Sometimes I feel like I’m in Barcelona…

Here are a few visual highlights from my recent trip to Barcelona…

The Sagrada Familia – WOW. Gave me goosebumps just walking round it. If that’s what God-given talent in a man can do, then Heaven is going to be amazing (but you already knew that). I’d love to go back in 20 years when it’s finished – they’ve been building it for 100 years!

Me and my travelling buddy Kirstyn enjoying the sunset and the view over Barcelona (even if the town planners could have arranged it so that the sun set over the sea…we’ll let that one slide just this once)

Incredible freshly pressed juice at La Boqueria market, for the amazing price of 1 euro. I tried Kiwi, and Strawberry & Mango.

An amazing front to a patisserie on Las Ramblas, the main pedestrian street through Barcelona from Placa Catalunya down to the waterfront.

Wandering round El Gotic, the gothic quarter, was nothing like Vieux Nice, even if the streets are just as old and narrow. The feel was much darker, and there were lots of interesting shops and street art, like this one:

The park was full of performers, including one man blowing enormous bubbles. I’m pretty pleased with how this shot turned out.

April was also my last month of work! 7 months has flown by so quickly, and I’m staying here another month in the hopes of ‘Profitez-ing’ a bit more and also doing some uni work in the sun. I got lots of lovely leaving presents, including a card from the students titled ‘Good luck Katty’, with messages such as ‘I ❤ linking word’ and ‘thanks for your knowledge’. It has been difficult at times when the bus journeys have felt neverending, or just when what I say seems to go in one ear and out the other, but all in all, I have learnt a lot about teaching in these seven months. And discovered a deeper appreciation for the British education system…

Ventimiglia

Given that the Italian border is a mere 45 minutes from Nice by train, a couple of day rips with visitors who had never been to  Italy before had to be done. Friday is the day to visit Ventimiglia, as the otherwise quiet and sleepy town is transformed into a bustling market place (and French will get you pretty far in this border town, when your 5 words of Italian run out).

The indoor market is filled with giant jewel coloured fruits, vegetables and flowers:

 

 

Whilst the outdoor market sprawls for miles and can be divided into two categories –

The food sellers, giving out yummy free samples to all who walk by. I  bought some authentic Italian pesto for just 3 euro.

 

The rest of the vendors are selling much more markety things, along the lines of ‘This probably fell off the back of a lorry’. Genuine Chanel perfume for 5 euros, Longchamp bags for 2 euro…HMM. No wonder the French police are ready to hand out up to 10000 euro fines for people caught buying fakes. Add in people selling the same splat toys and iphone covers every five minutes and it can start to feel like you’re stuck in a Scooby Doo cartoon where the background repeats over and over again. After being approached by a shady man asking if we wanted to buy a Rolex (this actually happens, and he was wearing a big coat), market fatigue was declared and we set off in search of food. First time round, it was delicious ravioli in the old town with Nicola, Emily and Kirstyn. Round 2 was great pizza bought in the market place with the sis. And of course cannolis are a must…

I loved this old lady with her basket of knitting, it’s just such a chilled out lifestyle. 

 

Antibes (encore)

The past few weeks have been a steady stream of visitors here to Nice. It’s been so great to show people from home or from university what my day to day life here is like, as well as exploring new places and just spending great time together. (I just hope they had fun and that I was hospitable enough! As an aside, our apartment has never been cleaner…)

My sister arrives tomorrow and I can’t wait! I haven’t seen her since Christmas and I’m so excited to hang out with her and eat ice cream (in that order).

St Jean Cap Ferrat was one trip I took with Laura (from college) and Laura (from here!). We also went to Antibes for the day. I’ve already written about how much I love Antibes, but it still stands. A bit of a little England in as far as that is the language you will hear everywhere, as well as signs offering yacht provisions of caviar and kobe beef…but there is also a sandy beach, which is a rarity here, as well as beautiful views and an old town with city walls you can walk up on (the York of the Mediterranean, perhaps?)

