Since I last wrote, I've been pretty busy doing a lot of fun stuff. After getting back from the Roskilde festival, Tanne and I spent a few days in Copenhagen to recover from the 8 days of mud, beer, lack of sleep and decent food...Luckily for us, it was the Copenhagen Jazz festival during those days, so we had some interesting music to keep us occupied.
While maybe not as well known as the Montreal Jazz festival, the Copenhagen version is definitely pretty cool. On any given day there were 20+ musical performances throughout the city, and many were really good. Tanne and I managed to check out a few of them....
At the end of the week we headed off to Sweden to visit Tanne's family's summer house. It is located in a region called Småland, which is about 200kms from Copenhagen. It is a really nice place, with beautiful wilderness and really cute old houses that really give you the feel of being transported back in time in some way. At the house where we were, all cooking was done on an old-fashioned iron wood stove which gave new meaning to the idea of slow food.
While there we took a lot of time to go on walks around the house, picking berries and breathing fresh air (something that one doesn't really think about when living in a city). We also rented a canoe one day and went for a 20km trip down-river. It was a very relaxing day (no rapids), just taking our time paddling down the meandering rivers. ahhh....just writing about it is bringing back good memories....
Once back from Sweden we went to another small music festival called Nakke festival. It is located in the Northern part of Denmark in a beautiful coastal region. Compared with the Roskilde festival, this one is really small and intimate. There were just over 1000 people there and really small danish bands of very diverse genres. It was really cool to hear new music from bands that are completely unknown to you. Even though the bands were pretty unknown (even within Denmark) many of them were really talented and put on a great show. The weather was awesome for us, which was definitely a nice change from the Roskilde festival, so it was nice to be outside, drinking beer, listening to good music without any worries....
I am back in Copenhagen now. We will stay here for the week and head out for another road trip to Jutland (The peninsula that juts out from the north of Germany). While there we will visit Tanne's grandmother and my friend Anna whom I met a few years ago in Toronto while she was on exchange at Centennial. We are also planning to travel around the western part of Jutland to see some of the amazing coasts and beaches that Denmark has. Hopefully the weather will hold up for us!!
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Roskilde Festival 2007 (aka Mudfest)
Hey there!
As I'd mentioned in previous posts, Tanne and I had been planning for awhile to attend this year's Roskilde Festival. This is the largest festival in northern Europe, attracting close to 100,000 people every year to a small town about 50kms from Copenhagen.
The band list was a music lovers dream, with acts spanning all genres and coming from around the world.....The festival lasts for 4 days, with another 4 days of 'warming up' before the music starts.
So we arrived on July 1st, a Sunday at 7ish in the morning to ensure that we would get ourselves a good camping spot (some people had waited outside the gates from 11pm the night before!!!). We set up our tent and then chilled out......and chilled........and chilled.......
Unfortunately for us, the nice weather didn't stay....the rain started on Monday and continued off and on until thursday (on the thursday there was a torrential downpour that saw 45mm dumped on our heads). Well, as I'm sure you can imagine, the entire festival grounds were turned into a mudwhole. Some camping sites were completey submerged in water and in many places the water was nearly knee deep. I had the proud distinction of having attended the rainiest festival in it's 35 year history (which is saying a lot in a country like Denmark that is pretty rainy in general)
So, while the music started on Thursday, the crowd wasn't exactly warmed up, and indeed, many were forced to leave because their tents were destroyed. We braved it out and managed to see some awesome music that night, the highlight being Arcade Fire, a band from Montreal. Then we saw Talib Kwali, a really good hiphop act. Both of these stages were covered, which protected us from the worst of the storm....the last act that we saw, Björk, was unfortunately playing at the main stage, which was completely open. While the show was awesome and her music is incredible, the rain pouring down on our already soaked bodies prevented us from really enjoying the show as we could have.
We decided to break with festival tradition and head home to Copenhagen to get some warm clothes and sleep in a real bed for a night. This was definitely worth it, even though it ended up being a serious mission as many other festivalgoers had the same idea. We returned on Friday, worked our last volunteer shift and then prepared to enjoy the last few days of the festival.
On Saturday, we saw the Who on the main stage (the orange stage as its known) and then headed to the more intimate green stage to watch Dj Tiesto spin a 4 hour set of some crazy assed beats :) I definitely enjoyed it, staying right until the end even though the others had left out of exhaustion ....
Sunday was another day of great music. We started with a folk act called Beirut that was pretty good and then checked out Somolian-Canadian hiphoper K'Naan. If you ever have the chance to see this guy at home, its definitely worth it! After K'Naan, we went back to the Orange stage to catch Muse, which was a pretty crazy set of good rock and roll. Next was Laurent Garnier, a Parisien dj who rocks out to a diverse mix of electro, rock, d&b, etc, etc....We didn't get to catch too much of him unfortunately because Bassment Jaxx was up on the Orange stage to close down the festival. That was an amazing show with some booty-shaking beats and amazing visuals.....mmmm.....wonderful!
Well, I guess thats the short story of it. There is definitely much more to tell, but you'll have to ask me about it personally......
Alright folks, thats all for now, be sure to check my pic site for a visual impression of the festival (pics will be uploaded shortly) and keep checking for the next update of my adventures in outer space......
As I'd mentioned in previous posts, Tanne and I had been planning for awhile to attend this year's Roskilde Festival. This is the largest festival in northern Europe, attracting close to 100,000 people every year to a small town about 50kms from Copenhagen.
The band list was a music lovers dream, with acts spanning all genres and coming from around the world.....The festival lasts for 4 days, with another 4 days of 'warming up' before the music starts.
So we arrived on July 1st, a Sunday at 7ish in the morning to ensure that we would get ourselves a good camping spot (some people had waited outside the gates from 11pm the night before!!!). We set up our tent and then chilled out......and chilled........and chilled.......
