My last few weeks in France!

My last few weeks here have flown by as predicted and tomorrow I move to Seville! Aah!

The weekend after my last post I went out with a group of friends, we went to the good old Irish bar, where I think it’s safe to say a good time was had by all! And then some of us headed off to an actual club! I hadn't been to one before in La Rochelle since the bars are all good and open until pretty late anyway. But the others said that I had to experience the club ‘L’Oxford’ before I left La Rochelle! When we got there I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was ‘Ladies Night’ so it was free for girls to get in! Although the poor guys had to pay 12€! (although that did include a drink) We were happily dancing away when an announcement came on to say that as part of ‘Ladies Night’ there was a male stripper coming on stage! Which was... an interesting experience! Haha, we left shortly after that, only to find that it was pouring with rain outside and one of my friends had chained his bike up somewhere in the park on the way to the club but we couldn't remember exactly where, and it’s a big park! We spent a good 10 minutes looking for it in the rain while he panicked that his Mum was going to kill him if he'd lost it since it was in fact her bike! Haha, but luckily we eventually found it and headed home!

 In the Irish Bar

 

The last day of my assistantship was a Friday and normally I only work in the afternoons on Fridays but I’d decided to go into school in the morning to make the most of my last day! However when I woke up and looked out of my window I found that it had snowed a little overnight. There was probably less than a cm but on my walk to the bus stop I saw a number of people sweeping their drives, people wearing snow boots and cars driving ridiculously slowly even though the roads were already clear! I began to worry a bit that my bus wouldn’t be running, but luckily I got the to the bus station to find that it was! I arrived to a class full of very over-excited children, since they’re not used to snow!

 

Pathetic amount of snow!

 

At break time the headmaster brought out a rather impressive looking galette from the local bakery as well as another smaller, traditional gateau des rois.

 

Yummy galette!

 

There's no staff room at the school so all the teachers gathered around in the corridor to eat it, while my mentor gave me some leaving presents and I handed out mine too! I got a selection of regional products- two different flavour salted butter caramels, some galettes (little buttery biscuits), some chocolate seagulls eggs which were yummy and did not last long!! And a mug of La Rochelle so I can ‘drink my tea in Seville and think of them!’ I also had a bottle of Pineau, which my mentor said was for my mum because during my assistantship she’s sent various things over for the school such as stickers, the cracker kits etc. However I'm not sure it would arrive in one piece if I posted it to her and I think it'll be too heavy to take in my suitcase to Spain for my Dad to take home, so the challenge is to drink it all before I leave! Just kidding, I think unfortunately it's probably going to end up as a present for my landlord or someone! All of us teachers then had a big photo which involved union jack waving! (see below!)

 

My presents from the school :)

That afternoon I worked with a group of 7 who were the only ones who hadn't yet finished their decoupage boxes (that I talked about before that they were making for mother's day). Luckily they all managed to finish them eventually! At break time four of the children helped me to dish out the Percy pig sweets and biscuits that I had brought back with me from England after Christmas. When they came back in after break they enjoyed their Percy pigs while I handed out the little presents I'd got for them. I got them Union Jack pencils and little notebooks with four different designs- an English policeman, a Beefeater, a Horse Guard and a Queen’s Guard.

Notebooks for the children

They were really pleased with them and I then had to give all of the children my 'autograph' on the first page of their notebooks! After that, all the children gave me drawings that they'd done for me as goodbye presents, they were really cute! And with a bisou for each of them as they left the classroom, my assistantship was over :(

One of my drawings from the children, how cute!

Me with the class and their notebooks!

On Saturday night Heather and her boyfriend were staying in La Rochelle and it was my last chance for a last proper night out, so we did a bit of a bar crawl of some of my favorite places- La Calhutte, Le Mayflower, Mauvais Garçons and ending up in General Humbert's Irish bar as per usual! It was a really good last night out!

 Me and Heather in La Calhutte

On Tuesday I’d planned to go for a walk around the town and take some photos. Unfortunately the weather has been awful this last week with almost non-stop rain and very strong winds, and Tuesday was no exception, but after waiting all day hoping for the rain to die down I eventually decided I wasn't going to let it ruin my plans and braved it anyway! I'm glad I did as it was as nice way to have a last look around the town, despite getting soggy feet and muddy boots from traipsing through the puddles in the park! It was also worth it because when I got off the Passeur (little solar powered boat that goes across the harbour) I looked back across to the Old Port to see that despite the very black sky there was a rainbow right in between the two towers, and almost as soon as I stopped taking photos it disappeared! It seemed like it was fate!

