Wild times at the tennis club and a trip to Marseilles

Bonjour mes amis,

Well, we finally were able to join the city-run tennis club, which offers eight nice courts, 5 hardcourt, but softer than what we have in the U.S., and three with a synthetic turf surface--softer, yet, for senior players with "joint" issues.

So, eagerly looking forward to some Saturday morning tennis, we mount the local bus for the club where, upon arrival, we soon discover that there is some sort of special, annual, family day event going on. Translation: most of the eight courts have the nets removed and are filled with children enjoying a variety of games. Over all, it was a great family-fun atmosphere ... but not exactly the "tennis" situation we were anticipating.

In any event, eventually we met with the staff person overseeing the day's events, filled out the necessary forms to help us find some people to play with (doubles or singles) and enjoyed a laid-back, fun time. At this point, we're thinking it might be a challenge to find folks to play with here ... but we're going to give it our best shot.

For those who wonder, why all the tennis talk, throughout my sixty-some years, my "pattern to assimilate" anywhere I have lived (Panama, Portugal, Hawaii, all over CA and FL) has been to "find a situation" for my sports life. Early on, it was basketball. However, since my early 30's, it has been tennis. Over the years, Yvette and I have met a lot of interesting people this way and enjoyed beaucoup experiences, many of which have led to enduring relationships.

Last night (Saturday) we dined at a local restaurant, Jacquou le Croquant, about an 8 minute walk from our flat. The dining area of the restaurant was about ten meters back from the entrance ... totally open air and, essentially, between two buildings. There were probably about fifty people (or so) dining--mostly couples and both the food and the ambience was very French and very Aix-en-Provence. You'd have to imagine all of these narrow (16 to 18 feet) streets, winding through the centre of Aix. Cars, somehow, manage to work there way (carefully) through most of these streets ... and there are connected, three, four and five story buildings (businesses on the bottom level; living areas above) on both sides. Lots of history and undeniably quaint and appealing.

Today (Sunday), Yvette wanted to go to Marseilles (25 miles away) to see a National Exibition for French Water-colorists. Turned out to be a fun adventure. Once the bus dropped us off in the center of downtown Marseilles, we began asking people (all in French, obviously) where Quoi du Port (the port-front street we were looking for) was. As it turned out, we had about a fifteen minute walk ahead of us ... and all five of the locals whom we sought directions from were helpful in some way (check Yvette's blog for the most helpful).

We enjoyed the water color exhibit very much, enjoyed a late lunch at a port-front cafe, and soon found our way back to the bus stop where our #50 bus was waiting for us with the same driver. Over all, a fun, adventurous day.

C'est tout pour aujourd'hui (that's all for today,

A bientot, Jeffrey

Looking for art classes and joining a local tennis club

Bonjour, bonjour,

We spent a long morning running down illusive prospects for an art class for Yvette (water color and/or acrylic painting). The first prospect--a talented and serious-minded painting teacher--has his office within three blocks of our flat. A sincere and no doubt committed man, he didn't have any classes in the months ahead that suited Yvette's needs. This is probably just as well as there was a subtle intensity to him that might not have worn well with Yvette over time.

And so, off to our second prospect--a "so-called" academy of art--who, according to their promotional literature, were holding class this morning from ten to noon. Finding them turned out to be a cultural adventure. Taking bus #21 to a bus-stop on the outskirts of Aix, we were pointed in the direction of a gravel/dirt road. After a couple hundred meters (hey, we're in the European Union, now; feet and inches don't play over here), we noticed a sign that seemed to identify our destination. Walking on to the property, we were soon confronted by a most-concerned woman, eager to inform us that we were on private property. It turned out, this was the site of the Belgian Consulate. And it also turned out that the academy of art was closed--not only today, but apparently for the entire week.

Finding our way to the other side of the road, close to the near-by turnabout, we soon mounted the same bus that had dropped us off ... on its return route to the town center.

For the curious, Niko was a part of these morning experiences (if you hold your dog on your lap, you can take them on the bus with you). Dropping Niko off at our flat, we soon headed out again to take the bus to the site of the city-sponsored tennis club we have decided to join (the one where they require a medical certificate signed by a local doctor who, although a cheerful fellow, didn't ask us one question about our health).

Arriving about 1:15 p.m., sure enough the tennis office at the sports center was closed. Rumor had it that the staff would be arriving soon, but we were a little concerned because we had a conversation partner meeting us at our flat at 3:00 p.m.

