Nice is Nice!

So on Monday, (Cinco de Mayo) we went to Nice for the day! We got into the city, and were just wowed by the beauty of the city. After a little walk, we decided to get some lunch at this really classy restaurant. We had a three course meal and it had to be one of the best meals in France so far. We started with a salad, then with this delicious chicken with rice, then with panna cotta for dessert!

Nice

Salad

Saucy chicken, rice, and asparagus

Strawberry panna cotta

After that filling meal, we headed to the beach! We relaxed on the beach, and enjoyed sitting on the nice warm rocks (but walking on them barefoot, was not as pleasant, lol). 

Chilling on the beach

As we were sitting on the beach, we noticed a waterfall way up high in the distance, so we decided that we wanted to go there.

There's the waterfall up high in the distance!

As we climbed up to the waterfall, we reached a clearing where we got a fantastic view of the city! Oh, and waterfall was nice as well!

beautiful beach

made it to the waterfall!

gorgeous Nice!

Then, we climbed down and walked down a pretty street to Place Garibaldi, where we had a drink. Next, we took a quick look at the port, and caught a train back to Cannes!

Love exploring new cities,

Magdalena

Island Visit: St. Marguerite and Yachts Galore!

Saturday the weather was back to being sunny! :) Kate and I spent the afternoon on an island off the coast of Cannes called: St. Marguerite. It was about a 20 minute boat ride to the island. 

Pretty view from the island of Cannes in the distance

Another nice view from the island

We walked around the island to Fort Royal, which used to have a prison. In the fortress, there is a youth hostel which houses groups of kids who are on a school trip/sports outing/ecological trip. 

Fort Royal

Kate and I in Fort Royal

One of the buildings of the youth hostel

Then, we walked around the island some more, and found a nice spot to lay our towels out and tan. We got decently comfortable (the beach was a rocky one) and we were relaxing, reading until this group of people started to exercise and run around around where we were, lol. They would do little laps half on land, other half in the ocean… Luckily they only did a few laps, and then stuck to just some land exercises. 

Part of the exercise group doing a little jog in the cold water

Kate and I ended up going in the water, but it was pretty cold by my standards. Kate said that it was about the same temperature as the water usually is in England. 

That is the furthest I went in because the water was so cold.

On Sunday, Kate and had a lovely french breakfast :). I went to the boulangerie in the morning and got fresh croissants and pain au chocolat. Mmmm, I am going to miss those!

In the afternoon, we headed to Cannes, where we took a nice long walk to Port Pierre Canto- where we saw a lot of yachts.

Before we got to the port though, we walked along the street near the nice hotels and the beach. This random guy stopped us and asked if we could take a picture of him and the Carlton Hotel. Whatever, people ask me to take pictures all of the time, I took the picture, and didn't think much of it. Then, Kate and I continued walking and this same guy was still taking pictures of the Carlton. As we are walking by the hotel, he stops us again, and asks me to take yet another picture of him with the hotel…hmmmm… either this guy is really obsessed with the Carlton, or he just wanted an excuse to try and start a conversation with us… or both, haha. He tried to start talking to us, but we were really on a mission to get to the new port, so the conversation was quick (he just managed to ask us where we were from…)

We were so excited to finally make it the the new port! There, we wandered around staring at all of the beautiful yachts, wondering if by some miracle we would befriend one of the owners…lol. Unfortunately, we did not meet any yacht owners, but we did get to see these beautiful boats up close! 

One of my fav yachts!

Lots of yachts with British flags!

I want it...

After spending some time with the yachts, we decided to take a bus into the center of town because we were quite tired from walking. We took a cool bus, that was a double decker bus with an open top! It was nice to feel the wind blowing and to see Cannes from a higher point of view! 

On the cool bus!

Carlton Hotel in Cannes

Loving this city,

Magdalena

More Cannes, Mandelieu, and Jack Visits!

On Wednesday morning, Kate and I walked around Cannes and then we ate some sandwiches by the port. We happened to sit on a bench right across from a boat called “Lady Magda”. How fitting :). I just had to get a picture!

Here I am with my boat! lol

Then, we did a little shopping in town. I got a nice dress with palm trees that feels very summery. We didn’t spend too much time in the shops, because we had to get to the train station to meet up with our friend Jack (he came to visit us for a few days)! It was nice to see him and we ended up walking around town, and getting a drink. Then, we walked up to this museum and church which is situated on a hill overlooking the town. We got a nice view of the port (although it was a bit obstructed by some trees, lol). Also, up there, there were tons of polish people! I even got one lady to take us three a picture :). 

Cannes 

Jack, Kate, and I

Chillin in Cannes

After that visit, we walked down, and took a walk on the street with all of the fancy shops. We also walked by the Palace again where the film festival takes place. Next, we decided to chill on the beach. 

beautiful beach in Cannes!

