Home for the holidays.... week 1

Getting home took a lot longer than I anticipated due to a storm in Toronto. After about 28 hrs. in either the air or airports, I finally arrived in Edmonton to a smiling husband carrying a beautiful bouquet of flowers. It is another half hour by car to our home and I was surprised and delighted when we got there to see a decorated Christmas tree in our bay window. Apparently a group of friends and family got together one evening and in no time had the house looking festive. Keith prepared the food and kept people's wine glasses filled. Thanks so much to Robin, Joanne, Greg, Brian and of course, Keith. You are the best and the house looks wonderful!

Our Christmas Tree

Since being home, my days and evenings have been filled with appointments and get togethers with friends near and dear. Recently, we visited a new wine bar that was most impressive. It was built to resemble the inside of a wine barrel with curved wooden slats for the ceiling. The night we were there, Santa greeted us as we walked in. Wine and food is ordered from an extensive selection on an iPad and the service was excellent. The charcuterie was also most impressive. The presentation was lovely and the meats and cheeses were superb (it really rivalled some of the dishes I've had in France).

Keith and I at the wine bar with the charcuterie platter.

On Friday, we hosted a dinner party for eight with our wine club group. It was a lovely evening of great food, wine and delightful company. Keith made coq au vin, roasted vegetables, sweet potato buns, homemade coconut ice cream and biscotti. We began the night with a Christmas cocktail and then continued with Prosecco and an assortment of wines. The last course was a platter of cheeses and fresh walnuts I brought with me from France accompanied by a glass of port. 

Our wine club group (L to R) Brian, Jen, Keith, Greg, Cathy, Eleise and Chris

It feels so good to be home and surrounded by people I love and care for. However, as the song goes "the weather outside is frightful". There is lots of snow and it is very cold, but the upside is that the sky is blue and the sun is shining. Winter in Canada is not for "sissies". Keith tells me I have softened since I have lived in a Mediterranean, moderate and humid climate for the last few months. I look forward to going back and avoiding the cold winter months here.

I realize it is very important to try and maintain some of the French I have learned these past few months. To that end, I have contacted a former colleague and I will be meeting her for lunch at a local French bistro today to chat en français and explore volunteer opportunities to continue my French language learning in the future. The radio in my car is on the French station and I hope to watch a little French TV. Regardless, most of my communication here is in English, so I will have to work hard to catch up when I get back.

Next post will cover my last week of holidays in Edmonton including Christmas, New Year's and my flights back to France. Travelling by plane in Canada during the winter is always a challenge because of the weather. I hope that the ice storms in Ontario and other such untoward weather phenomena are over by the time I leave. Merry Christmas everyone!

Last day of school before the holidays

Today was our last day of classes before the Christmas holidays. It was filled with mixed emotions. My prof, Caroline, has been my favourite so far. All the profs I have had have been very good, but I particularly like her and her teaching style. My fellow classmates have also been delightful. One student stands out among the others. Alvero is from Columbia and strikes me as a very bright young man. What I find most endearing about him is his passion for life. He literally wears his heart on his sleeve especially when he talks about his family, friends, football or country. He has certainly convinced me that Colombia is a place well worth visiting.

My Class - Caroline, the prof, is at the back in the middle and Alvero is on her right. Several of my classmates were not here today because they have already left on their vacation.

After the class, the school held a reception with champagne, wine and snacks for all the students and the profs to celebrate the beginning of the holidays. It was fun to chat with some of the other students who have been in my classes previously. Many of them are now heading back to university or their jobs. No doubt, there will be new faces in January.

