Bordeaux - Let the Sun Shine!! & my new job!

Families enjoying a sunny afternoon along the Quais

Greetings from Sunny Bordeaux!!

You don't know how long I have waited to say that!  If you remember from one of my previous posts (about Carnival in Bordeaux) - it was really cloudy and threatening rain during that parade.  Well - that's been the story of this whole winter - lots of rain, lots of clouds....and then more rain, more clouds.  

A different view of Bordeaux - looking toward the Pont Chabon-Delmas and a river cruise heading out.

I am just so happy now that we are into March, we are seeing some sun!  I love how the sun makes me feel - livens the mood, lifts the spirits and returns our energy! 

I have been lucky enough to have enjoyed the past few days outside, walking around in the the sunshine!

The town square in Libourne

I have a little confession to make - you may have noticed that I haven't been posting on my blog as frequently as I had in the past - well it's not that I haven't wanted to blog - I have lots of ideas - lots of posts started - but I have just been running out of time.  

I have decided to go back to work - return to the workforce and I'm trying my hand at something new - something different. What is it you ask?  It's funny, I look back even 5 years ago and I would have said I was going to be a school guidance counselor for life.  I never really saw myself, at that point, doing something else.  I had a great job in the States, loved my students and colleagues.  I knew the statistics that people changed not only jobs, but careers and it really was rare for someone to stay in one career their whole life - but that's where I was...then - boom - we moved to France!

Libourne

I knew when we moved here that under my carte de sejour (long-term stay visa) that I would be able to work - but I also knew that I would not be able to be a school counselor here.  The certifications are not reciprocal, let alone this type of job really doesn't exist in the same way here.  Yes, there might be a private international school that might look at my credentials, but there is only one school like that here in Bordeaux.  Truthfully, I was also intimidated early on by the French language itself.  Yes, I do speak French, yes, I read it fluently but I still felt like a fish out of water.  My confidence was my biggest limitation.

I was happy to be home more for the girls, and happy to settle into our new life in France.  But late last year, I began to feel like I missed working, missed being part of something bigger than our family - missed contributing to society in some way.  I wasn't sure what I wanted to do, but I also knew that I really only wanted to work part-time.  Ideally, it would be something that would work around the girl's school hours and also had some flexibility. 

Saint Emilion

It was strange to me to be re-inventing myself in my forties.  What did I want to do?  What could I do in a foreign country? I was busy pondering this thought for months - did I want to write more?  Could I do freelancing writing for magazines? Did I want to work from home?  Go into an office?  Did I want to work individually?  with others?  All of these were the same questions, I remember asking my high school students as they were choosing their career paths.  But now it was my turn.

Well - amazingly enough, before I formally started looking - an ad for a job literally landed in my inbox - shared with me to pass on to my international expat club...It was one of those moments where I read the description and I knew this was my answer - a job that amazingly fit all my criteria and additionally allowed me to share my love for this great city and region!

The Cloisters in Saint Emilion

So what am I doing? - I'm going to be a freelance tour guide.  I will be guiding groups around my beautiful city of Bordeaux,  the Saint Emilion area and also Arcachon - out on the Ocean.  I can name the days I'm available and take off days that I'm unable to work.  The best part of this job is that I get to lead these tours in English!! 

So - for the past few months - I have been researching (feeling like I went back to college to study French history, architecture, wine, geography etc..). It's been lots of fun, but tons of work. - I really do feel like I'm a student again.  Crash courses in the history of Bordeaux, history of nearby towns - history dating back to the Roman times through modern times.  Lots of reading about the wine industry, all the different types of wines in this area, the different chateaux, people - you name it - I think we had to study it.  I feel like an encyclopedia bursting at the seams!  But I have always loved history and learning - so truthfully, it's been interesting and fun at the same time.  

During the past couple of weeks we have had the luxury of being shown the routes, the areas and going over exactly what we have time to cover on the tours. But knowing we have knowledge to answer questions. So I'm nervous - but excited at the same time.

Another view of the Cloisters

So with the sun shining here in Bordeaux - it's been nice to be outside enjoying this area as I enter into the next phase of my life.  I truly feel lucky to not only be able to enjoy this area, but also to share it with others!  As a friend of mine said when I shared a photo of the Sauternes wine vineyards - Pretty nice view from your "office"!  I definitely can't complain - I get to enjoy all of this each day I work! 

Don't worry - I still love blogging and sharing our adventures....and I will probably have more adventures to share as I show off this great region.  So wish me luck and think of me in the coming weeks as the countdown begins for my first tour!

Looking down a narrow street in Saint Emilion

Town Square - Saint Emilion

 

Looking up toward bell tower and church - Saint Emilion

*All photos taken by me with Cymera on my cell phone.

Uniting the World and Cultures in song- HAPPY by Pharrell Williams

Pharrell Williams' song HAPPY 

and the world-wide phenomenon

Happy from Bordeaux, France

Have you ever had something you wanted to express but didn't know where to start?  Or you wanted to write something down, but didn't know how to capture it?  How do you share a feeling, intuition or an emotion and then describe it in written words?