Not knowing what to do, we decided to have lunch at the restaurant on the site of the sports complex. Sure enough, the staff is lunching at a near-by table. When they left, we followed them to the office, filled out the required forms, paid our three-month court fee and were given a metal badge with our picture on it (we had to provide two pictures for the application process as well) along with a key to open and close the latch on the badge. Taking us outside to the sign-up board, the kind lady, who was attending to us, explained how the court-sign-up system worked and, soon, we were running for the bus to get back in time for our conversation session.

Tomorrow (Saturday), we hope to actually "play" tennis in the late morning and begin to see if we can find some locals to both play tennis with and help us with our French.

C'est tout pour aujourd'hui! (That's all for today). A bientot ...

Sunny skies and beaucoup de conversation

Bonjour mes amis,

Lots sunny skies here lately, for which we are grateful. We took a city bus ride today towards the outskirts of Aix checking out some of the red clay tennis courts in the city. We found the Country Club we were looking for, with 12 nice, red clay courts and an inviting swimming pool. However, there was no one around. Perhaps the one o'clock hour was the reason. The club had been recommended by one of our conversation partners and we wanted to at least check it out.

The fifteen minute bus ride, to and from the club, exposed us to some of the legendary beauty of Provence, with the green hill sides, overflowing with trees of all sorts. We look forward in the weeks ahead to further excursions and--for sure--to seeing more of the countryside. I've yet to see one of the small French villages I've heard so much about. Patience, patience.

We spent most of Tuesday afternoon with Fabienne, one of our favorite conversation partners. Two times, now, she has picked us up by the commemorative fountain (commenorative to General Charles DeGaulle) in her "totally cool" French-made car and driven us ten minutes to her house for a time of focused study. What this means is that Fabienne (a bright and determined, cute woman in her early fifties) will be working on her English and Yvette and I will be working our French. This particular day, Fabienne was tired from a busy weekend and wasn't up for much English talk ... all the better for us as most of the conversation was in French.

These sessions are intense and tiring because you have to really focus and think and then give it your best shot at speaking. Peu a peu we say (it's "poco a poco" en Espanol and "little by little" in English). We always feel better after one of these sessions because they are "growing" experiences. We hope to see Fabienne many more times during our stay here in Aix.

Shifting gears a bit, we're trying to get a medical physical from a local doctor (referred to us by friends) in order to join the local, city tennis club. Can you believe that? In order to get the required card to join, you need two photos and this medical exam (twenty-two Euros per person). Problem is, the doctors have such limited hours we're having problems connecting.

Ah, c'est la vie, right? Talk to you soon. A bientot!

Tour of the port at Marseilles and Cassis by the sea

Bonjour mes amis,



We have had a wonderful week with Erica and Cliff visiting us. They return to northern Virginia on Sunday--flying from Marseilles to Frankfort, Germany and then on to Washington DC.



Good times enjoying the sights and scents of Aix ... relaxing at our cheerful, third story flat (four skylights in the living area (kitchen, dining and living room) ... and playing some fun doubles on two occasions at some of the city courts about a ten minute walk from here.




One of the highlights was a tour on Thursday (offered by the owner of our flat) of Marseilles, the neighboring sea side town of Cassis, and a local vineyard. Marseilles has a rich history going back centuries BCE (before the common era). In our modern era, it is a destination for many Africans, seeking a better life in the European Union.



We saw the breathtaking view from Le Cathedrale de Notre Dame, a magnifent Cathedral with exquisite architecture and art work ... high atop a hill over-looking Marseilles, looking out to the sea--an abaolutely stunning sight to behold. One can only imagine the years of labor that went into the construction effort, transporting all the materials up the hillside.



We then visited nearby Cassis, a quaint and gorgeous sea-side town where we lunched down on the port, choosing from among three or four city blocks of restaurants and cafes. I enjoyed my first taste of mussels, a popular crustacean delicacy where you have to extract the mussels from the shell. Along with the french fries and sauce, it made for a most tasty lunch experience.

Later, we toured the nearby Calanques, elegant seaways where fiords, over the years, have carved away the rock. Below, in the sea water that flows out to the Mediterranean, boats harbor or sail in and out of the Calanques. A hill top view of the area capped off a wonderful experience of Cassis.

Yvette and I finally met some local tennis players at one of the tennis clubs supervised by the city. To join the municipal club, you have to have a medical certificate signed by a local doctor, along with a couple of photos attached to the application. Not a simple process, yet the people asssure us ce n'est pas dificile.

In he week ahead, we already have four conversation sessions lined up. These sessions where we speak English and French to each other (the French locals, to improve their English; and we, of course, to work on our French) generally last between two and three hours. Suffice it to say, our minds are very tired at the end.