Then, we headed back to the apartment, and had some bolognaise and garlic bread for dinner! After dinner, we started watching the Sound of Music because Jack had never seen it before. We got through about half of the movie, and then went to bed.

On Thursday, May 1st, it was labor day in France, so there were no buses running and pretty much everything was closed (except restaurants)… We decided to spend the afternoon exploring Mandelieu. We walked to the port there (took about 45-50 minutes), but before we got there, we took break to get some ice cream. I got white chocolate and bueno (like the kinder bueno bars) and it was so good! We walked to the beach (which was right next to the port) in Mandelieu and decided to lay there for a while. There were a lot of families here probably because a lot of people had the day off today. 

Mandelieu

Port in Mandelieu

In Mandelieu

Beach in Mandelieu

After spending some time on the beach, we went to a nice restaurant near the port. We sat outside and it was such a nice place! Unfortunately, it did get a little chilly when the sun set, but honestly it wasn’t too bad. We had pizza for dinner, and I got this pizza with chicken and mushrooms that was really good!

Last dinner together in Mandelieu

After dinner, we walked home, and then finished the Sound of Music. 

On Friday afternoon, the weather was not very good. We went to Cannes and walked along the nice little streets. Then, we had sandwiches for lunch, and suddenly, it started raining a lot! So, we went to the first restaurant we could find and had some tea there. We had a good last cup of tea together, and afterwards, we said good bye to Jack, and took a bus back to the apartment. We had a good time hanging with him these past few days and I am glad he came to stay with us!

And random note, there are so many cats here in Mandelieu! 

How many cats can you spot in this picture?

Enjoying my time in the south, 

Magdalena

My Birthday in Cannes!

April 29th was my birthday, and I got to spend it in Cannes! :) 

I started off with a lovely breakfast which I ate outside on the porch in the sunshine! I also opened a few presents :). Kate got made me a scrapbook with some pictures and commentary about our time in France- so thoughtful!

Birthday breakfast outside on the porch :)

Then we went grocery shopping and then had a delicious lunch which I also got to eat outside on the porch. I love eating outdoors when the weather is nice!

After lunch, we headed off to the beach. Well, before the beach, we headed to a tourist office to get some info and a map. Then, we took a long walk along the beach. The weather was beautiful!! 

beach in Cannes

The water was so blue!!

After about an hour walk, we met up with our friend Daniel (another assistant) and his friends. We all chilled at the beach and it was relaxing to just lay there and chat :). It was great to see him again, and to meet his nice friends!

Daniel, Kate and I at the beach

After spending some time on the beach, we walked around Cannes some more and then stopped to get a drink :). 

Cannes

Cannes

Next, we saw where they hold the Cannes film festival! We also saw the main office of tourism (which is connected to the palace), as well as several hand prints of stars!

Sylvester Stallone has got big hands!

Palace where the films are shown

In front of the palace where the films are shown during the festival!

Then, we headed back to the apartment to make some dinner. We had delicious chicken fajitas. For dessert, we had a strawberry cheesecake that Kate got for me! She’s the best roomie ever!

Mmmmm cheesecake!

Overall, I had a wonderful day, and I was so lucky to have such great weather here in Cannes! I am so thankful for this awesome trip and this great day!! I also loved all of the birthday wishes from my friends and family! It’s a birthday that I will definitely never forget :).

Sooo happy that I got to spend my birthday at the beach!! :)

Soaking up the sun,

Magdalena

Last Weekend in Roanne!

This past weekend was bittersweet. Kate and I spent it mostly tidying up the apartment and packing all of our things up. 

On Saturday afternoon, Kate and I went to lunch at a teacher’s house. She was one of the english teachers that Kate has worked with throughout the year. She lives in another small town outside of Roanne, so we got to drive through some nice countryside! 

Once we got there, we met her boyfriend, and they served us a very french-style lunch. We began with a drink and appetizers. One of which was some couscous-like thing with crab and salmon eggs mixed in. After appetizers, we had some asparagus. Next, we had chicken legs and rice. The chicken legs had been cooked in a yummy sauce with pineapples. Then, we had assorted french pastries (cream puffs, fruit tarts, chocolate tarts, etc).  for dessert with a cup of tea. I ate so much and it was all so good! I am happy that Kate took me along to this meal. 

After we got back to Roanne, we headed directly over to Jack’s and Camilo’s place to chill for a while. Then we went home and cooked dinner (vegetable curry). I have never really eaten curry before this year, but now I know I am going to continue to cook it for myself! Jack and Camilo came over for dinner and we had yummy curry as our last meal together. After dinner, we went back to Jack’s and hung out, then went out together for the last time! We had a good time and I am so glad to have gotten to know the other assistants in Roanne this past year!

