Fête du Cinema

Well, France is certainly very festive in the month of June! After the Fête de la Musique on the 21st, we are now in midst of the Fête du Cinema, which lasts three days. It takes place all over France and is a movie addict's dream. Basically, you buy one admission at the full price and then receive a kind of pass that allows you to see any subsequent movies during the three-day period for only 2 euros per film. Ce n'est pas cher! Gap has three movie theatres (all within a few minutes walk from my apartment, hooray!) and they are all participating in the Fête du Cinema.


Sunday I wasn't able to take advantage of the whole deal, as FQ and I were in Provence oohing and aahing at lavender fields (more on that soon), but tonight I made up for lost time by watching two movies back-to-back. First I saw "There Will Be Blood" in version originale (yay, no dubbing!) and then "Sagan", which is about the French author of the same name. And nobody sat right in front of me. And the theatre is air-conditioned. Bliss! Tomorrow is the last day of the Fête , so I am going to try and squeeze in another movie or two in the afternoon. All that before getting ready for "Canada Day en France", which looks like it's going to include tacos (very Canadian, I know) plus vanilla ice cream with maple syrup for dessert. Oh, and I must mention how excited I am about using the maple leaf tattoos that Erin mailed to me! The party never stops around here, eh?

Dîner à la Pastorale

So last night François' friends Les Passeron invited us over for dinner at their humble abode in a small village near Gap.

OK, OK... I can't fool you. They operate a gorgeous B&B (called La Pastorale) six months of the year but they live there year-round.

The grounds are lovely, complete with fountain...

... and resident dog, Carotte. (I know, she's not even orange... but that's what's so funny!)

Breakfast for the guests is served here...

... but we ate dinner outside.


And, as if the outdoor dining wasn't aesthetically-pleasing enough, this was the view across the street.

Ah, France! What else can I say, really?

La Fête de la Musique

Yesterday was not only the first day of summer but also la Fête de la Musique here in France. In 1982, the French Ministry of Culture established June 21st as a day to celebrate music. Free concerts are held in every city, town and village, usually in outdoor spaces. It's a pretty great idea, and one that has apparently spread to more than a hundred countries. According to the official Fête de la Musique website, free concerts were organized in Halifax, Moncton, Quebec City, Montreal and Toronto. (Come on, Vancouver!)

Back in June 1995, when I was just finishing up my stint as an au-pair near Paris, I went to see Edwin Collins (Some of you will remember his big hit at that time, "Never known a girl like you before...") It was hot and Laure & Sophie & I (along with zillions of others) packed the Place de la Bastille to see him perform. So fun! Less fun was after the concert, when we realized it was too late to get a train back to the suburbs and had to hitch-hike home... but that's a whole different story...

Here in Gap, la Fête de la Musique was pretty low-key. There were lots of different local groups playing in the squares and other little nooks and crannies and tons of young folks and families strolling the streets and sitting in the cafés. We wandered around for a couple hours and heard accordion tunes, a swing band (with lots of couples dancing), a local rock group, and some musicians playing music from the Andes... it seems that the pan pipe has international appeal! By far my favourite group of the night was "No Name", which, according to the local programme, promised to pay us pop anglaise. Sure enough, we were treated to a version of "Runaway Train" by Soul Asylum (remember them??) Now I know it's hard to sing, especially in front of an audience, especially in a different language. Really, I don't think I could do it. But that doesn't change the fact that the lead singer's garbled version of the lyrics was totally and utterly incomprehensible and gave me a serious case of the giggles. I could have been listening to pop pig latin for all that mattered! Very amusing. François suggested that I wait until the end of the set, and then hand the singer my professeur d'anglais business card... I would never be that cruel, of course, but I won't deny the fact that a crash course in English pronunciation would really help matters.

In other news, it's hot. The first two weeks after we arrived in Gap, it rained (poured!!!) every single day. This was very discouraging for several reasons:

#1. Trying to visit apartments/drop off resumes in a city you don't know in the rain means huddling under an awning with a dripping umbrella in one hand and a soggy map in another. Fun? Not so much.
#2. I am in France, not Vancouver!
#3. In addition, everyone here assured me that I was going to be living in the south of France, where the weather is always nice. They promised me that Gap is famous for having 300 days of sunshine per year. Huh.

After two weeks of ominous clouds, full-on thunderstorms and constant drizzle, I was having a hard time believing them on point #3. But now it's summer, and, just as if somebody turned a giant switch to "on", it's hot. Very hot. It's 1 p.m. and it's 28 degrees. This afternoon we are going to find a shady forest to take a walk in.

