22nd June

Last night I fell in love with Nice.

As I said in an earlier post – I have been having a great time here but last night was something else all together. Alex and I had been hearing a whisper all day of the ‘night of music’, that was going to be happening that night and that it might be ‘fun’ to wander around town. Fun doesn’t cover it. It was Magical.

I’m presuming that, even in the south where the sun seems to come out to play a lot, the start of summer is a fairly big deal. Or so it would seem after last night because the whole night was in order to celebrate the first night of summer. Imagine, if you will, a street party where not only does everyone on the street come out but also a few others from the next block. Then imagine the whole city coming out. I missed being in Sydney for the Olympics – but from what I’ve heard maybe that’s the best comparison (only in my mind it’s actually probably better).

We started wandering at around six to head up to the old Château site (but Alex can tell you more about that) and get a great view of the city in the hours that happen before sunset (you know when all the colours seem to come out so much more vividly?). Making our way back down to the centre of town it was easy to see that the people were settling in for a big night with rows of night markets along the beach that were staying open until midnight and more and more live music popping up everywhere. After dinner (where Alex and I both had our first encounter with Escargot and she introduced me to Monaco beer which looks and tastes a little like creaming soda) we set off to see what else the town had in store.

It got better. And better. And better. And better… More bands kept cropping up ranging from grunge groups, middle age men and their families kicking back in a quite corner playing bongos and a couple of guitars, Brazilian street performers to an African drummer making a storm with a swirl of girls just spontaneously dancing around him. We saw one street of people dancing away outside a Lebanese restaurant and then another square of people next to yet another band. I listened to a Frenchman do a pretty great job of covering ‘Mr Jones’ and an average Frenchwoman covering (badly) Californication…

Two things that struck me on the night as well. Firstly how many young kids were out on their own without parents but just in their own little groups and secondly that we didn’t see -any drunk people. I mean not a single one over the course of six hours of wandering around. In Australia, especially by midnight, you’d see groups of D&D people all over the place, but not here. It was kind of bizarre but just really great seeing a whole city out and having a great time enjoying and celebrating. It felt innocent, easy and joyful. The start of summer if definitely the time to be here.

24th June

The time to saying goodbye to France is getting closer. I’m now in Alex’s hometown of Reims and it’s such a nice place! Apparently it used to be the capital of France and it now most know for it’s Cathedral where most of Frances Kings where crowned and where Joan of Arc came with the rescued Dauphin (I forget which one) to make sure he was crowned. The Cathedral itself is pretty breathtaking (just look at all the detail!) and you can see it from most places in the town area.

It’s nice to be here just to see where Alex lives and get to meet some of here friends from here over dinner last night (and yes Tim, you are being picky so just for you, perhaps more so for me, desert last night was lavender crème brule mmmmm). This afternoon we’re off to the Mumm Champagne house (Reims is also known for being the Champagne capital because of the region we’re in) and then sometime later I’ll be hopping back on a train to get back to Bethan's and Paris for one more day. Then in two days time (Thursday) I’ll be heading over to the Middle East until the end of July.

It’s all come around so incredibly fast!

Let me set my mood for you – in Sydney I’m guessing that it’s a little cold and grey and that winter is in full swing. By stark contrast, I’m spending most of my days at the moment ‘swanning’ (according to some) around the French Riviera with balmy days and warm sunsets that have the soft scent of jasmine perfuming the air. Life. Is. Good.

But for all of it’s goodness there have been a few moments of confusion along the way. So, what’s a girl to do when she finds herself a little ‘lost in translation’ in a delightfully strange city? I can tell you – I now have the top 5 tips for a girls guide to Paris (and a little further a-field too).

1. I’ve discovered why it is that French women have the reputation for pouting so much. They’re just generally annoyed with the men. They’re not trying to be cute or get their way, they’re saying “bugger off you pervy old man”. Be prepared for the fact that French men stare, a lot (I think I’m getting prepared for standing out in the weeks to come). You can either feel constantly flattered (that wears off by the end of your first day) or just ignore it.
2. Feel free to eat just about any delicious thing that comes across your path. Bethan and I stopped by this market that has been touted by one tour guide as ‘for millionaires only’ and considering that the fruit had no price tag but looked phenomenal I could believe it. I’ve consumed any number of glaces, croissants and succulent meals throughout the last week and have delighted in each bite. Do not wimp out and just settle for food that you know – that’s boring and a waste of the opportunity to indulge with the French in their reputation for fine food. All this eating is ok because…
3. Find the stair-master at your local gym and go into training before hand for all of the walking and steps that you will encounter – so far I think I’ve managed to hike a little over 1500 steps and there’ll still be more to come (and as much as you may love them, also pack more shoes than havi’s to walk around in – as great as they are when you start out you will have blisters within a couple of days. However, once you have conquered whatever stairs you have challenging before you, I promise that the views will be worth it – here is one that we stumbled across at the top of the Sacre Cœur, the second highest point in Paris after the Eiffel tower (unless you’re a little nuts don’t try and climb that though – just bear with the que and take the lift)
4. Do your research and choose your accommodation wisely. After a delayed flight Alex and I got into Nice a little after 12pm only to have to wait half an hour before being picked up to go to the hostel I’d booked. Now, keep in mind that we’d organised to stay in a room for three and the write up had said that this was ‘the best hostel in Europe’… so you can image a little frustration on our behalf when at 1am we were plonked into a room that had 12 other occupants, was at least 25 degrees, smelt and was just above the reception and bar area. Having been assured that the price also balanced out because it was 20 mins from the centre of town, then perhaps you might image that there could be more chagrin when the next day we managed to find a 2 star hotel (in the middle of town) with a bed and bathroom for three. Needless to say we’d checked out within 18 hours and are now happily entertained by ‘Madame” (I have no other name for her) and her little white scotty dog ironically named ‘Onyx’. The fact that she charmingly mocks me because I exclaimed ‘puppy’ when I first saw him is besides the point – now I’m flattered that she chants ‘pouppie’ (just imagine the accent) whenever she sees me.
5. Expect the unexpected – as I type this the practice for the Tour de France (Paris to Nice in 9 days) is finishing up under the bedroom window of my room in Nice (actually that ones just for you Paddy). But in all seriousness be prepared to spend more hours than you’d expected either wandering around a market place, going up and down the Riviera or lingering over point 3, simply because you can.

