Laval with Gloria: Day 1

June 28, 2013

I. AM. EXHAUSTED. It's 10:48pm right now (which is 1:48pm California time, so middle of the day), and I am so exhausted I can barely stay away anymore. Thus this will be a short blog post. Though in all honesty, it's quite deserving of an extensive one. But as I've been forewarned, speaking and listening in another language is EXHAUSTING. It really, really is. I've been speaking so much French and hearing people speak so much French that it's hard for me to think anymore. I am just so drained! But it's wonderful. It's so much fun and so incredible that I can actually converse in another language. Now I'm not getting ahead of myself, I have a long, long way to go. But people keep telling me my French is really impressive, and that I speak very well. And in truth, I can talk through all the basic needs, express a lot of my thoughts, and hold conversation effectively. Which is a world away from where I was just a few months ago.

Well today I arrived in Laval, France. I'm here visiting Gloria, Elise, and her family. Gloria was my nanny for around 10 years starting when I was just 6 months old. Although she is no longer my nanny (sadly), she's an incredibly close friend of the family and was always like another mother to me. So when I found out she was going to be in France at the same time I was, planning a get together became a top priority and we soon coordinated for me to stay with her at her sister's family's house in Laval for two days and nights. So here I am.

Firstly, I'm learning so much about Gloria I never knew. In fact, as close as I am, I really didn't know much about her childhood or earlier life at all. It wasn't even until now that I discovered she has three sister and two brothers! Well I haven't met all of her family yet, but everyone I have met has been fabulous. I'm staying with Gloria's youngest sister, her husband, Pascal, their 9 year old daughter, Elouise, and their 5 year old son, Guillaume. The family is really sweet. They have an adorable sweet Shitzu name Harry. In French you pronounce is ahhh-reee, which sounds like the beginning of 'haricots verts', meaning green beans. So Elouise likes to call him haricot blanc pourri, meaning rotten white bean. (not just white bean because he has brown splotches.) Haha. The kids' school is about a 5 minute walk away, down a gorgeous, adorable little green path. Every day at lunchtime, Pascal comes back from work, picks up the kids, cooks lunch, eats with them, puts aside a warm plate for Helene, and goes back to work. 5 minutes after he leaves, Helene gets back from work, eats her meal and dessert with the kids, drops the kids back off, and returns to work. The kids have a two hour lunch break and always come home for a home cooked meal during which they see each parent. Wow. Pretty cool.

So for lunch today Gloria, Elise, and I joined them. Lunch was a roast beef with mayonnaise a ratatouille. Delicious. But the shining star of the meal was.....true, authentic, delicious, incredible, local pork rillettes. Oh wow. Gloria told them that I love rillettes/pâté, so they got some specially for me!! Which was so nice, and so really truly yummy. I had a little jar/pot of noix de coco (coconut) yogurt dessert afterwards that came in a little glass jar and was very cute. And yum.

Then Gloria took me, Elise, and Elise's cousin (another of Gloria's sister's daughter), Lisa, to downtown. It was a marvelous outing. The town of Laval is really cute. Though I prefer the French word, "mignon". "La ville est vraiment trop mignone" means the town is really too cute. The roads are all small, cobblestoned, and surrounded by cute houses with tiny doors! Really, all the doors are so little. Laval is one of the safest cities in France. There are plenty of people walking around, but it's not at all overcrowded, hustling and bustling, or too noisy. It's a very small town. It wasn't until half an hour in that I really remembered and registered that this was where Gloria grew up! For 27 years she lived there. It was so pleasant walking around with her in her hometown and learning about the place she lived for her whole upbringing.

We went to le Jardin de la Perrine. It had beautiful views of the Mayenne (the main river that goes through Laval), lots of adorable animals like baby and adult goats, guinea pigs, and rabbits. The two tiny baby goats were my favorites. Rousseau's grave is there, which was kind of neat. There was on old, over 70 year old man who was drawing there. Gloria, Elise, and Lisa recognized him from last time they went to the Perrine, 4 years ago. He didn't recognize them but struck up an extensive conversation with us. He spoke with me most. He wanted me to take a picture of him and then send it to him - in the mail, he doesn't have email. I told him I can't print my pictures. He thought Gloria could get her sister to bring a picture to him at the Perrine because she then pulled out her camera too. He went on about how I was a "Petite Californiaine" and was very pleased and impressed with my French speaking. Funny little old men are great.

