Taking Care of Business

Once again, so much has happened since my last post. I will tell you now that after my quite content 1/2 hour in the Venetian hotel parlor, we went out for dinner and showed up back at the hotel soaking wet and resembling drowned rats (the rain and wind had picked up on our way home so that umbrellas were pretty much useless so we just had to run!). Needless to say, the elderly gentleman maning the desk that evening did a double-take when we arrived and cautiously wished us good evening as we tracked puddles into his pristine lobby. It was a horrible yet amazingly funny experience and every inch of radiator space in our hotel room was covered in you-name-it clothing items and shoes that needed to be dried out that night.

The gang in our soaking spendor...

All in all, the Italy trip was beautiful and a lot of fun. Our last stop, Verona, ended up being my favorite because it was just after Venice (so we were in need of a break from water) and turned out to be a beautiful sunny day even though rain had been in the forecast. It was also a bit warmer so that we occasionally took off our jackets and basked in the sunlight in only our sweaters and scarves. lol. Oh Europe is SO different temperature-wise to South Louisiana!

The Duomo in Milan

View of a hill of the medieval Citta Alta (Upper City) of Bergamo

Park in Padua

Gray day on the Grand Canal - Venice

A beautiful sunset over Verona's old town - viewed from the Roman Theater ruins across the river

Inspite of enjoying myself, I was quite elated when we crossed through the Mt. Blanc tunnel and back onto French soil on Wednesday afternoon. This was mainly because I really don’t like being in a country whose language I can’t at least make a decent attempt at speaking (makes me feel like an ignorant American). And of course I understand that I can’t be expected to learn the language of EVERY country that I visit, but I feel as if I will not be satisfied until I know at least two (French and Spanish) so I’ve got a long way to go in that department.

Speaking of French, I’ve been testing myself lately to see how much I am improving and it seems like my listening skills are definitely getting better. Speaking is doing okay, though I am not learning quite as much as I would if I lived with native Frenchies. My vocabulary is growing every day just by talking with the teachers at my schools (who are more than happy to explain words that I don’t understand), reading Harry Potter (the first one, in a junior edition – so glad I’m working on that first and didn’t just immediately go to the big books!), and watching reruns of familiar American TV shows in French. And I just got a library card yesterday (6 euro for a 3-month subscription that I can renew once more while I am here – yes, you have to pay for a library card in France and mine’s the cheapest since it’s only temporary) so I checked out a few travel books in French which I am having no trouble reading (YAY) while I plan my Christmas sojourn with Elise (did I tell you she was coming to visit?)

I have also received a paper giving me a French social security number and telling me to choose a doctor so next week I’ll be wandering around the area looking for someone to sign my form and make me officially part of the French health care system. I think I also need to go for an actual check-up but I haven’t received anything telling me when that will be yet…

Regardless, the holiday is over and now it’s time to get back to work! The weather certainly seems to agree as it is now more gray and cold (“faire un temps de Toussaint” is apparently a phrase that people use at this time – means that the weather in November isn’t the best so I’d better get used to it). Can’t wait for December and Christmas decorations!