Unfortunately for us, the nice weather didn't stay....the rain started on Monday and continued off and on until thursday (on the thursday there was a torrential downpour that saw 45mm dumped on our heads). Well, as I'm sure you can imagine, the entire festival grounds were turned into a mudwhole. Some camping sites were completey submerged in water and in many places the water was nearly knee deep. I had the proud distinction of having attended the rainiest festival in it's 35 year history (which is saying a lot in a country like Denmark that is pretty rainy in general)
So, while the music started on Thursday, the crowd wasn't exactly warmed up, and indeed, many were forced to leave because their tents were destroyed. We braved it out and managed to see some awesome music that night, the highlight being Arcade Fire, a band from Montreal. Then we saw Talib Kwali, a really good hiphop act. Both of these stages were covered, which protected us from the worst of the storm....the last act that we saw, Björk, was unfortunately playing at the main stage, which was completely open. While the show was awesome and her music is incredible, the rain pouring down on our already soaked bodies prevented us from really enjoying the show as we could have.
We decided to break with festival tradition and head home to Copenhagen to get some warm clothes and sleep in a real bed for a night. This was definitely worth it, even though it ended up being a serious mission as many other festivalgoers had the same idea. We returned on Friday, worked our last volunteer shift and then prepared to enjoy the last few days of the festival.
On Saturday, we saw the Who on the main stage (the orange stage as its known) and then headed to the more intimate green stage to watch Dj Tiesto spin a 4 hour set of some crazy assed beats :) I definitely enjoyed it, staying right until the end even though the others had left out of exhaustion ....
Sunday was another day of great music. We started with a folk act called Beirut that was pretty good and then checked out Somolian-Canadian hiphoper K'Naan. If you ever have the chance to see this guy at home, its definitely worth it! After K'Naan, we went back to the Orange stage to catch Muse, which was a pretty crazy set of good rock and roll. Next was Laurent Garnier, a Parisien dj who rocks out to a diverse mix of electro, rock, d&b, etc, etc....We didn't get to catch too much of him unfortunately because Bassment Jaxx was up on the Orange stage to close down the festival. That was an amazing show with some booty-shaking beats and amazing visuals.....mmmm.....wonderful!
Well, I guess thats the short story of it. There is definitely much more to tell, but you'll have to ask me about it personally......
Alright folks, thats all for now, be sure to check my pic site for a visual impression of the festival (pics will be uploaded shortly) and keep checking for the next update of my adventures in outer space......
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Chilling in København
Well, its been about a week since I arrived in Copenhagen. So far its been pretty nice. The best part, obviously :) has been that Tanne and I have been able to spend a lot of time together. We both had an exam at the end of the week, hers a final oral exam for sociology, mine a mid-term for the online political science course I'm doing (Global Conflict and the Middle East), so we spent a fair bit of time being studious......
Now, both exams are finished, so the fun begins :) We will be leaving tommorow for a huge music festival that takes place yearly in Denmark. The Roskilde festival is an 8 day camping marathon with close to 80,000 people and some of the best bands in the world. (check the band list at http://www.roskilde-festival.dk/index.php?code=1 ). It is going to involve much partying, and from what I hear, lots of beer. (The danes drink a lot!!!! :)
I will be bringing my camera, so be sure to check my pics page in about a week and a half to get an idea of how it was. Lets hope that the weather isnt completely horrible!!!
Ian
Now, both exams are finished, so the fun begins :) We will be leaving tommorow for a huge music festival that takes place yearly in Denmark. The Roskilde festival is an 8 day camping marathon with close to 80,000 people and some of the best bands in the world. (check the band list at http://www.roskilde-festival.dk/index.php?code=1 ). It is going to involve much partying, and from what I hear, lots of beer. (The danes drink a lot!!!! :)
I will be bringing my camera, so be sure to check my pics page in about a week and a half to get an idea of how it was. Lets hope that the weather isnt completely horrible!!!
Ian
Monday, June 25, 2007
Backpacking Adventure completed!
Well, it seems as if once again I have neglected to keep this blog up to date, letting my wonderful adventures in outer space remain a mystery to you, my loyal readers....
I will try to encapsulate in one posting what I've been up to for the past month. I spent the remainder of May finishing up my english teaching job, saving money, and spending time with friends. I left Lille on June 1st, heading to Paris to start a three week journey across parts of Europe.
In Paris, I met with my friend Avril, whom I met while studying in Lille. She lives just outside of Paris, near Eurodisney. I stayed with her for a few days. We went to check out some expositions, notably one called "Trash" a photo exhibit of famous people's garbage.....
We also met with some of her friends and went out to a party one night in a Paris suburb. It was pretty cool to see a different part of Paris than the touristy part that I'm used to.
Tanne arrived in Paris on the 4th to spend a few days with me. We stayed in a pretty crappy hostel in the 9th arr (Montmarte area). We had a pretty amazing time, checking out art expo's, meeting up with friends and lots of interesting stuff that skips my mind at the moment....oh ya...Versailles! That was pretty cool. The weather was amazing, and we brought a picnic...nuff said...
After Paris, I headed to Haute-Savoie, in the French alps, to meet with my friend Claire. Later some other friends came, Raymond and Fred, and we spent the days hiking mountians and generally enjoying ourselves. I love that region and really hope to return some day....
I spent a day in Geneva, touring around the city, pretty nice place....Then took a night train to Munich to visit my friend Carmen, who's doing an internship there. This city is super cool, one of my favorites thus far on my tour. It was actually ranked as the best city in the world to live in in a recent article, confirming my impressions: http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/06/18/arts/rmon1munich.php
I toured around the city, relaxed in parks, and ya, drank beer and ate sausage....lol....
After Munich, I went to Vienna and Prague, 2 days in each. Both are really beautiful cities, but in different ways. Vienna's beauty is largely the heritage of the Hapsburg's and dates from the 17th century, while Prague has buildings from many different periods, making it somewhat unique in Europe....Both cities were really cool! In prague i went out one night to a crazy nightclub decorated with all sorts of electronic debris...it felt like a post-industrial nightmare!!!
I met some really cool people in each city as well...
After Prague, I headed to Dresden, a city approx half-way between Prague and Berlin. It was a really beautiful small city. I went to some wonderful museums, the city has one of the best porcelin collections in the world and a pretty cool midevil weaponry museum.
