Coco, la chat qui à changé mon avis sur les chats. Je n'avais pas vraiment mon propre animal de compagnie. Quand j'étais petite, j'avais un petit chien que je traitais comme un bébé. Je ne suis pas sûr de ce que lui est arrivé. Ma mère s'en est probablement débarrassée. Mais c'est pourquoi je sais que je préfère les chiens aux chats. Sauf quand j'ai rencontré Coco, le chat de la mère de Max. 

Years ago, I wrote a bucket list in an old journal, and one of them was "Experience all four seasons." And now, here I am, living across autumn sunshine, winds and rain with a mixture of warmth and cold.
I may be only appreciating it now (because I was too preoccupied with hating the cold), but there is certainly a joy in the changing of seasons.

There is a sheer delight in folding your summer clothes and placing them back into the cupboard, then re-putting your warm clothes in the closet, taking out your boots from the boxes and stashing away your open shoes which all fits into one drawer. It is like getting a new set of wardrobe! There is a joy in feeling warm despite the bitter cold, in noticing the changing of colors around— the leaves are turning orange, the sky with traces of blue on some days or full-on gray during rainy days. On having shorter days. It's a way of life. 

Our final few days in Hyères before returning to Lyon were not quite eventful. The weather was not so friendly, and it was really starting to get cold. We went for a run with his mum at a vineyard. I managed to do 4.15km in 33 minutes. Not too shabby for me. 

On our last weekend, we went to another flea market, which didn't really quite hit the mark. It was a mix of a regular market, a street market and a flea market. But hey, I found a long sleeved dress for only 1 euro, what a steal!

The day before our train to Lyon, we went to the Asian store to buy "chayote". I've been searching for it since I arrived in Lyon last January, and the only place where I found it, quite surprisingly, was in Hyères, in the south, in the country side, à la campagne. When I was volunteering at Restos du Cœur for food distribution, there was chayote to be given away. The other volunteers (most of whom were French) had no idea what kind of vegetable it is. It was initially sorted as a fruit, alongside apples and bananas. So I had to explain to them that it is a vegetable, and not a fruit. No one from the beneficiaries wanted to take it. Surprisingly, one French lady took a curiosity out of it and even requested me to write down "chayote" on her phone so she wouldn't forget. Anyway, that's my chayote story. Lol

Besides that, I'm pretty shocked that there are more Philippine products in the Asian stores in Hyères than in Lyon. I purchased packs of powder sauce to make menudo, kare-kare and afritada. And also a jar of ube yam! 

Returning to Lyon after one month felt befitting. I was relieved to be back in the city, in our apartment with our well-cared plants. All thanks to our only Filipino friends in Lyon. More so, I felt delighted to be back in a familiar territory. After two weeks of travelling in Greece and three weeks in Hyères, it felt good being in our own place.

However, due to some family circumstances, we decided to go back to Hyères after only three days of staying in Lyon. Also, since we still have a week or two left before classes and work start. But our three days in Lyon were quite eventful albeit brief. 

On a rainy Friday afteronon, we ate ramen at a Japanese restaurant. It was advertised as Izakaya, when obviously, people go there to eat ramen. (Izakaya is a Japanese pub where you can grab small dishes like tapas and have drinks). My Asian self always craves for ramen whenever it is cold. Quand il y a du vent, ramen. S'il fait froid, ramen. S'il fait frais, ramen. Lol

Days before this photo, I'm still on my shorts and shirts, but now I'm back to layering.

But it is with this kind of cold that it feels good to run outside. So we dragged our lazy butts outside and went for an interval run along the river — 1 minute run, 20 seconds rest, repeat 13 times. It's nice to inhale the green scenery and the river while sweating from the run, makes the running less of a suffering.

On a Saturday night, Max went out to meet his friends while I stayed indoor — played FFVII then watched two romance movies. That's what I would call a relaxing weekend.

For the first time again in a few months, I forced myself to go bouldering. Yay! I can't even remember the last time I did this, yet we used to boulder once a week in Singapore. I didn't realized how much I missed it until I was on the wall, solving boulder puzzles, and going up and down the routes. It felt pretty good. (My forearms still hurt as I am typing this.)

After the bouldering session, we went to a friends' house for dinner, the only Filipinos I know in Lyon. And there, I met the third one. Lol We brought a home made apple crumble pie for dessert. It's been a long time since I last baked. 

