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4/23/2008

AZERTY!

I, qfrqid thqt ,y posts ,ight beco,e q bit s,qller; due to the fqct thqt the co,puter qt ,y nez host fq,ilyùs house is; like qll other co,puters in Frqnce; set to the azerty keyboqrd style:

Translation: I'm afraid that my posts might become a bit smaller, due to the fact that the computer at my new host family's house is, like all other computers in France, set to the azerty (rather than good ol' qwerty) keyboard style.

I'm in Draguignan, the last stop of the trip. During WWII, American paratroopers landed here. There is an artillery school, as well as an American cemetery which is actually U.S. soil! I'm staying with two retired teachers; Claude was a teacher of teachers at a teaching school for the proper teaching of teachers and Jacqueline was a physics professor (only students, no teachers.)

Last night we all had dinner at the house of the future president of Draguignan Templiers (of the Knights Templar; they're quite popular here.) We had a dish from Espagne, paella, and yes, it too was tasty.

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4/22/2008

Make up blog

Give me an S! Give me an L! Give me an A, C, K, E, R!

What's that spell?

SLACKER!

I know I've been a little behind on the blog, so before we head to Draguignan, here's a recap:

Antibes

Today we are in Antibes. The minibus (with new side-scratch, thank-you-very-much Mr. Bob Carles!) stopped at Juan Les Pins, right on the water. We met Lillian, Charlotte’s host, at her restaurant The Living Garden. We also met Joseph, a really nice and funny man who would be mine and Mike’s host at the Hotel Ligure in Cannes. From the Living Garden, we went to our hotel, where Mike and I share a double chambre avec bain (2 beds with a bath). Every night we get to eat at Le Splendid, a restaurant just down the street. It’s great!

Inspiration

On Friday we went to a local ceramic shop, a museum, city hall, and the main government headquarters of Alpes Maritimes. I would really like to take up pottery making, after seeing how easy the pottery guy made it look.

Tact

On Saturday we went to the district rotary meeting in Nice. Joseph whisked us away at 8. We didn’t have time for much breakfast because we had to wait for the group before going to the second level of the Acropolis. Then the speeches began. I’m sure there were many interesting speeches, but it was hard to follow, even with Carl trying his best to translate for Mike and me. At lunch we had canette (baby girl duck, I call it) which was not my favorite, I must admit. There was a layer of bubbly fat that I think I’ll never forget…

Anyway, I must admit that I was in a bit of a foul mood, which was rectified after calling my wife. I had not talked to her or Cammy in about a week and I think it was getting to me. After that, I was cool. We presented at about 4 and it went off smashingly. I think we’re just about ready for the talk-show circuit. We presented after a group of American kids spending a year in France (lucky!) and before a group of local Rotaract students. Let me just say right now that the Rotary organization and all its good works have really inspired me (subtext: Hey Rotary International, if you need a good hype man, give me a call!) That night we ate at Lillian’s (Charlotte’s host mom) restaurant, Living Garden. Mmmmmmmmmmm! Mike and I had the moules (mussels) and the veau (veal.) Tres excellent!

Bliss

Mike and I have our first day off in quite a while. Woo Hoo! I slept until 10 today, then we went a’walkin. We could’ve had breakfast at the hotel, but decided to search for a brioche (sugar pastry) the size of our heads. We didn’t find it, because Sundays are quite sacred in France. However, we did find the golden arches, where we each had the royal with cheese combo (remember Pulp Fiction?) Next, we made it to the supermarche just before it closed to pick up some jambon (ham), chevre (goat cheese), and water. Next, we looked for some baguettes but couldn’t find any. Everything pretty much shuts down by noon. We’ve been holed up in our room since. Bliss.

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4/16/2008

Art Day

On Tuesday, we were able to sleep in until 10! After that, we were taken to the new mayor's office for a photo op. Pulling off a true faux pas, I wore my Gators Swamp t-shirt! Today we will be in the newspaper. I suppose the Gator Nation has to be represented, regardless of the situation! Afterwards we had barbequed salmon with the best ratatouille yet at Bob and (Claudette?)'s house in the mountains. They have one of those pools that runs over into a lower pool. Very classy. From there, we met a woman named Anne-Marie who owns and operates a pottery shop. We were able to see the entire process: the one week open-air dying, the temperance in a 1700+ degree oven for about an hour and the tai-chi that accompanies this process, the putting of the pieces in a closed dugout with sawdust (and smoke!), and finally their immersion into water. The process is Japanese, called raku. It is very magical, because during the steps the pieces change colors, making white pieces turn to colored pieces, then to different colors, to sometimes almost metallic colors. Tres interesant!