After Dresden, it was the final stop before Copenhagen...Berlin!....What can I say, this city is pretty cool. The first day I took a silly touristy guided walk, wasting 9euros, but getting an alright intro to the city. I saw the wall, Checkpoint Charlie, Hitler's Bunker (now just a parking lot) and other interesting historical places. I went to some cool museums (Pergamon, Jewish Museum and the Hamburg HBf - Modern Art) and generally enjoyed walking around the city. The people are really interesting and the city is wonderful!
So, that was the brief tour of my tour! lol... I've uploaded a tonne of pics, organized by city, so check out my pic website: http://picasaweb.google.com/iantrice . I'm in Copenhagen now and will be based here for the rest of the summer. Tanne and I are checking out a pretty big music festival next week, which should be fun ...lol....really fun! other than that, plans are up in the air, we will be enjoying ourselves to the max :) until next time!
Ian
I will try to encapsulate in one posting what I've been up to for the past month. I spent the remainder of May finishing up my english teaching job, saving money, and spending time with friends. I left Lille on June 1st, heading to Paris to start a three week journey across parts of Europe.
In Paris, I met with my friend Avril, whom I met while studying in Lille. She lives just outside of Paris, near Eurodisney. I stayed with her for a few days. We went to check out some expositions, notably one called "Trash" a photo exhibit of famous people's garbage.....
We also met with some of her friends and went out to a party one night in a Paris suburb. It was pretty cool to see a different part of Paris than the touristy part that I'm used to.
Tanne arrived in Paris on the 4th to spend a few days with me. We stayed in a pretty crappy hostel in the 9th arr (Montmarte area). We had a pretty amazing time, checking out art expo's, meeting up with friends and lots of interesting stuff that skips my mind at the moment....oh ya...Versailles! That was pretty cool. The weather was amazing, and we brought a picnic...nuff said...
After Paris, I headed to Haute-Savoie, in the French alps, to meet with my friend Claire. Later some other friends came, Raymond and Fred, and we spent the days hiking mountians and generally enjoying ourselves. I love that region and really hope to return some day....
I spent a day in Geneva, touring around the city, pretty nice place....Then took a night train to Munich to visit my friend Carmen, who's doing an internship there. This city is super cool, one of my favorites thus far on my tour. It was actually ranked as the best city in the world to live in in a recent article, confirming my impressions: http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/06/18/arts/rmon1munich.php
I toured around the city, relaxed in parks, and ya, drank beer and ate sausage....lol....
After Munich, I went to Vienna and Prague, 2 days in each. Both are really beautiful cities, but in different ways. Vienna's beauty is largely the heritage of the Hapsburg's and dates from the 17th century, while Prague has buildings from many different periods, making it somewhat unique in Europe....Both cities were really cool! In prague i went out one night to a crazy nightclub decorated with all sorts of electronic debris...it felt like a post-industrial nightmare!!!
I met some really cool people in each city as well...
After Prague, I headed to Dresden, a city approx half-way between Prague and Berlin. It was a really beautiful small city. I went to some wonderful museums, the city has one of the best porcelin collections in the world and a pretty cool midevil weaponry museum.
After Dresden, it was the final stop before Copenhagen...Berlin!....What can I say, this city is pretty cool. The first day I took a silly touristy guided walk, wasting 9euros, but getting an alright intro to the city. I saw the wall, Checkpoint Charlie, Hitler's Bunker (now just a parking lot) and other interesting historical places. I went to some cool museums (Pergamon, Jewish Museum and the Hamburg HBf - Modern Art) and generally enjoyed walking around the city. The people are really interesting and the city is wonderful!
So, that was the brief tour of my tour! lol... I've uploaded a tonne of pics, organized by city, so check out my pic website: http://picasaweb.google.com/iantrice . I'm in Copenhagen now and will be based here for the rest of the summer. Tanne and I are checking out a pretty big music festival next week, which should be fun ...lol....really fun! other than that, plans are up in the air, we will be enjoying ourselves to the max :) until next time!
Ian
Friday, May 18, 2007
Edinburgh Castle
My mom and I took one day to explore Edinburgh castle. The castle itself was built during the 12th century on an extinct volcano that dominates the centre of the city. Its really a beautiful site, one that I can highly recommend for any europe traveller.
Unfortunately, the day was pretty miserable (as is usual for Edinburgh), so being outside walking around the castle wasn't as fun as it could have been, but we made up for it by enjoying some delicious scones and rich hot chocolate at the Queen's Cafe in the caste....mmmm....
Upon my arrival in Edinburgh, after almost 7 hours of train (1:45 from Lille to London through the chunnel, 4.5hrs from London to Edinburgh), I checked into my hostel and decided to go out for a little stroll.
As is usual for me, my stoll turned into a hike to the top of a mountain called "Arthur's Seat".
It was quite a mission to the top, but at least there were stairs for part of it (even if they looked like they were about to crumble down at any moment. I reached the top, and was treated to wonderful views of the city all around....an amazing start to the trip
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
Excitment builds....
Hey there loyal readers :)
Well, honestly, there hasn't been that much interesting stuff to write about for the last little while. I think that one thinks that while abroad that there will be tonnes of stuff to write about, that one's life will be super exciting, but this isn't always the case.
After awhile, I think I've sort of settled into a routine here, that while taking place in a different country, isn't really that different from what I'd be doing at home. I get up, eat breakfast, do some shopping, go to work, etc, etc, etc....But it is true that being in a different milieu makes for some interesting differences and learning experiences (can't quote any here...)
Anyhow, I will be leaving for Edinburgh tommorow morning for four days spent with my mom. Its been more than 4 months since I've seen her (or any other people from Canada close to me, all of you that is), the longest stretch in my life. Needless to say, I'm really excited. It will be her first time outside of North America, so she is definitely pretty excited about it too. Another reason to be excited, SHE'S BRINGING ME PEANUT BUTTER!!!! WOOHOO...lol....
