Through life one learns that adventures can take many forms. From that of their first experience drinking wine, attending a ballet or making new friends in what seems desolate circumstances. I have had an adventure of the latter, friends have come out of the woodwork! My adventure starts riding a bus across Toulouse. It was Thursday, February 5th. I was headed to Sept Deniers, a suburb of Toulouse close to the airport. I was headed there to attend a informational meeting about TWIG or Toulouse Women's International Group. Ben was unsure about me taking the bus, but I was unsure about walking all the way there, it may not have been really far away, but a bus to me seemed less vulnerable. Plus one has to learn about public transportation at one point in time! Before leaving I grabbed the rates for each ticket, I figured I'd point to the fare I wanted and the driver than would give me that fare. It worked brilliantly! But that is not the end of my journey, I had become nervous that I would miss my stop. So anxiously I got up ready to get off the bus at a stop that looked like it could be the right one, I got off confidently and stopped walking. It didn't look right. I grabbed my trusty map after looking at the road sign I realized I had gotten off at the WRONG stop. I figured out what stop I needed to be at and waited for the next bus. I knew there had to be another one coming, and sure enough one came. After a short ride I was at the correct stop. Immediately I started walking, but again it didn't look right, a little flustered I gave up and was able to call the host of the meeting. She told me which way to go and I headed in that direction hoping this time I knew what I was doing. It was a long walk but I found the correct road and luckily the host poked her head out of her gate. I was there!
The meeting had already started, I grabbed some coffee and cake and headed in, not sure what to expect, but there were several kind looking women in the room. I sat down embarrassed I was late, but happy to be in the right place. They then started the meeting quickly explaining that the group was an international group with the tying factor of speaking English. They have various sub-groups for other interests that any member could join. A slightly unfortunate fact about them was that they had members all over the Toulouse area and most meetings would not be in the city center but at the outlying homes of the members. After the introduction of the group there was a time for questions and telling why you were in Toulouse and how long you expected to stay. They all seemed kind but the transportation factor of the group was a bummer. I do not have a car and would have to rely on public transportation to places I was unfamiliar with. Despite the small disappointments it was nice to meet all of these women in similar circumstances. One woman in particular was my age. Her name is Aurele. It was nice to find that she lived very close to us on a road just off of Place Saint George. Another fascinating fact is that she had lived in a couple English speaking countries of Australia and Canada (of course Canada has French as well). We exchanged numbers and took the bus home together.
After getting off the bus and back to Place Saint George I asked her if she maybe wanted to get together the next day. She said sure, "for coffee? At 2 or 3 or 4?"
"That sounds good" I said nodding my head in reassurance.
"OK, I'll give you a call, nice meeting you, see you tomorrow" she said and headed towards her road.
The next day (Friday the 6th) I received a call at one o'clock, Aurele was wondering if 4 o'clock worked for me to drink coffee. I told her I was still free. Four rolled around quickly and I headed to our assigned meeting place of the Place Saint George. When she arrived I received my first a bis or cheek to cheek kiss. We drank our coffee and had a pleasant time. I learned that she was originally from a suburb of Paris and that she had a younger brother studying history at a University in Paris. She had just recently got a job at a school teaching history, so part of this shopping trip was to get a book for her students.
"Luckily I only have two students" she said when she spoke about her class. I was surprised she only had two, but she had mentioned something about the students having to take some sort of exam to get into the school. We parted as friends, hoping to get together soon with our "boyfriends" (as it seems that that word is interchangeable with husband). It was a good time and I hope we can get together again someday.
On Sunday we had determined it was time we find a church. I was able to find one online that was in the Toulouse area that spoke English. It is called Toulouse International Church and is in yet another suburb of Toulouse. The church service was wonderful, they sang contemporary songs and had a visiting American missionary gave the message. He spoke about learning French and how much he felt like a child again, not knowing what to do or understanding people who would start talking to him in French. He related it to how God wants us to come to him like children, trusting him through and through because he wants what is best for us, just as human parents want the best for their children. After the service we met several American families that had come to Toulouse to work for Airbus. One family is a rather new family, Lisa and Philip Snell were married they same year Ben and I were. So we immediately found things to talk about with them. Lisa is in the same position I am in, not working while her husband works for Airbus on contract. She also told me some great things about the church, that there was a women's Bible study that meets every Tuesday morning and that the ladies usually took trips on Thursdays while their husbands were at work. It all sounded great! It was even better to find out that they only live a couple of blocks from us as well. It was a glorious week for meeting new people, some who are in the exact same position as us and some who are truly friendly. I look forward to the adventure these friendships will bestow.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
A Little Trip
Ben came home one day, "Don't expect to go anywhere tomorrow" he said. I must have looked at him questioningly because he continued "they have planned a strike for tomorrow, all the buses, metro and other government run operations will not be going."
