Tag Archives: bordeaux

Tempus Fugit

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Today I took a minute and glanced at the calendar. Only to stop and do a double take. It is already the 20th of November. This means that I have been in Bordeaux for over two months and I will be returning to California for the holidays in less than 30 days. Say wha?

Truth be told, I’ve been too busy to mark the passage of time closely. I knew in the back of my head that the holidays were fast approaching but I didn’t quite realize how close it was. To be honest, even though I don’t have any time off, I’m not really going to miss Thanksgiving and the holiday shopping madness that is Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Of course with work I can’t remain completely ignorant of it but I get to watch the ridiculousness from afar. But I am looking forward to going home for two short weeks. It will be nice to spend a little time with my family and friends in California.

But that visit is still 30 days away…I’ve got to get back to work.

Another First – The Internship

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I’ve only been working on this post for 5 days. I thought maybe it was time to finally post it. Particularly as my blog home page is only showing links. Apparently I need to write more…or stop posting links.

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This week – in addition to starting my regular classes – I started my internship with a wine merchant in Bordeaux. They have their cellar and their offices here in Bordeaux but they also have store fronts in Saint Tropez and in New York City (M this is your chance to do a little recon for a friend and score some great wine 😉 ).

Being me – I woke up super early (aka 5:30) on Thursday morning to make sure I was early for the bus. As I’ve said before I always find the buses to be a challenge. I’m never sure how long between ‘stops’ and when I’m supposed to push the button. As the office is located well outside of the city and it was my first time there – we (my friend A is working there with me as well) asked the bus driver to give us a shout out at the correct bus stop. We not only made it there in one piece – we were early. But its a good way to make a strong first impression. 🙂

Friday was more of the same – complete with early wake up call and the bus driver call out. What can I say – I’m nothing if not predicable. And next week will likely not be any different. The last thing I want to do is miss the bus and be late.

As for the work itself, I’ll be working on the digital marketing efforts in the US market. I’m looking forward to the challenge and learning more about the wine industry.  As much as I love Santa Cruz and California, I’m fairly certain it’s not a good cross section of the rest of the US or the wine industry as a whole. Despite being terrified, I do hope I will be able to make a difference and prove to myself that this was a good idea. 

Another Long Weekend

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It’s Sunday and the end of another long four-day weekend. All I can say is I think my liver is happy that it’s finally over. No weekend in France would be complete without visiting at least one cafe for un verre (a glass). But this weekend was a parade of boutielles, soirées and fêtes (bottles, night’s out and parties for the French challenged). I didn’t think it was possible but I think the French party harder than the Brits.

This weekend also brought the implementation of a new personal rule: always bring your umbrella and your sunglasses. Apparently in Bordeaux you don’t know which you are going to need. In fact at one point this weekend I needed both at the same time.

Despite my whinging, it was a great weekend. We were toured around Bordeaux by our new friend and classmate Max. A long time resident of the city, he was full of tips about great bars, cafes and restaurants. And he seems to know everyone.

But it wasn’t all just parties. I spent a little time enjoying some sun in the Jardin Public. I managed to score a ride out to IKEA. I did a little laundry and started looking for flights home for Christmas. I also cleaned the apartment and did a little cooking.  I visited the local market and perused the wines at the special event they were hosting. (And yes before you ask, of course I bought a couple bottles). I even managed to get lectured by a rather frightening older lady because I was looking at bottles produced by large enterprises and not small family estates.

Monday our real course work begins, despite another miscommunication about timing – I still haven’t manage to figure out if classes start at 8:15 or 9. So 8:15 it is. And if nothing else I can sip a coffee for 45 minutes and get a little work done.

Truthfully at this point, I’m just excited for our course work to begin. Nothing could be as challenging as the business game. I survived that – I can survive anything. At least I hope I can. But in all honestly, aside from the English class, I’m looking forward to jumping in and getting my feet wet. I’m also looking forward to working with and getting to know more of my classmates.