For the rest of the month I will be finishing up my job teaching english, saving some money for the rest of the summer. As I believe i've mentioned before, the month of June will consist of a backpacking trip throughout parts of Europe. The exact itinerary is yet to be confirmed, but will be soon....
So, please send me some updates of life on the other side, i love hearing from you!!!!
IARI
Well, honestly, there hasn't been that much interesting stuff to write about for the last little while. I think that one thinks that while abroad that there will be tonnes of stuff to write about, that one's life will be super exciting, but this isn't always the case.
After awhile, I think I've sort of settled into a routine here, that while taking place in a different country, isn't really that different from what I'd be doing at home. I get up, eat breakfast, do some shopping, go to work, etc, etc, etc....But it is true that being in a different milieu makes for some interesting differences and learning experiences (can't quote any here...)
Anyhow, I will be leaving for Edinburgh tommorow morning for four days spent with my mom. Its been more than 4 months since I've seen her (or any other people from Canada close to me, all of you that is), the longest stretch in my life. Needless to say, I'm really excited. It will be her first time outside of North America, so she is definitely pretty excited about it too. Another reason to be excited, SHE'S BRINGING ME PEANUT BUTTER!!!! WOOHOO...lol....
For the rest of the month I will be finishing up my job teaching english, saving some money for the rest of the summer. As I believe i've mentioned before, the month of June will consist of a backpacking trip throughout parts of Europe. The exact itinerary is yet to be confirmed, but will be soon....
So, please send me some updates of life on the other side, i love hearing from you!!!!
IARI
Friday, May 4, 2007
I went to Brugges, Belgium the other day. If you haven't had the chance to go there and find yourself in Northern Europe, check it out! It is a wonderfully preserved Mideval City. It is known as the "Venice of the North" and earns this name from the canals that cross through the city centre.
The whole collection of my photos are posted online at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/iantrice/BruggesMay2ndI hope you enjoy!
IR
May day (May 1st)
is a big holiday in France, so everything was closed. I, having not much to do, and seeing the wonderful weather outside, I decided to get my butt outside.(It has been at least 20 degrees without rain for the past month, a serious drought across Northern Europe that is very troubling, see article: http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/04/30/news/0430weather.php
The
great thing about Lille in the summer is that there is always something happening. I found the "Festivale International de la Soupe" ....thats right, the 7th Annual International Soup festival....with my bowl in hand, I set out to see what this was all about. Unfortunately, I seemed to arrive a little late for the Soup, only managing to try 5 or 6 types (they were great nonetheless). I did not miss however the festivities that surround this Festival of Soup. There were all sorts of interesting performers and other strange things like this mobile Hand washer that you see in the first and third picture. Where do people get these ideas from??? Its amazing!!! :)There was wonderful music. I heard a few bands, one whose name I can't remember that played a mix of funk and soul and another named "MAP" Ministre d'Affaires Populaires. A really great hip-hop group with an arabic influence..
Overall, a great day!!!
btw, I've started a picture website where you can find all of my pics, check it out: http://picasaweb.google.com/iantrice
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
This past weekend has been really chilled out for me. As I mentioned in the last post, a lot of people are starting to leave, so we've been having a lot of parties and get togethers to say good bye.
On Sunday, after partying the two previous nights, we had a relaxing day at the Citadel park in Lille. It was Claire's b-day (the girl closest to the camera in the first pic), so we took advantage of the wonderful weather (almost 20 degrees!) to have a picnic on the parc. As you can see from the last pic, I was thoroughly relaxed :)
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
As sort of a final goodbye party for those leaving Lille in the coming days, we had a party at an Indian restaurant in Lille. There were around 30 people there, both international students and French students who are finished their 3 year program.
It was a really fun night. The food was pretty good (not the best indian i've ever had :), the Naan bread was really tasty and the company was amazing. After the dinner we went out to try to find somewhere to dance to finish off the night....
It is a little sad that most of the students are leaving from Lille. On the weekend a number of the German exchange students went back home, and more have been leaving every day. I feel sad in a way, but also kind of excited because I know that I have the opportunity to visit them in their respective places....
I will be in Lille for at least the next month. I am finishing off my english teaching job and taking advantage of my freetime to travel around a bit in France and elsewhere. I plan to visit Paris again and check out more of the Louvre and other museums. I also have a lot of friends who will be in Paris, so it will be nice to hang out with them.
I also have my trip to Edinburgh coming up in two weeks. I am super excited about that!! Mom, I can't wait to see you!!!
Monday, April 16, 2007
A Big Taste of Canada
Hello all! Once again, I apologize for the length of time between posts, and will once again resolve to never let it happen again (until the next time that is....)
So what have I been up to? I haven't done any large trips recently, but have been able to get outside of Lille for some weekend excursions. I went with some friends to a castle named Chateau Pierrefonds between Paris and Lille. The place was really fairytale like, sitting on top of a ridge, turrets and all that good stuff.
The next weekend we went to Gent, a city in Belgium. It is a really gorgeous place! It sits at the crossroads of two rivers, so the city is intersected by water. It is a really old looking city with lots of really great flemish architecture. We (two Finnish exchange students and I) stayed at a B&B in the city which doubled as an art gallery. It was a really cool place, we even had the chance to attend the opening of the gallery's new exposition of African influenced art. We checked out another castle that is situated in the heart of the city, dating from the 12th century, drank some good belgian beer and generally enjoyed the great weather....
Last weekend was a really special one. It was the 90th anniversary of the battle of Vimy Ridge (that nation-forming battle that we all learned about in school) Vimy is located not too far from Lille, so I was contacted by the Canadian consulate to help out with the ceremonies. I, being the patriotic Canadian, accepted her offer. I had an impression that this would be a big event, but was not prepared for the size of the event. There were almost 15,000 people there, more than half of whom were Canadian. (I don't think I've seen as many Canadian flags as I did that day) The queen, prime minister harper and Villepin, the prime minister of France all made speeches. I, being a volunteer, had prime seating, and was within 10 metres of the queen as she walked by to shake hands afterwards, my mom is so jealous! lol...