"So the employees are striking then?"
"Yes"
This was Wednesday, January 28 and on Thursday, the strike began. In all honesty, if you don't use the bus on a daily basis the strike hardly interrupted my day at all. I just saw a very pronounced police presence, I do not know if they were protecting the citizens of Toulouse or if they were just showing off as to what they were striking for. Oh, I also stopped at the Post Office, but it was still open, it just had two person to ask questions if needed and all the unmanned machines which distribute stamps were still open. I just needed stamps. Ben's day on the other hand went a little bit different. He was able to get to work OK but coming home... well lets just say it wasn't fun. The police had blocked the boulevard in which Ben had to take, so Ben had to take a two hour long detour (this is with the amount of traffic on the road) to get home. I kept trying to get a hold of Ben wondering if he was OK, he kept telling me he was fine, he just needed a snack and requested I walk down to the canal and hand him one. I didn't, but the fact that the traffic was that backed up told you something...this strike was a big deal. Ben figured the police were in it. I mean why not? They blocked off an important road for what appeared no apparent reason. But we are just innocent bystanders and cannot get involved in such things as strikes. We just have to watch from the sidelines.
Besides the excitement of the strike, we were able to do some more "touristy" things. We went to go see Albi, a pleasant little city about an hour away from Toulouse. This town holds a massively striking and dominating Cathedral called St. Cecile. It's side door is completely ornate, with angels, vines and flowers. Also on the sides of its walls were gargoyles budging out their heads in defiance of whatever may enter. Once inside, you are taken aback by the beauty of the walls. They are covered in frescoes. They may just be a pattern covering the wall, or a scene of some saint defending our Father in heaven, whatever the case they were beautiful. The ceiling was also covered in these beautiful frescoes. These frescoes were painted by Florentine artists. According the the Rick Steve's guidebook it was a "good call." Indeed it was, they still are just as beautiful as the day they were painted. In the front of the Cathedral there is a large fresco depicting something specific, the Last Judgement. It is elaborately done, showing pious priests, monks, bishops and archbishops as well as the common believer going to heaven as was promised by God. It also shows the common believer rising from the ground to be counted. It shows what happens if you dare not chose the living God. You are thrown to the devil for spite. One cannot describe its beauty or awe-inspiring thrill to see a wall covered in the glory and wrath of God. Did it perhaps bring new believers to church? Whatever its initial plan it was one of the lucky and largest frescoes to survive the reformation. Throughout the Cathedral are little chapels depicting martyrs, priests and saints all beautiful in there own right, but one of the main attractions is the choir blind. Blinds were used in the Middle Ages to bring mystery to the service, one could not see the voices singing praises to God nor the priest in whom would give the message. This is another lucky save from the reformation. It's stone walls are just as ornate, if not more than the side door. The front of the blind contained Old Testament people while the walls of the blind had angels, each unique. Again one cannot express the amazement or beauty that such art and care hold.
Next to the beauty of the St. Cecile Cathedral we spent some time in the Toulouse-Lautrec museum. This museum was quaint next to the Cathedral, but nonetheless showed the growing of an artist. It started with the artwork when he was just learning. He still was living in Albi and had nothing but the landscape and magazines to go by. He had beautiful impressionistic landscapes of the area Albi, its bridges, its people etc. Some were just portraits of people he saw sitting at the cafes and drinking their coffee or wine. Others had people in action, playing the piano or getting ready to hunt. The further into the museum you went it showed how Toulouse-Lautrec was coming into his own as an artist. The main thing I wanted to see was his prints. They are probably his most famous. Prints of people in the Moulin Rouge in Paris as well as advertisements which kept food on the table. It was a nice little art museum.
