À bientôt Paris!

I took an improptu visit to Paris last night, only deciding at 4pm that it was logistically possible for me to go and arrived at Le Patio restaurant for pre-première drinks by 8pm. I was kindly invited along to the premiere of the new Luc Besson movie The Lady and for afterparty drinks as well. It was one of the most bizarre yet enjoyable evenings I've ever had, meeting the loveliest people and having the opportunity to speak both French and English to truly inspiring people. I also managed to put faces to names of people who I've been emailing recently in an attempt to find a placement in the industry whilst in France. A thoroughly enjoyable evening and for that I thank my dear friend, Jon! Please go and see the film as it is absolutely beautiful and terrifically moving. Also please take a look at this: http://www.humanrightsactioncenter.org/dyr/about/

The evening took an even more bizarre turn as we were kindly given a loaf of bread by a local Parisien boulanger on our walk back to the hotel. Said loaf of bread however was devoured instantly after all I'd eaten all day was a bowl of Special K and an apple (it was all very impromptu as I said earlier). As you can see from the dreadful picture of me below (it was 3am) this loaf of bread was quite huge and posed as a very weird object to bring down to the Hotel Lobby this morning, suitcase in my right hand, bread in the left...

Rustic Clutch Bag, Gucci €900

 

 

 

 

 

 The weirdness continued this morning in the taxi to the train station in Paris where I managed to land myself with world's number 1 comedian for a taxi driver. I know this is a bit keen but I just had to write out how the conversation went as it was just brilliant!

Mr. Taxi: Vous allez en Suisse?
                (You're going to Switzerland?)

Me: Non, je vais à Lyon.
       (No I'm going to Lyon.)

Mr. Taxi: Pourquoi vous allez à Lyon? Parce que vous êtes amoureuses?
                (Why are you going to Lyon? Because you're in love?)

Me: umm...non? Je viens d’Angleterre mais j'habite à Lyon maintenant. J'étudie là-bas. 
        (umm...no? (weird reason i thought?!) I live in Lyon. I'm studying there.

Mr. Taxi: Ahh, qu'est ce-que vous étudiez? 
                (Ahh, what do you study?)

Me: La Littérature Française  Moderne, Les Arts du Spectacle et la Russe.
        (French Lit, Theatre/Dance/Cinema/Russian.)

Mr. Taxi: La Russe? Pourquoi la Russe? Vous êtes espionne anglaise?...James Bond?!?!?
                (Russian? Why Russian? Are you an english spy? James Bond?)

Me: ....Non.

(a little while later, talking about how beautiful Paris is)
 
 Me:   Il y a une possibilité que je vais déménager à Paris en Fevrier.
         (There's a chance I might be moving to Paris in February)

Mr. Taxi: Ah, ça c'est fantastique! Vous devez m'appeller quand vous revenez à Paris si vous avez besoin d'un taxi!....Votre grande mère est Jane Birkin? Parce que vous lui ressemblez beaucoup!
                (Ah, that's fantastic! You must call me when you come back to Paris if you need a taxi!.....Is your grandma Jane Birkin? Because you look like her!)


Me: hahaa...non, désoléé. 
      


(Arrive at the train station)


Mr. Taxi: Merci Mademoiselle, et à bientôt à Paris!)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Yes Mr. Taxi I hope I see you soon in Paris, well maybe not you but definitely Paris. 


So if you wondered who the real Sam was...I'm actually James Bond, I live in Switzerland and I'm related to Jane Birkin. 

??????

 

The Dreaded Surprise of the Witch Dance Commentary

Last week I was told in my Dance Theory class that I was about to take an exam on a video excerpt of a dance piece by Mary Wigman. Not only was I faced with the daunting prospect of writing an exam in French, in a French university, in France, but I was also faced with the daunting prospect of writing an exam on this....

Results tomorrow! Yipee.

Heavenly retreats.

Again I have been rubbish at blogging as there's just too much excitement going on for a little person like me. I guess you can see that the journey in Lyon is starting to accelerate even more into a crazy whirlwind which sort of equates to this:

More studies (including a 4 hour dance practical session ending at 7pm?@?! Who finishes uni at 7pm?!) 

+

 Meeting new friends/catching up with ol' time greats (i've only known these people 2 months but they're super)

=

 More soirées /chats over tea/wine/pastries than you can shake a baguette at. 

