March 05, 2011: Grenoble - Markets, University, River, Restaurant

Ah, a good night of sleep, and we wake to sunshine. Mark's co-workers have said that the weather is unusually nice - spring seems to be coming a month early.

We headed down to our local market. I've walked past it more than once, but this was my first time actually wandering through the aisles up close. It's tremendous - flowers, fruits, vegetables, meats, seafood, fish, cheeses, breads, wine. Almost any food you can think of is for sale here. There's one stand that is a giant wall of roasting chickens and turkeys. Not all of the food is local - there is a lot of citrus fruit that wouldn't be in season, but most of the non-local food is from other European countries at least, like Spain. We also saw a box with a baby goat and puppies for sale. The goat was hardly any bigger than the puppies, and seemed perfectly happy to be tumbled in with the dogs. They're all adorable. We also went over to another weekend market, at Place Saint Bruno, but it turned out to be more of a flea market.

Although we went intending to buy food, we decided that we would go out for dinner for the first time since arriving here, so we held off on any purchases. After packing a picnic lunch of sandwiches, mandarin oranges and half a chocolate bar we headed off across the city, to find the university building where Mark will have to give a few lectures.

We stopped to eat in Parc Paul Mistral. The park has an eye-catching tower, built by August Perret in 1924. It was built for a festival celebrating hydroelectric power (big in this region of glacier-fed rivers), and is 95 m tall. The flowers have started to come out - I saw daffodils, croscuses and snowdrops coming up. I also saw pansies, which I can only assume have overwintered.

It was a long walk out to the university, but interesting, because it went through a more modern part of the city than I had explored the day before. As we got closer to the university it changed from contemporary to 60s/70s era modernist buildings - kind of a time capsule of when the major development took place.

After finding the chemistry building we walked back along the embankment (le digue) that borders the Isère river. There were lots of people out enjoying the sunshine and walking their dogs. I'd read that France has one of the highest rates of dog ownership, and I believe it now. Unfortunately there's no culture of shame in letting your dog poo on the sidewalk, so you really have to watch every step. We've seen several fenced in "espace de chien" spots, where the city is trying to encourage owners to get their dogs to do their business.

By the time we got back to our apartment (about 10 km later) we were ready to rest our feet. It was still too early to go for dinner, so we kicked back and relaxed for a few hours, then decided where to eat. We narrowed it down to fish/seafood, and I mapped out a few options. I was thrilled that I got us to our first option without getting lost or having to consult the map, but it turns out it had closed. So we headed on to the second, which was open, and not too crowded. We were able to almost entirely conduct our business in French, although I was stumped by how to order "medium rare".

 

Le Marché de l'Estacade (the market is under the train tracks - all of the supports have been painted with murals of plants and produce - such a great use of space that might otherwise be dark and dismal)

 

There's a trophy store near our apartment - most of the trophies are pretty straightforward, but what is this one supposed to commemorate?!

 

Unfamiliar ladybug-like insects basking in the sun in the parking lot outside our apartment

 

Apartment building with corrugated-cardboard-like texture on the wall

 

Flowers blooming in Parc Paul Mistral

 

The former Electrochimie et Electrometallurgie building on campus (Mark noted that those would have been big areas in science research when the building was first constructed - now the words have been taken down, leaving behind ghostly impressions)

 

A high-water level indicator along the embankment - without it there would be serious flooding of the city. Plaques indicate the dates of the highest levels.

March 04, 2011: Grenoble - Jet Lag (Still), Sunshine, Shopping

Still jetlagged - I went back to bed a couple of hours after Mark left for work. Which meant I was still sleeping when a woman came by to change the linens - it turns out that we get fresh sheets and towels every Friday. Which is great, but it was a bit embarrassing to stumble downstairs bleary-eyed and not be able to explain myself in French.

I was going to finally shop at the nearby outdoor farmer's market, but by the time I got there at 2:00 it had closed down. So instead I went for a walk up to the river. It was gorgeously sunny - so much so that I took off my gloves and unzipped my jacket.

It was nice to finally see more of the downtown than the route from our apartment to the train station. As I had assumed it is lovely - beautiful old buildings, quaint pedestrian-only streets, and a tremendous multitude of restaurants of all types. The river was wide, lightly turquoise and fairly placid. I passed under the télépherique that carries people up the mountain to the Bastille - looks like fun! I crossed over the river on one of the many bridges, then crossed back again. I stopped in at a tourism office - surprisingly few pamphlets there. I also stopped in at Maison de la Montagne, where I got a bit of information about hiking in the area.