That's the way I feel this morning, I'm very moved by a phenomenon that I see happening on-line, on the internet and in this world-in general.  It's happening through music, through a song that seems to be taking the world by storm. It's one of the songs from the popular movie of last summer, Despicable Me. It's call "Happy" by Pharrel Williams. This catchy, upbeat, fun song is presently on top of the music charts world-wide and is even taking on a life of it's own.

People all of the world are enjoying it's words, catchy melodies and rhythm and it's truly creating Happiness world-wide.  Why do I say this?  Well if you follow my facebook page or Google+ link, you may have seen the video above that I shared a few weeks ago- "HAPPY from Bordeaux "- my current city.  This 4 minute clip shows people all over Bordeaux lip syncing and dancing to the song.  It's upbeat, fun and, in addition, gives the viewer a great sense of the city of Bordeaux and the Bordelaise people.

When I first saw this,  I thought "Wow" - what a great idea.  What a great way to show off this incredible city - not only the city itself but it's people.  I felt it showed how most people I know feel about this area.  A true reflection and one couldn't help but fall in love, all over again, with Bordeaux after listening and watching this video.  There is just something about this song - you listen to it and instantly, you feel lighter, freer and of course happier!  It's also a song that's very difficult to get out of you head - one can find themselves bopping and jiving to the beat.  But really is this such a bad thing?

So this morning as I was having my cup of coffee, my husband was listening to a video on TV that  was sharing that this concept is happening worldwide - People from cities all over the world are putting together videos about their cities to this song!  It's a spontaneous world-wide effort and it seems to be changing the morale of people.  This song is perfect - HAPPY - isn't it what everyone should be?  Put aside conflicts, put aside strife and just be and live life!

For about 45 minutes this morning, my husband and I scanned YouTube to find these videos - and since the beginning of 2014 there are many from all over.  We clicked on London, Paris, cities in Morocco, we enjoyed seeing Rome.  I was just amazed at the common thread of a single song and watching people from many different cultures dance and move to the same beat.  What a beautiful way to show how we are all different but also similar.  It was hard not to be moved by the whole phenomenon.

It's also a great way to show kids the world through a medium that they know well - popular music.  To see Beijing, to view Sydney, see people in Moscow all dancing and uniting through music.  You can get the feel of each country, city and the people just by watching these.  They are all truly moving in their own way.  Each are spontaneously done by different groups of people in various cities.  Each showing being "Happy" in their cities.  Below are a few of my favorites.

Happy from Moscow

Happy from Budapest

Happy from Marrakesh

Happy from Jamaica

One of the most moving videos is from the city of Kiev, where they filmed the video among the camps and barriers, as the people are the fighting for Ukraine to be free.

Happy from Kiev

I have put together a playlist including videos from all over the world to just give a sampling of all the cities that have joined this movement.  My family and I are enjoying the sights of these great cities and also learning about so many other cities that we were not as familiar with. People from all kinds of cities, small, medium, large - it doesn't matter - it just takes a group willing to produce one.  Such great lessons in this multi-cultural world.

If you are a reader and your city has a video and it was not included, feel free to email me and I'll add it to the playlist.  It would be fun to see this list grow so a true world-wide variety is accessible.  

I hope I was able to convey how special this movement feels to me and it's one I'll love to see keep growing - when we, as people, are more focused on happiness - the whole world becomes a better place.

Celebrating Carnival in Bordeaux, France-Les Carnaval des deux rives 2014!

Dancing - Antilles style

Hoping to keep the rain away!

It's that time of year - Carnaval!

It's actually one of the fun traditions that I have enjoyed celebrating here in France. Coming from New York State, Carnaval was not really celebrated-we read about it and friends who would go to New Orleans to celebrate Mardi Gras (The last day of Carnival season).  But we had never really experienced it.  So what exactly is this Winter/Spring festival?

It actually dates back  hundreds of years ago when the followers of the Catholic religion in Italy started the tradition of holding a wild costumed festival right before the first day of Lent.  As Catholics are not suppose to eat meat during Lent, this festival was named "Carnevale" which means "to put away the meat".  As time passed, carnivals in Italy became famous and the tradition passed to all the Catholic Countries in Europe.  As the French, Spanish and Portuguese began to explore, settle and gain control of the Americas and other parts of the world, they brought with them their tradition of celebrating carnival!

Here in Bordeaux, it is definitely celebrated - maybe not as crazy or extensive as other parts of Europe, but it's colorful and fun. A time to push away the winter grayness. This festival makes for a great excuse for a parade! At the maternelle (Pre-school) they often marked the holiday with a Carnaval parade of the students.  Always fun and bright - I loved the fact that the school would pick a theme and the teachers and students would make their own costumes!  You may remember reading about it in this post -HERE .

This year, we decided to go to Bordeaux and watch the Parade & the celebration in town - Les Carnaval des deux Rives.  This year's theme was celebrating China.  It was fun, colorful and even though there were tons - yes, thousands of people - a nice way to spend an afternoon.  This is also what I love about living here - the kids get to experience different cultural celebrations.  

