...And here I am...

...in France! Incroyable. Just wanted to throw in a quick first post so that the idea of a blog stops feeling intimidating to me. I remember trying to write mass e-mails the first time I went abroad (then it was Paris) and feeling completely at a loss for words...so hopefully this will be an improvement!

I had planned on writing something upon landing, but, as it turns out, my memory from take-off to...let's see...the train en route to Le Havre is an absolute VOID. For those who know what a terrible flyer I am you probably see how this is surprisingly good news...though, with that said, I'm still struggling to accept the fact that there are a few hours that are just completely irrecoverable to my memory. I was completely conked out. I thought I had dreamt about seeing the Eiffel tower from the plane, but apparently I actually did, and I showed it to my mom by grunting the word "tower" and pointing - and it's about the only thing I remember. What a marvelous tourist I am!

Upon arriving in Le Havre we were greeted so, so warmly by the wonderful Nathalie, who has been my contact from the Lycée all summer. A very brief drive to the school proved Le Havre to be far less hideous than I'd been warned -- in fact, the wide streets were quite nice! I'm very, very excited to go back and explore.

That night (yesterday), Nathalie and several other English faculty members took Mom and me out to dinner - it was beyond generous and SO much fun. I feel unbelievably lucky to have such wonderful, charming, funny colleagues.

And this morning we set out for La Bourgogne, taking the train from Le Havre to Paris before renting a car at Orly. Oddly enough, the second I stepped out of the train station in Paris, I felt a surge of stress...being in such a bustling city after the relative calmness of Le Havre was a shock, and as much as I love Paris it made me feel quite relieved to be trying somewhere new.

Also stressful was our quest for the rental car, which took us an hour and several flights up and down stairs in order to find the right garage level. But find it we did - and now we're here in la Bourgogne! As we rolled our suitcases from the car to our hotel (after the three hour drive), the owner tricked us into thinking that the hotel was elsewhere, and we had just wandered into someone's house...clearly he likes to tease. Before we went off to dinner (eggs in red wine sauce and beef bourgignon!) the hotel owner (Jean-Louis) took us to the hotel's wine cellar downstairs...which HAS A JACUZZI. Pictures to follow, bien sûr!

And now we're back in the hotel, and this post is about cooked. Just wanted to get started on this thing after all the inspiration from the many bloggers currently in my life. ; )

Love,

Marina