I was a bit too ambitious.
Knowing that Torino is about 4 hours from Ventimiglia (the city closest to the French border), I thought if I oculd wake up early enough, I can manage to go there and come back late, since there are many trains back from Ventimiglia to Nice.
Of course, it's Europe, not Japan. There were not many trains to go to Torino, and the trains were often 10, 20 minutes late. So I gave up when I realized I didn't have a connection to go to Torino early enough. I changed my plans to go to Cuneo, a city between Torino and Ventimiglia. I checked everything, went to the designated platform on time, and got on the train, just to realize 3 stations later that it was not going to Cuneo, it was heading for a small city between Ventimiglia and Genova.
God.
Fine.
So I had to change plans again. Either I took a train 2 hours later to go to Genova, which would have been nice, but I would arrive at 5:30 pm, or I go back to a city a bit close to Ventimiglia that is still on the coast: San Remo.
So that's what I did. It wasn't the best because I had not done any research on San Remo at all. There didn't seem to be any special sights there except for a couple of villas. So instead, I did a lot of shopping! ><
Italian shops were also on sale, and things seem to be a bit cheaper than French's. There were so many shops selling lingerie and bikinis...amazing, and perfect because this is the exact kind of thing that is expensive in Japan, but often gets abandoned after a while, especially bikinis.
I also went for a long stroll along their beach, which was so much more crowded than that of Nice, perhaps because Nice's beach is so long people tend to spread out more.
I had spaghetti for lunch, wanting to know if their spaghetti is really much better...but...the truth is NO. It is just like any I have had before...
There were tonnes of ice cream shops of course...I swear I saw at least 10 shops that just sells ice cream and another 20 that sell ice cream among other things.
But it really is so important to know the language when you visit a place. There was a funny and frustrating little episode when I was looking at their lingerie. In Italy,, apparently, they do not use the system of ABC etc. They use 123. So I picked up one that I wanted, but wasn't sure what size the "3" represented in size. I asked for clarification in English, but the staff only spoke in Italian. She could proabably understand a bit of English.
So it went something like this:
Me(pointing to the number "3"): What is this in French size? (since the city was so close to France, I supposed it was ok to ask her this way)
Staff: C
Me(drawing the letter C in the air): C?
Staff: C/Si (I wasn't sure which one she was answering now)
Me(a but confused and just want to know the damn size): So this is 90C in French size?
Staff(pointing at the number "3"): B
Me(now frustrated): This is B? But you said it was C.
Staff: C/Si (again, not sure which one she was saying)
You can imagine the rest of the disaster.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Cannes, Antibes, Cagnes-sur-mer, le 14 juillet
There was no school today due to the 14th of July, France's national day, so I decided to make a quick tour to the west of Nice.
It took me about an hour and a half to bus to Cannes, where there was a nice promenade lined with palm trees next to the sea, interesting painted walls on buildings that are inspired by the movie industry, and handprints of famous hollywood stars that I didn't manage to find.
Yeah..I had a map, and I was probably only 10 metres from it, but I just couldn't find it!
Not surprising. It happens to me often.
Next, Antibes. It was beautiful in the old town. I have to say that I find most "old towns" very similar to each other, no matter where they are in France. By now, I am more attracted to all the ice cream shops that are in these areas than the actual area itself. But the ice cream is worth everything.
I was lucky though, because usually the museums are not opened on Tuesdays, but the Picasso museum was surprisingly opened~ so I went and got a discounted admission by saying I am a student, although later I found that on the ticket, it says I am above 65 years old. What?!??!?!?
Incroyable!
Then I went to my last stop: Cagnes-sur-mer. This place was beautiful, but a bit dead because it was a national holiday. I went to the top of the town though-a medieval village built on a mountain. The roads were so steep it's hard to imagine how people lived at that time. They would have to walk up and down everyday...
There was a church up top and also a museum. But this time I was less lucky so the museum was not opened. I also missed the Renoir museum and olive garden, which I would love to go to.