The monument itself and the surrounding area is really something that any Canadian visiting France must see. It really gives a perspective on the horrors of the Great War and the huge sacrifice that Canada made for it.
What was also really cool is that I had the chance to meet other Canadian students studying in Lille and elsewhere in France, so when I'm missing Canada, I can always call them up and share our nostalgia for the homeland....lol.....
Right now I am in Copenhagen visting Tanne, it has been a wonderful weekend with lots of sun and relaxation. Im back to France tommorow where I will have exams this week and then my school is pretty much finished aside from a few little projects....so early! I will be staying in Lille afterwards, continuing my teaching job for the month of may, profiting from my free time to make some trips in France and elsewhere. My mom is coming to Scotland in the middle of May, so i'll be there to see her from the 9th until the 15th. For June, I am planning a backpacking trip across eastern Europe.....big things....more details to come
Sorry for the length of this post, a function I guess of the length of time between the last one....I will try to get some pics added in the near future once I am on my own computer...
take care all and send me some emails! I need to know how things are going back home...
love you all!
Ian
So what have I been up to? I haven't done any large trips recently, but have been able to get outside of Lille for some weekend excursions. I went with some friends to a castle named Chateau Pierrefonds between Paris and Lille. The place was really fairytale like, sitting on top of a ridge, turrets and all that good stuff.
The next weekend we went to Gent, a city in Belgium. It is a really gorgeous place! It sits at the crossroads of two rivers, so the city is intersected by water. It is a really old looking city with lots of really great flemish architecture. We (two Finnish exchange students and I) stayed at a B&B in the city which doubled as an art gallery. It was a really cool place, we even had the chance to attend the opening of the gallery's new exposition of African influenced art. We checked out another castle that is situated in the heart of the city, dating from the 12th century, drank some good belgian beer and generally enjoyed the great weather....
Last weekend was a really special one. It was the 90th anniversary of the battle of Vimy Ridge (that nation-forming battle that we all learned about in school) Vimy is located not too far from Lille, so I was contacted by the Canadian consulate to help out with the ceremonies. I, being the patriotic Canadian, accepted her offer. I had an impression that this would be a big event, but was not prepared for the size of the event. There were almost 15,000 people there, more than half of whom were Canadian. (I don't think I've seen as many Canadian flags as I did that day) The queen, prime minister harper and Villepin, the prime minister of France all made speeches. I, being a volunteer, had prime seating, and was within 10 metres of the queen as she walked by to shake hands afterwards, my mom is so jealous! lol...
The monument itself and the surrounding area is really something that any Canadian visiting France must see. It really gives a perspective on the horrors of the Great War and the huge sacrifice that Canada made for it.
What was also really cool is that I had the chance to meet other Canadian students studying in Lille and elsewhere in France, so when I'm missing Canada, I can always call them up and share our nostalgia for the homeland....lol.....
Right now I am in Copenhagen visting Tanne, it has been a wonderful weekend with lots of sun and relaxation. Im back to France tommorow where I will have exams this week and then my school is pretty much finished aside from a few little projects....so early! I will be staying in Lille afterwards, continuing my teaching job for the month of may, profiting from my free time to make some trips in France and elsewhere. My mom is coming to Scotland in the middle of May, so i'll be there to see her from the 9th until the 15th. For June, I am planning a backpacking trip across eastern Europe.....big things....more details to come
Sorry for the length of this post, a function I guess of the length of time between the last one....I will try to get some pics added in the near future once I am on my own computer...
take care all and send me some emails! I need to know how things are going back home...
love you all!
Ian
Saturday, March 24, 2007
Hey there!
My posts will unfortunately not include any pics for the next while as my computer has mysteriously decided to die on me :) Thats what you get with a 300$ ebay special I guess....lol...
It's been pretty stressful here recently with work and school getting pretty busy. Work, my english teaching job, has been pretty interesting. I'm teaching three adults who are pretty much beginners. We did the ABC's, "Head and Shoulders Knees and Toes" song, simon says, etc, etc. Its pretty funny doing this with a group of adults.....
I went to visit my friend Anna in Germany and Denmark...lol....she lives in northern Germany in a border town called Flensburg and her family lives in Denmark. I tried some traditional German food: Pork, Cabbage and Potatoes :) one of the biggest plates of food I've ever seen!! I couldn't even eat half of it. We spent a day in Flensburg touring around, it is a nice little town with a beautful harbor and architecture. We spent the rest of the weekend in southern Denmark with Anna's family . It was a pretty relaxing time, touring around the area and getting to know Anna a little better (we had met once in Canada 4 years ago and have kept in touch through email since) ....overall an excellent weekend....
My posts will unfortunately not include any pics for the next while as my computer has mysteriously decided to die on me :) Thats what you get with a 300$ ebay special I guess....lol...
It's been pretty stressful here recently with work and school getting pretty busy. Work, my english teaching job, has been pretty interesting. I'm teaching three adults who are pretty much beginners. We did the ABC's, "Head and Shoulders Knees and Toes" song, simon says, etc, etc. Its pretty funny doing this with a group of adults.....
I went to visit my friend Anna in Germany and Denmark...lol....she lives in northern Germany in a border town called Flensburg and her family lives in Denmark. I tried some traditional German food: Pork, Cabbage and Potatoes :) one of the biggest plates of food I've ever seen!! I couldn't even eat half of it. We spent a day in Flensburg touring around, it is a nice little town with a beautful harbor and architecture. We spent the rest of the weekend in southern Denmark with Anna's family . It was a pretty relaxing time, touring around the area and getting to know Anna a little better (we had met once in Canada 4 years ago and have kept in touch through email since) ....overall an excellent weekend....
Wednesday, March 7, 2007
Craziness here at the ESC Lille!!!! We are in the middle of the elections for the student councils here at the school, so things are getting pretty intense! The way that campaigns are run here are like nothing I have ever experienced before....
