Bustling Bordeaux: There's Not Just Wine

Hello lovely people!

I'm here to make my first post on Bordeaux! I say first because I will be going back and it's the closest metropolitan city to me, so it's the only place I can go shopping properly without going TOO far.

I have technically been to Bordeaux three times now: when I first arrived in France, when I went for an interview, and then recently just to shop and walk around. I must say... I quite like the place.

Bordeaux is a great city in the South-western area of France and some of you may know about it because that region is absolutely famous for it's wine. However, Bordeaux it's not all vineyards and wineries. It is a large area that has many towns and the sprawling metropolitan city for which the region is aptly named.

The first time I went to Bordeaux I was just passing through the Gare St. Jean (train station) on my way to Biscarrosse so I have no pictures and did nothing particularly interesting. I will note that the train station is currently being redone though, and has been since before I arrived. The second time I went to Bordeaux was for an interview. I arrived at a local engineering department at one of Bordeaux's many universities before taking the metro to the centre ville (city center). Once I got to the city center, I thought "ahhhh... now this is a French city." Bordeaux is an old city. The entire city center is build in the classic French style that you see in movies about people who go to France (Paris) but it has it's own unique energy.

Bordeaux sees significantly less tourists than Paris, which makes it all the more attractive. On top of that, it's in the middle of autumn right now so there are not too many tourists at all these days, so I had the leisure to wander around the city. Before my interview I stopped by a local shop and bought some macarons because I had been craving some. When in France, right? I went to a cute cafe to have a bite to eat; crepes and some tea. After the interview, my friend Anna met me and we walked around Bordeaux to take pictures and see what was there. We ended up seeing a parking lot that did not look like a parking lot. It looked like a small park with lots of small trees. It was a parking lot. Wtf? Anyway, after that we came across an actual park and went there to sit in the sun and eat our macarons and chat. It was a lovely visit.

The most recent trip was made so that I can see more of the city. I traveled with two friends, Anna and Jessica. We ended up near a shopping district as well, which was great because I was looking for an orange shirt for work reasons and it was impossible to find in Biscarrosse. But before that, we ate lunch at an Indian restaurant not far from where we parked. It was legitimate and authentic. Thank you France. I also happened to walk right into the glass door as we left. Never happened before. I think there's a small bump on my head to be honest.

After leaving the restaurant, we took a street right in front of it and it was basically a straight shot to the shopping area, where we walked around. First we headed to the direction of a beautiful arch that ended up being at a plaza where two very different, but very interesting things were happening. First, there was a bazaar for used books. Can you imagine how hard I had to control myself not buy those books? It was painful. The second thing was there was a protest about the Turkish government. I love that people in France actively protest for their rights, even if it's not for France proper, but from a country they're affiliated with. Go France, keep on keeping on.

After we browsed some books, we went back into the shopping area and checked out some shops. We came across one shoe shop and went in because I wanted to buy a pair of tennis shoes (or trainers for the British people who might read this). I found a pair of black tennis shoes for 15 euros and went ahead and got them. It was a decent price and the shoes are comfortable enough. If they break I won't be heartbroken because you get what you pay for.

I also managed to find a super cute orange sweater! All I need is an orange t-shirt for the summer and then I'll be set. We walked around some more and went into a couple of thrift shops to check out what they had before getting some drinks at an Irish pub. We chilled with our drinks (I chose cider) before heading back up the street to the car and getting ready to leave Bordeaux. Anna and I both were ready to go on another adventure and Jessica had to head home for a dinner with her co-workers. But it was still a very good time.

If you want to see proof shots of my adventures, please check out my instagram, which is linked to the left in the column, as is my twitter. Follow both and you'll get sneak peaks of what I'll post next! Please follow by email if you don't want me on your feeds, and you can do so by signing up at the column to the left as well

instagram: @mochaventure
twitter: @mochaventure
e-mail: alydanchung@gmail.com (will make a separate account for mochaventure in the near future)

Exploring Bisca Waters

Hello darlings, I am back with another blog post!

Not long after I arrived in Biscarrosse, my roommate - Karen - also arrived, and we were invited to go check out the lake to the south of us with one of the teachers we work with at the Bisca Plage elementary school. Seeing as I don't go to lakes very often, I was pretty hyped about it. I mean, I don't swim but I'm all for fun in the sun. This lake was the smaller one, but it was still pretty big and stretched out pretty far.

The day was beautiful too, it was warm with a light cool breeze. At the lake, there's a boat club that people could join if they want to go sailing. I'm not a big fan of boats, but I thought that was cool. Also, in the summer, people can just sit on the lake beach (yes, this lake has a proper beach) and chill or have a picnic. I'm writing this in the middle of fall now so I can't go enjoy the full splendor of the lake, but it was soooo prettyyyyyy.