Wednesday I made the trip to see Harriet in Poitiers one last time before I go to Spain as it won't be quite so easy to visit then! Also, it’s her birthday next week so I thought it would be nice to hand deliver her present, albeit a little early! Lizzie who also does French at Sheffield met us there too as she's an assistant near Poitiers. We went for lunch in the usual creperie so I could have a last French crepe! It was a lovely visit, even if it was only short! (4 hours!)

 My scallops, leeks and creme fraiche crepe, yum!

 Lizzie, Me and Harriet

My last day here has been a little hectic and very stressful when pretty much everything that could possibly go wrong with the online check-in for my flight DID! But it was made nicer by going to meet Christine for lunch which was yummy!

And tomorrow is D-day! My alarm clock is set for 5.30am (5 and a half hours time, I should probably go to sleep!) then I’ll have to make my way (half asleep) to the station with two big suitcases, hand luggage and my laptop! It’s times like these that I wish I was capable of packing light! I'm getting the train to Bordeaux and I'm praying that it leaves from platform A so I don't have to try and negotiate any stairs with all that luggage! Then, from Bordeaux station I’m getting a coach to the airport where I fly to Barcelona before finally reaching the last leg of my journey and flying to Seville where I'm meeting my Dad around 7.30pm :) I then plan to go to our hotel and pass out I think: P

And then follows the quest to find somewhere to live! I've been looking online and there seems to be quite a lot of accommodation available in Seville which is promising and I've made an appointment to go and view a flat, although I had intended to have a lot more viewings arranged but I've been so busy I haven’t had a chance! So I think my first week in Seville could be rather hectic and stressful! My dad's staying until Wednesday morning and we're staying in a hotel until then, so in an ideal world I will have found somewhere to live and moved in before he leaves but I don't want to hold out too much hope for that!

I'll try and post again sometime soon to let you know how the nightmare journey and house hunting has gone!

Hasta entonces!

Christmas run up, Christmas Holidays and my return to France

I started writing this post before I went home for Christmas but didn't have the time to finish and post it so I know most of it's a bit outdated but I thought I may as well finish and post it now for you all to read anyway...
So I'm currently writing this post on the train on the way to Poitiers where I'm catching a flight home for Christmas and I'm so ridiculously excited I'm practically dancing in my seat. That's not to say that I can't wait to get away from France, I've had an amazing time so far but I think 4 months without my family, friends, cat, decent cups of tea and various other English things that I'm missing, is quite enough! I'm only heading back for 10 days though and I can tell already that it's absolutely going to fly by and then I only have another 3 weeks left in the land of cheese, bread and wine before I pack up my life and start again in Seville, how terrifying!! And judging by how fast the last 3 weeks went it's going to feel like a few days!

The weekend after I went to Paris Heather came to La Rochelle for a night so we decided to go for a night out. She very kindly brought a bottle of wine to have before we went out but unfortunately my corkscrew had disappeared so after googling 'how to open a bottle of wine without a corkscrew' we tried several methods (unsuccessfully) including banging it against a wall and destroying the cork with a screwdriver before we finally gave up and headed out.

 One of our desperate attempts to open the wine :P

 First we went for dinner in a restaurant that I obviously go to too often because the waiter now recognises me and speaks in English as soon as I walk in the door!! I would say that we had a yummy meal but unfortunately Heather opted for a burger forgetting that in France that actually just means a lump of raw meat shaped into a burger form! After that we visited a few bars before ending up in my favorite Irish bar, but unfortunately our night was a little marred by some guys that wouldn't leave us alone and told Heather that if you have a boyfriend you shouldn't go on nights out unless you're with him!!

In the Irish bar

On Wednesday I made the trip to Royan, where Heather lives to see the little seaside town for myself after all I had heard about it. When I arrived Heather was still at school so her friend Helena met me at the station and we went into town for a hot chocolate and a wander along the seafront. Then we met Heather and another assistant and walked to the casino at Plage de Pontaillac where we had a fancy lunch!

 The casino on the beach

Us on the beach after our lunch

After our lunch we went back into town and explored the little Christmas market and then they took me to see the cathedral, which I have to say is possibly the ugliest cathedral I've ever seen!! Its better inside though!

 Royan Cathedral

 Inside the cathedral

 On our way back from seeing the cathedral we popped into 'Le comptoir irlandais' where I was extremely excited to find mince pies which I'd been craving all week, they were expensive but I decided they were worth it! I also got a packet of shortbread to take as a little Christmas gift for the other teachers at school. It was a really cold day so following that we sought warmth in a café where I had my first mulled wine (vin chaud) of the season.