The days are beautiful here in late May and we are delighting in our time of respite and learning.

A bientot,

Petanque and a long day of French speaking

Bonjour tout le monde,

With Erica and Cliff (younger daughter and son-in-law from the Washington DC area) here since Sunday, we're having beaucoup good times. We played a little tennis yesterday (doubles at some public courts about a ten minute walk from here) and then ventured to a new park where it was rumored that they play Petanque, a popular game--like bocce ball (sp).

The new park (about an 8 minute walk from here) was beautiful and would seem to offer good prospects for meeting people. However, when we finally discovered the part of the park where they play Petanque, we came upon one of the most intriguing situations we've seen to date. In an area about half the size of a football field, there were at least 80 men--mostly older men (retraite, retired)--and very concentrated on the various competitions. The Petranque balls are about the size of a tennis ball; they are silver, with a smooth surface and fairly heavy. After throwing an initial smaller ball (golf ball size) out as a target (6 to 10 meters away), they try to launch the Petanque balls as close to the target ball as they can. Each player seemed to have four to six balls ... and they were, all the time, knocking each other out of position with accurate tosses. Apparently, these afficionados occupy themselves with this competitive passtime four to six hours every afternoon. We played a few games with some balls we had brought from our flat but, clearly, have a lot to learn.

Today, Yvette and I spent at least five hours in three separate meetings with locals (some of whom have become conversation partners and others who were new acquaintances). I can tell you this: it's very tiring trying to listen intently and put together our responses in French. Actually felt like today was a sort of mini-break through day with the language. Learning more all the time and--little by little--building up confidence. Still, long, long way to go. However, we're enjoying the challenge and the adventure.

Friday morning, we have a rendez-vous with an older man who knows the tennis situation in Aix (his son apparently teaches tennis in Oklahoma City, OK). He's supposed to check us out at some local courts--avec sa femme (with his wife)--see what level players we are and help us make some connections for doubles. Looking forward.

Finally was able to go to the post office today and communicate fairly well (had to pick up our boat tickets (from Athens to the island of Rhodes) from some Greek friends of Natasha who had sent us the tickets from Greece. Apparently we have an overnight trip (mid June) with our own, private cabin (Niko will stay back in France with friends of Natasha who will be flat-sitting).

Anyway, life unfolds. There is so much to see and learn. Pour ce moment, je suis tres fatigue (for the moment, I'm very tired).

A bientot for now,

Erica and Cliff arrive

Bonjour mes amis,

It's been a sunny day with cool winds throughout but we are thrilled to have Erica and Cliff with us now for a week. Although their train came in about an hour and twenty minutes late from Geneva, Switzerland (where they had been visiting friends), they arrived in time for a Provence sunset and for a scrumptious repast of cheese pizza, salad and some affordable rose wine.

It turns out that for some unbeknown reason, their trains was delayed for an hour or so because there was no conductor. Sounds most strange to us. No conductor?? Who ever heard of a train without a conductor? Apparently an random happening. But, in any event, they are here--eager for the week ahead.

Yvette and I spent three hours this afternoon talking French/ English with an French English teacher who wanted to work on her accent. She was most helpful to us in the evolution of our French ... very easy to communicate with in either language. In each of these "sessions" with native French speakers, I take copious notes, especially of the words we do not know and of the ways of saying things that are so important in casual conversation.

This lady (Nicole is her name) teaches middle schoolers ... about eighteen hour a week. However, she says there are major discipline probems with the youth and she doesn't find it very enjoyable. Still, a great contact for us. We have four or five conversation partners by now ... each of whom is helpful to us in some tangible way. It's the informal chit-chat that we find most challenging. Still a long way to go there ... but we are working on it.

It will be exciting to have Erica and Cliff with us this week. Erica actually speaks some French, having spent five weeks in France (near Nice) with sister Natasha some eight years ago or so. She's looking forward to a week of opportunity to polish up her French speaking while taking in the local scene of la vie en Provence.

Hope you are all well.

A bientot for now,

More contacts with every day ...

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Bonjour de Aix,

Things seem to be moving along for us. Numero un, the weather has dramatically improved. The sun-filled blue skies hover over head and the ten-day forecast is for sun, sun et plus soleil. I can tell you, it makes all the difference.
When the sun is out, the people are cheerful, there's activity partout (everywhere) and la vie en France feels totally different. Yesterday, we disocovered a beautiful city park about a 15 minute walk from our flat. It's a sizeable park with rolling green grass covering the undulating hills ... friendly trees all about ... park benches interspersed throughout ... all descending down to a quaint small creek.

