decided to walk the 20 minutes to Gare St. Lazare; keep in mind, I had two 40lb bags, a backpack, and purse. Only Americans use large bags for travel, so I know I stuck out like a sore thumb.

But I got my Carte 12-25 and a ticket to Rouen with no problem. The train ride was relaxing, so relaxing-in fact-that the ticket collector had to poke me to wake me up, saying, "Excusez-moi, madame. Ton billet, s'il vous plait." Whoops!

Once I got to Rouen, I again was stubborn and didn't want to pay for a 2 minute taxi ride to my house. So I decided to walk the 1 kilometer. However, GoogleMaps does not explain that the walk is all uphill. As you may guess, I got a good amount of exercise yesterday!

I arrived at my house, and Harm (the husband) and Hugues (the 9 year old) were just leaving to see Avatar. 3.5 hours later, they returned and poor Hugues had a horrible headache from the 3-D animation. But during that time I set up my room some and visited with a girl, Alicia, who studies at U of Seattle and lives very close to me here in Mont Saint Aignan (very close to Rouen, about a 5-10 minute walk).

Dinner was great, although my host mom was dismayed that I don't even eat fish. However, I had a great mix of salad, cheese, bread, soup, and an apple dessert. Whenever I didn't understand something, which is often, my host mom, Florence, explains it in very basic French. At one point, I got lost in a conversation between Paul (23) and Benoit (19). Apparently, Paul gets upset when Benoit takes his clothes while he is away (he studies at my same school, but I believe he has an apartment near the school).

I finished my first evening in Rouen by sitting near the fireplace, reading, as the fire dwelled. It felt nice too, they keep homes here pretty cold, the thermostat on my alarm clock said 59 degrees.

Well, I promise my blogs in the future will not be as intense! A bientot!