The four of us stopped by a little café where we got little treats: crepes, ice cream, and Ile Flottante. We didn't quite know what the Ile Flottante was but Gloria wanted to try it and it was really delicious. It translates to 'Floating Island' because it's basically an egg white meringuish square with caramel ontop that is floating on a crème anglaise, which is a thin custard like cream. Gloria loved it.

Gloria, Helene, and I went to a huge everything store for groceries for dinner. Of course, it was so much fun. (And I mean even more fun than usual grocery shopping.) Everything is so different, it's so interesting! And the best part is the aisles and walls of cheeses. So many different cheeses. Ahhh France. They also have SO many pâtés and jambon and sauccisson and delicious looking meats. There's an isle of yogurts and all kinds of little dessert cups of tiramisu, pot de crème, crème brulée, etc etc, and ile flottante - which Gloria excitedly got a pack of.

We went back and Pascal cooked dinner in very little time, and it was quite simple, yet delicious. First we had an entrée of sliced tomatoes with cheeses and crab chunks (yeah, crab chunks like in sushi!). Then the plat principal was salmon with a white lemon cream sauce (I forget the name, but similar to hollandaise) and broccoli. Of course there was wine with dinner. It was a rosé with added pamplemousse flavoring/syrup or something. It was actually really yummy. I felt so proud of myself for liking it. Hehe. Oh, me and my desire to be classy. Then came the next course: cheeses. Ohhhhh yes. Four kinds: du chèvre, camembert, une basque (similar to, but a little lighter, milder, and creamier than my family's well-loved Petit Basque from home), and another whose name I forgot, but was like a milder, lighter Brie. The cheese course was...excellent. And finally we had a little bowl of mini strawberries, with a sprinkle of sugar on top. Very delicious as well. Everything is delicious!

So that was a longer post than I expected. But like I said, I well deserving day. I have really had such a fabulous stay with them so far. And it's been less than 24 hours since I got here! My goodness. I'm so glad we were able to plan this because Gloria is so wonderful and her family is really welcoming me to the fullest. More tomorrow. It's already 11:45 and like I said, I'm exhausted!

A Perfect Day In Paris

June 27, 2013

Wow. Yeah, the title pretty much sums it up. I spent all of today with Hobbs, going to her favorite spots in Paris. It was unreal. Ethereal is a pretty appropriate description.

My day actually started off with my flight getting in at 8:15, and my finally arriving at her room at around 11:30. Tuesday night I had my sendoff party and didn't sleep. 4:30am Wednesday I left my house to go to the airport and catch my 6:30am flight. I got into Paris at 8:15 Thursday morning after some relatively small number of interrupted hours of plane sleep. Oh yeah. I rediscovered that it turns out getting around the airport after an international flight takes forever. Getting through customs, getting your luggage, making your way to the train, taking the train, etc etc etc. Well I finally got to Cite Universitaire!!! At the metro stop I got out and stopped short when I looked up at 2 full flights of stairs. I have one big, heavy suitcase in addition to a smaller suitcase and my stuffed Longchamp. Uh oh. Just as I was about to ascend, a friendly looking French men asked, "Je peux t'aider?" (Can I help you?) "ce n'ai pas de probleme??" (It's not a problem??) "Non, pas du tout!" (No, not at all!) And with that he carried my huge heavy suitcase up both sets of stairs!! Small acts of kindness like that really do have a way of brightening your day. It may not have been a huge, huge thing, but it was just so kind-hearted and well-meaning of him! And really did make a difference in my mood. Plus, carrying those both up myself really would not have been trivial. So merci monsieur.