Well, things can't be perfect.
The village itself was already very impressive.
Finally, after the whole day of journey, I went home and took a shower before I headed out to see the fireworks for the 14th of July. It was very nice, and the fact that they closed the road totally makes it nice because it wasn't super duper crowded. I did see a little mouse crawling around the beach though! Makes me think twice if I should be lying on the beach here...><
Beaulieu-sur-mer and Saint Jean Cap Ferrat July 11
Literally meaning "beautiful place", it is indeed beautiful.
This place Beaulieu-sur-mer is only about 15 minutes bus ride from Nice. From there, a peninsula sticks out, called Saint Jean Cap Ferrat.
In Beaulieu, there was a Greek Villa that people can visit to see the lifestyle, architechture, and art of the Ancient Greeks.
You go through the villa room by room, and is introduced to the room and its history on a mobile phone-like machine.
There were mosaics on the floor everywhere, paintings on walls, decorated ceilings, sculptures, marble sinks, big marble baths, dome-shaped shower room, bed-like chairs for meals since the greeks ate lying down, etc.
Saint Jean Cap Ferrat was nothing less than Beaulieu though. There was also a villa open to all to visit, called Villa et Jardin Ephrussi de Rothschild. This villa is surrounded by nine gardens laid out over 7 acres. It was designed by Beatrice Ephrussi de Rothschild, a girl born to a very well-off family, who later married a banker. She was able to travel the world, and was able to collect treasures from all over the world and also create designs inspirated by the world.
Some unique points of this villa include that
It is all pink on the exterior, and many personal things shown indoors were also pink because it was the Baroness' favorite color;
The villa has an endless view over the sea;
The gardens originally started with a French garden, Japanese garden, and a rose garden, but at present time, there is also a spanish garden, Florentine garden, Provencal garden, Ialian garden, and an Exotic garden;
After visiting these villas and having lunch on one of the many beaches nearby, I made a tour on foot all around the island. There was a scenic path on the side of the peninsula for people to go around the island.
C'etait magnifique!
This place Beaulieu-sur-mer is only about 15 minutes bus ride from Nice. From there, a peninsula sticks out, called Saint Jean Cap Ferrat.
In Beaulieu, there was a Greek Villa that people can visit to see the lifestyle, architechture, and art of the Ancient Greeks.
You go through the villa room by room, and is introduced to the room and its history on a mobile phone-like machine.
There were mosaics on the floor everywhere, paintings on walls, decorated ceilings, sculptures, marble sinks, big marble baths, dome-shaped shower room, bed-like chairs for meals since the greeks ate lying down, etc.
Saint Jean Cap Ferrat was nothing less than Beaulieu though. There was also a villa open to all to visit, called Villa et Jardin Ephrussi de Rothschild. This villa is surrounded by nine gardens laid out over 7 acres. It was designed by Beatrice Ephrussi de Rothschild, a girl born to a very well-off family, who later married a banker. She was able to travel the world, and was able to collect treasures from all over the world and also create designs inspirated by the world.
Some unique points of this villa include that
It is all pink on the exterior, and many personal things shown indoors were also pink because it was the Baroness' favorite color;
The villa has an endless view over the sea;
The gardens originally started with a French garden, Japanese garden, and a rose garden, but at present time, there is also a spanish garden, Florentine garden, Provencal garden, Ialian garden, and an Exotic garden;
After visiting these villas and having lunch on one of the many beaches nearby, I made a tour on foot all around the island. There was a scenic path on the side of the peninsula for people to go around the island.
C'etait magnifique!
Parc Phoenix and Musee d'arts asiatique July 8
A parc in an area with banks, offices, and near the airport--it has a big greenhouse with all sorts of exotic plants, an insectarium (which was really gross by the way), prairie dogs, lots of varieties of birds, etc.
It's quite nice for 2 euros--you can really take your time to walk around, there weren't a lot of kids even though the vacation has already started for them. There were some groups of kids from summer camps, but they were not annoying or anything.
