Je Suis Arrivé

After I left Nice I had a long journey awaiting me. I had about four hours on the train to Montpellier. At Montpellier I had to take the tram to the bus station where I caught a bus into Clermont L'herault!

While in Montpellier I had my first run in with the Romani people of France a.k.a. Gypsies a.k.a Esméralda. I've been warned by many that they steal and put curses on you so you could only imagine how exited I was to finally come across the people I so much wish I was a part of! Then I got to the tramway in Montpellier I approached one of the ticket machines and before I could even read the instructions I had about six Romani kids surrounding me bagging for money and hitting buttons on the machine for me. I was so sure that the next minute I would look down only to find myself naked with all my stuff gone. Luckily that didn't happen. Instead the little girl... or boy, helped me get my ticket and earned themselves a nice little tip. I'm excited to learn more about Romani people and will post what I learn soon!

After the tram, I took the bus into town where one of my new house mates was so kind to pick me up. My house mate's name is Aymeline and is from New Caledonia which is a little island east of Australia. It's technically part of France but it has it's own currency, government and citizenship. Another blog topic I plan to tackle. 

When I arrived to the house I was more than pleased with what I saw. I really lucked out. The house is absolutely beautiful. The house dates back to ancient times. The kitchen still has the fountain and oven that would have been used in ancient times, although we do not use them anymore. The house has several floors. The first has the kitchen, the living room and the entrance into the garden. The garden is then two floors, the top which is just like a little patio, and the bottom which is a full garden with a little shaded sitting area. When you head upstairs, there is the middle floor where I and my two house mate's rooms are. Then one more floor for my landlord.

Along with Aymeline I will be living with my landlord Marianne and a Spanish Language assistant from Mexico named Carlos. They all are very sweet. Marianne made it pretty clear that she wants us all to feel at home.

I was the second person to arrive to the house so I got second pick of the rooms. I decided on the nautical themed room. It's ultra cute, has french door windows, sailboats everywhere and a cute little desk for me to do all my blogging. I really like my room and it didn't take long for me to start making it my own. I got wonderful plane letters from my even more wonderful friends, so I put all those up. As well I brought a few polaroid pics from home so I could always feel at home. I really love the house that I am staying in and I'm very thrilled to get to know all my house mates. I don't know what the next eight months have in store for me but at least I know that they will a cozy few months. 

NICE!!!! (Part Deux)

After my stroll down the beach front I headed back into Old Nice. Through Old Nice I entered Le Parc de La Colline Du Château. This is a beautiful park that overseas all of Nice! The views from the top are to die for. I just kept thinking how beautiful it would be to have a wedding here.

The walk around the park took me about an hour, taking in all the views and enjoying all my fellow tourists. After the park I headed back down to Old Nice again but this time it was little more exciting because it had gotten much busier with tourists, vendors, and shops. The sights and the people in France are delightful. Everything seems so incredibly cliché yet at the same time so pleasing. I am so excited to discover more of France if this is what it has to offer so far! 

NICE!!!! (Part Un)

Today I got to spend the whole day in Nice, from wake to sleep (except I'm still awake)

I began my day ultra early at 8:00am. I had to pick up my train ticket for tomorrow and buy a my Carte 12-26, which is a card that allows you to travel on French trains at a discounted rate, and since I had already bought my ticket claiming to have this card, it was essential I actually got one.

After the train station I walked down Avenue Jean Médecin. It's this long street that the tramway runs through. There are no cars and much of the street is filled with pedestrians, shops, department  stores, restaurants and cafes. Along the walk I came across the beautiful Basilique Notre Dame. I got to see it both last night and during the day. Both times it was just as beautiful.