On Sunday, I went to mass for the last time in Roanne. I will miss my little church! Also, on the way back from church, there was a family walking in front of me. I heard the lady speak french to her daughter, then I heard her speak polish as well! So, I decided to go up to her and start speaking in Polish. She was surprised to hear polish and we had a nice chat together. Turns out she is interested in improving her english, and she is interested in private lessons by me! I wish that I had met this lady sooner! Unfortunately, I do not think that I would be able to help her out much because I am leaving… but if I am ever back, maybe I will contact her. She also told me that there are a lot of other polish people here, but I have not had any luck finding them until now, lol. 

On Sunday night, Kate and I wrote a letter to the future assistants of Roanne. We gave them advice on good restaurants and places to hang. I hope that the letter helps them in some way :). I kind of wish that the last assistants left us a letter with some advice about life here in Roanne. (maybe we will start a tradition, lol). 

On Monday, we finished cleaning the apartment, and someone from the school came and inspected it. Then, we ran some errands, had lunch, said goodbye to Jack and Camilo, and then headed off to the station! Tim took us the train station where we said good bye!

I'll miss my Aussie neighbor!

Before leaving, I snapped a photo of the famous restaurant here called: Trois Gros. Even Beyonce and Jay Z ate here once! 

Trois Gros- Roanne's claim to fame

I am going to miss living in Roanne, and I am going to miss all of the friends I have made here. I will never forget this experience, and I am grateful to have had such a great time teaching here!

My home for the past seven months!

I am sad to leave, but Kate and I are on a new adventure now! We are off to Cannes!  My teacher’s sister is renting an apartment to Kate and I until the 10th of May. It’s in Mandelieu, which isn’t too far from Cannes :). We arrived tonight, and we got a quick look at Cannes as we got from the station to our apartment. My teacher's sister picked us up from the station and gave us a quick tour of the place. I can’t wait to explore tomorrow and I can’t wait to spend my birthday in the south of France :).

Let the adventures continue,

Magdalena

Teaching Week 23: Last Week at the Schools!

This week was my last week teaching. These past 7 months have gone by so fast! 

This week, we did a lot of singing (If you’re happy and you know it, months of the year macarena…). I also showed some music videos to the kids. One song that was a huge hit was, “Happy” by Pharrell Williams. I showed them a Despicable Me minion version with lyrics and all of the kids wanted to watch over and over again! Some kids even asked me what the title of the video was so that they could find it and watch it at home :). Here’s the link if you want to check it out for yourself! 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-GLuydiMe4

I got a lot of pictures and gifts from the kids and teachers. The teachers got me chocolates, a photo book voucher, perfume, and a Nocibe gift card. The kids mostly drew pictures of me, their school, Paris, or just random stuff…like star wars pictures, transformers, and some pictures that I don’t even know how to describe, haha. I also got candy, chocolate, flowers, bracelets, a picture holder, seashells, origami birds/flowers, and some letters from the students! 

Some drawings and some gifts from my kids!

A Star Wars drawing (by a 7 year old)

Another good drawing by a student (9 year old)

Not exactly sure what is going on here... (drawn by a 6 year old)

She has me taking an interesting flight :) (by a 9 year old)

I am not sure when I became British, but a lot of kids have drawn the British flag on their pictures to me lol (by a 10 year old)

I gave out candy to each of my classes, and I baked lemon drizzle cakes for the teachers to thank them for their kindness and collaboration. I even gave some teachers some books with CDs that I had brought back from the US. For my last class ever on Thursday afternoon, I baked them a lemon drizzle cake and banana bread to try. It was really funny to watch french kids eat banana bread for the first time (french people don’t ever eat/make banana bread). The reaction to the banana bread was mixed; either the kids really liked it, or they made a funny face, and said that it was “different.” On the other hand, the lemon drizzle pleased everyone. Thank you Clare for the recipe! :)

I am very grateful that I got to work at schools with very nice teachers and students! I am going to miss all of them! I hope to stay in contact with the teachers and maybe see them again when I am back in Roanne. I have been very lucky to be placed in schools that really appreciated me being there and I wish that the contract was longer! I don't think it’s going to hit me that it's over until I don’t go to work next week…

Also, Kate and I had a final Tuesday lunch at the high school. I am going to miss having lunch there!

last lunch!

Melissa came over on Wednesday evening, and we all had a good time chatting together. She got to be there to witness my intense baking for my schools, lol. Kate and I said good bye to Melissa on Thursday morning, but I may see her again in the US at some point, so it wasn't too bad :).

On Friday, Kate and I met up with Fatima one last time. It was nice to catch up, but sad to say good bye.

On Monday afternoon, Kate and I leave for the south of France, and I am super excited for this next adventure!

Only got one weekend left in Roanne,

Magdalena