The adage "you are what you think" has been haunting me recently. I wonder if some of my progress learning French has been inhibited because I don't think I can understand what others are saying and therefore I can't. It's like I put up some kind of a block. To overcome this, I am trying to be more positive and open to learning opportunities to improve my comprehension. This week, I invested in a private 1 1/2 hr. lesson with a very gentle prof who helped me with my pronunciation, comprehension and vocabulary. I think I understood about 70% of what she said, so needless to say, I still have work to do, but then again, I understood 70%. There are all kinds of language learning programs on the Internet and I am a consumer of many. I also purchased several additional manuals to work through to improve my vocabulary and communication skills. Once or twice a week, I meet with people to converse in French over a cup of coffee. Emily, my aquaintance from Canada, received wonderful news this week (not so good for me) that she has been offered a great job in Vancouver that starts in February. We'll likely meet again in the new year, but her time will be limited. Another aquaintance I met at the Bookshop is Sarah. Although she's French, she is quite anxious to learn English. When we meet, our conversation often resorts to English. I have leads on a few more people that might be interested in an informal French conversation and I will follow-up with them when I get back. 

For the last couple of weeks I have also been wrestling with the decision of whether or not to move up a level or stay put when I return to school in January. Today, I finally decided to take the plunge and move up to B2. At this point I have nothing to lose and if I find that it is too difficult for me, I can always ask to move back. I hear that they speak much more quickly in B2 but, then again, so do most French people. It is just something I am going to have to get used to and it is part of the steep learning curve. I must rise to the challenge and go forward.

My wise sister-in-law, who also happens to be an ESL prof at the University of Alberta, sent me an email recently talking about the "culture shock roller coaster" experienced by most students living in a foreign country and studying a new language. The 'highs and lows' I have felt are perfectly normal. Although I continue to work hard and try my best, I am also putting less pressure on myself. The arbritrary time line of six months to master this language is likely unattainable. Now that I've realized that, I am in a much more comfortable place. If need be, I can always go back to school to continue my language learning at a later date. Right now, I am excited to return to Edmonton for the holidays to spend time with loved ones. 

A couple of days ago, Patricia and her cousin Carol bought a new little artificial Christmas tree to put in the small granary window in the living room. Together they decorated the "Charlie Brown tree" laughing and singing the traditional French Christmas song "Papa Noel". It was so much fun watching them, so I will end this blog with a few pictures of their escapades.

Christmas Season in Montpellier

It's a little odd for me to be enjoying almost balmy weather in December. Although we've had the occasional Christmas without snow in Edmonton, it is certainly rare. This last week has been beautiful. Street decorations are up and I sent you a couple of pictures of the old city in my last blog. I believe there are even tours of the city lights through the tourist office. Shop windows are decorated and artificial trees adorn most of les petites rues. The stores have increased their hours to accommodate the Christmas shoppers and yesterday, when I was in the old city, the streets were filled with people and so was the tram. 

I had noticed a poster on one of the shop doors a few days ago for a Concert Chœur Régional at the Chapelle St. Charles-La Providence on Saturday at 5:30. To get into the Christmas spirit, I thought I might try it thinking it may be a Christmas concert with music like Ave Maria or the Allelujah Chorus. Although the choir was good and the soloist had a beautiful voice, it turned out to be a fairly somber programme with music I wasn't familiar with nor would necessarily want to be. The seats in the chapel were particularly uncomfortable too (hard, wooden chairs). The upside was that I sat beside a lovely woman and she and I had a chat before the concert began. It turns out that she works in a building next door to ILA, my school, and she would like to meet me for coffee sometime in the New Year so that I can practice my French. We exchanged information and I'll give her a call when I return. 

Back to Christmas... I talked to Patricia about her family traditions. She does put up a tree, but not until a week before Christmas. She spends Christmas Eve and Christmas morning at her daughter's home in Aniane. She believes Christmas is all about the kids. There are only small gifts like tea or chocolate for the adults. After a late "repas" Christmas afternoon, she comes back to her home in Montpellier for a quiet evening after two days of excitement with the children. I asked her if the children write a letter to Père Noël. She said that Martin, her youngest grandchild, telephones Père Noël (alias Guy) who is a friend of hers. Martin shares his wish list with Père Noël and Guy plays along. I gather it is a lot of fun to listen to their conversation. Martin is an energetic little guy and I'm sure he gets pretty excited.