Weeeeelllll then I discovered there are roughly 30 different houses in Cite Universitaire, and the specific address Hobbs gave me was on my facebook account - accessible through wifi. Which was unavailable to me. 'Oh! Maison des Etats Units! House of the United States! Perfect, that must be hers.' I carry my two suitcases and my bag up and down a bunch more stairs to find that in fact not all US students do live in that house. Christina Hobbs is among one who does not. Oh boy. Well, eventually I ask a student who lives in that house whether I can borrow his wifi. And my appreciation for the human race grows yet again! He was so helpful, he gladly let me use his phone, he asked if I wanted to call her from his, he insisted he didn't mind waiting, and once I found out where she was living (the Canadian House, by the way!!! How would I have guessed??), he graciously walked me all the way over there, bringing my big suitcase for me. My goodness, friendly people really do have a way of brightening your day. When we were almost at Hobbs', I asked where he had been headed, and he said class...so I discovered he had just missed class to help me find my way.. -.- Oops. Well, he had been on the fence about going anyway. Fine. I'll accept his chivalry.

Okay. On with my day. I FINALLY made it to her room around 10:30 or so. Hobbs' very nice friends Leah and Emily let me into the room, made me some coffee, hung out with me, and directed me to the Luxembourg station where I was to meet Hobbs.

And at 12:30 my day in Paris with Christina Hobbs began!!!!!!! It was so unreal when we saw each other and acknowledge that we were really in Paris together! Oh boy. It was kind of exciting. So we walked through the Luxembourg gardens and made our way to one of her favorite little cafes - La Petite Suisse. I got confused when one side of the table had no chairs and started to pull one to the opposite side from her when Hobbs told me that's what they do - both people sit next to each other on one side, and then people watch/look out. Hah! It was so funny. But also so pleasant because we were on a little corner looking right at Luxembourg Gardens. The café was incredible cute. And so delicious. Also just the epitome of a perfect little lunch in Paris. I spoke in French to the waiter (of course - I'm kind of obsessed with using my French as much as possible and trying to speak with as many locals as I can), asked for his recommendation, and took it, ordering veal for my first time ever (with a goat cheese zucchini side). It really was delicious. Anyway, then when another table of Americans next to us didn't understand something on the menu, the waiter asked ME to translate! ME of all people! It was really, truly exciting. Yes those kinds of things do thrill me. Well the waited asked me yet again when another table of Americans asked about lentils. Well, he had already told them they were called lentils in English, so it turned out the couple just didn't know what lentils are. Who doesn't know what lentils are?? So I kind of tried to explain. Which isn't easy - try explaining what lentils are to someone who has no idea. Then tell me how you went about explaining it, because I don't know how one would... Anyway, then the waiter told me I should stay in Paris. That was pretty exciting. I have this strong desire to live like a local here, and to not be one of those unwanted tourists. So getting a request to stay was very flattering indeed. Also at this little café we saw a boy with a Gunn Titans sweatshirt on! Hah! Small world.

So like I said, Hobbs took me to all her favorite little spots. We already saw Lexembourg and La Petite Suisse. Next on the list was Pierre Hermé, for macaroons, where Hobbs swore the chocolate macaroons were to die for. Now I've had macaroons before, and they were good. But I have to say I thought she was a little overhyped with macaroons. And I was not expecting or ready for what came. Especially from the chocolate flavored ones. But I was BLOWN AWAY. The chocolate flavored macaroons from Pierre Hermé are something to write home about. And eating a box of Pierre Hermé macaroons at Tuilleries Gardens with Hobbsies today in the beautiful sunny weather was truly an experience to remember.

