Holidaze and Rivieras

I got a bed in a dorm and before I had time to grab my things to go do some work on the GIFTs project, I made a friend. And then another. And then another. And then another. OY. Needless to say, I got no work done, partied til the wee hours of the morning with my new friends and woke up to my friend calling me to ask when I was coming over.

Ap, who I know from McGill Enviro program, graduated last April and I hadn’t seen her since. We arranged a place to meet and had a much-needed cheesy run and hug moment on the street J I stayed with her and her dad at their apartment, which was in the process of being packed up. Her dad just retired from his job at WFP and they are moving to Florida. Ap just got into a masters program at Columbia! It’s so amazing to see where all my friends from enviro are going and what they are specializing in. Our group of friends from McGill are scattered all over the world now and even if we haven’t spoken in a while, all it takes is a little message and it’s like no time has passed!

It was so wonderful to see her. We spent a lovely few days together and I got the food and shopping tour of Rome that I wanted. The days were filled with lots of sun, laughing, giggling and catching up on the past year. We did a little bit of sightseeing. Ap kept luring me to interesting places with the promise of good food. Sneaky.

I booked a flight to Cannes to come visit my aunt and uncle. My uncle was here working and my aunt came to play! It was so great to see them. We shared a lovely teeny apartment that turned out to be just perfect for the three of us. It was like extreme luxury camping. My first full day here required a change of wardrobe. I had packed for late winter/early spring and the weather has since changed to summer. Hot, sunny, summer. Poor me. I know. But, I get grumpy when I’m hot and sweaty. So, new clothes were needed. The morning consisted of a long walk to find a non-existent public pool with my aunt and her cousin B, also here for work. The afternoon consisted of a very successful shopping mission, during which I purchased the exact items I wanted.

 
Yesterday, we woke up and had a lazy breakfast on our sunny balcony and then headed out for our day of exploring. Our mission was to find a coastal walk on le Cap d’Antibes. My aunt and I took the train down the coast a little and got off the train in Antibes. We navigated our way around and then hopped in a taxi and were dropped at the beginning of the trail. 

The walk was glorious. The trail was beautifully constructed from carved flat stones and laid out perfectly along the edge of the water. We stopped to eat our prepacked lunch at a perfect spot with a chair-like perch on the white rocks of the cliff. Our view while eating lunch was of the pristine blue sea, with little white sailboats bobbing along.

Auntie M and I made our way back to Cannes. An easy bus and train ride later, we were back in town, just in time for me to skype with my GIFTs supervisor. 

After my “work” meeting, I headed back to our cute little apartment and we got ready to go out for dinner with a friend of theirs from the biz. The restaurant was an Armenian place where the menu is set and the food is plentiful. Too plentiful. 

What ended up being the appetizers had filled us all up. Then there was the main course. Then there was the second main course. Then dessert. By the end of it, I thought I was going to pop. Their friend was a riot. He is an Austrian Jew from Uruguay who is constantly mistaken for a Spaniard in his own country. He had a wonderful way with words and kept us entertained throughout the meal. Very intense, funny and interesting. He requested that I make him sound taller than he is. 

I sent the aunt and uncle off on their next adventure to Barcelona and stayed behind to relax in the apartment in Cannes. I spent the last two days catching up on my GIFTs work, reading and lying in the sun on the balcony. Nothing extremely exciting, but exactly what I wanted to do. 

Now, I'm heading back home to Oxford for a few days before I head back to Montreal. My wife is meeting me at the homebase tonight and she is staying for a few days. A is taking us to the country and I can't think of a better way to finish off nearly four months of jumping around than spending some time in the country with loved ones. 

Happy in Hossegor

The Atlantic

I left Paris the day after St-Paddy’s day for Hossegor to meet up with C for her birthday, following the trend we had set in Spain. She met me at the train station with her girlfriend M. 

That day, we drove to Spain (a 45 minute drive), heading through the beautiful Basque countryside. We stopped off at M’s uncle’s stable, where her gorgeous Spanish horse is kept. The countryside is basically beautiful rolling hills, with little country houses, dotted with sheep and horses. We drove onwards to Spain for a “Clop et Alcool”, which what they call their frequent runs to Spain to buy cheaper tobacco and bottles of alcohol. There was no customs to pass through, no passports needed. One second we were in France, the next we were in Spain. Just like that. No mean customs agents asking us the same question in ten different ways. 

We headed back to Hossegor, and they brought me by the beach, which was virtually empty, except for some people walking their dogs. It is immense and wild looking. During the summer, it must be crawling with revelers and beach-bums, but at this time of the year, the beach and the town were still empty. After I got my fill of the beach, we were dropped off at C’s cosy place. Her bf’s mom greeted us with open arms. I was instantly set up in the princess suite, which I only had to share with Sherwyn, the family’s permakitten. I had my own in-suite bathroom, which C had placed bubblebath and candles around. There were freshly cut flowers and lindt chocolates by the bed and the curtains were drawn back to show the view of the terrasse. The house is a beautiful large one-storey building, that wraps around the pool and lovely garden. 

My time in Hossegor was wonderful. I met all of C’s friends there, who are either locals or have, like C, moved there to be with their loved one.

Friday night was a night out at the Café de la Gare, which had a great happy hour. Saturday was an all day barbecue. Sunday was an all day brunch. She is one well-loved, popular lady! Her time there is winding down, and I heard a few of the conversations between her and friends, where she was explaining that she had to go home and didn’t know if she was coming back, due to visa problems. Understandably, they were all upset. It must be hard to have finally made a life for yourself in a foreign place and then have to leave due to bureaucratic ridiculousness. Anyway, all to say that I had such a great time there. She and her mother-in-law brought me to the train and waited until I got on the train to begin my 24 hour journey to Rome. 

Prancing around Paris

Wow. Where to begin?

"Paris is always a good idea"

Quote by Audrey Hepburn

So true.

I'm already completely in love with this city. I'll write about it when I'm not having a ton of fun.