Basilique Notre Dame

Walking down Avenue Jean Médecin lead me right into Vieux Nice (Old Nice). This part of Nice was by far my favorite and I could only assume it's also the favorite of most people. Everything from the narrow streets to the decorative windows to the markets just made me fall more and more in love at every step. There is a road named Marché Aux Fleurs which turns into one of the nicest food markets I had ever seen. Beautiful flower bouquets for as little as 10 Euros!! So many delicious fruits and veggies! The biggest figs I had ever seen, loads of Olives and one stand that had the most delicious looking candies and dried fruit!!!

 After Old Nice, I headed down to the coast to walk along the board walk which was beautiful. The water is a brilliant shade of turquoise, and the coast line is stunning with all the Mediterranean homes. It was weird to see the beach not have sand, but instead a pebbly shore. There were quite a number of people out sun bathing but I found it odd that they didn't think the huge pebbles were uncomfortable.

Toronto To Nice

So I'm going to tell you guys about my journey from Toronto to Nice. My flight was scheduled for 8:00pm but didn't take off until about 9:50pm. My flight was pretty easy, I watched MegaMind which was pretty funny, then I passed out until we landed LOL.

We landed at 9:40am which was and hour and a half later than we were scheduled for. This made me very nervous because I basically had thirty minutes to get off the plane, go through customs, at one of the busiest airports in the world, claim my baggage and get to the bus stop to catch my shuttle. I was literally running through the airport pushing old Indian woman out of my way. Luckily I made it to the bus stop right on time and did not miss my shuttle to Gatwick!! When I got to Gatwick I was quite relieved and only an hour later was I on my way to Nice. The flight from Gatwick to Nice took about two hours, which was spent by me sleeping. I was so tired and so happy to have finished my flying for the day!!! When I arrived to Nice, I hopped onto the 98 down Promenade des Anglaise (Avenue that runs down the coast) and before I knew it, I was checking into my hostel and finally getting to rest my butt! 

à bientôt

It's 1:17 am September 24th, the day of my departure. I have a very long journey ahead of until I'll be resting in my room. Let me take you through what will be a long ass journey alone!!!

I leave Toronto, tomorrow evening. I arrive in London Heathrow early morning. At Heathrow I have to go through customs then head out to my shuttle that will be taking me to Gatwick for my connection flight, which I have exactly four and half hours to catch from when I land in London. Then I'm on a two hour flight to Nice, my semi final destination!

In Nice I will be spending the next two nights at a Hostel, one that I'm told is quite good. I Get to spend a whole day from sleep to sleep in Nice. I hope to explore the city visit the Matisse Museum and get my cellphone sorted out. 

After my second night in Nice I have to catch an early morning train to Montpellier. Once I get into Montpellier I have to catch the tram to Clermont l'Herault (My city of residence!!!!!) Where I will go to sleep for a few days and hopefully wake up fresh faced and ready to spread some Canadian English Love!!!!!!

I am sad to be leaving behind my friends and family, I'm nervous about things going wrong while I'm alone, but most of all excited to see how the next eight months of my life sort out. 

I am open for everything and anything, I want to meet people, see sights, live like the French, shop all over Europe, get experience in teaching and grow more as a person -- 
and then come back to my bedroom to looking the exact the way I left it!

Good Bye today, Bonjour tomorrow!

A week today...

So... as of today I officially enter my last week countdown. My week is packed with work, friends, family and goodbyes. The realness is starting to sink in, the excitement is escalating and my nerves are more awake than ever.

The worst part about packing is seeing all the clothes I know I have to leave behind. As of right now my suitcase is nowhere close to closing but I am confident in my packing skills. What makes this time so much more difficult is the need for warm clothing. The city I will be living in has mild winters but I plant to voyage up to Sweden for Christmas and New Years, which requires proper winter gear. Thanks to my handy vacuum, I was able to vacuum seal my winter coat which saves loads of space but does nothing for weight.

Today was a good day of packing progress but there is still a huge way to go. I  still need to pack up books, accessories... and cut down on some of the clothes :(

This next week is gonna go by faster than ever, I just hope I can keep my head from spinning right off!