The most annoying was just seeing a bunch of gross insects at a close distance. aarrgh... my goosebumps appeared again.
The Musee d'arts asiatique was a nice building, and must be very impressive for the French, but for someone like me, it was no surprise. There were several rooms with arts from Japan, China, Korea, India, etc. There was a large area for the history and art of Buddhism, and art related to Genghis Khan.
For me, it was a nice quiet place to cool off from walking a long way in the heat before I headed for the parc. Wahaha...
It was nice nonetheless.
Beautiful day, nice walk!
It's quite nice for 2 euros--you can really take your time to walk around, there weren't a lot of kids even though the vacation has already started for them. There were some groups of kids from summer camps, but they were not annoying or anything.
The most annoying was just seeing a bunch of gross insects at a close distance. aarrgh... my goosebumps appeared again.
The Musee d'arts asiatique was a nice building, and must be very impressive for the French, but for someone like me, it was no surprise. There were several rooms with arts from Japan, China, Korea, India, etc. There was a large area for the history and art of Buddhism, and art related to Genghis Khan.
For me, it was a nice quiet place to cool off from walking a long way in the heat before I headed for the parc. Wahaha...
It was nice nonetheless.
Beautiful day, nice walk!
Thursday, July 09, 2009
First dive in Nice!
Today I went for a dive for the first time in Nice, and in Europe!
It was also the first time I went without my honey, so I was a bit unsure of things at first.
I set up everything by myself, and interestingly, the bottles in France often have 2 openings, for people who want to put two sets of regulators apparently...or for some reason like that.
At the end, I was paired up with a German guy called Martin, who has Advanced open water, but has done fewer dives than me. Good buddy cuz he really made sure I was around during the whole dive, but I think it was also because there really wasn't much to see.
The only most amazing thing was this 2 feet long yellow/blue spotted eel like fish. Other than that, there wasn't much color, aside from a couple of small purple jellyfish at the surface, and some tiny blue fish at the bottom. There were no corals...
But to show that I was actually diving in Europe, there was a cross with Jesus on it! It seems like a part of a cathedral that fell in there, but maybe it was placed there on purpose.
I was thinking of doing one more dive today, but after seeing what was there, I gave up. At least for today. Plus the water was cold! about 19 degrees!
Beautiful day though.
It was also the first time I went without my honey, so I was a bit unsure of things at first.
I set up everything by myself, and interestingly, the bottles in France often have 2 openings, for people who want to put two sets of regulators apparently...or for some reason like that.
At the end, I was paired up with a German guy called Martin, who has Advanced open water, but has done fewer dives than me. Good buddy cuz he really made sure I was around during the whole dive, but I think it was also because there really wasn't much to see.
The only most amazing thing was this 2 feet long yellow/blue spotted eel like fish. Other than that, there wasn't much color, aside from a couple of small purple jellyfish at the surface, and some tiny blue fish at the bottom. There were no corals...
But to show that I was actually diving in Europe, there was a cross with Jesus on it! It seems like a part of a cathedral that fell in there, but maybe it was placed there on purpose.
I was thinking of doing one more dive today, but after seeing what was there, I gave up. At least for today. Plus the water was cold! about 19 degrees!
Beautiful day though.
Tuesday, July 07, 2009
Monaco
I probably was lucky and unlucky at the same time.
Without checking the bus schedule, I arrived at the gare routiere just 5 minutes before the departure of an express bus to Monaco.
Great! So I hopped on, thinking that I would get there sooner than expected.
Then I realized that probably the bus wasn't the best idea because kids just started their summer vacation, and on top of that, it was the grand opening of the Tour de France from Monaco!
So we went quite slow on the highway for a while...
but, the lucky side is that I got to see how crazy people were of this event!
People would wait in the sun for the racers to come by, just to cheer then for 5 seconds. Still, it was pretty impressive. I am not sure if the race actually takes place in the same place as Formula 1, but it's pretty much the same area.