However this busy bee lifestyle was broken up with a very much overdue visit from the wrinklies (mum & paps) where I proudly showed them my beautiful city and even explored more of it for myself. We took the funicular up to the highest point in Lyon (at least I think it is) and did the touristy things that I'd wanted to do since I arrived. We visited the Roman Amphitheatre which, was truly amazing, and also visited the temporary exhibition on Roman medicine. We then trundled over to the basilica just a little further up the hill only to be smacked in the face with this stunning view of Lyon spanning over the rooftops and rivers of my new hometown.

As if this little trip wasn't enough, we then drove an hour and a half out of Lyon to the heavenly region called The Ardèche to a little place we used to visit when my brother and I were little. This little place is named Lamastre and there really isn't much to do other than sit, drink beer, talk to the locals and eat good food- sounds like hell to me. The highlight of this ghost town though is a hotel on the top of a windy road I like to imagine as the yellow brick road. It leads to the beautiful Chateau D'Urbillac where we stayed for one night. I think we all agreed it wasn't the same out of season and 10 years later but still has a special something in my heart. Check the pictures below to see the cutest room I stayed in, complete with a bust wearing a feather bower. I thought 'kitsch', Papa Wynn said 'weird'...

Cheeky!

I then had another heavenly retreat back to Egham to see my buddies. Obviously Eggs isn't the most heavenly place but the people I was visiting are so great and I miss them very much. It involved lots of tea drinking, gin drinking and stocking myself up with any English delicacies I may have missed over the past couple of months (not many I must point out). So now onto the second half of the first semester with not really a fear in sight, apart from perhaps what type of tea to drink...


...i'm joking.

France's latest fashions, Lemming Mafia and meeting Dory...

Wowee it's been 2 weeks since I last posted. But don't fear I haven't fallen off the face of the earth, I've just needed some time to find my feet. I was told they're at the end of my legs..ho ho ho. This past week has been quite eventful and I think I may just show you all in a series of pictures.

I saw at least 3 women wearing a pair of glasses that can only be explained through a form of pictionary so I drew you a picture....

...???? one squared frame one round frame. They're not even 'kooky' for want of a better word. Watch this space, I'll probably have a pair by the end of October, they could catch on.


On Sunday we went to the Lyon Aquarium! It was actually really fun and quite relaxing once we'd escaped the screaming french kids and just sat, chilled and watched the sharks swim, as you do. We also met Dory :)

And then this evening I was invited to a 'Games bar' or 'Café Jeux' which i'd never heard of but thought I'd go along anyway. It turned out to be the coolest little bar and absolutely packed full of people of different ages and different nationalities. We attempted to play Lemming Mafia and I ended up winning despite the fact I hadn't a clue how to play throught the whole game. I got some skillz what can I say...

A Day in the life...

As the days have started to take some form of routine, and I organise and colour code my 'emploi du temps', I feel I can describe a day in the life of me in France. I've now decided which classes I'm going to take and they include: (roughly translated) theory of cinema and images; theory of Laban notation in dance; French modern literature (modern being 19th century); History and Aesthetics of theatre and dance; and for some strange reason...Russian. I had my first Russian lesson today and absolutely loved it despite being thrown in the deep end having missed last week's seminar. My friend had decided to study Russian and I've always wanted to learn it plus I felt it was a better language to learn alongside improving my French as it isn't similar in any way unlike, for example, Spanish or Italian. Therefore, hopefully I won't get confused! 

So a day in the life...

First I'd like to welcome you to my humble abode, which is gradually starting to look like a home...

This morning I left my apartment at the relatively early hour of 9 o clock, ready to jump on the tram to university. My Tuesday lectures are at the Bron campus of Lyon 2 which is a 30 minute tram ride away. However, at 9 o clock on a weekday morning, one cannot simply 'jump' on the tram. You have to press the button to open the doors as a crammed pack of miserable faces stare at you in disgust at the prospect of you even attempting to get onto this particular tram. I've made the mistake in the past of thinking "Oh I'll just get the next one..." only to find every tram for the next few hours is just as crowded. So I plough onto the tram, elbows at the ready and find myself a 'me sized' corner to huddle in, preferably by the door for optimum ventilation. I've been on busy tubes in London, but this cuts the mustard. Perhaps it wouldn't even be that bad if everybody made sure to shower and deodorize in the morning, but those important necessities obviously pass French people by...(I'm massively generalizing here, I love the French.) 