The best part of the evening? We ate lechon kawali! Gahhhhd, my full blooded Asian self is dancing with joy hearing the crunchiness of the pork skin while I was devouring it. It was a feast just like any Filipino gatherings. I ate too much that I felt super bloated at the end of the night. 

Autumn is said to be the season of change and preparation, a season of growth and renewal. As the days become shorter and cooler, I can't help but feel a little sad that summer has come to an end. But this autumn will be the first in my lifetime and I'm excited to experience all things it has to offer. My next semester in the university will start in less than a week. Definitely, looking forward to meeting my new classmates and professors (and dressing up everyday again)! Meanwhile, I will enjoy the heat in the south whilst I still can. Ciao!

I'm not yet in the mood of posting about our two-week summer adventure in Greece or finishing my TODO blogpost lists and travel videos. Guess I'm really a serial procrastinator. 🙃

Ever since I started this blog, I've always stuck to my personal goal that I do this (including my travel videos) so that years from now, I can look back and reminisce of the years past. I am also a serial "reminiscer". Lol I like looking at old photos, or reading my thoughts from years ago. 

So here I am, for now, let me just document what have happened in the last weeks since we got back from Greece. And also, today is the official start of autumn! Summer is over. Wala lang, walang konek.
(I hope this is the start of a weekly or bi-weekly self "news letter" blog posts, for my own sanity na din. I probably should think of a catchy phrase for this segment. :)

Max's friends came over and spend three nights with us at his parents' house. During those three days, we just ate, played games, walked around the city and on the beach, ate more, and did 15-minutes-sauna-then-plunge-into-the-cold-pool, repeated three times. Lol

Since the start of summer, I think I did more hikes than the previous years of my life combined. Lol I'm not really a big fan of hiking, but I do love doing it from time to time. Some of the best views should really be well-merited. 

Le Sentier du Littoral à Giens (Hyères) — With Max's friends, we did 4.5 kilometers of walk along the coast passing by beautiful beaches, and clear sea waters. The end of the hike was at the restaurant, of course. Then on our way back, we stopped at a "secret" beach to chill, snorkel and played games. 

Le Mont Fenouillet — the hill is located just in front of Max's parents' house. Not our first time here, but at the summit of only 291 metres, there is a 360 degree point of view of Hyeres and the surrounding towns, islands and sea. I really like it up there, it brings some kind of peace and quiet. The hike until the cross is only at about 1 hour with approximately 4.8km.

Le Mont Faron — a mountain at Toulon overlooking the city and roadstead. The summit is at 548 meters high. There were tons of paths to do, but we only did a small one with 6km in total loop. It lasted us around 1 hour and 40 minutes with some stops in between. We did this with Max's mom right after visiting his dad at the hospital. There is cable car going to the top where you can start the hike. We brought a car and the roads were a bit scary for me. Lol I slightly got dizzy on our way down. 

Sentier du Littoral at Les Londes-les-Maures — Sentier littoral means coastal path. This is the most tiring, but the hike with the most beautiful views we did. The route is full of views of turquoise waters, scented pine forests, and white sand beaches. It was magnificent, albeit during a hot, sunny day. We did more than 14 kilometers back and forth with Max's mom. (She really sometimes amazes me how still sporty she is. Lol) We stopped a few hours at a beach to picnic and sleep a bit, then head our way back to the car.

Château d'Hyéres small trail — There are really a lot of paths and trails in Hyéres perfect for small hikes and walks. We did a 5 kilometer loop of quite an easy hike. The path reminded me of Pulau Ubin in Singapore though. It's bike-friendly and quite easy to navigate.

5 hikes in 2 weeks! Phew. Okay, enough with the hikes.

On one Saturday we went to a museum in the city center, and find out that it was free for a day was a delight! It was Journée du Patrimoine in which the open all museums, historic places, monuments, and remarkable places for free to the public. I didn't take a lot of photos though. The temporary exposition was about Georges Braque, a renowned artist of the 20th century. Then we also viewed some photos and paintings of Hyères from the previous years.

Lately, I've also been trying to learn how to draw. Drawing and dancing are two of my life biggest frustrations. I just don't get it. But anyway, I have Procreate on my iPad and with tons of YT tutorials, I managed to cartoonised some photos. I don't think I would be able to this without ProCreate though.