So I arrived there, and without waiting for the racers to come, I headed for my destination-the Palais Princier.
At this palace, there are guards outside that change every once in a while (I hope).
But at precisely 11:55am everyday, a special changing of guards takes place, when about 20 or so guards have some kind of march, with a higher ranked guard/general saying something like "left, left, left right left" in french of course.
They would march along with their long rifles, in their white uniforms (in winter, they are in black). There would be some drummers and music as well.
Lots of people gather to see this...it was interesting to see but I hope they don't put on this show just for the tourists or something.
Then I went to the Cathedrale de Monaco. It was a nice cathedral with more candles than some smaller ones. There are even signs in 6 languages, including japanese.
After that, I went to the Musee Oceanographique, where there is a floor of aquarium, some exhibitions, and restaurants up top.
The aquarium was nice, but I have to say that the Japanese are much better at this.
The best thing though, was that at the end, I got to see the cutie puffer fish that looked right into my camera! ^^
After that, I took a walk around Monaco ville, but there were too many people on this day of tour de france~!!
Without checking the bus schedule, I arrived at the gare routiere just 5 minutes before the departure of an express bus to Monaco.
Great! So I hopped on, thinking that I would get there sooner than expected.
Then I realized that probably the bus wasn't the best idea because kids just started their summer vacation, and on top of that, it was the grand opening of the Tour de France from Monaco!
So we went quite slow on the highway for a while...
but, the lucky side is that I got to see how crazy people were of this event!
People would wait in the sun for the racers to come by, just to cheer then for 5 seconds. Still, it was pretty impressive. I am not sure if the race actually takes place in the same place as Formula 1, but it's pretty much the same area.
So I arrived there, and without waiting for the racers to come, I headed for my destination-the Palais Princier.
At this palace, there are guards outside that change every once in a while (I hope).
But at precisely 11:55am everyday, a special changing of guards takes place, when about 20 or so guards have some kind of march, with a higher ranked guard/general saying something like "left, left, left right left" in french of course.
They would march along with their long rifles, in their white uniforms (in winter, they are in black). There would be some drummers and music as well.
Lots of people gather to see this...it was interesting to see but I hope they don't put on this show just for the tourists or something.
Then I went to the Cathedrale de Monaco. It was a nice cathedral with more candles than some smaller ones. There are even signs in 6 languages, including japanese.
After that, I went to the Musee Oceanographique, where there is a floor of aquarium, some exhibitions, and restaurants up top.
The aquarium was nice, but I have to say that the Japanese are much better at this.
The best thing though, was that at the end, I got to see the cutie puffer fish that looked right into my camera! ^^
After that, I took a walk around Monaco ville, but there were too many people on this day of tour de france~!!
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
2nd day of school
Apparently, I am an elementary student in French!
Yesterday, the first day of school, we got orally tested and also did a written test. Today I was placed in A2 class, which is probably a below intermediate class. I have 4 classmates: 2 irish girls, 1 dutch, and 1 swedish. All of them are in high school! Jesus....
But having done some group work with a couple of girls, and had some discussion in class, I realize what the difference between me and them is. I probably was like that too when I was in high school...laid back, not trying very hard to do the very best, passive, etc....
It was actually quite frustrating in the group work because the 2 girls I was with really just wanted to get it over with and go to the beach. But why were they there? I have no idea. Probably their mom and dad paid for the thing and just asked them to go, so they go. Anyway...it was alright overall... time will tell...but I won't let time have a lot of time to tell.
After that, walking here, I found out a pick-up line I have never heard before: "be careful... you are getting red" as in "be careful, you are about to get a sun burn but what the heck, I am gonna talk to you outside for a long time anyway".
