"You can still see it from there"

- Quote from Jenny, the Warner Bros Tour Guide about the WB Water Tower...

After I left Warner Bros Studios, I waited nearly 45 minutes for an every 10 minutes bus... I wasn't very impressed given that it was around midday and even in the shade it was very hot!

"Krustyland" - The Simpsons Ride

I finally arrived at Universal Studios at around 1:30-2pm. The buses take you to the main road and then you get a little train car up the (very steep) hill to Universal.

A house used in Desperate Housewives

Probably one of the cooler staff
outfits at Universal Studios
#Shrek

With a 3+ Day LA City Pass, Universal is included, which is excellent as tickets are around $95 (nearly £70) separately! I got in the queue (which had no shade) and was stood there for nearly 30 minutes before reaching the front - thankfully it wasn't that long, as not many people seem to go in at lunchtime, but the people in the ticket booths were rather slow... When I finally got to the front of the queue, they then told me that because I had the City Pass, I actually needed to be in the "Special Tickets" queue. I was so cross that they didn't have a sign saying that somewhere?! So off I went to the "Special Tickets" queue, only to have to wait for another 20 minutes with the other 3 people in the queue because there was only one booth open, and the woman at the front was asking some really complicated questions that took forever!

We can just blow up a few
planes for a movie, right?

I think I finally made it in there sometime around 3pm, so I was pretty annoyed as that left me with much less time to do things. I asked the Info desk what the best order to do things in was, and was advised to start with the Studio Tour, as that closes first.

More queuing followed - although that queue had shade for some parts of it, and the water sprayer things on the ceiling which helped, but the shade made it stuffy and there were a lot of hot, bothered, stroppy children both in front and behind me...

Before...

...After

Mum thought I'd love the Studio Tour more than anything - probably because she did back in the 80's - but most of it wasn't that great. They drive you around some of the Film/TV sets, and then you see some of their special effects 'studios'. Some of them were great, like one where they flooded a town in about 30 seconds, and one where they threw a load of train carriages around an underground station and made the roof collapse, but there were lots of really cheesy bits that were just a bit ridiculous and overly American... For example, a lake with a dummy diver in there, the tour guide shouts "This is our diver friend, Steve. Hey Steve", next a Shark appears in the lake behind the diver suit, and the tour guide starts screaming "Ahh, Steve look out behind you" as the shark gets closer and appears to pull the dummy below the water... "Noooo, Steve! Steeeeveee!!", she screams....

10:04pm, 12th November 1955
(Back to the Future)

They had some special "new" 3D bits too - the King Kong and Fast & Furious rides. These are pretty clever as they drive into a garage and display 3D screens on the walls around you, and the floor moves too so you feel like you're being bashed about by a T-Rex and falling off rope bridges and being caught by the King of the Jungle...

After that, I checked out the Shrek ride, as it had a short-ish wait time (around 15 minutes). That was a 3D film in one of those cinemas where the chairs shake and they spray you with water and air etc. It was a spooky, halloween kind of ride which I wasn't so into, but it was quite clever.

At this point, it was probably coming up to 5:30pm. I wanted to see the Waterworld Show at 6:30pm, but wanted to go on some more rides in the meantime. The Jurassic World ride (and a Mummy ride) is on the lower level of Universal, which takes around 10 minutes to get to as it's basically at the bottom of the very steep hill again (although on another side) and so you have to spend ages going up and down escalators to get between the two areas of the theme park.

They are building 

"The Wizarding World
of Harry Potter" 

but it's not open until
April 2016 *sob*

At the top of the very long escalator bit, I asked some Universal staff if I'd have enough time to get down there, go on the Jurassic ride and get back over to the Waterworld show in an hour. "Urrm, maybe not but just wait right here a mo", says one of the (very LA) Universal staff. A minute later, he came back with a Fast-track Queue Jump ticket for one ride. I sprinted down the several sets of escalators/stairs, and shoved my stuff in a locker (it's a wet ride), only to find out that Jurassic has a "Single Riders Line" which, very conveniently, was practically empty.

This was a fun ride. You go on a little boat trip along a river with the Jurassic Park music playing and dinosaurs moving about. Then, you go into a garage sort of thing, and have the T-Rex roar above you, right as you hurtle down a very steep waterfall and splash in the bottom.

I had loaaads of time left, plus my Fast-track ticket, so went for the Simpson's ride too. I waited in a queue for rather a long time (wasn't happy as I was told "it'll be less than 2 minutes"). This one is not suitable for anyone with pretty much any medical conditions whatsoever as it's a "Very Violent" ride - which they weren't joking about. This one you get lined up for ages in a Simpson's themed room before getting directed into your separate rooms with up to 5 other people in your queue. Then you hop into a little car which later on raises up on a pole and very forcefully pushed forwards, backwards, and from side of side while you watch a 3D video of a Simpson's rollercoaster ride with Sideshow Bob...

