Long time, no post

Here's a picture of me for your viewing pleasure. I'll update fully one of these days. Hopefully. 

 

This picture's from this past Sunday. Lilian took it while we were walking along the ramparts of the Château d'Angers. 

Here's another for ya. This one's from the Lac de Maine at the huge canoe/kayak tournament...

K. Bye.

Love,

Frenchie

Pictures from ALP visits

So here are the pictures Blogger wouldn't let me put on the last post...If you want to know what I've learned about some of these places, leave a comment or shoot me an email. I don't feel like writing all of it here...and you may get extremely bored reading it if history doesn't really interest you. 

L'Abbaye Toussaint 

A bust of George Washington by artist David d'Angers...located in the
Galerie David d'Angers, which is inside of l'Abbaye Toussaint.

if I remember correctly, this is an old student residence across from the
old bishop's palace (l'ancien palais épiscopal) of Angers.

Notice the snow still on the ground in the pictures below. As I said, the second snow was on Sunday, February 5 and these photos were taken on Saturday, February 11. 

Stone monument for the hôpital Saint-Jean, now the Musée Jean Lurçat,
which is the oldest preserved hospital in France.

Courtyard on the grounds of hôpital Saint Jean

A view of one of the bridges that cross the river Maine
(taken from from La Doutre, a quarter of Angers, where the
hôpital Saint Jean/Musée Jean Lurçat is located)

Another bridge that crosses the river Maine
(I think this photo was taken from the bridge in the picture above)

A statue on the first bridge pictured above...

La Cathédrale Saint Maurice

Snow...take 2!

The second time it snowed was on 5 February, but many of my pictures of the Catho are taken after then. 

Snow the day of...

The next morning...

Roads like this and still classes went on as scheduled. Very few, if any, buses ran, however.

Walking to work was an adventure...NOT.

So pretty :)

The week following this snow was like freaking Siberia. I don't think the temperature was above freezing that entire week. Michel said this has probably been the coldest/snowiest winter Angers has seen in 20-25 years!! Lucky me, I guess!

This semester I was accepted into a special program called "certificat Art, Langues, et Patrimoine (ALP)" at the Catho. It's a multilingual "course" that revolves around art and heritage of the Anjou region, comprised of two parts. There's the theoretical aspect, which takes place in a classroom setting (on a Friday evening, nonetheless), where we learn about the technical and symbolic approach to the artistic, civil, and religious heritage (châteaux, churches, etc.) of Anjou, including the history of the region. We learn the proper terminology in French and then in each of our chosen "foreign" languages (obviously my foreign language is French, not English). Then there's the practical part of the class the next day (Saturday), where we actually visit the religious and civil buildings, museums, etc., that we discuss the evening before. We learn even more in the field however, which is hard as I don't even freaking know what. I'm a visual learner, including seeing things written down - something that doesn't happen as much while we're physically in the field visiting places.

This is all just the course. To actually obtain the certificate, in May, there's an ENTIRELY ORAL final exam in front of a jury for each of our chosen languages. We have to remember EVERYTHING we've learned the entire class because the jury could ask us any number of things. We even have to know things like opening hours for museums/buildings/etc. and whether or not there are special exhibits. So basically, I will most likely have a meltdown in the middle of the oral examen...in front of an entire jury...because I will instantly have blanked on everything I will have "learned."

Ergo I'm just wondering WTF I got myself into.

I'm also taking Socio-cultural studies on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but on the contrary, that class doesn't stress me out at all.


I'm going to post a third time because I have a few pictures from the visits in the ALP course that I'd like to share and Blogger won't let me put them in this one for some reason...

No...I am not celebrating Mardi Gras...

It's Fat Tuesday here in France, but nobody gives a flying flip, so that's all I can really say on the subject. haha

Since I last posted, it has snowed three times in Angers, but only two of which actually accumulated on the ground. I'll put a few photos from the first round of snow and then make another post for the second snow.

Alors on y va !

The first snow (30 Jan)...outside Résidence Bourgonnier

The courtyard of the Catho

View of the courtyard from the 3ème étage (4th floor) around 11am.

Walking back from lunch (across the courtyard) around 1pm

More of the courtyard...around 1:30pm

The courtyard around 5pm

View of the courtyard at ground level around 7pm

I would also like to say that nothing closed. Nothing. Classes went on as scheduled. Buses ran. Snow day? What's that?

Comme vous avez de la chance !!

Sorry for the crappy quality. The integrated camera and mic on my laptop aren't the greatest...

I would give nearly anything...

Today, tomorrow, and Saturday, my head and heart will not be in France. Instead they will both be with Alice in this magnificent and curious little place known as Wonderland. 

"I wonder if I've been changed in the night? Let me think. Was I the same when I got up this morning? I almost think I can remember feeling a little different. But if I'm not the same, the question is 'Who in the world am I?' Ah, that's the great puzzle!"

London called...so I answered

I had a fabulous time in London! Though I don't have too many pictures of myself in comparison to the hundreds and hundreds that I took...

This is Paris Nord on a Friday evening after a HUGE storm ripped through the west and northwest the morning of,
delaying and canceling trains left and right...

London: home of the 2012 Olympics!

So, while in London, I......

...went to the Natural History museum...

...found Cara in the Natural History museum ;-)...

...saw a cool dinosaur in the Natural History museum (RAWR)...

...rode the Underground (a LOT)...

...saw beautiful sunsets...

...saw very interesting ads on the Underground...

...went shopping in Camden Town...

...did more shopping in Camden Town...

...saw the London Eye...

...saw Big Ben...

...popped out of telephone boxes (that reeked of piss)...

...visited Trafalgar Square...

...saw a giant Christmas tree in Trafalgar Square...

...touched Big Ben...

...touched a horse's ass apparently...

...went shopping at the Christmas Market...

...saw the city at night...

...saw Big Ben from the London Eye...

...actually rode the London Eye...

...ate some motherfreaking DELICIOUS Pinkberry pomegranate froyo
(with lots of toppings, obviously)...

...saw the American Embassy, which was an entire building itself...

...went in search of the Globe Theatre...

...found the Globe Theatre...

...took photographic evidence that Hugging Pig and Mootivational Cow
actually visited the Globe...

...went to the Science Museum...

...walked the same streets that Jack the Ripper did...

...took a Jack the Ripper walking tour...

...saw the church at Spitalfields on the Jack the Ripper tour...

...walked more of the same streets that Jack the Ripper did...

...went (back) to Trafalgar Square to take photographic evidence that
Hugging Pig and Mootivational Cow actually were there...

...visited the Museum of London...

...saw awesome Christmas lights on Oxford Street..

...went (back) to the Canadian Embassy and took a picture for
my awesome Canuck, DK...

...walked back to Oxford Street to see more Christmas lights...

...saw Christmas lights at Marks & Spencer...

...saw even more Christmas lights on the way back to the Underground stop...

...saw the Christmas lights at Debenhams, a huge department store...

...decided I didn't really like Christmas, despite the pretty lights...

...went back to Camden Town to the Stables Market...

...and last but certainly not least, found out that I would  not
receive Hugh Laurie if I purchased this product.
Damn, that's a disappointment. Hugh Laurie is hella-entertaining.

I actually did lots more than this in London, but I don't really feel like writing about it all...