It turns out that France has beaucoup holidays (35 to be exact) ... that is, 35 days that people don't work. Seems highly incomprehensible. Nonetheless ... yesterday was one of those days and people were all about the park ... with children playing and dogs frolicking (Niko still needs some form of training school to learn to play with other dogs). But the best news for us: all kinds of prospects to practice our French with. Saturday afternoon we are attending a picnic gathering at the park sponsored by the International Christian Church we attended last Sunday (services at 5:00 p.m.).

Wednesday afternoon, we spent four hours at the home of Fabienne (a middle aged woman whom I met at Book in Bar, the nearby coffee shop/ book store). She is very motivated to improved in her ability to speak English (she has a son living in North Carolina, married to an American woman). She picked us up in her voiture, along with her husband, and we sped off to their nearby home, about ten minutes into the outer parts of Aix.

It was an intense four hours but we felt we learned a lot. We're meeting again next Thursday. I have another conversation session set up tomorrow with Patrick, a friend of Donal (the owner of our flat) at Book in Bar. I try to spend a half hour a day reading out loud (hard work when there are so many words I'm still trying to learn).

Anyway, some initial impressions of life in Aix: all the young women smoke (men, too; but mostly young girls/women) and you don't see hardly anyone jogging (as in, getting exercise). Sports here is mostly through local sports clubs. It was the same way in Portugal when I played basketball for O Futebole Clube do Porto, forty years ago. My sense is that it is that way throughout Europe. Very different than in the states where highschool sports is such a big thing.

Anyway, we are loving our time here, particularly now that the weather has improved.

A bientot!

Bonjour, mes amis:

Although it's sprinkling at the moment, we did see a lot of beautiful sunshine yesterday afternoon. Starting this afternoon (we hope), the weather is supposed to improve--with days of sunshine projected for the week ahead.

We had our second opportunity with a French-speaking conversation partner yesterday, again meeting at the nearby Book in Bar coffee shop/ book store. For an hour and twenty minutes we spoke French and English with Fabien and Gabriella, his English girl friend. Fabien's English was pretty good ... just needs practice speaking. He has hopes of going to the United States to work with computers in some capacity. His family is from Corsica.

We're meeting with him again next week--same time and place. He seemed to think he could connect me with some local tennis players ... we'll have to see if anything materializes there. Nice young man of about 25. His girl friend seemed to be a recent development. She is apparently returning to England for a week or so. Not sure where that relationship is headed.

Earlier in the afternoon, we (Yvette, Niko and me) came upon an 87 year-old woman, sitting on one of the many benches along Cours Mirabeau (the beautiful blvd near where we live). For about an hour, we engaged her in some lively conversation (she spoke no English). She had traveled all over, it seems--to Egypt, Viet Nam and other part of Asia, and of course all over most of Europe ... knowledgable, interesting lady.

This is the third such experience we've had talking to older people sitting on benches along the boulevard. In fact, we've decided to incorporate this into our daily strategy for French speaking: seeking out the older generation on the benches along Cours Mirabeau.

Natasha and Erica go to London today where they will spend the night. Then Erica flies off to Geneva where she'll meet Cliff (who's off to Barcelona with Lawrence) to visit some college friends who live in Geneva. Then, E and C take the train here on Sunday for a week with us.

A bientot ...

Bonjour,

I can't believe it is already the fourth Sunday of my Sabbatical experience. How the time flies. At last, a day without "la pluie" from the heavens, all of which meant that Niko and I took a four mile walk while I checked out sports complex (avec 8 tennis courts), about 1 mile and a half from our flat. As it turns out, Yvette and I had visited this club in our October visit. Trying to see if something might work out there for some doubles now and then.

At five in the afternoon, we ventured into the local International Church a few blocks from where we live for what we thought was the weekly service. It turns out that an 18-member choir group of African children (from Uganda) were in concert for the entire service. Their combination of dance and song was outstanding. We met the local pastor and spouse and will probably try to visit again next Sunday. We did email the church contact person for a Friday evening French conversation experience.

We have French conversation experiences scheduled for three or four days this week, an opportunity we hope to network and begin to make some progress with our French.

Ce n'est pas facile. However, little by little we are finding our way. As the weather improves, so will our prospects in everything.

Bon nuit et a bientot!

Around Aix

Here are some photos of our life in Aix-en-Provence. You can see Yvette and Niko in front of a near-by e'glise, whose welcoming bells we hear every day.

You can also see Yvette/Niko on Cours Mirabeau, the beautiful, tree-line boulevard which captures the heart and spirit of Aix. Cafes and vendors of all kinds line the Cours. Our flat is about one block away on a side street.