Le marché du samedi

 
 
 

Voilà the view from my apartment this morning! How great is it that the Saturday morning market in Gap is right outside my front door? So great! We grabbed wallets and shopping bags (mental note: must buy a basket to look really French!) and went downstairs. Came back home about 30 minutes later with tons of fresh, lovely, delicious (and cheap!) fruit and veggies. Now off to make lunch!

Je suis chez moi!

Well... chez nous, to be exact!

That's right... FQ and I are all moved in to our fabulous new apartment in "downtown" Gap. The move went as well as moves go... pretty smooth apart from a few tense moments whilst hoisting heavy furniture up the spiral staircase. Let's just say that I got to hear the full range of FQ's dad's very French expletives!

Swearing aside, we owe François' parents a huge merci because, if they hadn't camped out here for two days after the move, we'd still be without an operational stove, washing machine, or kitchen cabinets/counters. They are très handy! Thanks to their help, we are pretty much all systems go, besides a few random boxes left to unpack and a total lack of decor... but not of ideas!

For the time being, I am just so happy to be chez moi and to be able to relax on my sofa with my cup of tea while gazing out the window at my Napoleon! Love it!

Here are a few photos from moving day last Sunday:

Moving Day!

Cours d'anglais, anyone?

Today I placed an ad in Top Annonces, which is similar to the "Buy & Sell" paper at home. It will run for four weeks. Hopefully soon I'll have so many private students that I'll have to beat them off with a stick! Fingers crossed, anyway...

My annonce also gets posted on the paper's website, so click here if you're in the market for an English tutor in Gap!

In other news, today was Moving Day #1 and it was busy busy busy. I signed the lease bright and early. (Was the lease six million pages long and did I have to read and initial each page? The French don't hold anything back when it comes to paperwork!) Then I went to 14, rue de France and spent the morning waiting for/welcoming appliance delivery men, the locksmith, the guy to read the gas metre, the people from the rental agency... The two guys who had to haul our lovely new fridge up the three flights of stairs were not at all impressed. They really struggled. I was seriously worried that they would both have heart attacks! Also that they would slip and the fridge would fall (I was half a flight of stairs behind them) and crush me to death in my lovely spiral staircase! Yikes.

This afternoon we went and bought a bed and frame and somehow FQ and I managed to haul it up the stairs of doom ourselves. So at least we have something to sleep on once we are finally done moving. Tomorrow we are leaving at the crack of dawn to go back to Pommiers to pick up the rest of the stuff, then we'll come back here Sunday to finish moving in. Oof. Bring on the backache!

 

Cultural Difference: Appliances (or not)

So as I mentioned in my previous post about 14, rue de France, rented apartments here in France come with no appliances. Zero. Zilch. Nada. Rien. What a nuisance. But also, what fun to go shopping for shiny new things!

Last weekend, we bought a washing machine. I know, I know... the idea of carting dirty laundry down three flights of stairs, lugging it through cobblestone streets to the local laverie, chucking the right amount of euros in the machine, waiting around for the clothes to get clean, and then schlepping everything home again, up and up and up the (lovely wooden spiral staircase) may sound romantic. Please trust me. It's just one giant pain.

We also bought a fancy dancy silver fridge made by LG. (Hello, global economy... here's a Canadian girl buying a Korean fridge in France!) While looking on-line for specs on said fancy new frigo, I stumbled across "Mister Good Deal", a site selling all sorts of appliances. Joy of joys, Mister Good Deal himself made a little video praising our new fridge to high heaven. So are you ready for some French appliance salesman cheese? Make sure you wait for the wink at the end!

Moving Day #1 tomorrow... I need to be at the agency at 8:30 a.m. to sign the lease, then at the apartment to let in the delivery guys who will be bestowing upon us the power to make drinks cold and clothes clean at the touch of a button! Perhaps I'm getting old, but I'm actually quite excited about these new appliances. Whee!

Cultural Difference: Job Applications

So now that the apartment search is over, I'm running around trying to scrape up any/all ESL teaching work in Gap. It's proving to be quite a challenge for several reasons... here's the lowdown on what I've sussed out so far:

1. Gap is small, right? About 40,000 people live here. Not exactly the population needed to sustain a Berlitz or an EF or even a JLS. Zero language schools to be found.