After we had attended to the museum and cathedral we went for a bit of a walk. We found a winery and got some local wine. After tasting it we think its pretty good, at least a good recommendation from the man who was in the shop. For our lunch we went to a little restaurant called Le Papillon. We had an enjoyable meal of duck breast and chimichangas. The glorious thing about this restaurant is it is run by two Americans. Our meal was so good I think we'll probably return to have a dinner there. Our meals were served with a soup of the day which was a broth vegetable soup and our dessert was a dainty and tasty spice cake. Both were excellent. The restaurant was not expensive, at least not as expensive as the ones here in Toulouse are. We had a pleasant day in Albi, I hope we return, if anything to enjoy the food at the Le Papillon again.
"So the employees are striking then?"
"Yes"
This was Wednesday, January 28 and on Thursday, the strike began. In all honesty, if you don't use the bus on a daily basis the strike hardly interrupted my day at all. I just saw a very pronounced police presence, I do not know if they were protecting the citizens of Toulouse or if they were just showing off as to what they were striking for. Oh, I also stopped at the Post Office, but it was still open, it just had two person to ask questions if needed and all the unmanned machines which distribute stamps were still open. I just needed stamps. Ben's day on the other hand went a little bit different. He was able to get to work OK but coming home... well lets just say it wasn't fun. The police had blocked the boulevard in which Ben had to take, so Ben had to take a two hour long detour (this is with the amount of traffic on the road) to get home. I kept trying to get a hold of Ben wondering if he was OK, he kept telling me he was fine, he just needed a snack and requested I walk down to the canal and hand him one. I didn't, but the fact that the traffic was that backed up told you something...this strike was a big deal. Ben figured the police were in it. I mean why not? They blocked off an important road for what appeared no apparent reason. But we are just innocent bystanders and cannot get involved in such things as strikes. We just have to watch from the sidelines.
Besides the excitement of the strike, we were able to do some more "touristy" things. We went to go see Albi, a pleasant little city about an hour away from Toulouse. This town holds a massively striking and dominating Cathedral called St. Cecile. It's side door is completely ornate, with angels, vines and flowers. Also on the sides of its walls were gargoyles budging out their heads in defiance of whatever may enter. Once inside, you are taken aback by the beauty of the walls. They are covered in frescoes. They may just be a pattern covering the wall, or a scene of some saint defending our Father in heaven, whatever the case they were beautiful. The ceiling was also covered in these beautiful frescoes. These frescoes were painted by Florentine artists. According the the Rick Steve's guidebook it was a "good call." Indeed it was, they still are just as beautiful as the day they were painted. In the front of the Cathedral there is a large fresco depicting something specific, the Last Judgement. It is elaborately done, showing pious priests, monks, bishops and archbishops as well as the common believer going to heaven as was promised by God. It also shows the common believer rising from the ground to be counted. It shows what happens if you dare not chose the living God. You are thrown to the devil for spite. One cannot describe its beauty or awe-inspiring thrill to see a wall covered in the glory and wrath of God. Did it perhaps bring new believers to church? Whatever its initial plan it was one of the lucky and largest frescoes to survive the reformation. Throughout the Cathedral are little chapels depicting martyrs, priests and saints all beautiful in there own right, but one of the main attractions is the choir blind. Blinds were used in the Middle Ages to bring mystery to the service, one could not see the voices singing praises to God nor the priest in whom would give the message. This is another lucky save from the reformation. It's stone walls are just as ornate, if not more than the side door. The front of the blind contained Old Testament people while the walls of the blind had angels, each unique. Again one cannot express the amazement or beauty that such art and care hold.
Next to the beauty of the St. Cecile Cathedral we spent some time in the Toulouse-Lautrec museum. This museum was quaint next to the Cathedral, but nonetheless showed the growing of an artist. It started with the artwork when he was just learning. He still was living in Albi and had nothing but the landscape and magazines to go by. He had beautiful impressionistic landscapes of the area Albi, its bridges, its people etc. Some were just portraits of people he saw sitting at the cafes and drinking their coffee or wine. Others had people in action, playing the piano or getting ready to hunt. The further into the museum you went it showed how Toulouse-Lautrec was coming into his own as an artist. The main thing I wanted to see was his prints. They are probably his most famous. Prints of people in the Moulin Rouge in Paris as well as advertisements which kept food on the table. It was a nice little art museum.