We walked around a lot. I've been to a lot of the museums in Paris before and wanted today to be a relax day, so we did none of that. But walked by the Louvre and looked at the big triangle pyramid thing, which in all honesty, I like better than the inside of the Louvre anyway. Call me uncultured if you want, but it's just too much. I get overwhelmed easily. Take me to l'Orangerie, and I know how to appreciate art. But the Louvre, I just can't do it. Except for the sculptures downstairs, I remember actually really enjoying those. We walked around Marais area and explored sales season. I didn't realize Paris has two and only two sales seasons a year. And in that month, ALL the stores have huge sales. But they never do at any other times of year. Anyway, we window shopped and thought about getting some things but we've both (separately) been on big shopping sprees. So I think it may be a good thing I wasn't in actual trying on/buying clothes mood and didn't get anything. The one thing I wanted/really need is black flats. Just simple, versatile, cute black flats. Hobbs took me to the same store she went to yesterday and she bought 'Les Petites Parisiennes', her new favorite shoes. They are beige ballet flats that are really cute and comfortable, but more importantly, they say "Les Petites Parisiennes" on the soles. I wanted a black pair but unfortunately my feet are just too wide. Ugh. Flats, why you so hard to find?? (That was one of the very first times I've made that kind of sentence/question...obviously inspired by Allie. Allie if you're reading this...teehee.) Anyway, we some more cool things like the Bastille, some cool buildings/arches, a rando ferris wheel, etc. We also saw the bridge with all the locks on it. I don't remember seeing it the last two times I was in Paris. But I quite like it. I really do. It just looks like a very pretty gold studded/shimmering bridge from afar, and it's not until you get really close that the gold is just a sea of locks! Thousands and thousands of locks on locks on locks. I wonder how many broken up couples have their names written on a lock on that bridge. A lot.

Well, we then when to Angelina's to get the world famous hot chocolate. Now, that is one expensive cup of hot chocolate. But it truly is out of this world. It is so thick, creamy, delicious, rich, filling...and every other good adjective you can ascribe to a cup of hot chocolate. Mmm.

And then we went off to put together a picnic for ourselves in order to eat some more. Good thing you walk so much in Paris. Hah. Well, we stopped by some cheese shops and got two kinds of chevre. Okay but at the first cheese shop something happened that really really confused us, and I spent like 20 minutes triying to think about and figure out what he meant or was saying. So I asked "À quelle heure est-ce que vous fermez?" (What time do you close?) He responded with "Diz heure quarante-cinq". Hobbs and I looked at each other, thought for a long time, and got really confused because that should mean 10:45am. (I'm pretty sure they use 24 hours/military time in France.) It was evening at the time, so we knew they didn't close at 10:45am, and even 10:45om would have been way too late for a cheese shop to close.. So I apologized and asked his to repeat what time, clearly very confused. He responded with the same thing. I asked yet a third time, "vous fermez à quelle heure?? " In English, he said "Half past 7". WHAT?! Diz heure quarants-cinq is NOT 7:30. And I don't even understand how we could possibly have misheard that badly. Both of us, too. Fruthermore, we're pretty sure he proceeded to make fun of us to this other woman customer in the shop. What a poop!!! We didn't buy cheese from him. We also spent the next long period of time discussing while walking what could have been going on. The only possibly explanation I finally came up with and settled on to ease my mind is that the first time he thought I asked when he opened. And they open at 10:45am. And then the last time he correctly heard when do you close, and answered 7:30. But the more I think about it, the less it fits. So I'm going to stop thinking about it, and if anyone has a better explanation please tell me. Please. Okay on to the rest of our picnic. I got one (HUGE) bunch of rainbow carrots from a grocery store/supermarché. Hobbs went to another supermarché for our wine, cups, and knives and a boulangerie for a baguette while I went to a charcuterie to get us some meat. I simply asked for their recommendation for a jambon or saucisson, and her favorite of the pâtés. She did a damn good job choosing. Oh pâté in Paris. It is out of this world. Oh, and the meat for the two of us came to under 5 euros. Boom. Okay, so we took our picnic to the Eiffel Tower, and had yet another magical meal. Really. We got one of those annoying men trying to sell tourists wine by the tower to open our bottles. Then they asked for 2 euros and we gladly refused to get suckered into giving them anything. Hehe. So our picnic was delicious. The one disappointing thing was the bunch of carrots. Turns out they are nothing like the bunched carrots at the Palo Alto farmer's market. Okay there was actually another non-stellar part of our picnic - our two wine bottles did cost 2 euros each though, so what can you expect... But I got over my disappointment very quickly when I took another bite of pâté. Yes, it really is that good. And we finished off our meal with our leftover Pierre Hermé macaroons. And my orange chocolate bar Slim gave me as a sendoff present!

