An Ode to Huguette

Here is my wonderful host-mother doin' her thang makin' some crepes. She made me wait to take the picture so she could take off her dirty apron and fix her hair.

Madame Huguette is an awesome person to live with. Or just an awesome person in general, I guess. She's 70 years old and lives on her own when I'm not around, but has made me feel very much at home in our little apartment.  

She loves reading, walking, and watching her dubbed American crime dramas on TV at night. She doesn't speak any English to me (I think she might know some words, but not too many) but she has no problem speaking slowly if necessary or attempting to better explain any words I don't understand.  She still does some accounting work from home, takes different classes on art and architecture during the week, and attends water aerobic classes on Tuesday and Friday nights unless her back is acting up: "Il faut etre raisonnable!"

Huguette loves to say everything over and over again. At first, I thought this might have been because she was afraid I might not understand her, but as time goes on, I realize that she even does this on the phone to her French friends. It's really quite amusing.

Oohhh la la! Le bruit! Oohh la la, oohh la la, oohh la la! - the neighbors are kind of noisy
Je bouge, je bouge, je bouge, je bouge, je bouge - I need to hurry up

and my personal favorite:
n'importe quoi! n'importe quoi! n'IMporte QUOI! - what is this garbage on the tv??

I also very much enjoy our dinners together and our nighttime tradition of drinking delicious tisane (herbal tea).

All in all, I very much lucked out with my homestay placement. I think we are a good match for each other and I'm going to miss her a lot when I leave!

Ce weekend


This weekend I took two day trips to old medieval villages close to Nice.  The first was Eze, and it was hands down the prettiest place I have ever been in my life. It's an oldold town perched on a cliff right next to the sea. We walked down this cliff because we were told it was a short path that led to the beach. Ha. Ha. Ha. Well we all managed to survive!

The next day we went hiking in a town called Biot. I'm usually not a hiking person, but I very much enjoyed myself.

It was really nice to stick around Nice (buhdumbum) since I've traveled out of the country for the last two weekends. It's so pretty here and it's starting to get even prettier with the arrival of spring. I didn't really think that was possible.

Roma!

I spent this past weekend in Rome with my friend Allie and some of our friends from UMD who are studying there. It was an action-packed weekend! We flew out of Nice Friday afternoon right after class and got to Rome by the early evening. Our first order of business upon arriving was of course to get gelato. 


Our friends' apartment was very nice and all the other roommates were friendly; one was from Long Island! On Saturday we went to the Colosseum, Trevi Fountain, Roman Forum, et Spanish Steps. Everything was so beautiful and even though it was a lot to take in in one day, I feel like I was still able to appreciate everything. The city of Rome was so busy and exciting, we even ran into a giant protest in one of the town squares. Being as I don't understand any Italian, I'm not sure what it was about... but it was interesting all the same.  


On Sunday it was a bit rainy but we still went to a giant outdoor market and then our last tourist destination, the Pantheon. After that, we actually spent our last 2 hours in Rome napping... we were so tired! 


It was a super fun trip and I'd love to go back to Rome again and stay for a little longer. 

I also got my very first French haircut last week! Nothing too drastic, but it was veryvery long before. 

Turin (Torino), Italy


This past weekend I visited Turin with a few friends. It was a great time! We took an early morning train from Nice that went by the sea and then through the mountains. In Turin, we went to the Egyptian museum (so cool!), the cathedral, and of course some great restaurants. We were very lucky to have our friend Daniella with us who speaks fluent Italian and knew some good places to eat.

I figure the most important things were the food items, so here you go:

Oh, and here are some pictures of the Nice Carnival! Big deal.

Sadly, the day I took pictures it was raining. It's nicer in the sun and CRAYCRAY at night! I've been sprayed with silly string and confetti manymany times. Last weekend I was also sprayed with shaving cream? They're getting more inventive. Uh oh.

TRAVELIN' TRAVELIN'

In the last 3 nights I have purchased 2 plane tickets and 4 train tickets. This weekend I am traveling to Turin (Torino), Italy for one night and next weekend I'm going to Rome!

I'm really excited about both trips for a few reasons. This weekend's trip to Turin should be great because my two Maryland friends and I are traveling with a real Italian person! Her name is Daniella and she goes to Universite de Nice and is also studying French here. I've only met her a few times, but the others know her better and she seems very nice. It will be so convenient to travel with someone who knows the language!
As far as my trip to Rome next week goes, I will be traveling with my good friend Allie. Allie and I have both been talking about how we have friends studying in Rome this semester who we plan on visiting, and earlier this week we found out that my friend and her friends are actually roommates! Quelle coincidence.

Italy is the country that I've most wanted to travel to on this trip and I'm happy to be taking advantage of its proximity to Nice.  Turin is supposed to have a great Egyptian museum and I can't wait to try Italian coffee.

WOO!