Waterworld Show

After that ordeal, I ran over to the Waterworld Show which from memory was due to start at 6:30pm (I had about 5 minutes to get across the whole park to get over there), thinking I was going to miss it. I thought it was a bit of a miracle there was any seats left - the only ones available were the non-wet-zone seats (no complaints from me). This was one of those generic shows involving giant spray hoses, jet skis and pyromaniacs supposedly along the theme of the Waterworld film (which I have yet to watch - IMDb only gives it a 6.1/10... I may never get around to it).

Waterworld Pyrotechnics...

Huge American
Hot Dog!

Overall, I'd recommend Universal Studios, but I'm not sure I'd go there more than once (that's a lie, I'll go there again for Harry Potter World, but that's all!). It's just rather overpriced, and it was just so soo hot in August!!

Gril de Buffles (Buffalo Grill)

Buffalo Grill

On Friday afternoon, Allison's classes got cancelled. As I also was not working, we thought we'd go for work.

Living with a very French family (unlike the demi-French family I live with), Allison was desperate for non-French food. Ideally she wanted curry. Or chinese. But after a bit of research we realised that few of these places were open for lunch.

A Teenagers Menu??

I decided that as it was rainy, we should drive somewhere as I didn't want to walk into the centre. After yet more googling, we found some restaurants in La Glacerie, a nearby village/town.

French-Style, Famous American Bacon Burger 

We chose... Buffalo Grill! A french take on a western
/american style grill restaurant. It wasn't bad really. The waiter was quite happy to speak to us in English which was nice.

I quite enjoy the being served with salad and bread before you've even ordered in some French restaurants (Courtepaille also being one of those such restaurants).

Dessert Pancakes. Yum.

We went for the Famous All American Bacon Burger (or some
thing to that effect) which they then Frenched up with Dijon mustard and Bearnaise sauce. It was good, but I feel like I might have just preferred a steak.

We were stuffed, but had chosen the 'Chef' Menu (2 courses and a drink for just 14.50) so ordered Pancakes for dessert. Allison was so confused by Pancakes being on the menu for dessert; "but pancakes are a breakfast food!?", she said.

All in all, not a bad meal out. We didn't actually arrive until about 2:30pm, and then sat and talked til nearly 5pm (poor Waiter). I'm pretty sure we were the only people there the whole time!

American-style decor

Mes Raisons De Ne Pas Avoir Des Enfants

I like to think of myself as someone who is good with kids (I decided to be an Au Pair for a year didn't I?!) but there are just some things that make me think/say/wish/scream 'I am never having kids. Ever.'

So, if you're feeling broody, just read my helpful top (was just 5, but quickly expanding) reasons why you may want to reconsider going down that road right now. I'm sure it's more effective than all other contraceptives combined...

________________________________________________________________________________

6. Your body. 
Not only does childbirth destroy the body, but the human spawn gets bigger and stronger, and proceeds to continue hurting you too. They're not even mine and I'm covered in bruises from having toy cars smashed into me or being kicked or punched for asking for something as simple as 'please put your coat on' or 'let's eat lunch'. Oh and then there's all the scratches and bruises I've received from Aurianne when she's climbing on me or when I'm trying to wrestle her into tights. Ouch.
________________________________________________________________________________

5. Mealtimes
Why are they so hard? Why does it take someone so small who is eating half of what an adult is eating, take 3 times as long to do it? I'm 90% sure that the average length of a mealtime is 1 hour. And that is just eating. Simple main course and fruit/yogurt for dessert. With no breaks in between. Not even intellectual conversation.

Not only that, but it looks as though everything supposedly eaten during the aforementioned meal has been splattered across the floor, table, chairs, children, clothes and me. I do so much more laundry than I ever did before for this main reason. The other reasons are slightly higher on my list because they are just a little bit more gross than regurgitated banana. Who knew.
________________________________________________________________________________

4. Lack of sleep. 
This could probably have come under 'my body', but it's so extreme I think it deserves its whole own heading. Why, children? Why will you no sleep at night?! This week I think I've been woken up an average of 3 times per night, every night. And I'm not even the one that has to get up and deal with it! There's mid-night toilet trips, coughing fits, earache, 'I can't/don't want to sleep', feeding time and nappy changes. Oh, and then they wanna get up at 6am?! Not cool.
________________________________________________________________________________

3. Creatures.
See my post about 'Worms, Headlice and other human parasites'. Need I say more. This is another reason for dramatically increased laundry...
________________________________________________________________________________

2. Poo and other bodily excretions.
(Here's the final laundry reason). Only three times today have I changed a pooey nappy and had it smeared across my hands. I have also endured wiping a 3 year old's poo smeared bum, and poo being picked up out of a potty and thrown on the floor (that was last week. Fingers crossed for never again). And there's wee too. Marc thought it was hilarious to stand up in the bath and wee 'at me', while Aurianne has been perfecting the skill of mid-nappy change wees lately.