I'll be leaving for Canada in a week's time to share the holidays with my husband, family and friends and I can hardly wait.  In the meantime, I have one more week of school, so I had best get studying. Talk to you soon. 

Les Hivernales de Montpellier

Last Friday after class, a group of us spent the afternoon together. Intitially, we enjoyed lunch at a small restaurant with Belgian roots that our prof had recommended. After that, we wandered through parts of the old city of Montpellier. It is a bit like a maze and you can spend hours walking up and down narrow alleys lined with shops, restaurants, bars and cafés.  Every time I explore, I come across a place I have never been or I spy something different the second or third time I visit. It really is quite lovely. Here is our motley crew outside the Préfecture (police headquarters) including yours truly, Ludwig (Germany) and Magda (Poland, now living in England). Jonathan (Scotland) took the picture.

Our exploration led us to the Esplanade Charles de Gaulle to the first day of Les Hivernales de Montpellier. 

From what I can gather, this is an annual event of le marché de Noël du sud (the Christmas market that runs until late December). All along the Esplanade, there were dozens of small kiosks selling regional products, merchandise, food and drink for locals and visitors alike to enjoy. You can see all the kiosks on the sides with people walking down the middle.

Some of the kiosks were decorated "to the nines".

This vendor was selling wonderful duck products - duck confit, duck mousse, foie gras etc.

Champagne anyone?

Look at the size of this gingerbread - incroyable!

Of course there were vendors selling wine and we had to try some. Both Magda and Jonathan bought some wine and I went back today to buy Patricia a bottle of Muscat de Noël. Several places along the way were also selling individual cups of hot mulled wine. Although I didn't have any, many people were drinking it as they walked and shopped. Life is much more civilized here in so many ways. Wouldn't it be grand if we could have a mug of mulled wine in hand as we shopped at the market in Edmonton? 

By evening, all the lights were on in the Place de la Comédie. Très jolie, n'est-ce pas?

Before ending this blog, I have one quick story to tell you. There is a kiosk right at the beginning of the market filled with Santa hats and the like. Santa's elves (young girls dressed in the appropriate garb, hats and all) run the booth. However, when I passed by on the way out, Santa's elves were out smoking beside the booth. It just struck me as ironic and somewhat funny. Santa was nowhere to be seen either.  Perhaps, he was off having a smoke as well.

Perpignan

This was my last trip before I leave for Canada for the Christmas holidays. I have travelled somewhere every week-end in November and I have to admit that I'm a bit weary.  It will be nice to wake up without an alarm clock next Saturday. On this particular voyage, I was joined by a fellow classmate, Magda, from Poland. We agreed to meet at the train station early and for the first time for me, the train was en retard (late) 25 minutes. We decided to go across the street for a coffee to pass the time before departure.

When I researched Perpignan on the Internet, I found very mixed reviews on the place. Some people just loved it and others, not so much. I learned that Perpignan is half Catalan and half French (all the street signs are in both languages) and it is the last major town in the Languedoc region before the Spanish border. We both noticed the strong Spanish influence in the architecture. It is now home to many people from Algeria and Morocco who moved to France to escape repression in their own country. 

Our walk from the train station into the town took us across this pretty scene - I think the canal is called La Basse.

We had intended to stop and visit the Castillet (below) which was first the city gate and then later a prison. Unfortunately, it was closed and I'm not sure why. The portal leads to the old city.

Just beside the Castillet, there was a very small patinoire or skating rink and the children sat in these sleighs that moved easily on the ice. It was fun to watch the people skating on such tiny surface.