The other picture is of me at the popular outdoor market that fills one of the plazas. Fresh produce of all kinds is readily available, along with fresh fish and sumptuous-smelling roasting chickens.

Interesting enough, the prices at the outdoor market don't seem to be much different from the local store markets. It must be about l'experience.

Searching for conversation partners

Bonjour, mes amis:

We're finally getting some sun today, although it is still a chilly 60 degrees.

It appears we are getting some response to the five emails I sent out a few days back for conversation partners or, at least, conversation experiences. I found the contact prospects at BOOK IN BAR, a Librairie Anglaise ... sort-of coffee shop/ book store place a few blocks from our flat.

There seem to be all sorts of people wanting to improve their English speaking ability. However, we suspect we are not in the generation of English speakers many of them are looking for. We have conversation sessions arranged for Monday and Tuesday with another possibility for Thursday. Hopefully, this will be the beginning of some successful networking so we can expand our possibilities.

Again, everything is expensive here--even the prices at the outdoor marche (market) where we bought some tasty fish and vegetables yesterday.

Niko is in dog heaven--with all kinds of new smells to savor and dogs everywhere. We can take him in most restaurants.

Hope all is well dans (in) les Etats-Unis. Erica and Cliff fly to England on Saturday for a week and then come to visit us on May 16th pour une semaine (week).

A bientot for now,

Bonjour mes amis,

Well, the cold, rainy weather continues to fill the skies of Provence--very unseasonable, the locals reassure us. We'll tough it out, but we didn't bring much clothing for this climat miserable.

We made some contacts via email today in search of partenaires de conversation. We'll see what, if anything, develops. We got the contacts from a nearby cafe, book store, Librairie Anglaise where people gather for conversation and study across French-English lines.

Must admit, for the moment at least, it is great not to have any deadlines to march to.

The car-bomb threat thwarted in Times Square has been all over the headlines here as well.

Prices still amaze us here. $5 for a small cola for Yvette at lunch today. The wine is much cheaper. Come on, Yvette, drink up!

Niko continues to delight in his new surroundings ... all the fresh smells!!

Well, the time is getting away from me. Au revoir et a bientot!

Jeffrey

Bon jour, mes amis!

Well, the weather hasn't been cooperating with our French experience thus far. Much cooler and rainier than normal (at least, this is what everyone reassures us).

Yesterday, we shopped most of the day at Carrefour, a huge, moster sized (at least twice the size of Walmart) store which seemed to have everything. We also shopped at the local supermarche not too far from our flat.

An immediate impression from France is that everything is more expensive here. I inquired how people make it and was told they just do the best they can, apparently making sacrifices as needed.

Still haven't made it to the daily marche (market) where we hear the produce etc. is fabulous. Hope to make it demain (manana).

Niko the superdog seems to have made a super adjustment. He must be delighting in having his "family" around all the time. He protests with shrill whimplers when we leave for an outing without him.

Famed artist, Paul Cezanne is apparently from Aix-en-Provence. Yvette says she is a big fan of his; we hope to visit the local musee displaying his work before the week is out.

Hope all is well dans les Etats-Unis. Au revoir, jeffrey

Bonjour, tout le monde,

Well, we have arrived in Aix en Provence, the location for our Sabbatical experience here in France.

Although it has been mostly raining since our arrival, Yvette, Niko (our 22 pound Shitzu-poo) and I are gradually settling in. It was a long flight from Miami to Munich, and then on to Marseilles ... where we were picked up by Donal, the Irish-born, young, hi-tech engineer from whom we are renting our third-story flat (34 steps up and down).

Niko made the flight in good shape, snuggled in his cage in the "hold" of the jumbo Luftansa jet. As it turned out, no one ever bothered to check all of the paper work Yvette had dutifully assembled for Niko to accompany us. As you can imagine, we were more than relieved to see that Niko had arrived, safe and sound, with apparently no problems. What a trooper.

In theses early days, we have a long list of things to do to help us find our way here in Aix. Already, we are testing our French in our multiple outings to the local Boulangeries (bakery), restaurants and delis.

Yesterday, May 1st, happened to be a national holiday in France which meant that many of the stores and shops were closed. However, the pace should pick up tomorrow (Monday) and we'll be able to get out to a supermarket and the "Carrefour" which, folks tell us, is like a mini shopping center all in one, huge store.

That's about it, for the moment. We are so excited to be here, at last, and to have this wonderful opportunity before us.

A bientot! (talk to you soon)