This guy started talking to me in French and some English after he realized I am not the best french speaker ever. He wanted to get my number and go for a coffee right there and then, but I told him I was busy going to use the internet and that I have no phone to call him or for him to call. Finally, I took his email address and chatted a bit more, and said goodbye. God bless the internet. It's such a great thing to just get someone's address and then decide later on if I should write or not...Well...I probably won't, but I might. He said he lives in Cannes...so if I do need a guide, just in case. But hey, I don't think I will need a guide if I can make it there on my own. so... tough luck.
Now I am thinking if I should join some of the school activities or not. So far, I seem to be the only asian there, one of the only few people who are not in high school or just out of high school. I really wonder if I can get along with all these people.
The Swedish girl in the class seems pretty interesting. She is curious about everything. The dutch guy also...but not sure yet. Will see... if she keeps up being so interested in everything I have to say, maybe I will get her to go to Eze on thursday... The guy in charge of the activity says this is a nice village and they will visit a perfume factory where you can purchase perfume for a discounted price. Sounds attractive.
Lovely day again. After some surfing, gonna go lie on the beach! My stomach still feels weird ><
Yesterday, the first day of school, we got orally tested and also did a written test. Today I was placed in A2 class, which is probably a below intermediate class. I have 4 classmates: 2 irish girls, 1 dutch, and 1 swedish. All of them are in high school! Jesus....
But having done some group work with a couple of girls, and had some discussion in class, I realize what the difference between me and them is. I probably was like that too when I was in high school...laid back, not trying very hard to do the very best, passive, etc....
It was actually quite frustrating in the group work because the 2 girls I was with really just wanted to get it over with and go to the beach. But why were they there? I have no idea. Probably their mom and dad paid for the thing and just asked them to go, so they go. Anyway...it was alright overall... time will tell...but I won't let time have a lot of time to tell.
After that, walking here, I found out a pick-up line I have never heard before: "be careful... you are getting red" as in "be careful, you are about to get a sun burn but what the heck, I am gonna talk to you outside for a long time anyway".
This guy started talking to me in French and some English after he realized I am not the best french speaker ever. He wanted to get my number and go for a coffee right there and then, but I told him I was busy going to use the internet and that I have no phone to call him or for him to call. Finally, I took his email address and chatted a bit more, and said goodbye. God bless the internet. It's such a great thing to just get someone's address and then decide later on if I should write or not...Well...I probably won't, but I might. He said he lives in Cannes...so if I do need a guide, just in case. But hey, I don't think I will need a guide if I can make it there on my own. so... tough luck.
Now I am thinking if I should join some of the school activities or not. So far, I seem to be the only asian there, one of the only few people who are not in high school or just out of high school. I really wonder if I can get along with all these people.
The Swedish girl in the class seems pretty interesting. She is curious about everything. The dutch guy also...but not sure yet. Will see... if she keeps up being so interested in everything I have to say, maybe I will get her to go to Eze on thursday... The guy in charge of the activity says this is a nice village and they will visit a perfume factory where you can purchase perfume for a discounted price. Sounds attractive.
Lovely day again. After some surfing, gonna go lie on the beach! My stomach still feels weird ><
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Nice-Day 3
Things I have had to do, things that have amazed me, things that have frustrated me, things that have pleased me so far...
day 1:
British Airways flight was delayed for 6 hours!! After queuing for 2.5 hours, managed to check in to an Air France flight, safely arriving in Nice at the exact same time as I would have if my original flight had not been delayed.
Checked into hotel. Tiny. High ceiling though. Noisy in the middle of the night, but surprisingly quiet in the morning. Why is it that people chat at 2 am and 4 am but not at 7:30 am?
Found "Messena"--a square with musicians, tall poles leading to lit-up-at-night statues of naked men. Lovely walking area. Haagen Daaz found! Had a cookie crunch sundae...not as good as I had expected though.
day 2:
Plan--get cell phone and dongle ASAP. Get apartment keys.