That night us guys changed into our formalware at Andre's Hotel Ibis, where our final soiree in Hyeres took place. The presentation went off without a hitch, everyone (except perhaps me) doing much better. Kristin practiced very hard this week with her host family and nailed it! Nice work, Kristin.

Today we leave for Antibes.

I apologixe for the lack of new pics, but time seems to be at a premium these days!

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4/15/2008

Another Day in Paradise

On Monday we went to Porquellore again, this time with Ivan, Bruno, and Jean-Francoise. It was a much differnet experience this time, with a trip to La Courtade Winery and beautiful weather. We met Richard, the winery's manager and Simon, an expatriate of Great Britain. Richard went into a detailed account of the grape-growing process and showed us schiste, the peculiar mountain soil that makes for great wine. Afterwards, we went to his cellar, where we had plate upon plate of fresh vegetables, meats, creamy radish bites, cheese, spinach salmon bake, brownie cakes and strawberries, and even some wine! With the cheese and desserts we had a 1996 port that was very sweet and complementary. Then we took a walk to a windmill and a fort, complete with thin windows for sending arrows down on anyone foolish enough to try to take it. That night, we enjoyed dinner with our individual host families. I met Camille's (pronounced Cammy, just like my own daughter!) parents, Sam and Aurore. They both spoke perfect English and through them I was able to navigate a great conversation with Patrick and Genevievre. We had mussels, tuna and boiled potatoes with ailoi, a yellowish garlic mayonaise. This morning I slept until 10. That was quite nice. Now I'm off for pictures with Hyere's mayor, lunch and then our final presentation in this beautiful city.

A toute a l'heure,

Thomas

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4/14/2008

Decadence galore!

On Sunday we were picked up by monsieur Denis Matyasa, a world-class chocolatier and traiteur (caterer). He showed us his two chocolate shops. At the second one, we tasted 100% chocolate (bitter!) and then had lunch at the chef's table, in his office. We sat down to what looked like chocolate lollipops and were soon told that they contained foie gras! Foie gras lollipops! Ou entree was lobster risotto, probably the best thing I've ever tasted. For du plat, we had monk fish and ratatouille. For dessert, we had a sampling of different individual sweets. It was the best! Next, we went to Saint Tropez, the name probably most associated with the French Riviera. Remember Brigitte Bardot? She still lives there! After walking the harbor, we took a break at Le Cafe, watching some mean games of petanque (my new favorite game. I plan to make a petanque court in my backyard when I return!) We returned to Hyeres for an hour and a half of free time, our most yet. Mike, Kristin and I walked around for about a half an hour before settling in front of the water to await dinner. We ate a mixed meat plate of beef, chicken and duck (canard) with french fries. It was a little taste of home.

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4/13/2008

ZZZZZZZZZZZ part deux

Collobrieres is famous for its marron glace (chestnut or buckeye ice cream). We drove up a very windy and thin mountain road past bicyclists and the occasional car through Collobrieres to a renovated monastery. It was very beautiful. Next, we drove back to Collobrieres for lunch. A quick note about dining in France: It's awesome! Breakfast is usually some sort of bread with butter, jam, and honey with juice and coffee. Lunch and dinner are different. Each sitting is a minimum of 2 hours! At the very least, you have 3 courses with bread. Anyway, we ate at the restaurant of a former rugby player (rugby is huge here). Most of us had the lasagne bolognesa and were not disappointed. Afterwards, we toured the little town and I bought a book on Provencal cooking. Then we headed back to Hyeres. I slept on the way back. When we got to the hotel, Kristin's host picked us up and brought me home. I took a two-hour nap before dinner. When I woke up I met Cammie, Patrick and Genevievre's granddaughter. She's 5 and very beautiful.

That night Genevievre made a chicken dish that was promised by Henri IV to his people. Very good! Kristin and her host family came over and we had a great time.

Today we go to Saint Tropez!

Time for le petit dejeuner!

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4/12/2008

ZZZZZZZZZZZ ZZZZZZZZZZ ZZZZZZZZZZZ

I overslept today. Not entirely my fault, however. I set the alarm program on my computer but forgot to turn up the volume. On second thought, I guess it is my fault. I had time for a quick piece of toast before being picked up by Kristin and Charlotte (Kristin's host-mom). We went to Hotel Ibis to meet our Charlotte and Michel, our host driver for the day. We picked up Mike and Carl and then proceeded up a very winding path to Callobrieres, a mountain village.