Before I left, I had checked the weather in Perpignan. It was supposed to be to be cloudy and cool, but no rain. So, I decided to leave my umbrella at home because my back-pack is heavy enough on its own. Within an hour of our arrival, it began to rain. Where was my umbrella when I needed it? To avoid the rain, we decided to go for lunch. The restaurant I had read about and wanted to try was also closed on Saturdays at noon. Instead, we found a restaurant called le Divil in the city centre. I ordered the Poulet Fermier Facon cocotte à l'ancienne with a glass of the house red which was excellent.

After a lovely lunch, we decided to brave the elements and see some of the sights of Perpignan. En route to the cathedral, we came across this scene and I just had to take a picture. Artificial snow was used to make it look "Christmasy" I guess. It was a little unusual for this Canadian.

The Cathédrale Saint-Jean Baptiste. My travel companion, Magda is the blond in front. 

The Cathédrale wasn't particularly interesting to me and I found parts of the interior quite ornate and gaudy. However, the ceiling was rather nice. Beside the cathédrale was the Campo Santo which is the only cloistered cemetery in France. Once again, to me it was rather non-descript. There are four galleries with long rows of white marble Gothic porticos.

From there, we made our way to the Casa Xanxo which was the private house of a rich draper named Bernut Xanxo. It was built during the 16th century and today houses art expositions. We had a chance to see the "Perpignan Romantique" exhibition which featured Catalan costumes, jewellry, paintings and photographs from 1815-1848. The building also had a charming courtyard. Here is a picture which gives you a glimpse of just how old this building is. Apparently, it is one of the only Gothic houses that was conserved in Perpignan.

Last tourist stop was the Palais des rois de Majorgue. As is the case in most of the places I visited, you walk uphill and once you arrive, the winds begin to howl. I thought we might get a good view of the city, countryside and the mountains from the palace, but it was not meant to be. It was cloudy and foggy and not picture worthy today. 

This palace was originally the king's residence and its constuction began in 1276. We were a little pressed for time, so we did not go into the palace for a visit. From what I had read, the most note worthy parts to visit anyway, were the gardens and the courtyard. 

An orange tree outside the palace.

It was late afternoon so we started to make our way back to the train station. Here are a few of the things we saw along the way. 

Some of the many palm trees in Perpignan.

I loved the lush green plants and flowers growing on the balconies of this apartment and to think it is November 30!

Both Magda and I thought Perpignan was a rather pretty place with narrow streets, interesting architecture and friendly people. Magda thought it was quieter and less busy than Montpellier and I concur. Perhaps if we had had more time and the weather had cooperated, we would have also visited a nearby fishing village called Collioure that our prof Caroline said was very picturesque.  

I'm going to end this blog with a picture of Père Noël. Patricia tells me that many of the cities in the south of France are hosting "le marché de Noël" and Perpignan is no exception. I saw my first Père Noël with a little girl and took his picture. In my next blog, I'll tell you more about "le marché de Noël". Until then..

Il neige à Montpellier

A quick entry to let you know it snowed briefly today. We were sitting in class when all of a sudden a student who comes from Columbia jumped up and pointed at the window. It was snowing and this was the first time he had ever seen it. In a flash, he was out of the room, down the stairs and out on the street. He was soon joined by his buddy, another fellow Columbian. A third person took their picture as the snow fell while the rest of us watched from the large window in our classroom above. Caroline, our prof, said she has lived in Montpellier for the last ten years and this is only the second time she has seen snow here. Fortunately, it was over almost as quickly as it started. 

If you look really hard, you might see a few white streaks in the picture. That was the extent of the snow.

Coming from Canada, I think snow is highly overrated. However, it was fun to watch the reaction and the excitement of my fellow classmate. I just hope it doesn't happen again!

Le Bookshop

The other day in class, a couple of the students told us about the rendezvouz they had at a place called the Bookshop. On Mondays and Fridays from 5-7 p.m. people meet there to practice both English and French. I thought that it might be a great opportunity for me to meet some other people and practice both my comprehension and oral skills. Although a bit nervous, I decided to try it. A group of us enjoyed a pleasant lunch first on an outdoor terrace in a courtyard near the school. There wasn't any wind and the sun was shining. 