There's also a crazy amount of snot and dribble that come out of those little bundles of joy. So much of it seems to end up on my jeans/jumpers etc. it's unreal.
________________________________________________________________________________

1. Three year olds.
To enlighten you about the joys of 3 yr olds, here are just some of the charming things Marc has said to me today....

'Why?'
'I don't want to eat dinner'
'I'm going to throw the broccoli in the bin'
'I'm going to stab you because you're naughty'
'I'm going to throw you in the bin because you're not nice'
'AHHHHHHH'
'Why?'
'Nooo, I won't'
'I think you're mean'
'I'm going to spill this yoghurt on the table'
'Bam bam. I'm bashing you with my car'
'I'm going to throw peas at you'
'WOOOOOO, I'm scaring you because I'm cross'
'I'm not hungry so I'm not eating anything for my dinner' (closely followed by...)'I want stroopwafels'
'I'm going to break you'.

We've also had several tantrums for what I can only describe as the most ridiculous of things over the past few days. One of which involved screaming and running into the middle of the road after the request that we walked a little bit faster (a 10 minute walk home from school had taken over 30 mins and we weren't even half way home yet...), another involved collapsing on the playground in a fit of rage and despair and refusing to get up for 10 mins after I told him I had Prince chocolate biscuits for an after-school snack and not the dinosaur biscuits he wanted.

I googled 'dealing with a 3 year old' and this absolute genius of an article was the first hit. I think it sums it all up pretty accurately!
________________________________________________________________________________

Oh, and before people start trying to tell me 'but you're just an Au Pair! Kids are great!'... Yeah, I'm sooo sure it's completely different when they're your own. It's probably 10 times worse because you're the one that actually has to deal with it all 24/7 (unless you have an au pair, that is....!)

Rant. Over.

L'Anniversaire de Theo

Gâteau d'Anniversaire
with a sparkler candle!

Le Pantagruel - Grill Restaurant

This week it was Theo's (one of the language assistants) birthday.

Theo invited me and the language assistants in the area out to dinner to celebrate. There were 8 of us altogether (7 girls and Theo), including a Chilean, two Americans (one of whom was Allison), a German, a Jamaican, a Costa-Rican and an Irish girl. Oh, and English me.

Pommeau Aperitif
(Apple juice
mixed with Calvados)

It was very multicultural gathering. It's a shame this didn't happen before my assessment for my 'Languages and Cultures' module - "discuss a recent Intercultural Encounter".

We all went to Le Pantegruel Restaurant - a grill restaurant near the centre of Cherbourg on Rue Tour Caree. It was a really nice little place with very friendly owners who all tried to speak English to the English speakers among us.

French Menu (left)
vs. English Menu (right)

Butcher's Choice Steak with Jacket Potato

They had an English Menu, but it just showed a very small selection of the main courses, rather than the whole menu in English so we needed the French menu anyway.

I had 'Onglet' - the butchers choice steak with jacket potato (I was having a potato craving as Fran is actually allergic to potato so we very rarely have it). It was really nice steak - possibly one of the best steaks I've ever had!

Giant bowl of chips!

Most people ordered chips and rather than coming on the individual's plates, they brought a huge bowl of them instead.

In between dinner and dessert, we all tried to inconspicuously sign a birthday card for Theo. It was working quite well behind the dessert menu, but then they took it away so we had to disappear surreptitiously to the bathroom!

The Dessert Menu - lots of choice!

L'Assiette du Pantagruel (Selection of 5 French desserts)

For dessert, I had planned on sharing the 'L'assiette du Pantagruel' (selection plate) with someone, but then ended up having it to myself. Oops. It had a selection of five desserts. When I asked what they were they said 'Ahh, surprise!' so I just risked it and ordered it anyway.



It was very nice. It came with a slice of brownie, apple tart (tarte tatin), pistachio ice cream in raspberry coulis, a creamy mouse and Iles Flottante ('floating island' - little meringues floating in creme anglais). It was really tasty!

Allison had Crème brûlée
I tried some, it was tasty!

The owners were very nice and had a chat with us (in a mix of English and French) about what schools the language assistants were at and what we all want to do 'when we grow up'/after studying etc.

French Border Collie puppy

We had to leave at 9:45pm as one of the other language assistants - Sara, the Irish girl - had to catch a bus as they don't live or work in the centre of Cherbourg like most of the others do.

While we were stood waiting, a man came up to us and asked if we were English (he'd heard us talking) and then showed us his gorgeous border collie puppy! Can't remember what its name was - something French...

