Blogs from Nord-Pas de Calais, France, Europe - page 28

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Europe » France » Nord-Pas de Calais January 7th 2008

612008 Well the last couple of days have been very busy and magical, except the part we were fined because we did not realise we needed different train ticket. We spent the 2 days in the magical world of Disneyland Paris. The 1st day we spent in the main part, looking at everything and trying out all the rides. The first ride we went on we had to wait an hour. I felt like sheep. All we needed was a border collie nipping at our feet and jumping on our heads rounding us up. Luckily that was the most we had to wait for a ride the average time was about 12 hour. We went on all the rides we could fit in one day including; the temple of Doom, Pirates of the Caribbean, space mission ... read more
Disneyland
Disneyland
Disneyland

Europe » France » Nord-Pas de Calais January 4th 2008

218 Stayed at a little place (and I mean little!) called Adare, not much here really. The B & B we stayed at had a bathroom the size of a closet….hang on it was the closet. There was a toilet AND a shower in this tiny room and water would drip on you from the roof (ice cold!) while you were sitting on the loo. We drove into Limerick and walked around a bit that’s about it. Troy did manage to find a nice Chinese takeaway which was very good. Drove onto Dublin today and booked into a 4 star hotel (which was nice compared to what we’ve had), they had a huge bath so you guessed it hot baths!!! Yay!!! Had the best meal we have had since leaving England at the restaurant, cost an ... read more
France
France
France

Europe » France » Nord-Pas de Calais » Calais December 26th 2007

Geo: 50.9579, 1.85214So it's Boxing Day and we are headed to the mainland. Steve booked the ferry a few days ago and we made sure we had all the implements (reflective jackets, fire extinguisher, warning triangles, etc) to travel to the mainland. There is a long list of things required by each country to drive there. Apparently there is an on-the-spot fine if you don't have them in your car. So we were off. The ferry ride over was great. We took Sea France and the boat was very nice. On board there was two restaurants, two bars, lots of video games and gambling machines, a duty free store (which wasn't much of a deal but fun to walk around in) and an area at the stern where you could go outside. The trip took about ... read more
Steve on the ferry
Ferry
Duty Free

Europe » France » Nord-Pas de Calais » Lille December 12th 2007

So I finally got my act together and was able to make it to the free clinic before it closed (you don’t have the right to get sick between 12PM and 2PM or between 5PM and 8AM when you don’t have Social Security), which is a good hour commute from my work anyhow. But let me set the stage for the experience. I buzz when I arrive and the door is opened for me. I enter. The waiting room is small and bare. There are cheap plastic chairs outlining the room, and there is an office with glass walls to one side of the room, where the ‘assistant social’ is seated, filling out some paperwork. There are crying children everywhere, exhausted mothers, impatient fathers, coughing teenagers, trembling senior citizens. People. Everywhere. One by one, the patients ... read more

Europe » France » Nord-Pas de Calais » Lille December 11th 2007

Europe is so old! For something to be over a thousand years old is not unheard of, or even really shocking, in France. A lot has changed between then and now, especially transportation. Cars, though generally smaller than those you’d find in the States, are stil bigger than horses. Most of the roads in France, except maybe the main one or two per city, are made to accommodate two horses passing one another more than two cars. Now let’s add on the fun fact that the French loooove their ‘transports en commun - and yes, that includes buses. Buses. Sometimes two buses having to pass one another. While avoiding the cars that are parked mostly on the sidewalks. On roads that were meant for horses. It doesn’t always work out. A turn requires both “lanes,” and ... read more

Europe » France » Nord-Pas de Calais » Lille December 10th 2007

Maman sent me an Advent calendar at my request. I have one every year, and have for as long as I can remember. It’s always something that I look forward to and helps me pace out the month before Christmas. Usually behind each little door is something like a quote or fact about Christmas, or a picture of something vaguely or cheesily Christmasy. When I received my Advent calendar this year, it was a 3D gingerbread house that I had to put together myself. I finally figured it out and sat the little guy on my shelf, waiting impatiently for the first of December (sorry this is out of order; haven’t had much time to write lately). Finally, the first of December came. I should mention that I was sick as a dog when it arrived ... read more

Europe » France » Nord-Pas de Calais » Lille December 9th 2007

Come with me. It is 6:00 PM (18h00 if you want to be French about it). I am restless, having been inside all day, so I decide to take a walk in the city. Since I teach Christmas all day, I am feeling a bit of the Christmas spirit, so I make a playlist of Christmas songs (I never walk without music). I grab my keys and head out, popping in my headphones as soon as the big front door to the Residence closes behind me. Celine Dion’s version of “O Holy Night” is playing. I turn right and head toward the train station. In under two minutes, I have arrived at Rue Faidherbe, one of Lille’s main roads and the road the train station is on. I look to my right and see the train ... read more

Europe » France » Nord-Pas de Calais » Lille December 9th 2007

I have been instructed to do a Christmas unit with my students, so we have been working on very simple vocabulary - stocking, Santa Claus, present, ornament, Christmas card, Christmas tree, candy cane - and talking a bit about the difference in Christmas (slash holiday) traditions between France, the United States, and Britain. I will get into the details about the differences once I feel like I have a bit better of a handle on them, but for the moment, I have found something else to be extremely interesting. Despite the differences in tradition and even in religion between people in France and elsewhere, Christmas is something that is now common to almost everyone. Even for my Muslim students, for whom Christmas means nothing in terms of religious (or even cultural, originally) significance, Christmas has become ... read more

Europe » France » Nord-Pas de Calais » Lille December 3rd 2007

I haven’t had internet access for long enough to write or upload pictures for the last few days, hence the absence of posts. Instead I just kept a blog as I went on my computer, so you will see the first couple of entries are backdated a bit. Thursday 21:00 Today I met my former professor, Jim Skelly, for lunch at a place called Quaywest (pronounced Key West), where I had the most delicious seafood chowder of my life! We chatted about my time in Derry and the disappointment I experienced with the program I was on…he did not seem surprised by my issues with the University. I wrote a letter about my dissatisfaction, and Jim said he would pass on to the heads of school in hopes to get something changed around here…I won’t hold ... read more
old town Lille
Adam & me
me and a peacock

Europe » France » Nord-Pas de Calais » Lille December 1st 2007

After visiting London's Natural History Museum with my friends, I went to Lille for a short day-trip. I made my way to St Pancras station to catch my train to Lille. I was supposed to go to Lille 2 weeks ago but the trip was postponed due to the French transport strike. Actually the strike was a blessing in disguise, because there's a Christmas market in Lille and it only started one week ago. If I went to Lille 2 weeks ago, I wouldn't have seen the Christmas market. The Christmas market was indeed fun and pretty. There was a giant ferris wheel in the middle of Grand Place and there were many nice little wooden stalls in Place Rihour. However, thanks to the market, the streets were clogged with a massive human traffic jam. In ... read more
Eurostar
Eurostar
Gare Lille Europe




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