2. That being said, there are quite a few organizations, both public and private, that offer English classes in Gap. These are in the form of continuing education, or nightschool, or in-company training. But my timing is rotten because almost everybody is headed off on summer vacation. I've met with several places that seem interested, but everybody tells me I have to wait for la rentrée (back-to-school), which here happens in September or even October, to find out if they need me.

3. So, between now and la rentrée... hmm. I've put up lots of notices advertising private lessons and I am planning to take out an ad in the local paper as well. I've also been told there are possibilities to do telephone or on-line tutoring. (Would I have to use the webcam, or could I stay in my PJs until noon?)

4. The other avenue I am planning to explore is tourism, which there is a lot of here. People come in the summer for la nature and in the winter for le ski. Tomorrow I am going to apply to the Tourism Office (fingers crossed!) and I am also in the process of applying to the hotels in town. Today I went to pick up an application form at the local branch of a national hotel chain. An application form which turns out to be three pages long. And contains many questions that would never ever be asked when applying for a job in Canada. But then again, this is France. Things are different. Ready for your jaw to drop?

Top 10 Politically-Incorrect Questions on Hotel Application Form

10.Birth date and place
9. Nationality
8. Martial status
7. Number of children and their ages
(And then, under the "état de santé" heading:)
6. Height
5. Weight (!)
4. Clothing size (!!)
3. Sports practiced (!!!)
2. Current salary
1. Photo - passport sized - to be attached.

Do you love it? Sometimes I really miss Canada...

14, rue de France

I spent most of my first week here in Gap apartment-hunting like a madwoman. I visited the good, the bad, and the ugly... most of which happened to be on the third floor with no elevator. My poor legs! The great news is, after several days of full-on, intensive searching and stairclimbing, I found us an absolutely fabulous apartment!

Top 10 Things I Love About Our New Apartment

10. It's on "rue de France". Enough said?
9. It's less than 30 seconds from the main square in Gap, which has a fountain and restaurants/cafés galore.
8. It has hardwood floors AND a fireplace.
7. It has views of rooftops, a church spire, mountains, shops, aforementioned fountain, a bakery, pedestrians below, and...
6. Way back in 1815, Napoleon (!!!) slept in the house across the street. Not. Even. Joking. Wait till you see the mural!
5. Even though the building is super old, the bathroom was redone a year ago and is gorgeous.
4. Skylight!
3. Spiral staircase!
2. The bedroom upstairs used to be the "chambre de bonne" (the maid's quarters), I figure. It has a tiny sink, a view of the rooftops, and it's just big enough for a bed. C'est tout!
1. The weekly market in Gap on Saturday mornings takes place on rue de France, downstairs, right outside the front door. Really.

So (as you can tell) I'm very happy - and relieved - to have found such a great apartment so soon. We get the keys next Friday and move in next weekend, after making a quick trip all the way back to Pommiers to pick up FQ's furniture/dishes/TV etc, plus the rest of my stuff... Hooray!

That being said, renting an apartment in France turns out to be quite a pain. The French love their regulations and endless paperwork, and this is no exception.

Top 5 Annoying Things About Renting an Apartment in France

5. Although some rentals are arranged directly with the owners of the apartment, the majority of places are rented through real estate agencies, which means you must fork out an agency fee (ours was 288 euros... ouch!) just to be able to sign the lease.
4. Rentals in France come without appliances. None. Zero. You have to provide your own fridge, oven, dishwasher, washing machine... Can you say "bonjour, 10 easy payments?"
3. No utilities are included in the rent. Our lease says "charges comprises" (charges included), but that just refers to the cost of the lighting in the entrance and communal areas, plus a cleaning lady who sweeps the staircase every so often. We have to pay our own gas, electricity, and water bills.
2. If you encounter any sort of problems with the apartment, you have to go through the agency to fix them. This, according to common belief, results in said agency trying to rob you blind.
1. There's no minimum time span specified on the lease, but if you want to move out, you must give the agency (grr) three month's notice. Sheesh!

But anyway... let's leave the ranting about French bureaucracy aside for the time being. We have signed the papers, bought the fridge and washing machine, and are set! Now let's go back to swooning over the apartment. Ready for the photos?

14, rue de France

Je suis à Gap!

I know, I know... when you think of "Gap", this is what automatically springs to mind. And I really don't blame you. But what if I were to shake things up? What if, through this blog and my experiences to come, I were to introduce you to a whole new Gap? A Gap that doesn't include jeans and t-shirts, but is rather a city in the French Alps where I have just moved to? Are you ready for it?

Hmm...?