à Montluçon, etc...: September 2008

29 séptembre 2008

MONDAY

A cardboard man laying in a hospital bed inside a medical supply store. Sorry, the picture isn't very good, but the man looked real and it kind of made me jump.

Le Cler (the Cler River)

Pont de Saint Jacques in Montluçon

28 séptembre 2008

SUNDAY

Street sign of the road I live on.

An apple and pear "pie" that my roommate and I made from the fruit that our landlord gave us from his garden.

The local post office closes from noon to 2:30pm for lunch every weekday, much like most of the boulangeries (bakeries) and other shops. Today, I walked passed at least six boulangeries before I found one that was open.

Every Saturday there is a marché (market) in the square in front of the castle.

As I know that they marché is a normal thing, I am not sure if the presence of the motorcyles and band is a typical thing at the marché... I shall have to check it out on another Saturday.

Clothing and other items being sold at the marché

A shop in downtown Montluçon that sells dog care supplies and also offers dog groaming. This not the only store in town that has an English name, perhaps it is appealing to the consumer to have an English name, but unfortunately the name of the shop is not in proper English... there is no apostrophe needed.

downtown Montluçon

I took the bus back from downtown and the bus driver stopped half way there and joined a fellow bus driver for a smoke. It amused me.

26 séptembre 2008, first look at Montluçon

FRIDAY

My new abode; my bedroom window is the first one on the left.

My roommate, who is also an English language assistant from the UK, and I live on the main floor of the house. We share a kitchen, bathroom, living room, and dining room. Our landlord lives in the basement.

A picture taken from the kitchen window of my landlord coming in from his beautiful garden, where he grows a variety of fruits and vegetables... quite impressive.

Ma chambre (my room)

I technically live just outside Montluçon proper in the town of Prémilhat; this sign shows that I am leaving Prémilhat and entering Montluçon.

The medieval district in Montluçon

In Montluçon, the powerlines are mounted on concrete posts in contrast to wooden posts.

Le Cler (the Cler River)

Château des Ducs de Bourbon

Looking up at Château des Ducs de Bourbon from the town square

View of Montluçon from Château des Ducs de Bourbon

Wilson Gardens

25 séptembre 2008, Paris to Montluçon

THURSDAY

From Gare d'Austerlitz in Paris I took the train to Vierzon, where I transferred to another train that took me to Montluçon.

Saint Florent sur Cher (a town between Vierzon and Montluçon).

Gare de Montluçon

23-24 séptembre 2008, à Paris

TUESDAY/WEDNESDAY

I am not the grandest fan of a blog, but I thought this would be a more time economical manner to share some of my photos and experiences.
I apologize for my random photos, I have a tendency to take a lot and I tried and will try in the future to minimize the number that I post.
Below are some pictures from the two days I spent in Paris below taking the train to Montluçon. A majority of those two days were just spent walking the streets, as I had previously visited most of the major attractions.

Hostel I stayed at in Paris

S.V.P. = s’il vous plaît = (if you) please

Evidence that the US Elections holds interest in France with a billboard poster of Obama

les Tuileries

I randomly decided to walk through the Campus Universitaire de Jussieu in Paris and I found these posters of French President, Sarkozy, plastered about. I don't intend on being offensive, just found it kind of interesting as it demonstrates the students' sentiments.

Translation of the poster:

Sarkozy président, c’est 15 milliards pour les plus riches, et pour les étudiants ? (President Sarkozy gives 15 billion to the most rich and to the students ?
UNEF [union nationale des étudiants de France] (National Union of Students of France) – priorité à l’éducation (priority to education)