Le retour

Back in the USA...

Well, our little adventure has come to an end.  It was a fantastic time.  We loved everything (well almost everything) and everyone (really!).  We had fair warning from other expats that re-entry would not be easy.  They were right.  It's not that we didn't miss some things about the U.S.  Certainly we missed our family and friends enormously.  But living in France was really an adventure.  Every day.  We were always the strangers in a strange land.  A British friend (living in France) told me years ago that there is also an extra grace that goes with being an expat.  Yes, it is challenging to do just about anything but the French are so understanding when you screw up and literally amazed that you tried.  

We made many good friends in France.  Again, something about the fact that we were more vulnerable helped.  We really sought out new friends and were grateful for their attention.   And how fun to meet people who often see things quite different.  It is so enlightening (and often humbling) to hear the observations of the U.S. (and Americans) from folks in another country.  Most people are cautious with this information and it takes awhile for them to trust you enough to really say what  is on their minds.  The French are great people. Friendly, generous, and fun.  I am missing them terribly.

Of course the countryside is a slice of paradise.  The south of France (or "Midi" as the french refer to the region we were staying) has so much natural beauty: the sea, mountains, vineyards, olive trees.  It has also has excellent roads and trails to appreciate them.  Cycling and hiking will never be the same.  It's timely that we returned when Le Tour de France was in progress.  It transported me to watch every day.  And the weather…oh, the weather.  Almost always sunny, cool nights with the windows open and a breeze blowing over our heads.  What a way to sleep.  I really don't know how I will bear the coming Minnesota weather.

The french are, of course, famous for their cuisine and wine.  The wine was, as advertised, amazing.  Five euros can buy an awesome bottle (not always though…I found that only 1 out of 4 tries yielded a good wine).  The beer is awful.  It has been wonderful to get great beer again in Wisconsin and Minnesota.  When I was younger I was always embarrassed about American beer.  Schlitz, Miller, Old Milwaukee: those beers were so inferior to European beer.  Now, however, U.S. microbrewing has brought beer to a new level.  My newest fantasy is opening a bar in France:  Jimmy's Microbrews. 

There is so much more to say about France, the French, and our experiences but I can't hope to sum it up now.  Stay tuned for more posts with photos and advice on having one of these adventures yourself.

For each post in this blog I've struggled to find the right photo(s).  For this post I could not imagine anything that would represent all of my feelings so I chose a photo of Jane and I in front of our apartment on our last night in Aix.  My heart breaks just to look at it.  

Au revoir à tous.  On va retourner!

That will be blah, blah, blah euros please

When we first arrived in France I realized my comprehension of french numbers was quite weak.  I'd never appreciated how important it is to have a great grasp of numbers.  Numbers are SO integrated into our consciousness.  Translation is just not possible if you want to survive in a francophone country.

I used a few apps on my iPad and the web to improve my comprehension but I was a little frustrated with the lack of good tools for this particular language problem. So....I wrote these tools.  Hopefully these will help other folks learn their numbers.

French Number Practice Tools

Montpellier

I love this town. 2 hours west of Aix. 10 minutes from the mediterranean. Twice the size of Aix. University town. Very large and pretty old town, all pedestrian-only. Safe. Friendly. 'Nuff said.

Photos

Les Calanques

It would probably surprise many folks to hear that the French are avid hikers.  The american view of the chain-smoking Parisien doesn't quite match the reality: the French are crazy for hiking.  No wonder: the  countryside in the south is simply an enormous field of "baby mountains".

Les Calanques (best translation would probably be "the fjords") are definitely one of the most beautiful sites.  This park between Cassis and Marseilles is awesome.  Jane and I come here regularly.

You can't come in. No, really. You CAN'T come in.

The French have a different level of security need than Americans. The French take access to their abode very seriously. I'm sure I have seen hundreds of french homes in my time in France and I think they ALL have fences with gates. The gates are awkward, break a lot, often left open because they no longer work but a gate is "obligitoire" here.

One of the things that is a little hard to get used to is the bars on windows. Yes, bars on windows. I don't mean just in the mean-streets of Paris (actually, I never saw what I would consider "mean-streets" in Paris…but I know they have mean-streets in the banlieues). I mean every little town. The first floor buildings almost all have bars. And if a window does not have bars it has wooden shutters that would keep out almost any voleur. I'm told this is for insurance reasons. You get a substantial discount. However, these aren't trivial bars. They are 1"sq. cast iron bars. It would take some serious demolition to get through them. In other words, they are expensive.

Doors are yet another amazing feature. Our door in Aix is almost 3 in. thick and has 3 distinct bolts that run through the jam when locked. NOBODY is getting through this door with a crowbar or kicking it down. And that is just the apartment door. The building door is even more intimidating and appears to have some sort of braces that one could use to really batten down if a foreign army is knocking on the door.

Why??? What is this need for all of the security?  The per capita  murder rate in France is 25% what it is in the U.S. and rape is one-third the U.S. rate (DSK not withstanding).  Assault is 20% as likely.  Perhaps there is less violent crime but more burglary and theft?  Nope, one-third as many robberies.  They do have a slightly higher auto-theft rate than the U.S. but then their cars (which they do NOT adore like Americans) are almost all on the street.

So what makes the french so security minded?

Tour de Provence

WARNING: Cycling-geek post...

