Le weekend

Big activity of last weekend was the “Brocante”. The Brocante was like an antique sale/ flea market where everything was actually very old and very expensive. You wouldn’t have guessed these things were expensive because they were basically scattered all over the street. When a friend inquired about a red jacket that would be perfect for Halloween he replied, “Well it’s from the Swiss army and it’s made of gold. Very expensive.”  Remember that this jacket was thrown on the wet cobblestone feces infused street.  The man then proceeded to place an old musket over the jacket so no one else would pick it up.   We bought some homemade wine and sausage and called it a day. 

My new place

So...my apartment! It's a small 18 sq meter studio. Do the math. It's the exact same size as my first year dorm room! Except it also has a kitchenette (2 burners, no stove, mini fridge) and a bathroom yay! It comes with a single bed, a desk, and a bookshelf. The hallways to my apartment are dark and scary so I'm working hard to make my apartment nice and happy.

The whole apartment: I'm taking this from the entrance.

Oh zis? Zis is my tiny kitchen and bathroom and closet and entryway.

My view of the mall parking lot and the Gare

I know French words

My friend showed me this video. We think it accurately depicts how we feel when we listen to french people speaking to each other. 

Running in Limoges

I think running in most French cities would be difficult. One has to endure stares, teeter on uneven cobblestone and dodge frequent dog excrement.  Lucky for me Limoges has a beautiful path running along it's river. Notice I didn't say "running path". I have only seen one other person running. The run along this river is quiet, beautiful, and you very feel far away as you run right next to sheep and cow pastures.

I started writing this post back in the days when I had free wifi at the hotel. After week 2.5 of being denied my "boîte d'internet" I am still stealing internet at Cafe Paul. In the mall.  To update this post though I'd like to point out that I haven't run once since I first wrote this. The beautiful 80 degree weather seems to have taken a permanent turn for the worst. It rains a cold mist constantly - you get wet and you don't even really see rain or know why.  I promise I will run...tomorrow...tomorrow... tomorrow.

The parking ticket

We got a parking ticket after stepping away from the car for .2 seconds to ask directions.  To pay it we went to the building we were directed to go to, and then were lead to three more buildings before we got to the "right" place. We were then lead into a tobacco and lotto shop and paid the man behind the counter who gave us a sticker to put on the ticket and then lead back to the "right" place by the policeman, and all was well. And we have to keep our receipt for three years.  You may be wondering how the money get's to the city hall, the town, the state, the country, from that man in the tobacco store. Me too. But the police man lead us there and seemed happy about it. All was well.

Where to eat on a Sunday

Yes this is a real issue. In most parts of France it's hard to find anything open between 12-2 and after 5, except restaurants. On Sundays we have a much bigger issue. Nothing. Is. Open. No food, no shopping, nope nope. It's kinda like mandatory quiet time at camp. Which is awesome when you have nothing to do but painful when you're need an apartment by Monday, or when you're hungry and didn't grocery shop on Friday.

McDo

large parking lot and large mcdo

Good thing there is the biggest and most elegant McDonalds I have ever seen a few minutes from the city center. No really, it's like the lobby of a 4 star hotel. There are iPads, and table service, and macaroons. Ridiculous.

French songs of the week: Coeur de Pirate

I've known this artist for a while but it's time to share. This is Coeur de Pirate- Regina Spektor esque- you'll like.  (She's Canadian but shhh...)