Then something happened on the tram that was a snapshot, which I mentally captured, of something that was crazy good to watch. Basically, someone walking or perhaps even a cyclist must have crossed infront of the tram, causing the tram driver to break and thus forcing every standing person on the tram to fall at a perfect 45 degree angle, in a sort of Michael Jackson Smooth Criminal move that most could probably never recreate. Believe me, it wasn't just your average domino style stumble. It's moments like these on the sweaty, smelly, sardine packed tram that don't make it seem so bad. Another plus side is the fact I find something new to look at along the journey every day, such as these beaut paintings on the sides of buildings...

Or even just outside my apartment...

"La vie c'est pas du Kiwi"...of course.

se fixer 1 (=s’installer) to settle ◆ il s’est fixé à Lyon he settled in Lyon...

...this made me smile when I stumbled across it during one of my many frantic dictionary searches. Having been in Lyon for over a week now, I am starting to settle in this beautiful city. Everytime I cross one of the many bridges as we stroll back from a couple of civilised drinks in vieux Lyon, I cannot help but feel a little bit smug that I am now living, although temporarily, in such an amazing city. This week has felt at times like more of an emotional bungee jump than a rollercoaster ride but as long as I keep myself busy, I find myself feeling more content with life in Lyon.

Freshers week at University Lyon 2 or ‘la période d’intégration’ as they call it has been a mixture of stress, confusion, enjoyment and introductions. The battle for a working internet connection continues, improving my French IT jargon along the way. It may seem sad but it doesn’t help the feeling of being homesick when cut off from the world because of a stupid Internet connection. The stress also came with the search for our Uni timetables as they make it as difficult as possible to find out when and where you should be at a class. However, as this week comes to a very hungover but relaxing end, I’ve increased my ‘friend list’ in Lyon by about 50 % and decreased my amount of brain cells and liver strength by the same amount.

I was also introduced to the amazing bike system in Lyon and am no longer a VeloV virgin. I must admit I’m still confused as to which side of the road to cycle on and whether I should be on the road or the pavement and what to do down a one way street and if I should stop at traffic lights or not? I would just follow all the other savvy Lyonnais cyclists but they don’t seem to know what they’re doing either…

Yesterday I went on the best bike ride, and I know it sounds clichéd but it felt so good to go exploring alone with the wind in my hair and the excitement of not knowing what’s around the next corner. I cycled on a massive fly-over that crosses the railway track as the sun was setting and this shuffled itself onto my ipod to accompany. It's hard to escape the clichés in France, but it was just one of those ‘yes!’ moments, you know?

Je suis arrivée!

Hurrah! I said I would start my blog as soon as I arrived in Lyon. However, it is now 3 days into my 9 months here in France and I have only just managed to start scribbling. This is mainly due to the fact that the Internet has not been working but after many conversations with Madame at the reception desk and a scary phone call in French to the internet service provider, I was told to switch it off and back on again...quelle surprise it worked.

You may be questioning the name of this blog. Well, as my best friend and fellow blogger Rose said, it's quite difficult to find a name that is both 'hilarious and thought-provoking'. "Est-ce que je peux quitter la table?" was a phrase I used to use regularly at the dinner table, being the pretentious, smart-arse kid I was. While I may start to indulge myself in more convoluted conversations in French, I will of course always remember to ask "Est-ce que je peux quitter la table?".

It is probably just as well I didn't start this blog yesterday as I feel today has been the true début of my stay here in Lyon. The first couple of days were difficult as to be expected. The only people I had any sort of substantial conversation with were the lady in the mobile phone shop and the man in the Tabac. You have to start worrying when the only people you can call your 'friends' are shopkeepers and university administrators. There were aspects of my first couple of days which I really enjoyed, in particular discovering that Camembert is cheaper to buy than Edam/Emmental (see glorious results below in last night's dinner) and that Bonne Maman jam (the good stuff) is a mere €1.50! I also ventured into central Lyon in search of a kettle for a good brew and had to plough into the abyss of Carrefour. It was a little bit like Primark... on Oxford St... on a Saturday...at Christmas. Having lost a few limbs, and my dignity everytime a different item fell out of my broken shopping basket, I bought a lovely new bin and toilet brush.

So I woke up this morning feeling fresh and ready to roll for my 'réunion d'accueil' where, incidentally I met some lovely people. I decided to walk to the university instead of taking the tram. It turned out only to be a 20 minute walk and an enjoyable one at that. I had the dulcet tones of this playing in my ears as I strolled in the 27 degree heat with the feeling that I was a step closer to being settled in Lyon and a stride away from "Est-ce que je peux quitter la table?"...

The view down Avenue Berthelot.

yum