Caen Day 7

I miss automatic cars. Pardon my "American French", but stick shifts suck. Especially for someone like me who gets nauseated really quickly with the slow down, speed up, slow down, speed up.

And I miss my little black car. It's quickly getting old, having to walk to a tram if I want to go somewhere on my own. Not that I'd want to drive here (plus I can't without having to take their driving classes. It is so expensive to get your license here! No wonder they have good buses and trams!)

I also miss stupid little things, especially having to do with the bathroom. Yeah, I know. I miss having toilet paper dispensers that you don't have to bend down to get. And I'm not a real big fan of the W.C. (pronounced "Vay Say". Why they say this "W" as a "V" is beyond me.) It's about the size of an airplane restroom. Can't be claustrophobic! These are what the public restrooms are...basically...and they open up into a bigger room with a bunch of sinks (not in the house though. As you can see, there's a sink to the right)

But, aside from the little annoyances, I am enjoying myself. I just think I belong, ultimately, in the US.

A warning: I was too lazy to fix the pictures. The stupid computer put them out of order.

Today, Colette took me to an open market and then Cabourg ("Cah-bor"), another city near Caen, but closer to the English Channel.

First, the market. Wow, was it different from what I was expecting. So, in the States you imagine just produce: vegetables and fruit. Here they have everything you can imagine: fruits, vegetables, bread, fish, cheese, food trucks for French food, Portuguese, and other nationalities. There's people selling flowers, antiques, mattresses (Yes! mattresses!), toys, books, key chains...EVERYTHING!

Colette also explained that the market is never canceled. Not in the rain or snow. 

Then we went to Cabourg. The main street with all the shops has a red carpet down the middle. I was like "Are we in Hollywood or something?" Turns out, this is a place that celebrities come. Hah. Score for the American.

A place that sold different food:

 

Flower vendors:

  

A place that sold fish especially from Caen:

 The Grand Hotel, where the celebrities stay. And you can walk right up through the front door without having to go through security or anything. All the black cars along the road are for the celebrities coming and going.

 Here's the casino that's connected to the Grand Hotel:

The inside of the Grand Hotel:

Behind the Grand Hotel, there's a place for only reporters and the celebrities that they will interview:

The back of the Grand Hotel:

Some buildings near the Grand Hotel in the front:

In front of the Grand Hotel:

Me, sitting in the reception area of the Grand Hotel:

The inside of the Casino:

The reception area of the Grand Hotel:

Some journalists in their designated area:

The street across from the Hotel (left). Right: a window of one of the shops. So, apparently one of the first celebrities who stayed at the Grand Hotel (thus making it famous) was a famous French writer. One of his books he wrote was titled "A la Recherche du Temps Perdu" (At the research of lost time), which they named the shop: 

 At the Grand hotel, we met up with one of Colette's friends (I don't remember her name, but she's on the left), who is also hosting a student living in Caen. Ricardo is from Venezuela. He can speak Spanish (his original language), French, and English, so I had someone to talk to since Colette naturally started speaking really quickly with her friend. We all stopped and hand "glace" (ice cream) at a cafe.

I got chocolate and "peche" (peach), even though it looks really dark for peach. It was really good. I'm not sure that there is really a difference between our ice cream and theirs.

 

Then, Colette took me home (after a few stops. She was shopping, because it is Marie and Emilie's birthday tomorrow). When we got home, I was (practically) given permission to become American again. She went out again to Cabourg for the film festival and probably won't be home until 2am...WAY too late for me, who has to get up at 6am to get to class for my big school trip to Mont Saint Michel tomorrow. So, she helped me finish my laundry and helped with my dinner. 

Then, while she was getting ready, I ate like an American once again. All utensils to the right of my plate. Only a really small entree (the first dish is the entree, or appetizer. The main dish is the plat principle. I was so confused the first day of school until I remembered...Oh yeah! "Entree"! Literally means "To enter". Entering the meal. Stupid American English.

And I ate at an American time: 6:30 and not 9:00 in the evening! It's the first time I feel really good while eating dinner.

And I didn't eat as much as she would've probably liked. This is the first time I don't feel like I have to stuff myself to make someone happy while eating. (I kind of miss home, can you tell?). But it's okay. I just didn't have to say "J'ai assyez!" (I have enough) and "J'ai fini!" (I'm finished!). 

And I'm not typing fast in order to get to bed. 

All in all, France is great. But it is also annoying. C'est la vie...(that's life)

Oh my gosh! A cat just came into the house! Stupid cat! Colette warned me to shut the door before I went upstairs, but here I am sitting here and the dumb thing comes in! I should explain: There are "community" cats here. They have owners, but the owners let them run free and the whole neighboorhood might take care of them. Although...I've never seen Colette feed one.

I guess I'm done today.

Write tomorrow!