After we had attended to the museum and cathedral we went for a bit of a walk. We found a winery and got some local wine. After tasting it we think its pretty good, at least a good recommendation from the man who was in the shop. For our lunch we went to a little restaurant called Le Papillon. We had an enjoyable meal of duck breast and chimichangas. The glorious thing about this restaurant is it is run by two Americans. Our meal was so good I think we'll probably return to have a dinner there. Our meals were served with a soup of the day which was a broth vegetable soup and our dessert was a dainty and tasty spice cake. Both were excellent. The restaurant was not expensive, at least not as expensive as the ones here in Toulouse are. We had a pleasant day in Albi, I hope we return, if anything to enjoy the food at the Le Papillon again.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
A Few Nice Surprises
Not a block from our apartment sits a nice little restaurant called Victor Hugo Cafe. It is a convenient little cafe in the sense that it has service no matter what time of day. On Monday night Ben and I decided to do as the French do, that is go to a nice restaurant and have a coursed meal. We weren't entirely French by what time we entered the cafe. It was about 6:30 p.m. a half an hour earlier than when the French eat dinner. But we got sat down and ordered our meal before a few more patrons decided to come and eat.
What we ordered was up to us of course, but we followed a pre-set menu which we could chose a salad, main meal and a dessert. For my salad I had a tomato and mozzarella drizzled with basil and olive oil. Ben went a slightly different route and had Serrano ham, garlic, tomatoes and bread. Both were pretty appetizing, we had a hard enough time deciphering the menu that we didn't want to go too crazy with our choices. For our main entree Ben had a regional duck breast and I had a thin steak. Both were served with a lettuce leaf and scallop like potatoes with onions and other flavors. Again the taste was pleasing, I especially enjoyed the potatoes. With our meals we had also decided to get some wine. We had help choosing our wine. The waitress suggested a red wine which had a fine taste to it as well. For our dessert Ben had a chocolate mousse and I had a creme brulee. Ben was excited that his chocolate was actually sweet, it had been awhile since he had had anything quite as sweet in France so far. My creme brulee was delightfully creamy and crunchy and had a perfect caramelized top. All in all a pretty good meal. Once we received our check we were given a shot glass of a apple liqueur. We both tasted it but were unable to finish it, we were still feeling our wine! Despite the fact we could not finish it, we thought it tasted good and wished we could have. With our bellies pleasantly full, we left to explore.
A nice thing about living in Europe is the open markets, they are good things to have around, especially if you want something fresh. One of my requests when I went to the open market was to find bell peppers. I have to admit, I didn't think I would be able to find some, bell peppers are popular in the U.S. and are not hard to get, but here I have not seen a single bell pepper. So despite my doubts I headed to the open air market in Place Victor Hugo, this place is just off of Place Wilson (the largest place in the area, next to the capitol). The first booth I found they had an abundance of bell peppers and they were huge! Then an interesting thing happened, the guy standing at the booth requested that we should only speak in English, that just made my day! Both sellers were able to speak some English, even though they did not know the names of the vegetables in English. But I was able to get some onions and bell peppers as requested. But before I was able to leave with them, the conversation of the price of them went a little something like this, a combination of Spanish, English and French were used to help understand why the price was so good. I was able to get 2 peppers and 2 onions for 1 euro 50 instead of the whole lot being about 5 euro. I just thought it was intriguing having such a trilingual conversation so that all would understand the circumstance. It gave me hope that France was more mixed than I thought it was. For we had a conversation involving three languages and we all represented three different countries (at least). One of the men was from Morocco and the other from a different African country. We all could not speak well in French and used what we knew to communicate. What a small wonderful world we live in.
I recently read a book called French or Foe? about living in France. One of the things it talked about was not expecting to be friendly with your neighbors. I have found the opposite to be true. I was headed back to the apartment via the elevator and ran into an older gentleman. When I told him "Je ne parle pas francais" (I don't speak French) he excused himself as if to say he was sorry for speaking French to me before, but some English appeared. He asked me if I was American and immediately went to Obama, asking if he was president. I told him yes that he had just been inaugurated. Once he reached his floor he smiled and said au revoir. Besides the run in with the older gentleman on the elevator people have randomly spoken to me in French. One day I was looking for a pair of jeans in a rather large pile and a woman spoke to me in French, I assume to help me find my size. I forgot my French and said in English "I'm sorry I don't speak French" and she just smiled and waved as she left the pile. So people are nice, its just a matter of working with them as best you can. Even just speaking a little of the language. Everyday I wish I knew more French, but hopefully it will come. The French are friendly, even though the book claims that there is no such word in their language.