The Napoleon Statue at Night

Afore mentioned frenchman came up to us again 10 mins later (we were still waiting for a non-existant bus to turn up for Sara) and asked "J'ai partager une l'eglise avec vous'. Now, my french isn't excellent but I understand 'I have to share a church with you'. I looked at him blankly thinking I'd misheard, when he said 'oh, yes sorry, I forgot. English'. He then preceded to tell us about some Christian retreat him and his wife run in the summer for 18-25 yr olds. Theo interjected with 'Oh, that sounds wonderful but we actually have to leave in April so we won't be here. I'm so sorry.' And then he left. Very odd.

Sara's bus never actually did turn up but she managed to call her supervisor at the school who came to get her instead.

Le Mercredi est Jour de Gâteau

The Apple Garden Café on Rue Gambetta

So this week, Allison and I decided to check out a new café she'd walked past with her host family. It was called 'Apple Garden Café'on Rue Gambetta. We went on Wednesday afternoon (fast becoming cake day), while Aurianne was asleep in the pram.

It was a lovely little café. Very clean and bright, with artwork in English and a bookshelf with lots of English books on it.

At first, we were a bit confused as to whether we ordered from the table or the counter (most cafés seem to be from the table), but no one came over and there was no menu... Also, all the cakes were in one of those glass display cases so we had to go up and have a look. We just ordered while we were over there.

The Apple Garden Café
(I believe that's the owner stood to
the right of the counter - Google tells me
his name is Derek Smith)

They didn't have quite the selection that some of the patisseries and cafés have, but it was more similar to a British café with a small selection (although the selection was more desserts than your custom shortbread and cakes that one might find in a café in the UK).

We went for 'Cheesecake Chocolat Blanc' and 'Panna Cotta Chocolat Noir'. They also had New York Cheesecake, which Allison (an American, albeit West Coast) had never heard of. Perhaps that's something we've created and given an American name? Like French toast - no one in France knows what French toast is supposed to be! Allison had also never heard of Panna Cotta, so I tried to explain that it was like a set custard cream dessert, probably from Italy (I got the origin right, but it's cream, egg white and honey according to Wikipedia!)

It was a good choice, (Allison was sad to realise they also had cookies but that we couldn't see them).

Dark Chocolate Panna Cotta (left)
and White Chocolate Cheesecake (right)

Aurianne isn't very well at the moment, and she woke up coughing after about 10 mins of sleep - not ideal, especially as she hadn't had a nap that morning. I then spent an hour trying to get her back to sleep (during which time she was fed cheesecake), and then she finally went back sleep again.

The (we think) owner came over to ask us how everything was - in English!! Allison didn't notice he was speaking English at first, but he was very nice. He had a (I think) French Canadian accent, so that would probably explain the English decor, and name of the Café. It was a very nice place though - it even has an outdoor patio (which lots of school kids went out to) which would be quite nice in the Summer!

Une Excursion d'une Journée à Caen

On Sunday 28th September, I spent the day in the French City called 'Caen'. The main reason I haven't actually written this until now is because I tend to do these using photos as a reminder of what I did, meaning I have to go through them, discard the blurred/hand/floor photos, pick and choose the good ones, and rotate about a third or more before I can even think about writing.

During my trip to Caen, I somehow managed to take 442 photos, so naturally it's taken me a while to get around to going through them. I've got it down to 180...

Anyway, here's a selection of the photos!

Cherbourg Train Station

A tower in Caen City Centre

There's a big market in Caen on Sunday mornings.
I arrived just before the end of it.

Flower Market

A French/British Restaurant, called 'Dolly's too'.
The Menu was in both French and English.

Fish and Chips!! First one I've found in France.
Rather more Salad/Coleslaw than a traditional British Fish & Chips,
but I'll let it slide this time.

Caen Castle from the outside

Caen Castle from the inside - more of a fort than a castle
(probably was bombed in the war or something)

View of the Cathedral and city from Caen Castle

Caen Castle and some beautiful blue skies

The Cathedral through the Castle gates

I think this was a museum - there were two here

The other Museum/Library

Very strange sculptures -  Mythical creatures made from metal on wooden posts...

The Statues from behind

Gate with steps leading downwards...

Caen Cathedral

A very old building (16th Century) on one of the high streets.
The Americans were amazed - American history isn't very old
so they're probably lucky to find anything from the 18th Century in the USA.

Plaque on the very old building

Little Café (Le 101) where we stopped for an afternoon snack.

Very tasty Chocolate Fondant Cake. Yum!

I feel like all my visits to foreign cities are dictated by the need to find toilets.
We finally found some free toilets - they looked quite nice on the outside...

Or not...

BRISTOL!

More Toilets. This time in Subway, and much much nicer!

A Memorial with a golden angel statue on top.
Looked very pretty with the oncoming sunset.

Another large church

A World War II Memorial Plaque with Fresh Flowers.

"Here lies the ashes gathered from the Nazi Camps"