Reached an SFR shop where I was refered to saleslady #1 to saleslady #2, then from saleslady #2 back to saleslady #1, then from saleslady #1 to non-existent-or-too-busy saleslady#3 before I decided that at that shop, probably none of the ladies knew anything about anything. Moved on to another SFR shop, where I waited forever to get someone to help me because there is no line-up system whatsoever. Managed to get what I wanted though. Great! ^^
Took a long stroll on the Promenade des Anglais, and saw the beautiful shoreline.
Found the marketplace in Vieux Nice! So many booths with Olives, soaps, flowers, fresh vegetables and fruits NOT wrapped in saran wrap, bread, dried tomatoes, fish, etc. Gotta come back later.
Went to Mcdo to grab a bite and use their wifi. The "fastfood" might as well have been called "slowpoke food". I ordered only a small burger and some pre-packaged food but had to wait for about 10 minutes! No. No exaggeration. Tried to connect with Wifi but couldn't! Why? No idea.
On the way back to the apartment, a guy played on an old white piano in the Place Messana. He was soooooooooooooooooooo good it looked like he was just improvising as he goes. He probably wasn't, but still, it was amazing.
Then went to get my apartment. Took a taxi from the hotel to the apartment but because of saturday Ironman events, roads were partially closed. The driver was furious! Kept puffing and sighing, and yelling "Attention!!!!" to other drivers when obviously he was the one who was being too reckless. Luckily I am still alive to write this now.
The apartment was dark as hell in the staircase area...but inside, was nice and bright. Despite the uncleaned state of the place, it is quite lovely. Large living area (for one person who just came from Japan...yes it's big), bedroom, decent shower. No washing machine though. >< What?!?! How can a so-called "fully furnished" apartment have no washing machine? That is just unbelievable.
Plan-Try to find a grocery store and a coin laundry this evening. I have been deprived of things like juice and yogurt in the last 3 days. Need these things.
Took a walk to look for grocery store and laundromat. Instead, I went up the Chateau and found a Fete de chateau going on. There were many booths for people expressing their views on feminism, racism, etc. Many booths with food. Some music from here and there. Lots of people.
Came down from the great view and nice walk up in the mountain, and found a grocery store finally. Went home exhausted from the long long walks I had throughout the whole day, took a shower, watched some tv, and went to bed in this apartment for the first time.
day 3:
Plan--find laundromat, find the way to school either by tram or on foot, go to the beach!
Walked to the school from noon to see if I can actually walk there every morning. It took about 30 minutes on not-especially-hurried feet. I guess I can walk then! ^^
I am finally getting to know the areas a bit more. I still don't know the streets that well but at least I can make my way within the main area of the city centre.
Came to Quick to see if I can connect to the internet this time.
To avoid having to wait for 10 minutes for my food and to save my appetite for some better food than crap, I ordered a drink and sat down (now for at least an hour already). Tried to figure out how to connect...tried and tried. No luck. I looked on the soda cup to see if the password was there! my god. of course it wasn't. Then finally, looking at the receipt that I used to wipe the seat I am in now, I saw the light! It was printed on there...of course!
So here I am, and because of Quick's Wifi, I managed to find 6 addresses of coin laudry shops. Tonight, I will check the map and see if they are actually go-able.
Now, beach time.
Isn't this lovely so far?
I might get an ice cream on the way.
Yes, it's lovely.
day 1:
British Airways flight was delayed for 6 hours!! After queuing for 2.5 hours, managed to check in to an Air France flight, safely arriving in Nice at the exact same time as I would have if my original flight had not been delayed.
Checked into hotel. Tiny. High ceiling though. Noisy in the middle of the night, but surprisingly quiet in the morning. Why is it that people chat at 2 am and 4 am but not at 7:30 am?
Found "Messena"--a square with musicians, tall poles leading to lit-up-at-night statues of naked men. Lovely walking area. Haagen Daaz found! Had a cookie crunch sundae...not as good as I had expected though.
day 2:
Plan--get cell phone and dongle ASAP. Get apartment keys.
