Tag Archives: france

St. Emilion

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A little belated but here it is:

Four days. The business game is over and we have four days to get ourselves into trouble. The majority of us are new to Bordeaux (let alone France) and we only know a few people. The school hosted a party on Wednesday. Thursday we recovered. Friday we ran important errands – picking up bank cards, selecting internet providers, etc. But what were we going to do with our remaining two days. It was supposed to rain so the beach is out. Bordeaux isn’t that big and there are only so many tourist sites within the city limits. So the American, the German and the French girl piled into a car and drove to St. Emilion for a day of exploring and wine tasting. At least that was the plan…

In preparation for the adventure we visited the Bordeaux tourism office on Friday and picked up a information book about St. Emilion. We asked about visiting the Chateau and tastings. We were told that it shouldn’t be an issue and that we could easily visit several different locations on Saturday afternoon.

In actuality, tasting rooms aren’t quite the same in France. It’s not like the lovely, welcoming tasting rooms of California. A lot of the Chateau require reservations. And just as many, if not more, aren’t even open on the weekends. So after our arrival in the city and a lovely lunch at the town square, we tried to visit a couple of different tasting rooms. And only had a little luck. It was partially my fault – when looking at the map I failed to realize that most of the tasting rooms were within walking – let alone 2 minutes driving – distance. But we did manage to find our way into a lovely cave and then to an even lovelier chateau.

We also walked around the very quaint medieval village. Complete with steep cobblestone streets, forts and stunning churches. To kill a little time before our second appointment we went exploring and found a lovely grove of trees, a quaint stone bridge and some lovely grape vines. (No grapes were harmed in the making of this post.)

All in all it was a lovely day and a great adventure. Visit the St. Emilion Photos page to see the proof.

Bonjour Paris!

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Three out of four flights and I’ve finally made it to France!!!

I am currently sitting in the Orly airport enjoying free wi-fi and waiting for the chance to drop off my bags. Apparently bag check in is much more efficient in France and you can’t check your bags in more than 90 minutes before your flight. Unlike San Francisco where bag check in ends 70 minutes before departure. I like the efficiency. I think. It means that I am currently waiting with all my bags and watching the clock as I really would like to freshen up in the bathroom – but there is no way I fit through the doorway with all my stuff. And yes it’s a lot of stuff. Even the Air France staff was a little taken aback.

I will confess – I do feel a bit ungainly sitting next to all of these put together and lovely French women. I’m in sweats I’ve been wearing for about 22 hours, have no make-up on and I’ve got all of this baggage. I REALLY need a shower! I smell like plane.

But I am surprisingly awake. Maybe not at my best, definitely struggling with my rusty French, but awake. Apparently two cocktails at the airport and two glasses of wine on the plane are conducive to actually sleeping. The empty middle seat in my row helped a lot too!

I was also surprised by customs – or the lack there of. Maybe I am just used to fling to London Heathrow where they are overly cautious. But they barely glanced at my passport. Didn’t even check my visa or look at my bags. The whole thing took about 30 minutes – 5 of which was waiting in line and the rest was waiting for my bags to be unloaded.

Well writing this post has killed about 20 minutes, about 50 to go. I’m going to go find something else to keep me busy so that awake status doesn’t change! Looking forward to finally arriving in Bordeaux.

A plus tard!

T-1 Week

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Today marks one week until departure and an ever growing task list. I spent the majority of the holiday weekend marking my imminent cross-continental move. My last day at Sones Cellars, a last day of wine tasting and a pre-birthday dinner with my parents and the massive closet clean-out. I have also had my hair cut, have gone to the dry cleaners and have run other essential last minute errands. And yet the week ahead doesn’t seem enough to accomplish everything.

I will confess – partly out a strong desire not to stress out the dog and partly out of pure avoidance – I haven’t actually started putting things in suitcases. But I have started collecting items and planing what will get packed. Although I’m not entirely sure that the pup-dog is comfortable with the mass movement of items in my bedroom. So my not-so-altruistic delay tactics aren’t necessarily working. 😛

~

But despite my procrastination, important things are actually getting done and this adventure seems ever more real. Today I confirmed an interview for September 17 with a potential employer. For those of you who aren’t in the know: I have to intern a significant portion of the year as part of my degree program. About a month ago I was contacted by un caviste (a wine shop) with locations in both Bordeaux and New York City that is looking for a digital marketing intern. Somehow this opportunity seems too good to be true. But none-the-less I have an interview scheduled shortly after my arrival.

In addition, I exchanged an email thread with my soon-to-be housemate. She seems to be a lovely 2nd year masters student at the same university. In the course of our emails I had asked a few questions about cell phone providers and banks. Her very detailed response included a lovely, generous offer to visit a local mobile shop and do a little reconnaissance.

I also today had a lovely email exchange with my soon-to-be landlady. Who it turns out is a genuinely awesome human being. She is letting me move in a couple days early and even offered to pick me up at the airport upon my arrival. My overabundance of supposed luggage is actually a deterrent to said airport pick-up as she drives a typical European mini-car. But the thought was enough to make her my new hero.

Clearly the women in France are delightful human beings and are willing to go the extra mile for the student coming in from the United States to make her feel welcome. This gives me hope that the next two years will be filled with good friends and even better company. And that my first few hectic weeks – trying to get settled in – won’t be too overwhelming.

On that note – I’m off to bed so that I can wake up tomorrow morning ready to face the next round of departure tasks. Bonne nuit!