There are two competing councils for the BDE "Bureau d'entertainment" so each one has to organize a bar night for the school....These bar nights are in fact open bars, tickets are 5euros and one is able to drink as much as they'd like... :)
I went to one last night as I've been told over and over that these nights are something not to be missed, an integral part of the exchange experience...lol....It was definitely fun, a new experience one could say. I personally didn't drink too too much, but it was funny to see how drunk people got as the night progressed. I think that even by 11:30pm there was puke on the floor, not a good sign!! A little gross, a little crazy, but all in all a good time.
School is getting pretty busy now too. I think I've got 3 projects on the go now, so my schedule is getting a little bit more busy now...Im going to Germany next week to meet with an old friend from Centennial College, Anna, who is working there (a small city called Flensburg north of Hamburg) and Tanne will be coming down from Copenhagen to spend the weekend with us as well. Tanne has been battling pneumonia for the past week or two, so Im really hoping that she is feeling better by then and is able to come!!
Updates on that trip to come for all you loyal readers....
Ian
There are two competing councils for the BDE "Bureau d'entertainment" so each one has to organize a bar night for the school....These bar nights are in fact open bars, tickets are 5euros and one is able to drink as much as they'd like... :)
I went to one last night as I've been told over and over that these nights are something not to be missed, an integral part of the exchange experience...lol....It was definitely fun, a new experience one could say. I personally didn't drink too too much, but it was funny to see how drunk people got as the night progressed. I think that even by 11:30pm there was puke on the floor, not a good sign!! A little gross, a little crazy, but all in all a good time.
School is getting pretty busy now too. I think I've got 3 projects on the go now, so my schedule is getting a little bit more busy now...Im going to Germany next week to meet with an old friend from Centennial College, Anna, who is working there (a small city called Flensburg north of Hamburg) and Tanne will be coming down from Copenhagen to spend the weekend with us as well. Tanne has been battling pneumonia for the past week or two, so Im really hoping that she is feeling better by then and is able to come!!
Updates on that trip to come for all you loyal readers....
Ian
Thursday, March 1, 2007
Work Started - Finally!!!
So, after nearly two months of waiting to get some action going on, it all comes in one big heap! Thats always the way it is I guess....
,
I have a number of good things to mention. Firstly, I got news that I won the EDC student scholarship, a $3000 prize! On top of the cash is the added prestige that the award will bring to my resume....awesome! There is also the possibility of working with the EDC in an internship for the summer, something that is a great opportunity, but is kind of away from my plans to stay in Europe over the summer. I guess this is a good dilemma to be in though eh?
The second good piece of news is that I got myself a job here in France! Its actually in Belgium, but it is only a 20 minute train ride to the town, so its not that bad. I will be teaching english at a private company that caters to professionals mostly I think. I started training last saturday, and it was pretty interesting....I arrived and the trainer started speaking to me and my collegues in Arabic! He continued to speak in Arabic for the next 3 hours :) The point of this was to try to put us in the shoes of our students, arriving and knowing very little (in our case nothing) of the language. Needless to say it was an interesting experience, and I actually left with a few words of Arabic under my belt....salaam alakoum!
I started a class on Monday, the first one that will actually be worth credits for me....it was an intense case study on the wine industry. We were in the place of a Bordeaux winery that is looking to expand internationally. We had two days to analyse the market and create a marketing strategy for the company....we ended up working 12 hour days, but made the presentation today. Intense, but fun.....
Anyhow, thats all for now. Im off to Brussels tommorow and have my second day of training on saturday (maybe itll be Hindi then :) Ill be writing soon!!!
,
I have a number of good things to mention. Firstly, I got news that I won the EDC student scholarship, a $3000 prize! On top of the cash is the added prestige that the award will bring to my resume....awesome! There is also the possibility of working with the EDC in an internship for the summer, something that is a great opportunity, but is kind of away from my plans to stay in Europe over the summer. I guess this is a good dilemma to be in though eh?
The second good piece of news is that I got myself a job here in France! Its actually in Belgium, but it is only a 20 minute train ride to the town, so its not that bad. I will be teaching english at a private company that caters to professionals mostly I think. I started training last saturday, and it was pretty interesting....I arrived and the trainer started speaking to me and my collegues in Arabic! He continued to speak in Arabic for the next 3 hours :) The point of this was to try to put us in the shoes of our students, arriving and knowing very little (in our case nothing) of the language. Needless to say it was an interesting experience, and I actually left with a few words of Arabic under my belt....salaam alakoum!
I started a class on Monday, the first one that will actually be worth credits for me....it was an intense case study on the wine industry. We were in the place of a Bordeaux winery that is looking to expand internationally. We had two days to analyse the market and create a marketing strategy for the company....we ended up working 12 hour days, but made the presentation today. Intense, but fun.....
Anyhow, thats all for now. Im off to Brussels tommorow and have my second day of training on saturday (maybe itll be Hindi then :) Ill be writing soon!!!
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Norway Trip (Feb. 9th - 19th)
Well, I was off again for another voyage, this time to Northern Europe. I was invited by my girlfriend's family to join them and some of their family friends for a skiing vacation in Norway. The place is called Trysil and is located 200kms north of Oslo near Lillehammer (site of the winter Olympics a few years back)
I arrived in Copenhagen on the 9th to meet my girlfriend and then we went to meet her parents so that we could begin the voyage up by car. Tanne's family has a cottage in Sweden, about 200kms from Copenhagen, so it was decided that we would spend the friday and saturday nights there and complete our journey to Norway on Sunday. The cottage is beautiful! Its a really classic old style Swedish Cottage with a stone oven and heating by fireplace. When we arrived the place was completely co
ld, but as we threw some logs on the fire and started some cooking, the place came to life.
ld, but as we threw some logs on the fire and started some cooking, the place came to life.The stars there are amazing. Its been awhile since I've been outside of a city and had the chance to see the stars in their full glory. It was an amazingly clear night, perfect for a little stargazing. On saturday we took it slow, went for a walk around the cottage and awaited the family friends....Sunday saw the start of our voyage north, which was expected to take 8 hours...