We have also been working out every other day and doing 25-minute yoga from time to time. I really like the mini gym at Max's house. There's an indoor bike, an elliptical, a treadmill, a multi-function weight machine for arms, legs and back, and some small equipments.

We watched a small classical concert at a church in the city center. It was impressive. I'm not really familiar with classical music, and I liked it a lot. It reminded me of the grand palaces in Versailles. 

One Sunday we went to a flea market and we bought a vintage analog camera. I spent some hours researching about it, and it was quite difficult to find some information as it was part of a series released way back in 1957 until the late 1960s by a German company. Just yesterday, we finally put a film on it and I hope to God, it still works (and we did not ruin the film, lol).

Then of course, a lot of cuddle time with Coco! She's so adorable. I'm not really into cats, but she completely changed my mind about them. 

There were also days when we went to the beach hoping to watch a sunset, but the sky was obstructed by clouds. And days of just chilling at home, sipping tea or coffee. Of course, this isn't everything. There were still a lot in between, that I would probably leave out especially about Max's dad being sick. But we're both really glad that he's on his way to recovery. Hopefully faster! 

That's all for now. We still have less than a week in Hyères before we go back to the city. Less than a week to enjoy the country side feels!

I was reading some blog yesterday, which made me realised, with all the time I had these past few months, why didn't I even try to go back to blogging. Short answer, because that's just me, only good with starting something.

 

Anyway, time really flies, no? It has been 7 months since I moved into Lyon. Whenever I meet new people (mostly friends of Max's family), they always ask me how has it been going for me in France, do I like it? "Ça te plait France?" "Comment était à Lyon?" And I'm always caught off guard by this question. So I often just say, "Oui, ça me plat bien sûr!" Voila, my short, non-conversational response. Hence, once and for all, let me tackle this question, for my own sanity, and for the next person who'll probably ask me.

I'm not lying when I say, "Yes, of course, I like it!" but probably, I was not convincing enough. To help me better articulate my thoughts ('cause I had a lot that I don't even know where to start), let me break down them into some obvious categories. 

Most obviously, this is the toughest part. For the record, I started learning French when I was still in Singapore, around January 2021 at Alliance Française Singapore. From the get go, it was difficult, but I loved it! I liked picking my brain and learning a new language. My classes every Monday and Wednesday were almost always the highlights of my week.

I was on an elementary level (A2) of French when I arrived last January 2022. Sure, having the basic French had helped me a lot. But man, it is an entirely different story when the locals speak. They converse fast, in slang, and most often times they shorten the phrases/words. It is nothing like what I learned in school. It was certainly overwhelming. 

Although, I was doing good in my French classes, the real-world application still gives me anxiety. I remember the first time I ordered a pain au chocolat at the boulangerie. The lady asked me if I wanted the receipt and I answered "Ha?" Lol. But hey, that gave me a sense of achievement. There's always a first! 

I still cannot hold a whole conversation in French without a pause, or thinking of my next word. 7 months in, and it's getting a bit easier I guess. Still difficult, but getting there. Just fake it, 'till you make it!

Il y a toujours une sensation séduisant, mais inexplicable lorsque vous arrivez la premiere fois dans une ville que vous rêviez à explorer. Et c'est ce que j'ai ressenti en arrivant à Paris. Apres six mois de vie en France, mon rêve d'aller à Paris s'est réalisé enfin.

C'était un voyage inattendu, qui n'a duré que moins de 48 heures. À 6h, on a pris le train pour aller à Paris et à 17h le lendemain, le train pour rentrer à Lyon. Des amis passaient par là cité, il fallait donc que je les voie. Par coïncidence, c'était le 14 juillet, le fête nationale de la France. Max ne voulait pas m'accompagner, il savent bien qu'il y aurait une foule de gens. Mais étant charmante moi-meme, j'ai insisté.

Ce jour-la, j'ai eu un coup de foudre. Il est vrai qu'on dit que la Tour Eiffel donne une impression puissante. Meme je lui ai vu de loin. Elle se démarque de l'horizon de la ville, uniquement attractive. C'est comme s'il flottait entre du paysage Parisien.

Pour voir le feu d'artifice, l'un des événements le plus attendus, il a fallu attendre sur le Champs de Mars pendant 6 heures. Et comme prévu, il y avait plein du monde partout. Le concert classique a commencé à 21h15. À 23h, tout le monde a les yeux vers La Dame de Fer, certain prennent des video sur leur téléphone, d'autres sont tout simplement émerveillés.