Wednesday, October 28, 2009
4 great days of Dutch conversation
From Thursday until Sunday, I had some visitors from Holland! My parents and my younger sister came to see where I live and to visit the South of France.
Thursday was a day full of preparation. I had class in the morning and I wanted to clean my room, do the laundry, and buy some typical French food (and drinks) before going to the airport. I wasn’t the only Dutch, who was waiting for her relatives at the terminal. Unfortunately, it was raining cats and dogs. Therefore, we went straight from the MP2 terminal to the car hire. Our car, a French Renault Clio (newer one), was waiting for us. I was glad to see (and touch*) a part of my family after being in France for 2 months. It took some time to find the hotel: AppartValley. After 3 days, I found the street name of the hotel, which is Allée de Pomone. Luckily the GPS system could find that street!
On (sunny) Friday, my mother and I bought some things for (French) breakfast at the Géant Casino (supermarket). I showed them around in the city center of Aix. Unfortunately, I had class in the afternoon, so I left them in front of the cathedral and took the bus. While I discussed some Leadership case studies, my Dutch visitors went to the top of the Grand Théâtre (great view over Aix!) and spent some time in Puyricard. Afterwards, we went straight from the IAE to the Meditteranean Sea. We visited Carry-le-Rouet, where the Sea was quite rough. While listening to songs of Diana Krall, we drove back to our hotel.
After a great breakfast on Saturday morning (blue sky), my mother said that she really wanted to visit Avignon. To avoid the toll roads, we took the smaller roads via Roussillon and Gordes**. Roussillon is a beautiful village with red and ochre buildings. We parked our car next to the city wall of Avignon and I showed the main streets and buildings. The organist was practicing for the Sunday mess at the Notre-Dame des Doms cathedral. We ate a crêpe (nothing special) and bought some groceries at the Carrefour supermarket in the Rue de la République. In the evening we watched the movie ‘The curious case of Benjamin Button’, which they’d brought from Holland.
Their stay in Aix was even 1 hour longer, because it became winter time, even in France! I enjoyed the cleaner shower in our hotel room, had great breakfast with my family and then it was time to say goodbye! They brought me to Estelan, I took a last glimpse and had mixed feelings***. The next time that I will see them in 3D, will be 18 December, when I’ll return to Holland by TGV. Until then, I have a couple of weeks to see more of France (ideas are welcome!)!
* Of course, I had installed Skype, such that I could ‘see’ them during the 2 months that I have been here. But seeing them in 3D was much better!
** There were lots of serpentines / curves on our way. Because I was used to the bus ride (line 21) to Puyricard, I could look around and see the wineyards and mountains of the Luberon region. But my younger sister and my mother had more problems and were glad when we (finally) arrived in Avignon!
*** It was a great weekend, but I’d wish I had more time with them. To avoid being homesick, I did lots of activities with my friends that day. We went to the creative market at the Cours Mirabeau. A friend invited us to a show (Le cirque invisible) with Victoria Chaplin and Jean-Baptiste Thierrée at the Grand Théâtre. I liked the humor and the costumes. Afterwards, we had dinner at his apartment and stayed there until late in the evening.
Thursday was a day full of preparation. I had class in the morning and I wanted to clean my room, do the laundry, and buy some typical French food (and drinks) before going to the airport. I wasn’t the only Dutch, who was waiting for her relatives at the terminal. Unfortunately, it was raining cats and dogs. Therefore, we went straight from the MP2 terminal to the car hire. Our car, a French Renault Clio (newer one), was waiting for us. I was glad to see (and touch*) a part of my family after being in France for 2 months. It took some time to find the hotel: AppartValley. After 3 days, I found the street name of the hotel, which is Allée de Pomone. Luckily the GPS system could find that street!
On (sunny) Friday, my mother and I bought some things for (French) breakfast at the Géant Casino (supermarket). I showed them around in the city center of Aix. Unfortunately, I had class in the afternoon, so I left them in front of the cathedral and took the bus. While I discussed some Leadership case studies, my Dutch visitors went to the top of the Grand Théâtre (great view over Aix!) and spent some time in Puyricard. Afterwards, we went straight from the IAE to the Meditteranean Sea. We visited Carry-le-Rouet, where the Sea was quite rough. While listening to songs of Diana Krall, we drove back to our hotel.
After a great breakfast on Saturday morning (blue sky), my mother said that she really wanted to visit Avignon. To avoid the toll roads, we took the smaller roads via Roussillon and Gordes**. Roussillon is a beautiful village with red and ochre buildings. We parked our car next to the city wall of Avignon and I showed the main streets and buildings. The organist was practicing for the Sunday mess at the Notre-Dame des Doms cathedral. We ate a crêpe (nothing special) and bought some groceries at the Carrefour supermarket in the Rue de la République. In the evening we watched the movie ‘The curious case of Benjamin Button’, which they’d brought from Holland.
Their stay in Aix was even 1 hour longer, because it became winter time, even in France! I enjoyed the cleaner shower in our hotel room, had great breakfast with my family and then it was time to say goodbye! They brought me to Estelan, I took a last glimpse and had mixed feelings***. The next time that I will see them in 3D, will be 18 December, when I’ll return to Holland by TGV. Until then, I have a couple of weeks to see more of France (ideas are welcome!)!
* Of course, I had installed Skype, such that I could ‘see’ them during the 2 months that I have been here. But seeing them in 3D was much better!
** There were lots of serpentines / curves on our way. Because I was used to the bus ride (line 21) to Puyricard, I could look around and see the wineyards and mountains of the Luberon region. But my younger sister and my mother had more problems and were glad when we (finally) arrived in Avignon!
*** It was a great weekend, but I’d wish I had more time with them. To avoid being homesick, I did lots of activities with my friends that day. We went to the creative market at the Cours Mirabeau. A friend invited us to a show (Le cirque invisible) with Victoria Chaplin and Jean-Baptiste Thierrée at the Grand Théâtre. I liked the humor and the costumes. Afterwards, we had dinner at his apartment and stayed there until late in the evening.
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