La vie quotidienne...
Despite having been in France for 2 months I'm still finding it tricky with adjusting to some of the finer details of everyday life.
Buying bread can still be a bit of a challenge.
The only real alternative to going to the bakery everyday is to buy a loaf from the supermarket which I'm a bit suspicious of. The Elusive One bought some about a month ago & despite having been in the kitchen for so long its yet to show any signs of going mouldy. So, I opt for the other extreme & go to la boulangerie on a daily basis after work because French bakers are smart & have realised that baking something that will make a sound like broken polystyrene a mere 24 hours after coming out of the oven is very good for business.
Its not as simple as just strolling in & demanding a baguette however. Take yesterday, for example. I walked into my local & asked for the usual. The woman behind the counter just shrugged & blinked back at me & uttered "Ah mademoiselle - Je n'ai plus de baguettes!"
I was rather baffled, because to my eyes she was surrounded by the damn things. Conscious of the queue building up behind me I resorted to the pointing to the basket next to her. She looked enlightened, exclaimed "Ah! Baguette à l'ancien!" & handed it over. Right then. I translate that as an old-fashioned baguette? Eh?!
So, to finish off this riveting anecdote I survived confusion & minor embarrassment to end up with something that looked like your average baguette, tasted like your average baguette but definitely was NOT a baguette.
To top it off, I committed a faux pas & ripped the top of to eat as I strolled along the street. A sure-fire way to get a dirty look or two.
Oh well. Since I intelligently pointed out a couple of weeks ago, September has arrived. With it, one flatmate has left & another has taken his place. The Elusive One & I had no say when it came to selecting a replacement & someone had viewed the flat & moved in within about 24 hours. My new flatmate is rather lovely though, shes German but always speaks in French to me & upon her arrival she cleaned the whole apartment so I suppose I shouldn't complain (though I should arguably feel a bit offended - it wasn't that skanky!)
Another thing worth mentioning is the fact that The Elusive One has started being, er, slightly less elusive. We've actually had several half-decent conversations, went for a bit of a l'il drink the other night & he called to see if I needed anything from the supermarket. Remarkable progress perhaps, but I'm not renaming him just yet.
So, I've written quite a lot without actually mentioning anything I've been up to. Typical. Well, I didn't have to spend any time in hospital following the rollerblading the other week so that officially qualifies it as a success. It was really good fun actually, whizzing along the Prom, getting a lift on the back of my friends bike & I just about coped with a couple of interesting paving stones too. I only fell once, when I tried to sit down, but since I'd just put my blades on & not actually moved anywhere it doesn't count. Plus, I didn't technically fall, it was more of a graceful slide to the ground. Despite that, I can't say that I mastered rollerblading with any great elegance, but this probably wasn't helped by the fact I accidentally put my elbow pads round my knees. Error.
I will be back out there though! Jenny the German is having her blades bought out so hopefully we can go together. We've already been to the markets together & shared a bottle of wine so I have my fingers crossed that we're going to find living together is just fine & dandy.
I've also had more nights out in Vieux Nice. One time we bought ice cream on the way home & I was startled to find out the ice cream man didn't particularly recognise me. I nearly burst out with "Do you not know who I am?!" but luckily managed to stop myself at the last minute. I find it a bit baffling though - I thought you were supposed to know your most loyal customers. Apparently not.
On Wednesday I went to Antibes for the evening, where I sat on someone else's boat, went on a random mission to find food & then ended up in a bar where I felt like I'd been magically transported to Australia. Everyone had a funny accent & they were only lacking the funny hats with the corks dangling from them.
I can't think of too much else to report... other than perhaps the fact that work has been a bit odd this week. I ended leading a tour of Vieux Nice on Monday which ended up taking 2 hours since I made most of it up as I went along, took everyone to buy an ice cream halfway through and decided to climb up to the old chateau to get a nice view. Oh well. I also ended up accompanying a group of 35 Austrians from the airport & nearly lost half of them when the bus took off suddenly (entirely my boss' fault may I say)... I suppose it kept things interesting.
And now its the weekend again! And I'm actually not sure whats going to happen since the weather forecast isn't looking too good...
