My first week in the industrial east of France has come to an end and what a week it's been! Can honestly say it has been much more enjoyable than expected. I thought the first week would be a constant stream of paperwork, angst and early nights with only a DVD for company, but luckily Nancy is FULL of language assistants (namely English speaking). In true Brits abroad fashion, we have been frequenting Nancy's Irish bar (La Taverne de L'Irlandais) for the typically French 'demi-pêche'- Stella and peach sirop. Sounds bizarre but it's good stuff!
So the first few days here were taken up by constant shopping (and not the fun kind of shopping). Our poorly equipped kitchen was in need of some essentials so Dan (another English assistant from the best university in the world) and I visited 'Tatti' a few times for cutlery, mugs and pans. The name says it all really- it's a bit like Wilko's but even more, well, tatty! Ha. We did find time to visit the Irish bar and go for a pizza so it wasn't all grim...
BNP MEMBER ALERT!
Yes, today I have joined the BNP. Luckily this has nothing to do with the British BNP (the racist British National Party for all those who don't know), but I opened a bank account with the BNP Paribas! Amazingly I managed to sort out all the bank stuff without any difficulty- I was in there a good half-hour and opened a student account which is freeeeee!! Apparently you have to pay around 3 euros/month with most other French banks, so I wasn't having any of that! It even has internet banking which I'm sure will prove interesting trying to figure out. The lady who opened the account for me was lovely though, as was the lady who sorted me out with a French sim card and phone number, so don't believe all the French stereotypes! So after opening my bank account toute seule earlier, I headed straight for the boulangerie near the flat for a celebratory raspberry tarte. Well deserved (I think).
Les Soirs
Evenings have been pretty busy so far, namely because it takes about 20 minutes to boil a pan of water in our kitchen! My travel kettle has been an absolute life saver (cheers nan and grandad)! Jackie (my American flatmate) and I have been 'creative cooking' with our hob- chicken risotto and home-made ratatouille being the favourites. After going to a French pre-lash on Thursday night (but not going out afterwards), I finally experienced Nancy by night on Friday. And Saturday. Naturally, the Irish pub featured on both occasions. On Friday, we moved on to Les Artistes, a studenty cocktail bar which I feel is going to become another one of our haunts. I opted for a lager-cocktail, merely because I was intrigued. Turned out to be a good choice! Anyway it was a really lovely evening with all the other English assistants (shame we weren't speaking French though- next time perhaps?!). The evening ended with a 'lovely' photo of myself in front of Lyon's team bus, eyes bright with excitement. It's a shame Nancy lost 3-2 to them the following day...
A perfect Sunday
My first Sunday in Nancy was a beautiful day, not a cloud in sight. Walked down to Place Stanislas- the main square in Nancy (a World Heritage sight, no less) and it is just incredible! So many people, but the architecture is amazing. Needless to say, a LOT of photos were taken. After eating a heart-attack tarte-fromage in a bag, we headed for the park which has a ZOO! Was probably a bit over-excited about that, in retrospect. Nevertheless, we saw monkies, goats and even an albino peacock! You don't get that in Sleazes Park!
Needless to say, this perfect day ended with a trip to La Taverne de L'Irlandais. A pattern is emerging...
No comments:
Post a Comment