Last week my brother and sister-in-law arrived from the states for our “Tour de Provence” bike adventure.  My brother and I had seven days to hit the routes of Provence.  It was awesome.   It was sunny every day we rode and the temperatures were almost too hot.  We were also blessed with a helpful (and sexy) support team (our wives).

I highly recommend all of these routes to any cyclist.   They were all chosen for the beauty of the ride with an emphasis on roads without too much car traffic. I’ve included MapMyRide links to all of them and a few ideas for improvement on some.

Day 1: Aix-Venelles-Rogne-Le Puy Sainte Réparade – 80km 

Our first day was intended to be gentle...my brother’s first day in France after arriving the night before with jet lag.  This route was pretty with a few gentle climbs.  We were a little surprised by the last leg: a 7km ascent followed by a great descent into the town of Le Puy Sainte Réparde.

Four category 5s and two category 4 climbs.

View Map

Day 2: Sault-Lourmarin – 53km 

On day 2 we headed out to Mont Ventoux to try the beast while our legs were still fresh.  Unfortunately the entire mountain was closed for a road rally (trying to imagine how cool it would be to race cars on Mont Ventoux).   So...we had to pick a new route.  It was absolutely beautiful.  The beginning was a 30km descent (that’s right...a 30km descent) from Sault to Apt through absolutely amazing scenery.  This was the best ride of my life.  The rest of the ride was also very nice with a long ascent/descent into Lourmarin from Apt.

One category 3 and one category 4 climb.

View Map

Ideas:  

1. This ride could have been the end of a Mont Ventoux ride, i.e., take any route to the summit but then descend to Sault and finish in Apt.  
2. This ride could also be continued from Lourmarin to Aix via Rogne.

Day 3: Sainte Victoire loop – 58km

This ride has become my regular in Aix.  Not too long but lots of good climbs. Beautiful.  It’s easy to understand how Cezanne became obsessed with this mountain.

One category 3, two category 4 and one category 5 climbs.

View Map

Ideas: this route is also great in the other direction.    In fact, it is definitely prettier in reverse because you really see Cesanne’s Ste. Victoire.

Day 4: Rest day- hiking visit to Les Calanques

We decided to take a day off to make sure our butts didn’t suffer too much (be grateful I’m not elaborating here).  Les Calanques are incredible.  However, my brother (who is training for an iron man) suggested that this wasn’t much of a “rest day” since he and my sister-in-law ran in the morning and hiked all afternoon in Les Calanques.   Jeez...what a baby!

Day 5: Les Alpilles – 83km

Jane and I got to know this range very well during our stay in  2001.  Now was our chance to return.  Les Alpilles did not disappoint us.  The route included a visit to Les Baux, a wonderful medievial city on the top of a peak.  Do NOT take this ride on the weekend.

The winds on this day reached 35km with gusts of 65km.  It was very scary at one point.  We were sure the wind was going to blow us off the road.  

An extra “cadeau” on this day: we rounded a corner during our last few km and encountered a shephard with his wooly charges.  Very fun.

One category 4, three category 5 climbs.

View Map

Day 6: Mont Ventoux – 48km

What can you say about Mont Ventoux? Arguably the hardest climb in Le Tour de France (when it is on Le Tour).  The trip down was incredible. The road surface from the summit to Bedoin is very good and the turns are even banked.  Exhilirating to say the least.

One category 2, one category 1, and one “hors de category”

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Day 7: SCRAPPED! – The joys of cycling. An equipment problem cancelled out last day.  At least our butts were saved!

Total: 322km 

There are many great routes in Provence.  This place is really a cycling paradise.  One of the routes that we didn't have time for looked particularly fun.  It includes a visit to Gordes and Roussillon.

Louberon Loop - 91km

One category 3, two category 4 and seven category 5 climbs.

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Yes sir, right away Mr. I Am Afraid

French pronunciation continues to be a challenge for me.  One of the mistakes I believe we make teaching language is that we wait too long to teach the subtleties of pronunciation.  That is, we wait until AFTER we have already picked up bad habits that are hard to break.  This leads to many, sometimes funny misunderstandings.

When I was first beginning to speak French I would sometimes practice with a friend at work who was fluent.  I remember mentioning "hair" on a couple of occasions when I would consistently say chevOH instead of chevOO.  Of course I didn't just cut my horse, I cut my hair.

It goes both ways of course.  My first French tutor was explaining to me one day in English that he felt he was different than most.  "I am eunuch," he said.   Wow, I thought, what a confession.  I was surprised at how open he was. I realized later he was really trying to say "I am unique".

For me, one of the most careful pronunciations involves my last name.  After a few weeks of trying to get the French to pronounce my name correctly I gave up and simply pronounced it in French.  This had an unexpected side affect.  If I don't pronounce the first syllable just right it sounds like "J'ai peur" (I am afraid).  This is, of course, a freudian slip since in those situations when I HAVE to say my name in french I am usually speaking with somebody who is filling out a form and I am, indeed, nervous.

For a long time I was hoping that I could beat my accent.  After all, I was the kid who was so good at doing impersonations.  Surely I can lose the accent.  A friend of mine here made me ask a more important question: why?  Why do you want to lose your accent?  Don't you find a foreign accent charming?  Right you are!  And thanks for letting me off the hook for good. :-)