Old friends and new friends

This weekend I went back to Cambridge. Being back in England after 3 months away was amusing, as I realised that everything, EVERYTHING is different in France. So my train of thought after leaving Heathrow Airport went a little like this:

Wow…cars stopping at zebra crossings…Love the Give Way sign…love the motorway sign font…COWS!…Grey cloudy skies – how dramatic!…Bare trees…’subtle’ hills, none of these mountains all over the place…green fields…

That’s my love letter to England over and done with! The weekend was lovely – quality time spent with dear dear friends. Exciting news too, as my best friend Nicola and her fiancé Joe asked me to be the Maid of Honour at their wedding! How happymaking! I realised how great it is to have such strong friendships and how blessed I am to have so many great people in my life who support me. (Going back is such an ego boost!). Hugs were weird after months of air kissing too! Another thing which was great was to be back at my church at university, HT, it really refreshed, challenged and encouraged me. Much needed.  I was quite emotional to leave!

One of Joe and Nicola's finer moments...

Said friends were also super cute in that for my birthday this week they made me an almost 40 minute video! It involved a cardboard cutout of me making its way around Cambridge, but also lots of lovely encouraging words, messages, songs, poems, jokes, cheerleading…I felt very loved watching it and amazed at how much time and effort people put in!

So a lovely birthday with old friends who managed to be here with me even when I’m on the continent. But a lovely birthday too with new friends here in Nice. Saying as my childhood parties were normally not problem-free due to snowfall, the novelty of celebrating my 21^st on the beach was too much to resist. A bunch of us had a picnic lunch on the beach, and it was beautiful to be beside the sea with the people I have come to care about here. It was even warm!

We're laughing because the French people next to us starting shouting 'cheese! fromage! edam!'

And here is a picture of the lovely, and very French birthday cake that Molly bought for me – isn’t she too kind?

I know I’ve overused ‘lovely’ in this post, but it’s my birthday so I’ll overuse it if I want to! And it’s how I want to describe the last few days. (Teaching hasn’t been quite so lovely this week, but I’ve realised it’s necessary for me to develop a thicker skin if this is what I want to do as my grown-up job. The kids no longer see me as a novelty weird English person, and just a teacher that they want to avoid doing work with, like the other teachers. So a new challenge for this section of my year abroad!)

Profitez!

Two weeks ago, Emily and I took a day trip to Antibes to check out our friend Pascale’s church. It was strange to see snow-capped mountains and the sea at the same time, but again made me so thankful to be here.

Thursday was Molly’s birthday and we ate possibly the best meal of my life (no exaggeration). Set in the middle of twisting and turning Vieux Nice, Le 22 Septembre is like eating dinner in someone’s front room. For 14 euros we ate a three course meal, camembert fritters followed by sirloin steak followed by tarte aux pommes. De-lish-us. Anyone who visits me now will probably have to come here, sorry! (I’m really not.)

Last Friday, the fab four (not The Beatles, but Lane, Laura, Molly and I) decided to do some exploring and picture taking around Nice. We ventured past the Port and were rewarded with the bluest sea I have ever seen. I thought the Baie des Anges was beautiful, but this was something else; rocky pools with clear, blue, water, pale craggy stones, staircases that crumbled down into the sea…it was like a ‘staycation’. Molly and I decided to profiter (my fave French word) from the Velo Bleu – a bike share hire scheme, like in London and Newcastle. For 1 euro for the whole day, we could cycle to our heart’s delight. And we did. It felt so good to be on a bike again! Just like Cambridge. Except it was warm and we were cycling along the promenade looking out at the Mediterranean sea…

To spend even more time by the beach, Emily and I had our accountability session on the beach today. So good to read, pray and worship right next to God’s creation. Awesome.I have really  felt the urge to make the most of every moment here, remembering that I am still a tourist and to never stop exploring. Profitons!