 Me with my vin chaud

Then we did some more shopping before being tempted by a creperie where I had a caramel beurre salé crepe, yum! Sadly it was then almost time to head to the station so after another quick browse in some shops it was time for my departure.

On Friday night there was a Christmas get together for all the assistants from the region in La Rochelle and although I'm not strictly a 'TAPIF' assistant, I gatecrashed anyway! It was nice to catch up with some familiar faces and to meet lots of new ones too, including Lizzie who actually goes to the same uni as me studying French as well but I didn't know her before! We began pre drinking at one of the other La Rochelle assistant's houses before heading to one of my favorite bars which has an underground dancefloor, plays the most ridiculously cheesy music and people dance on the bar!

 On the underground dancefloor

Some of the others then headed to another bar but a few of us stayed a bit longer before going to join them and then heading to Piano bar which had some kind of event on so they had a live guitarist and saxophonist who were jamming along to the music they were playing which was really cool!

 Guitarist and Saxophonist in Piano Bar

I left with four of the other British assistants and in true British fashion we went to a kebab place to get chips before calling it a night!

 Lizzie and Amy with their chips and kebabs!

I had designated that weekend to be my Christmas shopping weekend but on Saturday after a lazy morning I headed into town to find that it was absolutely heaving and most shops you could only just about squeeze in the doorway. So after buying two measly presents and a jumper and a shirt for myself I was defeated and headed home! I'd also intended to start packing but that didn't happen either which led to panic packing on Thursday and Friday!
The last week at school was somehow hectic and relaxed all at the same time, the normal timetable was mostly put to one side to make way for Christmas activities. For example, on Monday afternoon we took the children to the village hall to the the 'Christmas show'. I naively thought it would be a Christmas related show but no, it was about a dead, stuffed crocodile that came alive and travelled the world in search of his family! It was performed by two (possibly slightly deranged) women and lasted about an hour and a half so consequently quite a few of the children feel asleep!

 Bizarre Christmas show!

That evening Heather returned to La Rochelle as she was catching a flight home from here the next day. When she finally arrived much later than planned due to a typical French train strike we met another friend and went to a pub/restaurant where we all had puddings and then we headed onto a bar where we had a few quiet drinks.

 Heather and Christine waiting for our puddings!

Tuesday arrived with the promise of a Christmas lunch which turned out to be not quite what I was expecting, but yummy all the same! We began with an aperitif of red wine, the starter was some kind of paté thing so I passed and stuck with the salad and bread until the main course which was chicken in a white wine sauce with homemade chips. The pudding was the best bit, it was chocolate ice cream logs with mini meringues.

 Christmas dinner main course 

The other teachers

 Pudding!

On Wednesday I attempted Christmas shopping for a second time and it was slightly more successful. Then, after 4 months without a haircut and the news that my usual hairdresser at home is shut Sunday and Monday and since I was wanting a haircut before Christmas, I finally braved going to the hairdressers in France. I didn't have an appointment so I had to wait about 15 minutes and while I was waiting they gave me some hair magazines to look at 'to get some ideas', flicking through them I was convinced they were at least 15 years out of date but checking the date confirmed that they were in fact recent and that France is most definitely stuck in the 90s as far as fashion is concerned! I then got a bit scared about what they were going to do to my hair as many of the models had half shaven heads! My fear didn't stop when the hairdresser began cutting my hair at lightning speed without much regard for what she was doing! Luckily she didn't cut it too short though, however she then dried it with a diffuser and my hair does not take kindly to being dried with a hairdryer. By the time she had finished I had an afro and it's definitely not a good look for me! She finished and beamed at me expectantly and being the polite English girl that I am, I said its good thanks, but left no tip! As soon add I was out of sight of the hairdressers I tied my hair up to avoid getting funny looks on my walk home and after some emergency styling I was relieved to see that I wasn't going to be stuck with an afro and it was actually alright, phew!
Thursday turned out to be another very Chrismassy day at school, at break time one of the teachers played Christmas carols on his guitar in the playground and the children all sang along which was very cute.

 Singing Christmas songs in the playground

The rest of the morning was spent finishing the crackers and painting little glass pots to make candle holders for Christmas presents for the childrens' parents.

 Finished crackers!

 Candle holders in the making

 At afternoon break we had what they call the 'goûter de noel' where all the children went to the canteen and had brioche, satsumas and hot chocolate and sang a Christmas Carol. Before they began to eat, my class pulled the crackers that they'd made amongst much excitement (and envy on behalf of the other classes who didn't have crackers!) They then wore their hats, which was amusing to see as they were much too big for them so must of them were around their eyes or necks! 

Cracker pulling!

 Wearing their too-big hats!

