X-Factor

 

The X-Factor has become the guilty pleasure 'du jour' or should I say 'du semaine'. I usually detest reality TV shows (apart from Antiques Roadshow. The X-Factor is in its 6th season and I had only ever watched tidbits of it at school. Now, I am in the South of France and I need my X-Factor fix every weekend - bizarre much? 

    My personal favourite is Danyl Johnson (the male version of Halle Berry... yummy!) He's a good, engaging performer and he pulled off "Feeling Good"... 

Olly Murs is obviously going to do really well, sadly so are the really unoriginal soppy teen heartthrobs (Joe and Lloyd). Actually, Olly's first audition (Stevie Wonder's "Superstition") was incredible and he does have some amusing dance moves. Nah, he can stay! 

    Jamie "Afro" is also good - not so good at singing Bigband material though. I really really like Miss Frank. They are a girl group with attitude... haha. 

Anyway, another unsuccessful hunt for some frames. Why is my face so hard to find glasses for? Just been looking at the Oliver People's (www.oliverpeoples.com) website and even there nothing strikes my fancy. I want some ridiculously BIG frames: 

Vacances de Toussaint

Aujourd'hui = good day. The exams are out of the way and now it's time to enjoy this week. 

      The standard of examination here is horrendous. The liguistics exam was only 35 minutes long - that's 50% of my mark for this semester...! Oh well, it's over now and I am certainly happier for it.

      We're both ill at the moment :-( But, we have to get better soon - off to Barcelona on Tuesday! I can't remember Barcelona at all (in hindsight that's probably because last time I went all I cared about was getting drunk). This time round, I'm planning on

 making the most of it. Day trip to Figueres is definitely in order. 

     And then... Marie and Roisin are coming to visit! We will have to do something super London-esque for Halloween. 

     All in all, it should be an exciting week // I just wish I was feeling better. 

                          

Another thing: 

I see this bag on a daily basis - everyone 10-90 year olds seem to have this Longchamp bag. Methinks it's time to get one to fit in with 'Les Francais'. 

Histoire de l'Art

I am supposed to be in Marseilles right now.  

However, I am still in bed. Revising.

This week I have two exams.  

1. Histoire de l'Art 

2. Linguistics  

These are both subjects which seem easy enough. However, both teachers are extremely unhelpful. Being at uni here is almost like being back at school - there are no small seminars or opportunities to express one's opinions. I miss UCL and London. 

          

('Madeleine' by Donatello) - creepy!

However, being in Provence does have its upsides. Food, the cafe culture and the general excitement of living in the South of France. Next week is Toussaint and hopefully we'll take a little mini-break somewhere - maybe even Marseilles or Montpellier. 

          Anyway - exams. Argh. Rita and I have been manically putting together notes on the paintings and trying to understand what is required for this exam. It's OK though, tonight we've been invited to a real French person's birthday party (at the bar he owns!) 

         The other day, after teaching at the Lycee Frederic Mistral, Rita and I started drinking at 14h (Bar Double V)... We exhausted their stock of Hoegaarden bottled beers! The barman was so friendly, he kept on bringing us food (marshmallows, peanuts and honey toasts!). Anyway, back to friendly faces tonight. 

          I cannot wait until this time next week! Exams will be done and a week of rest and travelling will be in order.

The Mistral

The Mistral is upon us:

Gone are the days where

I care

About my hair

It's not fair

I want to marry the mayor

And eat some pear

As you can see, Avignon is right in the wind corridor of this rather phallic-shaped wind movement.

There are things that one must give up during the season of the Mistral:

a) wearing skirts = a BIG no no

b) lighting up in the streets

c) instantly wind-swept looking hair - could also be classified as a pro

The name comes from the Languedoc dialect of the Provencal language - it means 'masterly'.

Tomorrow is incidentally my first day at the Lycee Frederic Mistral.
Monsieur Mistral (1830- 1914) is somewhat of a legend in this part of the world. He was/is the most revered writer in Occitan literature.
The French are big on quotes so here's one from the man himself -

« Les cinq doigts de la main ne sont pas tous égaux. »

Here's a picture of Adam being shaken by 'Le Mistral'.

The People of Avignon

Character descriptions of the many and varied people of the fine city of Avignon.


1. Madame Laurent (Old Lady downstairs)
Age: 85
Occupation: Retired (From what, I don't know. Possible war widow)

Aggressively friendly, this old lady lives on the ground floor of our building. She is always ready to pounce at the sound of the door opening, bombarding the unfortunate victim with an indistinguishable barrage of words and a mesmerising ball of spittle at the corner of her mouth.
Has poor personal hygiene yet seems to live within an endless cycle of tea towel washing. It is possible she does not own any regular sized towels. A mystery indeed.
Person Rating 4/10


2. Owner of Tranny Bar
Age: 40 est.
Occupation: Tapas Bar proprietor

Our favoured watering hole in Avignon, the Tranny Bar is always good for colourful employees, mutant locals and close proximity to heavy traffic.
The owner is a jovial chap who appears to smoke about 100 cigarettes a day. His tapas bar doubles as an anything-goes-pan-erotic-gay-disco by night. Good coffee, men with breasts, no toilet seat, this establishment offers all the best of French culture. On one occasion we were given free shots of an unusual apricot alcohol and shared a strange and slightly awkward intimate moment with this man.

Person Rating 8/10

3. Blonde Girl
Age: 20

Occupation: Student

English Erasmus student with a stupid haircut. Looks like Beavis from Beavis and Butthead.
Person Rating 0/10

4. Nicolas Pons

Age: 45 est.
Occupation: Property Mogul

The landlord. A true French Gentleman, he helped us with our baggage on arrival and offered us advice on living in Avignon. He unabashedly and repeatedly warned Mel about the dangers of flushing tampons and other feminine products down the state of the art 'Sani-flo' toilet (the brain-child of a sadistic and deranged French engineer). Unfortunately our relationship has taken a slight nosedive since I then proceeded to flush a baby wipe through the system. Apparently the delicate system of cogs and gears inside cannot handle fibrous materials. In a revolting display Nicolas plunged and probed the toilet with his bare hands then proceeded to lightly rinse his hands and drink a glass of Orangina (he declined my polite offer of soap).

Person Rating 7/10

Driving, food and Ula

Today was exhausting.

Hire cars with a €1200 excess are dangerous. Driving on a side that one is not used to = dangerous.

 Instead of indicating, the wipers go mental.

 Instead of changing gears, the doors get hit. 

Everyone in the car starts getting flustered when round-abouts come into view. Scary stuff. 

Fontaine de Vaucluse - 

what a treat!

    

 

The colour of the water is a sight to behold. It is cold (15 degrees Celsius all year round), and with it comes crystal-clear pureness. We lunched on a delicious 'Formule du Jour' = Entrecote steak and chips. We walked around town, taking in the ambiance (this time with less tourists!). 

Adam's just finished a class - wow, he's charging them €50 for 1.5 hours!