I’m having a fabulous time. The weather is gorgeous and because the sun is different in Europe I have justified lying in the sun on the coast and swimming in the glorious turquoise Mediterranean waters (and I plan on doing the same tomorrow in a little town called Eze – those in the know would recognise the name because it’s most recent home-owners are Brangelina, just a stones throw from Bono and The Edge places...for a small place it packs it’s own celebrity punch).

The highlight though, without a glimmer of a doubt, has been spending time with some much loved, and much missed, girls from UTS. They are the reason I came and it’s been a blessing not only to be sharing this with them, but to be having some great conversations and finding out how their really going on their year over here.

The plan from here is that Alex and I will stick around until Sunday before we fly to Reims so that I can see where she lives (and enjoy some true Champagne) and meet some of her newest friends. After that I’ll be back in Paris with Bethan for a day or so and then back on another plane to head for the Gulf Region. Team, if you’re reading this too – I can’t wait to see you all and get stuck into all that we have planned and prayed for.

Hopefully (depending on how my internet access goes) I’ll load up some more photos on flickr for those who care to peruse and read some more anecdotes.

Bonne journée and au revoir
xxx

"Cos I'm leaving on a jet plane, don't know when I'll be back again..."

Mmmm, not exactly true because I do know when I'll be back but the song and it's meaning will still translate. As off 5pm tomorrow afternoon I will be on a plane and very (very) ready to be out of Sydney for a while.

I think I need to clear up some confusions though. A number of people have presumed that I'm OS already but I am still in NSW - I've been on an AFES staff conference this week in Stanwell Tops. Although I'm still recovering (health wise) and I've been a little scatty because of all the last minute prep's, it has been a great week. Mostly just catching up with peers who are doing the same sorts of things all around the country, and it's been a great blessing to catch up with some of the girls and beat some of the boys at 500 (sorry, couldn't resist!).

Also - in terms of itinerary... yes I do actually fly to Paris first. Some much loved girls of 'mine' from UTS have been there for 6 months now so I feel very blessed that I've been able to use my frequent flyer points and head to France to spend some time with them - both one on one and in a small group as we head down to the south of France to do a bit of a retreat together. France has never been know for being the most hospitable for Christians, so I'm longing to see how they're doing and how we can mutually encourage each other. I'm sure there will be many pics and little stories over the next couple of weeks from over there (keep looking to the flickr site because I'll be putting more pics up there if you're interested in that sort of thing).

From there, I'm on another plane over to the Gulf region where the team will be meeting me as they fly in a few hours later.

It's almost hard to believe that 10 months of planning is just around the corner. Thanks for your prayers. I'll write more sometime soon.

So... how you feeling?

Now ordinarily, this question asked often enough in a short space of time could indicate a poor emotional or physical state but those in the know would realise that this is more reflective of the fact that this time in just ten little days I will be on a plane headed off to France and the Middle East.

So, some emotive words to explain the current state: excited, anxious, tired, get-me-on-the-plane-now, anticipatory, shocked (that it's come around so quickly) vulnerable, stressed... get the picture?

The last couple of months have been a blur (hence the lack of posts - the is the last time I'll apologise to those who have been giving little digs about not posting enough!) with regular uni things, team meetings, trying to catch up with friends, church stuff, a few OS skype calls and me pouring over tour guides of Paris and the south of France. It's hard to believe that 8 months of planning are coming together and it's all just around the corner.

But lots of planning and running around seems to have taken a little toll on my health. The reason I can post in the afternoon is because I'm confined to my couch with bronchitis. I am officially all drugged up. So drugged up in fact that I seem to have become a little dozy-ish... today, for example? I was walking through the shops (slowly because let's face it I was just picking up some sort of breathing apparatus) I didn't notice that I had dropped an envelope until a sweet little old lady stopped me and called me back. Good thing she did too because that little envelope that I should have been paying attention too contained a couple of hundred euros and dollars... that would have ended in tears. Many, many, many tears.

Lesson for you all - when you see someone drop something let them know, it might be important.