Well, apologies for the lateness of this first post - but I think I am now ready to tell you, Valence is beautiful, typically French - and I really, really like it already.
I arrived last Monday afternoon into Valence TGV station, just outside of Valence, to blue skies, sunshine and 26 degree heat. With all my heavy bags and a long journey, I was pretty hot but as I took the escalator up to the sortie of the station, I was greeted by the most breathtaking panoramic view of mountains - and I had to pause to take it all in.
I was based in Hotel de L'Europe for Monday night, and planned to be there until I found accommodation. I explored the town straightaway with a combination of wandering and the assisatnce of a map from tourist information. I visited the area of interest the Champs du Mars, which is a boulevard in the centre of the town lined with fountains, trees and benches and home to the Peynet bandstand in the middle. Looking straight out from there you can see the mountains, which is an amazing view. The Park Jouvet is just below this, and is a quaint, verdant park with exquisite flower and rose gardens, an animal area with deer in(!), tennis courts, a very impressive children's play park and a very sweet a little train for little children too! On the sunny afternoons and Sundays it is full of families and children, and is great place to read and to admire in the mountain view. The Avenue de Leon Gambetta is a wide boulevard running through the centre of the town, which then runs on over the Rhone river (which flows beyond Park Jouvet) to Guillherhand Granges, its sister town. Some of the most hip cafes can be found on the Avenue (such as Cafe Bancel), and in the evening it is stunningly European as it is lined with lights, which bring out the contrast of mountains silhouettes at the end as the light fades behind them. Valence has an old quartier which is comprised of a labyrinthe of tiny, cobbled streets and beautiful boutiques and cafes. It's a pleasant walk home for me from my accommodation and hopefully the beautifully dressed windows won't distract me to much on the way to school!
At the end of the Champs is my school. It's the main Lycee of the town obvious from its central location and imposing nature and, for me, it forms the picture of a typical French Lycee. I visited on Wednesday morning, and I was greeted very warmly by my coordinator, Christiane and the secretaries and Headmaster, who were all very welcoming and friendly.
So, the small matter of accommdation. On Tuesday made a bee-line for the accommodation I'd had contact with before I'd arrived, La Manu - a Foyer des Jeunes Travailleurs* down by the Rhone, on the edge of the centre-ville. I had heard they had no rooms, and Soph had even been in to push my case the week before - but they'd said there was no space yet for me, but I was on a waiting list. However, I was either very lucky or very blessed - but for some reason when I arrived on Tuesday morning, a room had become available there in the last few days - and they said to come back at 4pm and I could do the paperwork and get the keys. I think definitely blessed.
So, I sealed my room on Tuesday afternoon, moved in on Wednesday (with some help from Soph) - and cancelled the rest of my hotel booking. The foyer's great - it's a bit like uni halls, but the team who run them are so friendly and they will help you out with any problems you have from finances to health. They also try to keep people interacting in the Foyer - so for example, Monday night is film night in the Home Cinema, and Wednesday night we join up with Soph's Foyer on the other side of the town centre to play sport in a local sports centre. Because it's a place for young people too, they manage to get sweet deals like - FREE cinema tickets and tickets to the theatre for residents and super cheap ski weekends including all the components. So, Soph and I feel like we've hit on a good thing with the Foyers... Also as I eat my meals in the cantine, it means I have to be sociable with the Frenchies. I try smiling every now and again.
Soph and I have had a lovely week together here - she's been here a week longer than me, but we've been getting to know the town together over a glass of wine in Cafe Bancel (now named our local) or over dinner - and generally to debrief and share our new experiences together! On Tuesday evening, I had arranged an appointment to visit a potential house share with some French twenty-somethings - we arrived on time to a house, very untidy, and some very funny bohemian house mates who showed us around clothes-strewn rooms and then invited us to stay for a chat over some beer. We obliged, and it we can say its an evening we'll remember...
On Saturday morning, we visited the town markets in the centre, which are typically French and have a great selection of fresh fruit and vegetables, cheese, meats, cakes... almost everything! This Saturday there also happened to be another market on in the town... A market of 'Les Villes Jumelles' - meaning the towns in other countries twinned with Valence. So, admidst the German Schnitzel and Libyan flat breads on sale, we spotted "Clacton on Sea, Angleterre" and decided to go and say hello - and also managed to grab our last bacon and egg sandwich for a while. So we had a Saturday morning which combined the best bits of an English and a French Saturday morning... and we felt very at home in Valence.
So - my first week has whizzed past and it's been wondeful - and I hope I've brought you up to date with where I'm at and what I'm doing - and I'll blog again very soon with some more exciting bits of news and photos...!
* Foyers des Jeunes Travailleurs are common many cities and towns in France and are basically accommodation where young people who are working or studying the town can live together. It is like a university hall in set-up so each has their own room (all en-suite, some with kitchenettes too), but there are communal rooms like a games room, lounge - mine even has a Salle de Home Cinema! - and a cantine, for which I have a mealcard for included in my rent.
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