Reached an SFR shop where I was refered to saleslady #1 to saleslady #2, then from saleslady #2 back to saleslady #1, then from saleslady #1 to non-existent-or-too-busy saleslady#3 before I decided that at that shop, probably none of the ladies knew anything about anything. Moved on to another SFR shop, where I waited forever to get someone to help me because there is no line-up system whatsoever. Managed to get what I wanted though. Great! ^^
Took a long stroll on the Promenade des Anglais, and saw the beautiful shoreline.
Found the marketplace in Vieux Nice! So many booths with Olives, soaps, flowers, fresh vegetables and fruits NOT wrapped in saran wrap, bread, dried tomatoes, fish, etc. Gotta come back later.
Went to Mcdo to grab a bite and use their wifi. The "fastfood" might as well have been called "slowpoke food". I ordered only a small burger and some pre-packaged food but had to wait for about 10 minutes! No. No exaggeration. Tried to connect with Wifi but couldn't! Why? No idea.
On the way back to the apartment, a guy played on an old white piano in the Place Messana. He was soooooooooooooooooooo good it looked like he was just improvising as he goes. He probably wasn't, but still, it was amazing.
Then went to get my apartment. Took a taxi from the hotel to the apartment but because of saturday Ironman events, roads were partially closed. The driver was furious! Kept puffing and sighing, and yelling "Attention!!!!" to other drivers when obviously he was the one who was being too reckless. Luckily I am still alive to write this now.
The apartment was dark as hell in the staircase area...but inside, was nice and bright. Despite the uncleaned state of the place, it is quite lovely. Large living area (for one person who just came from Japan...yes it's big), bedroom, decent shower. No washing machine though. >< What?!?! How can a so-called "fully furnished" apartment have no washing machine? That is just unbelievable.
Plan-Try to find a grocery store and a coin laundry this evening. I have been deprived of things like juice and yogurt in the last 3 days. Need these things.
Took a walk to look for grocery store and laundromat. Instead, I went up the Chateau and found a Fete de chateau going on. There were many booths for people expressing their views on feminism, racism, etc. Many booths with food. Some music from here and there. Lots of people.
Came down from the great view and nice walk up in the mountain, and found a grocery store finally. Went home exhausted from the long long walks I had throughout the whole day, took a shower, watched some tv, and went to bed in this apartment for the first time.
day 3:
Plan--find laundromat, find the way to school either by tram or on foot, go to the beach!
Walked to the school from noon to see if I can actually walk there every morning. It took about 30 minutes on not-especially-hurried feet. I guess I can walk then! ^^
I am finally getting to know the areas a bit more. I still don't know the streets that well but at least I can make my way within the main area of the city centre.
Came to Quick to see if I can connect to the internet this time.
To avoid having to wait for 10 minutes for my food and to save my appetite for some better food than crap, I ordered a drink and sat down (now for at least an hour already). Tried to figure out how to connect...tried and tried. No luck. I looked on the soda cup to see if the password was there! my god. of course it wasn't. Then finally, looking at the receipt that I used to wipe the seat I am in now, I saw the light! It was printed on there...of course!
So here I am, and because of Quick's Wifi, I managed to find 6 addresses of coin laudry shops. Tonight, I will check the map and see if they are actually go-able.
Now, beach time.
Isn't this lovely so far?
I might get an ice cream on the way.
Yes, it's lovely.
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Last day
Last day of work!
I am sure going back to work in August will be so so so hard but hey, what the heck. It's vacation time! :-)
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
My new life
It's been so so long since I wrote on here last...
Well...the thing is, I started a new job last August, and since then, I have been leading an occupied but satisfied life.
I work at an international school with lovely kids and books; I have pre-scheduled holidays so i can plan my holidays to go see new places, go diving; I go to the gym for some short swimming a few times a week, and relax in the sauna after a day of work...
And believe it or not, it's already the last week of work for this school year! I am off to France next Friday to learn French, and in fall, je vais pouvoir parler en francais! j'espere..........
Well...there's an update...for myself...
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