We finally were able to get to a "tourist attraction" today we went to the Cathedral of St. Etienne. It is know
n not as a place of worship but for its art. Did it have art! There were many beautiful sculptures and paintings. It was hard just to take it all in. The paintings depicted certain events in the Bible such as the last supper and Jesus' burial. They all were on large canvases that nearly took up half of the walls in which they were hung. The ceilings were incredibly high and beautiful, I'm sure aimed at the idea that one is supposed to feel the Lord's presence. The stained glass was wonderful as well, full of detail and color in a dreary setting. The Cathedral is hard to describe, but it was good to see it. We still have much more to see! But unfortunately one cannot always get away from adverse weather. Yesterday we had a very speedy, fierce wind that reminded me of blizzards in Iowa. The wind was so strong light poles, directional signs and power lines could not stand it. Several trees fell as well. We reluctantly went outside because we still needed to run some errands. At times it was hard to walk, but it was worth it to get outside and walk around despite the wind.
We have started to make our apartment something like home. We have revamped the living room with a little rearranging. It looks a little better and might serve our purposes better. That is keeping our bikes close at hand. Soon I hope to have a few decorations for the wall and some more color. Our bland colorless walls don't leave much for the eye to enjoy. We are also expriementing with making meals. We were able to have a very good homemade meal of spaghetti and bread with garlic dipping sauce. I think we are adapting slowly but surely to our home for the next couple more months. It is a good apartment, just needs a few homey decorations and a nice atmosphere!
What we ordered was up to us of course, but we followed a pre-set menu which we could chose a salad, main meal and a dessert. For my salad I had a tomato and mozzarella drizzled with basil and olive oil. Ben went a slightly different route and had Serrano ham, garlic, tomatoes and bread. Both were pretty appetizing, we had a hard enough time deciphering the menu that we didn't want to go too crazy with our choices. For our main entree Ben had a regional duck breast and I had a thin steak. Both were served with a lettuce leaf and scallop like potatoes with onions and other flavors. Again the taste was pleasing, I especially enjoyed the potatoes. With our meals we had also decided to get some wine. We had help choosing our wine. The waitress suggested a red wine which had a fine taste to it as well. For our dessert Ben had a chocolate mousse and I had a creme brulee. Ben was excited that his chocolate was actually sweet, it had been awhile since he had had anything quite as sweet in France so far. My creme brulee was delightfully creamy and crunchy and had a perfect caramelized top. All in all a pretty good meal. Once we received our check we were given a shot glass of a apple liqueur. We both tasted it but were unable to finish it, we were still feeling our wine! Despite the fact we could not finish it, we thought it tasted good and wished we could have. With our bellies pleasantly full, we left to explore.
A nice thing about living in Europe is the open markets, they are good things to have around, especially if you want something fresh. One of my requests when I went to the open market was to find bell peppers. I have to admit, I didn't think I would be able to find some, bell peppers are popular in the U.S. and are not hard to get, but here I have not seen a single bell pepper. So despite my doubts I headed to the open air market in Place Victor Hugo, this place is just off of Place Wilson (the largest place in the area, next to the capitol). The first booth I found they had an abundance of bell peppers and they were huge! Then an interesting thing happened, the guy standing at the booth requested that we should only speak in English, that just made my day! Both sellers were able to speak some English, even though they did not know the names of the vegetables in English. But I was able to get some onions and bell peppers as requested. But before I was able to leave with them, the conversation of the price of them went a little something like this, a combination of Spanish, English and French were used to help understand why the price was so good. I was able to get 2 peppers and 2 onions for 1 euro 50 instead of the whole lot being about 5 euro. I just thought it was intriguing having such a trilingual conversation so that all would understand the circumstance. It gave me hope that France was more mixed than I thought it was. For we had a conversation involving three languages and we all represented three different countries (at least). One of the men was from Morocco and the other from a different African country. We all could not speak well in French and used what we knew to communicate. What a small wonderful world we live in.