Then back to Monoprix for another round of shopping - I'm slowly acquiring all the household items I won't be able to get at the market (like dishwasher soap, paper towels, etc). I correctly guessed when the cashier asked if I had an affinity card, and pulled it out (I had just filled out the form for one the day before).

Supper was roasted potatoes tossed with fresh spinach and dressing (made from an interesting mustard with nettle tips and balsamic vinegar) with the other half of the cassoulet. I realize now that we had just eaten the sausage portion of the cassoulet the night before - in spooning it out I discovered that there was an entire duck leg still buried, complete with the bone. Delicious.

 

Our apartment - a beautiful old building, with about 20 units

 

 Ontario Restaurant! You can't see it for the reflection, but on the window it says "Salmon & Steak Country"

 

Probably the prettiest bridge over the river

 

The télépherique

 

A fountain with crazy bat-winged creatures - I'll have to find out more about this

March 03, 2011: Grenoble - Lost, Shopping, Lost, Dinner, Sleepless

This morning I walked with Mark out to the Institut de Biologie Structurale where he'll be working - a charming walk through the old downtown back to the train/bus station, and then a rather less charming walk through an  industrial park type area until we got to the institute. On my way back from I got a little lost - even though I thought I was following the train tracks I forgot that I had to double back under them to stay close - and ended up wandering around a different part of downtown (which was not immediately apparently different). Eventually I figured out that it wasn't becoming familiar, so I retraced my steps and got home. But how did I manage to lose track of such a large landmark as train tracks? Baffling.

After that I had a nap, did some more shopping at the Monoprix (still catching up on all the household goods we need - have yet to find any tupperware for storing leftovers - not that there's much room for it in the fridge anyhow), figured out our phone and talked to my sister and mother, took some photos around the apartment and wrote up my first blog entry about France, unpacked and put everything away, and started to think about dinner.

Meanwhile it was getting late, and I was wondering when Mark would get home. Turns out he got lost too, although not at the same point as me. He knew he was close, but it was too dark by then to pull out the map to try to read it, so he wandered about until he chanced on a street that looked familiar. These old streets are really tricky - they don't adhere to any kind of a grid whatsoever. You think you know what you're doing, but then discover you don't.

Dinner was couscous cooked in chicken broth, sauteed mushrooms, roasted broccoli (made in the mini-oven - it worked quite well) and half a can of cassoulet. There were half a dozen types of cassoulet for sale in the grocery store - what seems like a luxurious indulgence in Canada (white bean, sausage and duck confit) is clearly commonplace here.

I think we got too smug about adjusting to the time difference - although we fell asleep easily at 10:30 we were awake again at midnight - and I'm sure I was up for about 2 hours before I fell asleep again (although I couldn't see my watch in the dark). Good thing I figured out how to use the phone to set an alarm for the morning or we would have definitely overslept.

Also worth noting - we slept with the window cracked open! It was too warm, even though I'd figured out during the day how to turn the heat down. With the bedroom on the second level all the heat from making dinner drifted upstairs, so it was warmer when we went to bed than it was earlier in the day. This feels crazy - from frigid Toronto temperatures to sleeping with an open window.

March 02, 2011 - Grenoble, France: Nous sommes ici!

March 02:

We're here - in France! All went well with our travels - relatively short lines at Pearson, a straightforward flight to London (I finally got to watch "Black Swan"), an easy transfer in London (we'd been worried we wouldn't have enough time, but since it was the same terminal, no problems), and landed in Lyon, where Immigration let us in without any questions whatsoever (literally - the woman took our passports, stamped them, and said not one word - but in a friendly way), found the shuttle to Grenoble and got tickets with just a minute to spare before boarding. I slept most of the way (it's an hour-long trip), waking to find myself surrounded by sheer mountainsides - very dramatic. When I wasn't sleeping I was re-reading a favourite novel by Connie Willis, "Doomsday Book", in which the main character goes back in time to the Middle Ages to do historic research. She thinks she's prepared, having researched how English would have sounded at that time, but she's completely wrong - she can't understand a word anyone says, and in the end the Plague kills them all in spite of her efforts to save them. I do love a good tragedy.

We got out of the bus, oriented ourselves and had about a 15-minute walk with our suitcases to the apartment building - no real worries about getting lost, even though the city streets dash off at all sorts of crazy angles, because all we really had to do was follow the train tracks most of the way. It was the lunch hour, so we knew reception would be closed, but they'd put our keys in the safe and had given us the combination in advance, so we were able to let ourselves in and have a much-needed nap. We found that we'd been upgraded to a one-bedroom apartment from a studio which is nice - we've got two levels rather than one.