This time we took a different turning and ended up with a great view of the Cap d’Antibes and lots of old men playing pétanque in the afternoon sun.

A perfect spot to sit and look out to sea and chat about life and dissertations (yuk).

Happy Easter

“Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen!” Luke 24: 5-6

Happy day of celebrating the fact that Jesus died for us and for all our sins and rose again so that we don’t have to be separated from God but can enjoy and experience a relationship with him and life to the full! (Bit of a mouthful, so Happy Easter for short!)

Here are some pictures from a recent trip to St Jean Cap Ferrat, a beautiful peninsular to the east of Nice. The weather was perfect for walking all the way along the peninsular, experiencing (and dodging) the crashing waves, admiring the lighthouse up close (normally I watch the light sweep round over the bay from my bus stop every morning) and feeling very windswept and on the edge of the world.

Cactus graffiti - I'd like to think that this is somebody's Grandma and Granddad declaring their love for each other...

A staircase leading to the sea. We sat and watched the waves for a while and left behind a message for whoever would come after us; I wonder if anyone found it?

Can you tell what it is yet?

Look closely, can you see what is missing from these photographs?

What if I tell you that today has been declared a Snow Day? Aha.

This is one of those moments when I love French logic. All the buses are cancelled in the entire region for the whole day because it might snow this evening. There is snow on higher ground but none here on the coast yet. I am coming to the conclusion that my plan to avoid winter altogether this year probably won’t work…

So for today it is all too tempting to put on my horrendously 80s cardigan (confession, I’m actually wearing it right now), curl up under the blankets with a mug of hot chocolate and read. Whilst doing this occasionally is no problem, and arguably even necessary to restore order, I am aware that here in Nice, with a much lighter workload, it’s all to easy to curl up in a warm nest. Even when travelling. I want to step out of my comfort zone, both in France and in my walk with God. It’s scary and sometimes the blankets call your name (and the hot chocolate!) but I need to do it, to persevere, to take risks. Because that’s where all the fun is.

Cannes

Cannes is about 45 minutes away from Nice on the train, and though there are similarities in these Riviera cities, there is a different feel to them. Cannes feels a lot paler, a lot of the buildings are a creamy colour compared to the bright yellows and reds and terracottas of Nice. The Croisette is Cannes’ answer to the Promenade des Anglais and is lined with designer boutiques. They were closed when we walked past and so all of the jewellery was removed from the stands, but they’d left the price tags out, so there was a lot of very expensive air on display – it felt like a scene from the Emperor’s New Clothes. The beaches are sandy and you can see out to the islands just off the shore of Cannes, which is where the Man in the Iron Mask was imprisoned. I think we’ll revisit and go to the islands when it’s a bit warmer. For now we settled for a now traditional picnic by the port:

Cannes is of course most famous for its Film Festival, and though it isn’t until May, you can spot clues to its existence all year long such as my identical hand twin à la Friends:

Or this good looking guy:

There was also a flea market by the beach. You know me and that I love anything that is old and ratty, I was in my element. 3 of us found rings amongst the various market stalls for 5 euros each – I doubt they’re 24k gold but they are pretty and a memento of our day out. We climbed to the top of the tower in the old town and were rewarded with a view over the whole of Cannes:

I can’t believe I have been living here for four months; the time is flying by so quickly that I feel I have to make the most of every moment as it won’t be long until I’m back in England. I’m having a strange nostalgia this week for green fields and punting on the River Cam (totally rose-tinted glasses as it would be FREEZING to do that right now). I will be getting my English fix in a couple of months when I have two of my best friends and my best sister coming to stay. I can’t wait! I love chances to be hospitable and it will be fun to share my current life with important people to me.

I feel like my French has improved so much since I moved out here, but that’s not the only thing apparently. Two people this week have told me I sounded American (it must be rubbing off on me) and another old lady told me that I move my hands too much when I talk to be English, I’m more like an Italian. So there you go. Ciao! (gesticulates wildly)