Well we got back to Hobbs' room and both PTFO'd. Immediately. It wasn't until I woke up with the intention of going out that my extreme sleep deprivation hit me like a meteor. Not. Happening. There was no way I could get myself to go out at that point. No way. Sad, because I really did want to go to this awesome dance club with Hobbs - supposedly it's where all the cute Parisian boys go, awesome music gets played, and the dancing scene is really fun. But sometimes you just can't. Right now is one of those times. Especially since I'm leaving here at 5:30am to metro/train to Laval and visit Gloria.

So I'm sitting in Hobbs' room at....holy shit!!! 1:45 am!!!! No way! Oh jeezus. I'm sitting in Hobbs' room, at...1:45 am...blogging and reminiscing about my perfect day in Paris. Thank you for spending time with me and making today into such a dream, Christina Hobbs. I couldn't have hoped for a better start to my adventure.

Feeling pretty optimistic.

Chocolate Fondue and Cheese Sendoff Party

June 25, 2013

Well, yesterday night was my sendoff party! I have to say I couldn't have hoped for better! It was so good to see all my good friends before I left. So many of you guys I hadn't seen in the longest time and had really wanted to catch up with. I would still like to catch up with most of you more extensively, but I was certainly delighted to see you yesterday.

So before the party I made an enormous Costco run and just got tons of cheeses, some meats, strawberries, raspberries, melting chocolate, and more. And then everybody brought delicious foods as well, and there was just SO MUCH FOOD. It was great. I was pretty sure at one point (after the third or fourth person brought strawberries as well) that we were going to have large amounts of extra strawberries. And every other food. But we did real well with the strawberries! Maybe in part due to the incredible invention of Brie with melted chocolate and strawberry. Yeah, it's kind of incredible. Slim decided she wanted something more interesting. So she wrapped salami around it. Yeah: Brie, salami, chocolate, and strawberry. Freaking weird, right? But she fed it to everyone at the party and got them all into it. Okay, I'll admit, it is tasty. Hehe. But it really is just better without it. Maybe if it were bacon it would actually add. In fact, I bought a costco triple pack of bacon so we could have chocolate covered bacon! But I forgot to make it/put it out, or didn't have time. I think we had enough food without it. =)

Towards the end of the night some pretty ridiculous shenanigans started going on. Michael, Roger, Eric, and Nathan created a game with our resistance band. Three people at a time get inside of it and try to run in opposite directions. We played it some in our living room. Then we reminisced about elementary, middle, and high school. The poor subs and how much shit they had to put up with from kids, without exception. Even the infamous Mr. Han, despite how much everyone loved him. The two classifications of subs: the passive ones who let people walk all over them, and the extraordinarily bitchy ones, like Mrs. Woodman. The excessive badgering to pick up "not only your own trash, but OTHER people's trash, too!" as Stephane frustratedly explains it. "They even put up pictures of the janitors, trying to get you to feel sorry for them and do their job for them!" Blue slips, and how although Nathan cried about getting his first one in second grade, he proceeded to get 30 more per year because he realized how not big of a deal it was. "You pick up some trash for like 5 minutes and then all your sins are absolved." I discovered how terrorizing Michael was as a middle schooler through all kinds of fabulous stories that reminded me that I never want to be a middle school teacher.

I just wrote this post to say that I had a wonderful time at my sendoff party last night thanks to everyone who came, so thank you all for making an appearance, seeing me off, and spending time with me.

I'm putting more pictures from yesterday up on facebook, but here are a few from the night:

Did I really go without seeing you for 6 months before? I don't know how I'm going to live without you for two and a half this time...I love you big softer <3

Oh, frisbee friends. What would I ever do without you?

Typical White siblings. Nathan refuses to take more pictures. Maya and I insist that none of the ones we took were satisfactory. Nathan really doesn't care.