The gent on the right is Jonathan, from Scotland. The other is a new student, Ludwig, from Germany. I know you can't possibly guess who's in the middle holding onto a glass of red wine.

This was our view from la terrasse - jolie, n'est-ce pas?

A third person, Gabriel, also joined us for lunch. Gabriel is a delightful guy from Switzerland and he was actually the one who told me about the Bookshop. After lunch, Gabriel and I headed to another café for a coffee and to do a little studying while the other two went off on their respective business. Shortly before five, we made our way over to the tiny shop which is located on a petite rue in the Quartier L'Ancien Courrier. Gabriel suggested we arrive early because the place fills quickly and he was right. 

Le Bookshop

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Once you go into the place, you order a non alcoholic beverage of your choice and a snack if you are so inclined. That's the price of admission. Then you go downstairs to a wonderful room lined with books, many of which are English. Some books are used and you can go there during the day to read them and others are for sale. However, I digress. Next you find a place to sit. There are tables and chairs, but the room is very tiny. I reckon there were about 25-30 people who attended the session. Basically, you just introduce yourself to the people nearby and start chatting. 

Initially, I met several French people who were practicing their English - a student of finance, a real estate agent and a gent from Italy. Then a young woman sat down next to me. She spoke French quite well, but lo and behold, she came from Vancouver. She has lived in Montpellier for the last 13 months with her boyfriend who is studying law. Like me, when she first arrived she was very frustrated trying to learn the language, but she has subsequently relaxed and decided to enjoy the "French experience". She made several really good suggestions such as taking a class in yoga or cooking or something like that to get a different perspective. She also gave me links to a few websites that she has found very useful. One of my goals this week had been to try and find someone just to talk to en français over a cup of coffee. It turns out that she has some free time and we are going to meet tomorrow. Before I knew it the two hours were up and I had spoken French for almost the entire time. The whole experience was very positive and I'll definitely go back to the Bookshop on Friday. 

The best thing of all happened when I arrived home and told Patricia all about my day. She said for the very first time "Tu parles bien -pas de fautes" (you are speaking well with no mistakes) That made my day!

Carcassonne

Patricia loaned me a coat that belonged to her mother - a warm, fleece lined leather coat. I am going to need it today, because it is bloody cold with strong winds. It is early Saturday morning and I'm on the train headed for Carcassonne. My prof warned me that Carcassonne would be colder than here because of the winds that come from les montagnes noirs (the black mountains just before the Pyrenees). She was absolutely right. When I got home I told Patricia that I would have perished had it not been for her coat, the scarf I bought at the vide grenier and the beret that Robin and Tim gave me for Christmas last year. Enough of the weather - I think you have the picture.

Carcassonne is a fortified medieval French town divided in two- the Cité de Carcassonne and the more expansive lower city, la ville basse or la Bastide de Saint Louis. My game plan, as always, was to visit the Tourist Office to get a map and then start exploring. Fortunately, there are three tourist offices in Carcassonne. Unfortunately, the first two I went to were closed. Once I had map in hand, I worked my way from the La Bastide de Saint Louis (the lower city) over the Pont vieux and up a steep hill to La Cité Médiévale.

A picture of the L'Aude rivière from the Pont vieux

An odd looking art installation on the banks of the river

Views of La Cité Médiévale on the way up. It's pretty impressive and from what I gather even more so from an autoroute or at dusk.

These are pictures of the ramparts or exterior walls and some of the towers. Although I didn't count them, I believe there are 52 towers on the site. Le Château Comptal otherwise known as the Carassonne Castle and the ramparts were declared a UNESCO world hertitage site in 1997. From what I have read, it is the second most popular tourist attraction in France, next to the Eiffel Tower. Despite the bitter cold, there were other tourists visiting this magnificent place.