The drive was really wonderful, beautiful scenery and wonderful weather (except for the frigid cold of -17). It was fairly uneventful until Tanne decided to drive the car off the road :) The roads were really slippery and we lost control and veered off the side. Luckily we were stopped by a little tree before rolling over. In the end, everyone was alright and the car was fine aside from a smashied light.....we arrived a few hours later than expected, but it was all good.
The cottage that we had was wonderful! It was a log cabin built for 11 people... we were 8 and so had plenty of space to relax. There was a Sauna as well!! The snowboarding was awesome and I even got out for 20 kms of Cross-country on one day (my first time!!) Near the end of the trip I injured my ankle snowboarding, but it was all good because I only missed one day.....
So, I'm back here in France now and have had some pretty good news here. I got a job teaching english which is really well paying and will allow me to work in the summer. This will allow me to finance myself here and lessen my reliance on debt and give me the flexibility to travel a bit more and live a bit more comfortably....I also found out that I won a scholarship from the EDC for $3000!! This is a great accomplishment that I am really proud of..... I have bought myself a bike here in Lille (50euros from ebay :) which will give me a bit more mobility. It is a really sexy red racing bike, maybe ill post a pic during my next post.....
thats all for now,
Ian
Thursday, February 8, 2007
Amsterdam!
I was in amsterdam last weekend, and I must say, I love that city!!!!! I went with my friend Herby, an exchange student from Montreal as well. We made a reservation at a hostel and decided to take the bus up there.
Taking the bus is sortof a risky move as we had heard many horror stories about 6 hour delays and people getting left at reststops. But, it was half the price of the train and didn't take that much longer (5.5 hrs as opposed to 3.5) so we opted to take a risk.
We got there and found our hostel. It actually turned out to be really nice. It was located right next to a really big park and was a short walk from the centre. After putting down our bags, we got out for a little walk around the town to get an idea of the place. Amsterdam has definitely earned its reputation as the capital of bikes. There are bike paths all over the place and unwary tourists really must keep their eyes open or risk getting run over.
Later on in the night we went out again for a walk. We found ourselves in the redlight district which was really an ..... experience..... I am sure you've all heard about it, so I would go into details, but it was definitely strange for me. Later on we went to a coffee shop to experience that part of Amsterdam (typical tourists eh?) I didn't inhale though, I swear....lol.....
Saturday we spent walking around again. We were thinking of hitting up a museum, the Van Gogh or the Rijksmuseum, but the weather was too beautiful and we didn' really feel like spending 10euros to walk around inside. We met two really nice American girls at breakfast and planned a night out with them.....
The club that we ended up at was incredible!!! It was called Sinners. The music was great, a mix between house, hiphop and electro, and the 4 of us danced our asses off all night!!!! Fantastic, just what I needed :)
My camera was out of batteries for the trip, so as soon as I get them from Herby, ill post some pics.......trust me, there are some good ones!!
Next up is Norway for me. I will be away for the next week there for a skiing trip with Tanne's family. I promise to take pics this time and tell you all about it when I get back :) Take care all!!!
Taking the bus is sortof a risky move as we had heard many horror stories about 6 hour delays and people getting left at reststops. But, it was half the price of the train and didn't take that much longer (5.5 hrs as opposed to 3.5) so we opted to take a risk.
We got there and found our hostel. It actually turned out to be really nice. It was located right next to a really big park and was a short walk from the centre. After putting down our bags, we got out for a little walk around the town to get an idea of the place. Amsterdam has definitely earned its reputation as the capital of bikes. There are bike paths all over the place and unwary tourists really must keep their eyes open or risk getting run over.
Later on in the night we went out again for a walk. We found ourselves in the redlight district which was really an ..... experience..... I am sure you've all heard about it, so I would go into details, but it was definitely strange for me. Later on we went to a coffee shop to experience that part of Amsterdam (typical tourists eh?) I didn't inhale though, I swear....lol.....
Saturday we spent walking around again. We were thinking of hitting up a museum, the Van Gogh or the Rijksmuseum, but the weather was too beautiful and we didn' really feel like spending 10euros to walk around inside. We met two really nice American girls at breakfast and planned a night out with them.....
The club that we ended up at was incredible!!! It was called Sinners. The music was great, a mix between house, hiphop and electro, and the 4 of us danced our asses off all night!!!! Fantastic, just what I needed :)
My camera was out of batteries for the trip, so as soon as I get them from Herby, ill post some pics.......trust me, there are some good ones!!
Next up is Norway for me. I will be away for the next week there for a skiing trip with Tanne's family. I promise to take pics this time and tell you all about it when I get back :) Take care all!!!
Sunday, January 28, 2007
C'est quoi Cheval???
I've been trying to follow the age-old saying "when in Rome, eat as the Romans do". So far this has worked out pretty nice for me. Great cheeses (brie, gouda, camambert, etc, etc, etc), great bread, great beer and wine. So I thought, I might as well continue with this philosophy. It turns out that another french specialty is....horse....meat....(insert grimace here)......
I thought I should take the good with the....not so good and try some of this so-called delicacy. I had it in a sauce that was slow cooked with some tasty Belgian beer and other good stuff (not sure what) and the meat, although a bit tougher than beef, was suprisingly pretty good! Next on the list: frog legs and escargot :)
Went to a really great open air market today for some grocery shopping. I loved it! it was so active with so many different stalls and people all over the place buying food, clothes and all other sorts of stuff at ridiculously cheap prices. I really like doing my shopping at a place like this as opposed to the huge supermarket (Carrefour is the big one here). I feel that I am somehow closer to the source and am supporting small enterprise. Its also nice walking around outside and being exposed to types of food that I have never seen before.
I thought I should take the good with the....not so good and try some of this so-called delicacy. I had it in a sauce that was slow cooked with some tasty Belgian beer and other good stuff (not sure what) and the meat, although a bit tougher than beef, was suprisingly pretty good! Next on the list: frog legs and escargot :)
Went to a really great open air market today for some grocery shopping. I loved it! it was so active with so many different stalls and people all over the place buying food, clothes and all other sorts of stuff at ridiculously cheap prices. I really like doing my shopping at a place like this as opposed to the huge supermarket (Carrefour is the big one here). I feel that I am somehow closer to the source and am supporting small enterprise. Its also nice walking around outside and being exposed to types of food that I have never seen before.
