Nice Sounds Nice

That's a Stephanie-worthy title, no?


I say Nice sounds nice, because I did not actually get to go. Emily forgot me :( She feels really bad about it, and although I was very upset at first, I think I will forgive her. She just better not forget me when she goes to Provence in 2 weeks, or I may just leave. Apparently her train to Nice went through Provence and it's very scenic!


I did get to see her pictures at least and hear about it, and Monaco where she also went. It's very pretty there! But pretty touristy with a lot of English speakers. Apparently Emily met a few Australians. I wish I could have met them too, it reminds me of New Zealand and now I feel a little homesick.


Here's some pictures:

(1. Grace Kelly's tomb, Cathedrale St-Nicolas, Monaco. 2. The Mediterranean. 3. Monte Carlo Casino)


One thing I do not regret though, is not having to get back home at 2am, which is what Emily did. Apparently her connecting train from Valence to Grenoble hit an animal (perhaps a cow?) and was cancelled. Poor cow. So she waited for 2 buses because the first one did not have enough space and didn't leave till around 1am on Sunday.


Besides all that, life in France is quite relaxing. And the food is très bien! I'm enjoying the nice weather because before I know it it's going to get cold. And pretty soon is Emily's birthday! She's going to be 21. Gosh that seems old. I was made in 2007, so I'm only 3.
There's not much else going on. Emily's busy (mostly) with classes and is still exploring Grenoble. There's another grève on Thursday also. 


Until next time,
Kiki

Les Faits

Things I've learned about France/ Grenoble thus far- 


- Grenoble has some of the best water in France
- Grenoble is the flattest city in Europe
- Grenoble is the birthplace of the Revolution
- Meals in France last quite a while and usually include 3 courses
- They like to conserve water and energy (the water in the toilets is very very low)
- Grenoble is a center of technology and very eco-friendly. It's the center of hydro-electricity
- Many showers don't have curtains
- They like to grève (aka strike)
- Cars actually stop for pedestrians
- There are 60,000 students in Grenoble (out of the 425,000 inhabitants)- so 1 in 7 people here is a student
-Grenoble is surrounded by the Alpes and the 3 main mountain ranges are- le Vercours, la Chartreuse, et le Belledonne
- The site of the 1968 Olympics
- Grenoble was founded by the Romans
- The name Dauphin/ Dauphine originates in Grenoble- An English wife of Count Guiges III nicknamed her oldest son "Dolphin" or "Dauphin" and this became the family's title. The last Count gave his lands to the heir of the throne of France, who then inherited the title "Dauphin." I think that's the story.

That's all I can remember for now. I will add more if it comes to me! Here's a picture of me on Em's desk:

Grenob-luh

What a week! After an 8 hour flight, Emily and I finally arrived in London and spent 2 nights there. We are now in Grenoble with her host family. Her Madame is very nice and quite small (at least that's what Emily says. She seems quite big to me!). I've been spending most of my time in Emily's backpack, but now I have a spot on her desk. Woo! It's much more breathable.

London was awesome. We went on a 3 hour tour and saw almost all of London it seems- Buckingham Palace, Parliament and Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, St. Paul's Cathedral, Tower Bridge, the Mayor of London's office, Drury Lane and Fleet Street, Hyde Park, and the Prince Albert Memorial. Emily posted pictures on Facebook if you're interested. After the tour, we ate Pasties for lunch and visited the British Museum, V&A Museum, Herrod's, and Platform 9 3/4! That night Emily ate Thai in Soho, but I stayed at the hotel.

The next morning we had to be up sooo early so Emily could catch her flight to Lyon. At least I could sleep in the backpack. We rode a bus to Grenoble and Emily began orientation. On Saturday we moved to her host family's apartment, which is in the centre-ville (downtown), a very lively part of town! There's a restaurant across the street called le Coq... er something, but I try not to look over there because there's a picture of a Rooster and they are big and kind of intimidate me. I'm only a little kiwi!

Also on Saturday, we hiked up the hill to Le Bastille, an ancient fort that was used to protect the city way back when. The view from there is amazing! As is much of the city. The 17th century architecture is so belle! There are so many fountains and gardens here too. Unfortunately, Emily's campus was built in the 70s and is not so pretty and neither are the grounds. Oh well.

(on top is Le Bastille/ on the bottom is a picture of Grenoble and L'Isere river)

I can't wait to explore more of Grenoble. A tout a l'heure!