This sculpture of La Dame Carcas adorns the entrance to La Cité, La Porte Narbonnaise. Here is an interesting story that I read. Legend has it that she was the widow of the leader of the Saracens who inhabited the Cité in the 9th century. The Franks, led by Charlemagne, were attempting to overtake the town and believed they could make them submit by starving them. Unbeknownst to the Franks, the only food that remained in the city were a few sacks of grain and a pig. Dame Carcas fed all the grain to the pig and then threw it over the walls. When the pig fell to the ground, its belly split open. The troops retreated thinking there were abundant food supplies. The church bells began to peal in celebration and the people chanted "Carcas....sonne" (Carcas...sings), hence the name Carcassonne. However, this likely is nothing more than folk lore because the Saracens were Muslims and wouldn't have had a pig within the walls of the city. Also, at that time, people spoke Latin, not French. The name more likely came from the Occitan roots "carac" meaning rock or stone and "sonne" meaning wood from the forests around the town. I think I enjoyed the more romantic version of how Carcassonne got its name.

 

After passing through the gate, I turned left and walked into the list or lice en français. This is the gap between the two ramparts. The walkway is made of stones and I think my brother Trev, the geologist, would have been most interested.  

I decided to climb the stairs and walk along the exterior ramparts. Here are a few pictures from that vantage point. The first is a picture of a cemetery and I was surprised to see all the flowers on the gravesites. 

The countryside looking southeast.

It was so cold and windy that I ventured through the interior ramparts to warm up and take a look at La Basilique St Nazaire. I was unable to get a picture of the exterior of the church, but it is most famous for its enormous rose windows, weird gargoyles and large organ.

Just outside the basilica, there is a lovely hotel (below) and charming buildings, narrow alleys, restaurants, stores and cafés. On a lovely day, I would have spent far longer wandering the streets, but is was just too miserable to do so. 

After paying my entrance fee, I walked over the bridge through the main entrance to the castle. That is where I picked up my audio guide from a kind gentleman. I said "Bonjour Monsieur" and he immediately responded "you would like an English audio guide?". I asked him in French, "how did he know I was English with only two words?" He replied in English that it was my accent - I think it was that darned "r" sound or lack thereof. No doubt many Canadians and Americans speak with a non native accent, but I have been told by others, they find it "jolie" or pretty.

I spent a couple of hours exploring the castle using the audio guide. There was also a short film that described the history of the castle and the old Cité. The castle had fallen into ruin over the years due to its long and turbulent history as a strategic location between France and Spain. In 1853, an architect named Eugene Viollet-le-Duc (who also restored Notre-Dame de Paris) began its lengthy restoration. The restoration of the castle and the southern part of the city were completed in 1911.

A view of the lower city from one of the castle towers.

By the time I finished touring the castle I was tired, cold and hungry so I made my way back down the hill to the lower city. I had read about a couple of restaurants on websites and decided to try this modest place. The proprietor, both chef and server, and his wife had Alsacien roots. 

My entrée was a Tartine de Chèvre - grilled goat cheese served on a crunchy toasted baguette atop walnuts. It was delicious.

For the plat, I ordered a Filet de Colin - a boneless filet of fish unknown to me served with a cream sauce and potatoes. Naturally this lovely meal was accompanied by the house red (I have no idea what  is was, except that it was good.)

By the time I finished lunch it was close to 2:30 and sadly all the markets were finished. This is a picture of the old grain market which now houses Les Halles, a large indoor market.

I did manage to take a picture of the open market in the Place Carnot or central square first thing in the morning en route to the tourist office. Those poor vendors and patrons would have been really cold and wet.

I spent what was left of the afternoon in the ville basse mostly in shops to try and stay out of the wind and cold. As a matter of fact, I bought myself a pair of Italian shoes in one of the stores. Had the day been warm and sunny, I would have taken a trip in one of the boats along the Canal du Midi, also a UNESCO site. I don't even think the boats were operating because it was so cold. 

To end, I do have a picture of flowers outside a church that managed to survive the inclement weather. Go figure!