Friday, January 26, 2007
Paris!!!!
Hello folks,
After a long absence from writing, I'm back!! I've been pretty busy over the past two weeks, still trying to settle into the school here. As you might have noticed from my past posts, I have been having some troubles with figuring out my schedule and dealing with the administration in general. I think its a combination of my infamiliarity with the system here and disorganization on their part (no comment on which element of that combination is the most dominant :)
My girlfriend Tanne was here over the past two weeks which has been amazing! We spent some time touring around Lille. We went to the Musee de Beaux Arts in Lille where we found an excellent collection of paintings and historical artifacts from nothern Europe (Holland, Belgium, etc) We also made sure to take advantage of the food and drink available here in Lille, treating ourselves to cheese, wine, beer, bread, sweets and all that good stuff that is so abundant here....
We managed to find a few days to sneak off to Paris, which was fantastic! It being my first time there, I was really excited to see the sites and just experience this place that I had heard so much about. As you can imagine, it didn't disappoint. We checked out la tour Eiffel, Champs d'Elysee, l'Arc de Triomphe, Louvre, Center Pompidou, le Sacre Coeur, etc.. We also did a lot of walking around in various arrondissments. We took a walk around Montmarte, the area around the Sacre Coeur. I found this area really charming. The architecture was interesting and the area had a lot of life to it (as does a lot of Paris :) We also did some walking in the 11th Arrondisement. This is an area often overlooked by tourists, but is also a really cool place. We found a rich ethnic area with cheap goods (Tanne treated herself to a pair of shoes for 8 euro) and services (i treated myself to a haircut for 6 euro) and a plethora of great cafes and restaurants. (see attached photos for an idea of my experience)
Well thats it for now. I will try not to take so long to write again! Hope you enjoy :)
Monday, January 15, 2007
Settling in...still some frustrations....
I've started settling into my place at the Vieux Lille. It is a pretty tiny apartment, that I share with a kitchen, but its enough for me (how much space does one need when they only brought 20kg of stuff with them?) and it is in the most beautiful part of town. I have a huge park 5 minutes from my house that was actually a 17th century fortress.....pretty cool huh?
My schedule at school has proved to be a huge challenge to work out. They haven't seemed to grasp the idea of online registration and class info, so its incredibly difficult to figure out whats available and what works with my schedule. As it turns out, I may have anothertwo weeks off before starting school, which is good and bad :)
I've signed up for a student organized ski trip to the alps! This should be really exciting, they've rented a chalet for the 300 students going, and apparently there are open bars every night. This makes me wonder how many students will actually be on the slopes in the morning....I will defintiely search a balance of ski and party, with the skiing taking the priority (its the alps!!!)
I'll post some pics in the near future of my apartment and the beautiful area its situated in....
My schedule at school has proved to be a huge challenge to work out. They haven't seemed to grasp the idea of online registration and class info, so its incredibly difficult to figure out whats available and what works with my schedule. As it turns out, I may have anothertwo weeks off before starting school, which is good and bad :)
I've signed up for a student organized ski trip to the alps! This should be really exciting, they've rented a chalet for the 300 students going, and apparently there are open bars every night. This makes me wonder how many students will actually be on the slopes in the morning....I will defintiely search a balance of ski and party, with the skiing taking the priority (its the alps!!!)
I'll post some pics in the near future of my apartment and the beautiful area its situated in....
Sunday, January 7, 2007
Homeless in France!!!
So I arrived here in Lille thinking it would be fairly easy to find an appartment to share with someone. Appartently this isn't the case. After spending 2 nights at an hotel desperately trying to contact people, I stumbled on a bit of luck and random kindness. A girl who I contacted, although already having found someone for the room, offered to let me stay in her living room free of charge while I look for a place. This being someone who I've never met before! It is from here that I write this post.
I think I may have found a place to stay as well! It is a studio in the old part of Lille. This is a beautiful area with lots of bars, restos, and, as you can imagine, old buildings ;) It is a 15 minute walk to school which will give me some exercise in the morning....
School starts tommorow, which is the furthest thing from my mind at this point :) More updates once I settle into my proper space.
I think I may have found a place to stay as well! It is a studio in the old part of Lille. This is a beautiful area with lots of bars, restos, and, as you can imagine, old buildings ;) It is a 15 minute walk to school which will give me some exercise in the morning....
School starts tommorow, which is the furthest thing from my mind at this point :) More updates once I settle into my proper space.
Monday, January 1, 2007
New Year in a New City....
I arrived in Copenhagen on the evening of the 27th after a pretty long flight without any sleep. I slept a good 10 hrs that night, which went a long way towards overcoming my jetlag.
It was so awesome to see Tanne again. As soon as I saw her in the airport, her face lit up with a huge smile :) An indelible smile.....the start of a wonderful trip.
On the 28th we spent the day walking around a little bit, exploring her neighborhood. Strangely, I didn't feel that out of place. I guess this was partially because I am staying with Tanne, a local, and she is able to communicate and show me around. The differences are pretty striking though. The language is the most obvious one. Danish is a beautiful language, a little like german or dutch. I've been trying to pick up a few words here and there :) The prices don't seem terribly different from Canada. In general things are a little bit more expensive, but things like beer, wine and cheese are less expensive.
The Danes are crazy about their fireworks! From the day I arrived fireworks were being shot off in preparation for new years. These are not the puny fireworks that we are used to in Canada....but are serious bombs and rockets....
On New Years Eve the sky was alight with fireworks all over the city. After a little dinner party with Tanne, her roommates and some of their friends (See pics) we went out to the city to see some of the show. It was like nothing I've ever seen before. The air was thick with the smoke of the fireworks being set off all around us. We went to a bridge near the centre of the city where people congregate to watch the show, and it was amazing......
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