Let me begin by saying that I honestly did not expect it would take me nearly two weeks to write my first blog in France. My number one reason was that I believed our apartment would have wifi (it doesn’t) or wifi would be very easy to come by (it’s not).
But I found wifi and I have downtime, so on y va (here we go) !
My mom and I headed out on September 19th from PDX and experienced a crazy travel time like no other. One of our layovers (SFO) was having major reconstruction on their runways and that forced our plane to land slightly later than originally planned. That meant that our layover in Atlanta was cut down even more and we had to run to our connection. By the time we (barely) made our flight to Paris, both of us were sweaty and tired and not wanting to be on a plane for another eight hours. But we did it and arrived in Paris!
After arriving in Paris, we boarded our train to Lyon to meet up with my host sister, Laure, from the first time I was in France eight years ago! We grabbed coffee at a cute café and wandered around Lyon for a bit before heading over to Laure’s house to get freshened up before having dinner with my old host family.
Despite jet lag and just overall I-haven’t-spoken-French-in-two-years, I managed to more or less keep up with my host family’s conversation and forced myself to talk more. Even though my French as a 16 year old was not as good as I believed, I do think now as a 24 year old my French is better than I think. So I tried and it all seemed to go well!
The next day, we explored Laure’s town of Villefranche-sur-Saone and then headed back in to Lyon to explore. It was Patrimoine, meaning many museums and government buildings are open for free and to the public! We were able to go into the Mayor’s offices which were stunning and then we took off for a river cruise. It was fascinating to learn the history of Lyon and also incredibly helpful to hear the history in French and then in English.
We eventually stopped for coffee at a super adorable café (with “American” style iced lattes which I’m finding is increasingly difficult to find) and then headed back home to have fondue and charcuterie!
On Sunday, we packed up all of our stuff and headed out to move me into Pontarlier! But not without a quick stop in Switzerland.
Supposedly we stopped in Switzerland back when I was in 16, but crossing borders in many European countries is as seamless as crossing state borders in the States, so I wasn’t aware that the grocery store we stopped at was actually, y’know, in Switzerland. However, this time round I was very awake and conscious of the fact that we were entering a new country.
We spent the beginning of the afternoon in Geneva; however, there wasn’t much to do considering it was a Sunday morning and the majority of Europe shuts down on Sundays (and apparently, Monday mornings). But we found a restaurant to eat at called the Spaghetti Factory (only slightly better quality than the Spaghetti Factory back home and double the price) and grabbed coffee at a café near the lake.
After getting caffeinated, we began the drive to Pontarlier. We made a few pitstops at the United Nations headquarters and in another lakeside town called Nyon. I enjoyed Nyon and it’s medieval castle and fair much more than Geneva, surprisingly, but I’m hoping to explore Switzerland more throughout the year.
And then finally, we drove into my home for the next seven months! Pontarlier is what I expect many French towns to be like: quaint and quiet with thankfully one good café (with lattes, wifi, food, and aesthetically pleasing decor. What more could I ask for!?). Not only that, but everyone has been incredibly kind. My French is rusty, for sure, but everyone has been patient and willing to practice with me. Slowly, I’ve been discovering fun spots and learning my way around town (even if I’m still trying to figure out public transportation. They say there’s a bus, but where is it?) and I’m sure it will soon feel like home.
Because there was no Wifi at the apartment and we arrived too late to go anywhere, Mom and I did the one thing we could — we cleaned the apartment. After being shut up for the past five months, the rooms weren’t in prime condition and what a better way to make a house a home, then to rearrange furniture? We reorganized every room and washed dishes and trashed bits and pieces that were left behind. Soon enough, it started feeling like my space instead of a place I currently inhabited.
Anyway, there’s a whole week I would like to recount here, but my battery is unfortunately dying and I forgot my charger at the apartment (which is 30 minutes away plus seven flights of stairs — no thank you). So I’ll sign off here and hopefully can write a part two before I forget all the details.
Until I have wifi and my charger,
— Kate
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