Then up to introduce ourselves to Estelle at reception, who drew out a map for us with the nearby grocery stores and bakeries. We stocked up on some basic household items and enough groceries for dinner and breakfast at the Monoprix. Our kitchen here is very small - a tiny microwave-sized oven, a two-burner electric stove top, a bar-fridge and a mini dishwasher (which is surprising - with such a small kitchen who needs a dishwasher?). We won't be able to do any ambitious cooking - even making pasta for last night's dinner was a bit of a challenge, having to reach behind the pot of boiling water to saute the vegetables. Ah well - at least shopping for food will be fun - there's a large outdoor market just down the street, and it's open 6 days a week. Stand after stand of vegetables, fruit, cheese, baking and meats...

After supper last night we managed to stay awake until 8:30 pm by watching two episodes of True Blood on Mark's computer. A bit of a fitful night of sleep - we were tired, but the time zones are 6 hours different, so we woke up at odd times, convinced that we wouldn't fall asleep again.

It's definitely warmer here than in Toronto - no snow or ice on the ground whatsoever, and temperatures high enough above freezing that I took my scarf off during the walk (but not the gloves). We even passed one bush that was flowering, although nothing else is yet - but it looks like it won't be long.

Everyone is pleasantly amused by my attempts to speak French, and promptly switches to speaking in English - what a relief. In my head I'm much more fluent, but on the spot I get terribly tongue-tied. But I'll keep trying!

The next four months are going to be good!

 

The view from the ground-floor window, through old-fashioned pointy iron bars

 

The view from one bedroom window. The graffiti seems that much more incomprehensible since it's French, although I'm sure I can't decipher half of the English graffiti in Toronto.

 

The view down a different street from the other bedroom window.

 

The dining area (note the bottle of wine - purchased for 4.5 Euros - $6.11 Cdn! - in the grocery store - so inexpensive - and it wasn't even the cheapest one there)

 

The mini kitchen - the apparent cupboard and drawer on the right, below the sink, is the mini dishwasher; the apparent microwave up above is the mini oven ; the shiny dark area on the far right of the counter is the mini stovetop, with the mini fridge underneath

 

The bathroom - relatively spacious, especially when compared to the other rooms

 

Upstairs - the 'office' seating and desk area

 

The bedroom - with our upgrade to a one-bedroom from a studio we get a bed that is permanently horizontal (the studio has a Murphy bed that folds up into the wall)

February 24, 2011: Toronto - Billy Elliot

I went to the musical 'Billy Elliot' with my friend Janice. What a great production! The dancing was excellent, and especially impressive was the star of the show - such stamina for such a young performer. There was some interesting staging as well - some great scenes with lighting that cast the shadow of the Billy Elliot character dancing against the wall - very expressive. The only thing lacking for me was the music - I really adored the soundtrack of the movie, which was very specific to the early 80s era in which it was set. The stage production has all new music by Elton John - it ties everything together in a more musical fashion than was needed in the movie, but it just wasn't as catchy - I'm not going to come away humming any of these tunes. But if I'd never seen the movie I'm sure I wouldn't have thought anything was missing.

February 14, 2011: Toronto - Valentine's Day

Well, I'm sick on Valentine's. And although we didn't have any major plans (a splurging shopping trip to Patagonia) it's a bit sad to be stuck at home on the couch. Happily we've got delicious leftovers from a big meal the day before with my friend Denise and my sister and brother-in-law: chicken and mushrooms in the slow cooker (a new recipe, and quite successful), braised red cabbage in red wine, roasted butternut squash, and baked brown rice. So in essence we had our Valentine's celebration a day early.

I've also been busy working away at making photo albums - my annual year in photos as a Valentine's gift to Mark, plus wedding albums for our family, and an expanded version with the rest of the Hawaii trip for me and Mark. I'm in the thick of the last one, processing photos, writing up stories and laying it out, and plan to have it all printed and delivered before we leave Toronto end of the month. What fun to re-live all these good times by poring over the photos.

February 11, 2011: Toronto - Mary Pickford at Spadina House

I went to see the musical 'Sweetheart - the Mary Pickford Story' at Spadina House museum with my friend Jane. I was intrigued - interesting setting, in an historic home. And my cousin, Eileen Whitfield, had written a biography about Mary Pickford that I read a number of years ago.

But the production was dismal. It seemed like something that was put together by people who'd never before been to a theatre performance. I give it one star for the creative venue.