It was also fun to see it how many children & families came dressed up to celebrate the occasion.  The festival organizers held several workshops ahead of time for groups & families to create masks, kites and hats to all wear during the festivities.  Many groups walked in the parade and others just joined the end to follow along.  One could really celebrate this holiday any way they wished!! 

We placed ourselves in front of Place de la Bourse (okay-so the photographer in me wanted the backdrop of my photos to be the beautiful historic buildings!) and waited.  The parade began at 2:15 pm from the center of Bordeaux and wound it's way out of town and then along the quai toward the Pont Pierre.  We were located mid-way on the parade route.  This seemed to also be the area where several groups joined the parade to only walk half the distance - which was a benefit for us as we got to see them prepare ahead of time.

Patiently (or sometimes, not so patiently) waiting for the parade

My youngest and myself

A group practicing and getting ready before joining the parade.

Loved the Chinese hats made from umbrellas

A costumed couple walked through town before the parade - many people asked them to stop for photos!

Finally -We could see the parade coming with the Bird kites and balloons.

Bordeaux celebrates the 50th anniversary of Diplomatic relations with China

Everyone having fun

Fun & bright! - Lots of Chinese Dragons

The head....

& the tail...

Loved the stunningly beautiful kites!  Amazing !

Groups danced and played music

Lots of confetti thrown

Fun colors

Loved this little guy who carried this dragon!

A more traditionally dressed - Carnaval couple

Up on stilts - Chinese style!

Loved this mechanical dragon - complete with smoke & a  loud Roar!

These cranes were stunning to watch as they "flew" through to music and smoky effect..Very graceful.

Complete with a Panda!

My girls threw confetti and also benefited from receiving it!

Another float celebrating Bordeaux's relations with China

These guys danced and swirled with their dragon!

The Dragon Dance

More colorful floats

Another float & the thousands of people!

People following the parade

We opted not to follow the parade across the Pont Pierre (The historical bridge crossing to the right side of the river) where they were finishing with the traditional Carnaval ceremony.  Looking at the paper this morning - I'm sort of glad we didn't - The bridge itself was full (and I mean FULL) of people tightly packed as they made their way to the other side.

It was nice to take our fond memories of this afternoon and head off for a snack in a warm restaurant!

Hope everyone enjoyed Carnaval - Bordeaux Style!!

Atlantic Beaches in France - Hendaye & Saint Jean-de-Luz

Off to the Beach...

Beach in Hendaye

There is just something about a beach....no matter what month...no matter the weather (although, sunshine is nice!).  I'm not sure if it's the sand, the wind, the air...it just feels natural, just feels free and open.  For me, standing at the edge of a beach and letting the breeze blow against my face is just plain relaxing!  The smell of the salt air, the waves rolling in, and the vast openness of the landscape - it's peaceful and always puts me in a great mood.

My children are no different ...They LOVE the beach.  LOVE might not even be a strong enough word.  As soon as they know we are close to the Ocean - they want to stop - they want to head there - first to see it and then...to put their feet in. Always, no matter what weather - off come the shoes & socks and the toes just start wiggling in the sand.

Now remember - it's February here.  It's still Winter - it's still chilly.  Yes, there are the "die-hards" out there surfing - in wet-suits.  But my children - all they want is to breathe the air and get their toes in the water. 

These photos were taken a week ago - as we toured the beaches of Hendaye & Saint Jean de Luz. I love looking at these and seeing how relaxed they are - I love that they each do their own thing...my youngest loves to still play in the sand, push it together, and build.  My oldest loves to take photos of the water, sand and her sisters.  My middle one - loves to run, walk and even draw in the sand. It's like they can't get enough....

They ran down to the beach - I'm standing up on the wall taking this photo.

Digging & playing

Enjoying the surf!

Sisters

Taking in the salt air

A cartwheel is always fun in the sand

She loves to build

Sand snowball?  It is February remember?

When your hands have had enough, time to use your feet.

Love this photo!

Another photographer in the family!

My middle daughter and I

The next day we headed to Saint Jean de Luz - yes, we enjoyed the town (I'll write about that lovely Basque Country town in another post) but of course, we had to find the beach there too!  It didn't matter that they had done the same thing the day before - it's like the sand and the water just call to them!!  To me too - again it just provides this peaceful, tranquil atmosphere!

The beach - Saint Jean de Luz

The beach is more protected with breaker walls - still beautiful, but calmer.

Love footprints in the sand!

Note the fleece sweater - but pants rolled up and bare feet!

Waves rolling in - Fort Socoa in background

More building

jogging along

As I sit here typing, and it's pouring rain outside- it's enjoyable to look back at our photos from last week.  It wasn't perfect weather - but we had enough sun and warm(ish) weather to really enjoy ourselves.  We were all happy to get away for a couple days and get refreshed.

I hope for those of you who are dealing with the snow events in the States can enjoy these photos and that they help you to remember your fond memories of the warmer ocean air and know those days will be arriving soon.  

Will be sharing another post shortly describing the beautiful Basque Country towns of Saint Jean de Luz & Hendaye - beautiful destinations in Southern France on the Atlantic Coast.