I recently read a book called French or Foe? about living in France. One of the things it talked about was not expecting to be friendly with your neighbors. I have found the opposite to be true. I was headed back to the apartment via the elevator and ran into an older gentleman. When I told him "Je ne parle pas francais" (I don't speak French) he excused himself as if to say he was sorry for speaking French to me before, but some English appeared. He asked me if I was American and immediately went to Obama, asking if he was president. I told him yes that he had just been inaugurated. Once he reached his floor he smiled and said au revoir. Besides the run in with the older gentleman on the elevator people have randomly spoken to me in French. One day I was looking for a pair of jeans in a rather large pile and a woman spoke to me in French, I assume to help me find my size. I forgot my French and said in English "I'm sorry I don't speak French" and she just smiled and waved as she left the pile. So people are nice, its just a matter of working with them as best you can. Even just speaking a little of the language. Everyday I wish I knew more French, but hopefully it will come. The French are friendly, even though the book claims that there is no such word in their language.
We finally were able to get to a "tourist attraction" today we went to the Cathedral of St. Etienne. It is know
n not as a place of worship but for its art. Did it have art! There were many beautiful sculptures and paintings. It was hard just to take it all in. The paintings depicted certain events in the Bible such as the last supper and Jesus' burial. They all were on large canvases that nearly took up half of the walls in which they were hung. The ceilings were incredibly high and beautiful, I'm sure aimed at the idea that one is supposed to feel the Lord's presence. The stained glass was wonderful as well, full of detail and color in a dreary setting. The Cathedral is hard to describe, but it was good to see it. We still have much more to see! But unfortunately one cannot always get away from adverse weather. Yesterday we had a very speedy, fierce wind that reminded me of blizzards in Iowa. The wind was so strong light poles, directional signs and power lines could not stand it. Several trees fell as well. We reluctantly went outside because we still needed to run some errands. At times it was hard to walk, but it was worth it to get outside and walk around despite the wind.We have started to make our apartment something like home. We have revamped the living room with a little rearranging. It looks a little better and might serve our purposes better. That is keeping our bikes close at hand. Soon I hope to have a few decorations for the wall and some more color. Our bland colorless walls don't leave much for the eye to enjoy. We are also expriementing with making meals. We were able to have a very good homemade meal of spaghetti and bread with garlic dipping sauce. I think we are adapting slowly but surely to our home for the next couple more months. It is a good apartment, just needs a few homey decorations and a nice atmosphere!
Monday, January 19, 2009
The First Week
One can distinctly hear an accordion playing softly yet in the background. There sitting on a corner is an old French gentlemen, involved nonetheless in his music. I have ran into the gentleman twice. He is always hopeful someone will toss a Euro or two in his hat in appreciation for his tune. His tune is always fitting to my mood. Fitting to the mood of the French in living life as it comes!
Our apartment is extremely close to anything that you can imagine. Below us is a convenient little mall with a grocery store attached. The mall has everything from shoes, clothing, books and even little cafes interspersed within it. I have taken several strolls within this mall mostly window shopping, a little scared to buy something too quickly. I have also had the fear of saying something wrong to the the clerks in the stores. Besides Espace Saint Georges (the mall), there are various stores on any street you find yourself on selling similar things to the mall under our apartments.
We went sightseeing this weekend, just to see what was around Toulouse. We went into the Chateau d'au which contained a photo gallery of two photographers whose names escape me. Not only was the building interesting to see, its spiraling staircase and machinery, but the photography was brilliant as art itself. Besides the small photo gallery we just walked around Toulouse. The Place du Capitole was holding a farmer's market of sorts which we wandered through to see what you could get. One could get anything from vegetables to bread. Beyond that we decide to walk along the Garonne, the river which runs through the city. Over the Garonne is the Pont Neuf or New Bridge which was the first bridge in Toulouse as well as the oldest. It has been standing since the 15th century. This just reminded us how old things are in Europe. Ben was just amazed at it's structure that people could build such a bridge in the 15th century and that he took it to work everyday.
All in all Toulouse is a pretty city that we haven't quite unlocked all its splendors. It still has quite a few museums to see as well as shops to explore. It is all the matter of finding them and seeing what they have to offer.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)