For those of you who didn't read my earlier posts about my journey to France, Biscarrosse is not only a lake town, it's a beach town. Yes. With rolling waves and bipolar currents. Biscarrosse Beach (Bisca Plage) is a 15-minute drive from where I live and it's quite a site to see. I came at the tail-end of the tourist season, so the beach was also clean as well. The thing about the beach is that it's really long. The sands expand out along the coast for a heft stretch, so it's possible to hike the beach if you so choose. Furthermore, Bisca Plage has so much to offer, particularly in the summer.

In the summer there are lots of events, the shops and restaurants are all open, and it's a sprawling vacation spot for the French. feel privileged, the average foreigner wouldn't think that a small town like this is actually famous within the borders of metropolitan France.

Like I said, it's autumn now so the scene is dead, but the location itself is very pretty. Just yesterday I went back to Bisca Plage to handle some bank stuff (that will be a different post, maybe a different page?) and I ended up exploring with my friend Anna. We also got great lunch at a decent price and discovered a great used book store. The book store is useless to people who don't read in French, but I just thought used book store lovers would appreciate the fact that there is one there. There are also cafes and restaurants that are open year-round rather than just in the summer, as is the post office and movie theater.

For more pictures of Bisca Lac and Bisca Plage, please check out the photo gallery tab.

Please check out my instagram (@mochaventure) and twitter (@mochaventure) for updates on my travels! They can give you a sneak peak of what I'll post next!

P.S.

I am currently raising money to go to graduate school. I was accepted in to Temple University, Japan Campus, but graduate school is expensive and even if I wasn't travelling (which is on a budget mind you) it would mean a bunch of loans. If you would like to help me go to graduate school to become an awesome English language teacher, please click on this link and contribute to my gofundme. I promise any donation will go to school fees first, then school books.

https://www.gofundme.com/alyssa-for-school 

Beginning Anew in Biscarrosse

After I arrived in Biscarrosse, the first thing I did the next morning was explore the town center. I live close to a car dealership, Cityhall, the local movie theater, the post office, the cellphone store, and pretty much close to everything I need to live. I walked around to look at local banks because I would need to open one myself. It occurred to me that I was very spoiled in Korea, where they walked us through opening a bank account, turned in the papers, and gave us each our cards individually. But my banking adventure will have to wait for another day. Biscarrosse is a small town, but it has all the basic necessities for living a fulfilled life.

In the morning, after I explored, I stopped by a local shop to pick up lunch before heading home and thinking of what to do next. I was in a new place where I didn't really know anyone. After eating lunch, I explored the town center more so that I knew where everything was. There was a retailer for Orange, the phone carrier that I used during my last stay in France, but they didn't have any options for service that I wanted. I'm only here for 7 months (6 now that it's November) so I need a service that's not locked into a plan. The phone store was only a minute's walk away from the Post Office, which is good because that means I don't have to go very far to send letters back home. I'm thinking of sending postcards to my loved ones, to be honest. I didn't do that previously and I think it'll be a good thing to do. But I digress.

I also discovered several fruit vendor stores nearby as well. France is a big supporter of local agriculture. And there's even a butcher shop, a rare sight in the US. It is, of course, cheaper to buy meat at the supermarket, but having a butcher shop nearby is a nice option if I want to have a fancy dinner (Thanksgiving is coming up...). Across the street from where I live is a store dedicated to school and office supplies and I recently just got to know the owner. It's a pretty nifty store to buy notebooks and other supplies and since France is big on things being handwritten, it's a big store. Also close by are several restaurants.

I managed to find a Chinese food place, a Vietnamese food place, and a Mexican food place. I haven't eaten at the Mexican place, but the others were alright. It's hard to get ethnic food outside if the US, and even in the US you have to look hard for the legitimate places (Panda Express is NOT legit, guys). Or have friends who come from different ethnicities. That works too.

After walking around the town center, I decided it would be a good idea to go grocery shopping. Eating out is expensive wherever you go, and I decided I want to get back into cooking more now that I actually have a kitchen. There are 2 supermarkets near where I live: Lidl and E.Leclerc. The one I went to that day was Lidl because it's less expensive, but I usually go to E.Leclerc because it has a larger selection. Both stores are about the same distance away from me, but Lidl is more of a straight shot from my apartment. I walked there, of course (about 16 minutes) and since i walked I was able to get a good look at the buildings and things around me.

There was a diner, which I found amusing (I'll definitely check it out with the other local language assistants soon) and there were a lot of private construction stores. In the US, a given neighborhood has houses that all look more or less the same, depending on how many rooms they are. In France, each house is unique. People looking to by a new home often look to build or remodel the home to fit their own tastes, and that's why I saw so many of this small construction stores. It's easier to customize if you have a limited number of clients. I also noticed that the small town of Biscarrosse has a branch of just about every bank France has to offer, which is great because I can think carefully about my choices.