I might have to wear a jumper. Its truly shocking.
xXx
Buying bread can still be a bit of a challenge.
The only real alternative to going to the bakery everyday is to buy a loaf from the supermarket which I'm a bit suspicious of. The Elusive One bought some about a month ago & despite having been in the kitchen for so long its yet to show any signs of going mouldy. So, I opt for the other extreme & go to la boulangerie on a daily basis after work because French bakers are smart & have realised that baking something that will make a sound like broken polystyrene a mere 24 hours after coming out of the oven is very good for business.
Its not as simple as just strolling in & demanding a baguette however. Take yesterday, for example. I walked into my local & asked for the usual. The woman behind the counter just shrugged & blinked back at me & uttered "Ah mademoiselle - Je n'ai plus de baguettes!"
I was rather baffled, because to my eyes she was surrounded by the damn things. Conscious of the queue building up behind me I resorted to the pointing to the basket next to her. She looked enlightened, exclaimed "Ah! Baguette à l'ancien!" & handed it over. Right then. I translate that as an old-fashioned baguette? Eh?!
So, to finish off this riveting anecdote I survived confusion & minor embarrassment to end up with something that looked like your average baguette, tasted like your average baguette but definitely was NOT a baguette.
To top it off, I committed a faux pas & ripped the top of to eat as I strolled along the street. A sure-fire way to get a dirty look or two.
Oh well. Since I intelligently pointed out a couple of weeks ago, September has arrived. With it, one flatmate has left & another has taken his place. The Elusive One & I had no say when it came to selecting a replacement & someone had viewed the flat & moved in within about 24 hours. My new flatmate is rather lovely though, shes German but always speaks in French to me & upon her arrival she cleaned the whole apartment so I suppose I shouldn't complain (though I should arguably feel a bit offended - it wasn't that skanky!)
Another thing worth mentioning is the fact that The Elusive One has started being, er, slightly less elusive. We've actually had several half-decent conversations, went for a bit of a l'il drink the other night & he called to see if I needed anything from the supermarket. Remarkable progress perhaps, but I'm not renaming him just yet.
So, I've written quite a lot without actually mentioning anything I've been up to. Typical. Well, I didn't have to spend any time in hospital following the rollerblading the other week so that officially qualifies it as a success. It was really good fun actually, whizzing along the Prom, getting a lift on the back of my friends bike & I just about coped with a couple of interesting paving stones too. I only fell once, when I tried to sit down, but since I'd just put my blades on & not actually moved anywhere it doesn't count. Plus, I didn't technically fall, it was more of a graceful slide to the ground. Despite that, I can't say that I mastered rollerblading with any great elegance, but this probably wasn't helped by the fact I accidentally put my elbow pads round my knees. Error.
I will be back out there though! Jenny the German is having her blades bought out so hopefully we can go together. We've already been to the markets together & shared a bottle of wine so I have my fingers crossed that we're going to find living together is just fine & dandy.
I've also had more nights out in Vieux Nice. One time we bought ice cream on the way home & I was startled to find out the ice cream man didn't particularly recognise me. I nearly burst out with "Do you not know who I am?!" but luckily managed to stop myself at the last minute. I find it a bit baffling though - I thought you were supposed to know your most loyal customers. Apparently not.
On Wednesday I went to Antibes for the evening, where I sat on someone else's boat, went on a random mission to find food & then ended up in a bar where I felt like I'd been magically transported to Australia. Everyone had a funny accent & they were only lacking the funny hats with the corks dangling from them.
I can't think of too much else to report... other than perhaps the fact that work has been a bit odd this week. I ended leading a tour of Vieux Nice on Monday which ended up taking 2 hours since I made most of it up as I went along, took everyone to buy an ice cream halfway through and decided to climb up to the old chateau to get a nice view. Oh well. I also ended up accompanying a group of 35 Austrians from the airport & nearly lost half of them when the bus took off suddenly (entirely my boss' fault may I say)... I suppose it kept things interesting.
And now its the weekend again! And I'm actually not sure whats going to happen since the weather forecast isn't looking too good...
I might have to wear a jumper. Its truly shocking.
xXx