Marché

Today, at an unreasonably early hour, I went to the airport to pick up my UROP from her flight and get her settled into her dorm in the 6th. I actually impressed myself with the amount of French I spoke to the lovely director of the dorm, who spoke no English. I managed to translate a contract, explain what we were doing in France, and help my UROP with the front door procedures. My French might not be elegant in any sense of the word, but I know enough to occasionally make myself understood.

One of the benefits of being awake so early was that I managed to go to the local market down the street from me. Think of your stereotypical open-air French market. This was it and so much more! Not only did vendors sell fruits and vegetables, but they also set up with all sorts of other foods as well, and even a few clothing purveyors.




Fishes, sausages, and cheeses were on display as well. The smells and sounds were amazing. Some of the stands had lines around the aisles for them, but for me, who was not as patient or picky, there were plenty of other stalls where the owners would call out to you as you walked by, trying to get you to buy something.


Everything was so accessible. There was no saran wrap. Trust me, those fish ALL had their heads on. Even the meats were quite identifiable. (Ok, the sausages not so much). It made me wish I had a real kitchen to use here, to experiment and taste and enjoy all of these incredible foods. What is a Lyon sausage? How about different kinds of dried fruits? (Yes, there was a dried-fruits stall). I attempted to restrain myself and only bought what I considered absolutely necessary for today. I got a baguette (huge, rustic, and amazing). I bought some cherries (cerises) and two bananas (bananes). Then I decided to be brave with my tiny French vocabulary and when there was no line at the cheese stall, I asked very politely (and quite brokenly) for the woman to please choose a cheese to go with my baguette. She smiled (oh, they are really quite nice to foreigners!) and walked me to the soft cheese section of the case. There she gave me a sample of the most delectable soft cheese I've ever tasted. I have no idea what it was (I was so busy savoring it I forgot to ask). But for 3.80 E it was mine! And now I'm at home and curled up with my computer, with the windows closed and the shades drawn to try to keep the flat cool. I'm nibbling the baguette and the cheese. Its amazing. Its heaven. Do I really have to go home?

A washing adventure

Today, I learned how to use the laundromat. It does look much like an American one, but the signs are in French.


Well, except for the instructions, which luckily were in English too.


On the way home, I stopped by the local crepe window (yes, it is just a window, I will explain in another post) and picked up lunch. This is the tiny square next to my apt - how cute! And French!


Now I'm going to nap, because its hot and that's apparently what people DO in the afternoons around here.

back to Paris

I have to say that even though I'd only been in Paris 2 days before I left for the conference, by the end of the week I was definitely ready to go "home" to Paris, do my own thing, eat my own food, etc. But I will miss the elevator.


And here's an "I'm doing work" picture. No, I'm not in it. Someone has to take these pictures, you know. :-P


The train back to Paris left from San Rafael, a larger town on the French Riviera. Because of the bus schedule vs the train schedule, we had about 3 hrs to kill in town, so my new friend Alexis and I walked around a bit. Luckily the train station was 2 blocks from the beach. Alexis went swimming, I relaxed in the shade and knit.


The town was cute but touristy.


The train ride back was pretty uneventful. Well, sort of. I was in first class, which is supposed to mean "silent" cars, but apparently no one else noticed this, like the lady ahead of me who took 4 phone calls during the ride, or the dad behind me with the whiniest 3-year-old kid ever. Good thing it only cost 1 Euro more than the second class. The extra leg room alone was worth that extra Euro. But because I was awake for all FIVE hours of the train ride, I got to see lots of views like this.

Definitely in France

The trains are on strike. Now I truly feel like I'm in France.

In better news, my talk yesterday went quite well and I'm looking forward to my poster this afternoon - I hope people are excited to talk to me!

According to the francois at the conference, I shouldn't have any issues with my train ticket back to Paris tomorrow - everyone keep their fingers crossed!

Frenchisms

Two funny French (European?) things at this conference so far:

1) food - croissants are offered in huge baskets during the coffee breaks and are eaten without napkins or plates (just grab and go) - lunch and dinner are both 3 courses, and even though its buffet, you serve yourself one course at a time, sit, eat, get up and get another course, repeat.

2) the elevator - the floors are labeled: -1, 0, 1, 2, 3. I kid you not. I'll try to get a picture because its so fantastic to have a floor 0.

Agay, France in pictures

The trip to Agay was fun because I got to take one of the high-speed TGV trains out of Paris. The French rail system is definitely enviable. Plus the views as you travel the countryside are beautiful!



Arriving in Agay, the view from the hotel was of the Mediterranean.



The hotel is named for the red cliffs that surround the town.



The town is pretty much just a village and a beach. And this is France, so there were definitely some topless sunbathers. Not many people were swimming because there were big floods here last week so the water is quite polluted. Its still pretty though!

Engineer in the French Riviera (and no, I still don't speak French)

Well, I made it! I'm here in Agay, in a very FRENCH hotel (ie, hard beds and no shampoo in the bathroom - I'll have to find a convenience store later so I can shower tonight). The conference is going, um, well, I think? Its a mostly French crowd, so even though all the official talks are in English, the chatting in between is mostly in French. People are being pretty accommodating, but its hard to insert yourself into a conversation if you have no idea what anyone is saying. :-P Luckily I've found some people who have been really nice and are keeping an eye out for me. Shoutouts to Pedro (who was the MIT prof who told me about this conference in the first place) and Charles (Sungyon's postdoc advisor who went to MIT for undergrad).

I'll post some pictures later. Agay is really beautiful! We're currently on a "conversation break" for the afternoon which everyone has taken to mean beach break. I'm really not a beach person, so I'm happily curled up on the patio of the hotel, enjoying an amazing view. I'll wander off down the mountain to the sea later and take some pics for tomorrow. And no, the internet was not free, but I decided I couldn't live a whole week without it so I forked over 20 Euros for a month's access. [[Le sigh]].

My flash talk is Wed and my poster session Thurs - wish me luck!