I finally arrived at the Lidl, a decent sized supermarket, and saw it held the essentials, but not the full range of materials that I usually cook with. I promptly decided that the larger store, E.Leclerc, would be my main destination. However, I did find some nice decorative stickers that i used to make my home look a little less plain. After buying some materials I headed home to make myself some food and relax.

Each day after that for about 4 days I just explored Biscarrosse. I wanted to know what the layout was like. For more pictures, please go to the photo gallery.

Biscarrosse: Getting There

Hello everybody! I'm back with another post about my arrival in Biscarrosse! Unfortunately, I did not take any pictures because I was tired from all that travelling, but the next few posts after this will more than make up for it!

After my various incidents in Istanbul, I finally landed at Charles De Gaule's Terminal 1 on the outskirts of Paris. Now Terminal 1, the international terminal, is a giant round building and the center are escalators taking you to where you need to be. Everything is in a huge circle. If you walk around the circle it's easy to get around, but if you go through the center things can get pretty hairy.

The first thing I did was follow the signs and go through the TSA security checkpoint. For prople visiting France on holiday from America, U.S. citizens can actually enter France without a physical visa, just your passport, and stay for up to 90 days. This is because of a passport agreement among a large group of countries, including the U.S. and France. However, if you're like me and plan to stay longer, you need a specific visa. If you plan to laze around for 4+ months, you need a special travel visa. If you plan to work, you need a work visa. If you plan to go to school, you need a student visa. I have a work visa specifically for teaching part-time, and that is what I presented to the person at TSA. You show them your visa and the first page of your passport, they give you a stamp, and then you can collect your luggage.

Remember that I said that Terminal 1 is very confusing. Follow the direction signs as best as you can. Otherwise you WILL get confused. Anyway, I went to collect my luggage and then proceeded to get a taxi. Taxis in France are expensive, so I wouldn't recommend it unless you were in a hurry, like me. I knew that public transit wouldn't take me to where I needed to be on time so I opted for a taxi. Especially since my plane left late. If my plane were on time, I would have taken public transit. Anyway, as of now Parisian taxis have set fares from the airports depending on which side of the river you want to be on. For Charles de Gaulle, know that you will never pay over 55 euros. For Orly, know that you will never pay over 35 euros.

I took the taxi to Gare Montparnasse, which ended up being 55 euros, and then I proceeded to get my ticket. At la Gare Montparnasse, you buy your tickets on the second floor. I suggest you go to the left and go to the window if you are not confident you can handle a kiosk yourself. I went to a window because I also decided to buy a carte jeune, which is a discount card for young adults for trains in France and apparently it works in other countries like Italy too. Cool right?

After buying my ticket to Bordeaux (trains don't stop in my town), I only had about 15 minutes to find my platform and get on the train. But guess what? The train ended up being delayed too, but about 45 minutes. I was a bit upset when i realized I could have taken public transit to the train station, but it definitely is better safe than sorry. After the train finally arrived, it took me a while to find my car and seat. I was a bit confused because you are assigned a car and a seat, but it's not immediately obvious which car is which. Be sure to check near the doors, it'll tell you where you need to be.

The ride to Bordeaux was nice, I got to see the great French countryside. France is an advanced country but it still favors the countryside and old-world feel in general. About 3 hours later I arrived in Bordeaux, where I had to transfer to a local train that took me to a town relatively close to where I needed to be. The wait time was about half an hour. The ride itself was about 20 minutes. When I arrived, I was dismayed to find I had to lug my luggage down some stairs, under the tracks, and back up some stairs. I had been dealing with it all day and I was pretty wiped out. I had got to the second set of stairs when Florent Dubois, my contact person and the person who helped with my lodging, came and greeted me. He helped me get my luggage up the stairs, out of the station and into his car so we could drive to Biscarrosse. Thank you, Florent, you are a gem.

The ride into Biscarrosse took my by 2 of the schools I would be teaching at, and Florent was sure to point them out to me. The entire conversation was in French too. I didn't know I remembered so much French, but I guess it really is true that I'm fluent. I can hold my own in conversations and if I don't know a word, an explanation in French definitely works well. Anyway, Florent asked me if I had eaten (which I hadn't) and took me to the local Micky D's so I could get some food in my stomach before finally arriving at my humble abode from which I am writing this post. He handed me the keys and showed me how everything works, and then left me to my devices.

I unpacked at that moment and then showered after a long journey, and got ready for bed. If you want to see pictures of my apartment interior, please check out the photo gallery. I won't take pictures of the outside because I don't want creepers showing up on my door.

Cheers~~~

Instagram: @mochaventure