Dinner time! I will continue later....

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Bling-bling!

Yesterday we went to Jean-Marie Rey's jardinerie (nursery), JardineRey. Kristin, Charlotte and I met Andre at his hotel, Ibis. Then we drove to Jean-Marie's house, where Mike and Carl stayed. It was like whoa. We drove around his 200-hectare estate to look at his 55,000 square meters of greenhouses containing several million plants. We rode with Jean-Marie's new neighbors to visit the grounds. We went back to his place for lunch, where we viewed his swan pond before a lunch of fish and an amazing sweet celery dish. I did manage to try and choke on the fish. It's only happened twice and both times with fish. Is there a lesson here? It was a very minor thing, not a big ordeal like in the movies. After lunch, we visited one of his seven public shops, a giant place selling all manners of plants, pets, and garden items. It even had a small zoo!

Next we went to Hyeres' Mediatheque, a very modern library. We were shown about by Natalie, the head librarian. She spoke amazing English and told us about the similarities and differences between American and French libraries. She admired our system's efficiency and friendliness. It had many graphic novels (comic books) that seemed perhaps a bit different from ours at home to help bring in the young males. Good idea! We also got a peek at the Mediatheque's heritage collection. One book in particular was an Edith Wharton (post-Victorian) novel written while she lived in Hyeres.

For dinner we went to Le Bouillebaise, a seafood restaurant overlooking the water where the fish is brought in daily by les peschers (fishermen). Tres bon! We started with le soupe de moule (mussel soup). Then we had the grilled fish (tail, eyes and all). For dessert, I had a chocolate ice cream pastry dish. An excellent dinner!

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4/11/2008

Off to Hyeres!

The next morning we were able to sleep in a bit. The minibus (the sixth member of the group) arrived at Muriel's house at 11. I tried to see Muriel before she left for work, but it just didn't happen. Nicolas and I talked about news, music and movies (Asterix versus Cleopatra, to be exact.) Muriel called and said that perhaps one day she could visit our home. I said most certainly. Natalie took us to the middle of Toulon, near Bernard's insurance firm, where Bernard joined us to drive us to Hyeres, about 20 km away.

We went to the Hotel Ibis in Hyeres, a hotel owned by a rotarian. We had a nice lunch in the hotel restaurant and then shuffled our luggage upstairs. We took a walking tour of Hyeres with Jean-Francois, the president of the Palmiere club, and Antwan, a member of the UN's UNICEF program. It was a very nice walk. We were allowed to stroll into shops as we liked, which was very nice. It seems as though the pace has relaxed a little. Then we went back to the hotel to practice our presentation, sleep, dress, and then leave for dinner at the Riviera Club. Very cool night. The reception was great, we all did better on our presentations, and the food was great. Afterwards, I gathered up my luggage into Patrick's mercedes and went to my new house. Patrick is a winemaker in Hyeres. I met his wife (Guineviere in English, I'm not sure how to pronounce it in French yet. I'll ask her to write it down later.) Their house is very nice. This morning I woke up, had breakfast with a big cup of coffee (a rarity here. The coffee is usually in espresso form.) Today we go to the largest plant nursery in all of Europe, I'm told. Don't worry John and Jonathan, I'll take lots of pics!

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L'ile du Porquerole

Today we went to the island of Porquerole. It is a very beautiful place, a protected national park in fact. We took a big ferry boat to the island. It went very fast and was a lot of fun. On the island we had a delicious lunch and then walked the island. We intended to go to a vinyard of Polish origin but ran out of time. We left the island and went to Bernard's house to change into our suits. Then we headed for the Regatta Club to present and to have dinner. On the way inside, Bernard asked me about the vinyard. I told him that we had a great time walking the island, but did not make it to the vinyard. Bernard, a man with both a jovial and serious side, seemed concerned by this. He said, "I would have liked for you to visit the vinyard. This is not good." I told him again that it was fine. When we entered the club, a doctor was presenting his time in Africa. His program was bringing equipment and training to the people. I understood much of it because of the powerpoint presentation. Frence is much easier to read than to hear! During dinner, we were asked to give a quick presentation (who you are, what you do, what are you doing in our club, why are you eating our food.) It was very informal and relaxed. After a great meal, we were given a bottle of the wine from the vinyard we weren't able to visit that day. I believe that Bernard probably had a little to do with that. Thanks, Bernard! Later, we had a quick visit at a fellow Rotarian's house. It was a great (though long) day.

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