That afternoon there was yet more excitement when Father Christmas visited all the classes handing out chocolate Father Christmases and even I got one, I must have been good this year!

Father Christmas!

Friday afternoon was very relaxed as expected and was mostly spent watching the Grinch, which is even weirder in French if that's possible!
I spent Friday evening manically trying to finish packing and rearranging my bags so that my suitcase wasn't too heavy and my hand luggage wasn't too big!
And now we've gone full circle as we arrive at Saturday when I met Harriet and some of the other assistants in Poitiers and flew home for Christmas (see start of post!)

 Waiting in the airport restaurant for the flight home!

My 10 days at home went ridiculously quickly as predicted but it was so nice to spend some time with my family and friends after so long and I also had the chance to visit some family and friends that we don't see very often which was nice. And of course I got to have a good old English Christmas with the family and a good old New Years Eve in Bridgnorth with some of my favorite people :)

After my brief stint in England my parents brought me back in the car in order to take most of my stuff home because (as usual) I have too much stuff and I wouldn't have been able to take it all to Spain (I'm flying directly from France to Spain). After 12 hours and 675 miles in the car we arrived in La Rochelle on Wednesday evening and after my mum and dad checked into their hotel down the road from my house and we dropped my things off at my house we headed into town to get some dinner.
The next day after a very French breakfast from the local bakery we made the short journey to the Île de Ré, we've been there before when we stayed near here on holiday but i'd yet to visit it since I'd been living here and it seemed a shame to me to leave without paying it another visit since its a very beautiful island. Admittedly its prettier in the summer and the weather wasn't too great but at least it was a lot quieter than in the summer! Firstly we drove almost to the very northern point of the island to see the famous lighthouse- le phare des baleines, we climbed the 267 steps to the top and took some photos before heading back down and stopping at a touristy shop and getting some goodies on the way back to the car (mostly my favourite- caramels beurres salés).

 Le phare des baleines

 Climbing the stairs!

View from the top

 Me at the top!

Next we made our way to the main town- Saint-Martin de Ré, driving through a few other picturesque villages on the way. We ambled through the streets of the pretty seaside town before looking for somewhere to have a late lunch, and then remembering that that's not possible in France since virtually everywhere stops serving lunch at 2 or 2.30pm at the latest. So we settled for a sandwich from the bakery which we ate on a bench by the harbour before exploring the town further.

 Saint-Martin de Ré

We went up the bell tower of the church which was an experience and a half, the stairs were so narrow and on one side the only thing stopping you falling a long way was a bit of weak looking chicken wire, its safe to say that health and safety would not allow it in England! But luckily it wasn't too high so there weren't too many steps to endure and there was a nice view of the town from the top.

 View from up the bell tower

After that we found a cafe to warm up in with hot drinks before returning to La Rochelle, with a supermarket stop on the way back to stock up on food since the parents offered to pay for it and we had the car so I didn't have to haul it all home like usual! And of course my mum and dad stocked up on cheap French wine which was a little embarrassing when we got to the checkout! After that we went into town for dinner and I took them to the restaurant that I go to quite a lot since they've heard so much about it!
The next day was mostly spent sorting out my things and packing up everything I don't need in the next three weeks to send home. We finally finished late afternoon and went for an evening stroll in town, passing by the market and a few shops and stopping for a hot chocolate along the way.

 Town Hall

 In front of the Old Port

 The Old Port

We were hoping to have an early dinner since we had a fairly early start the next day but when we started our hunt for somewhere to eat about 6.30 pm everywhere was either shut or completely deserted, in the end it got to about 7.30pm and we decided to just go into an empty restaurant, the good thing was that the service was very quick since it was so quiet! I decided to get oysters since I hadn't tried them before and I'm trying to sample lots of French food before I leave! I can't say I was overly keen but they were quite nice!

 Me looking nervous about eating the oysters :P

The next day my mum and dad arrived at mine bright and early for breakfast then we loaded up the car with all my things and they set off on the long journey back to England.

That afternoon Heather flew back to La Rochelle so we went for dinner and then to a few bars where we met some of the secondary assistants which was fun.

 Me and Heather with some of the secondary assistants

The next day we went to the cinema to see the 'Le monde de charlie' which is the French name for 'The Perks of Being a Wallflower' it was really good! Then we went for some food and a hot chocolate before Heather had to go and catch her bus back to Royan.

Today has been my first day back at school and I had a warm welcome from the children, some of whom were worried that I'd already left since I wasn't there in the morning- even though I never work Monday mornings! It made me realise that I'm really going to miss them when I finish my assistantship in less than two weeks!

Hopefully I'll have time for another post or two before my time in France is up!