Another beautiful day in the Auvergne!

We are so fortunate to have such nice program directors!  Marie-Elisabeth took Kathy and me on a tour of some of the towns along the Chaîne des Puys, which is the range of volcanoes in the area.  (I asked ... none of them are active.  I was having visions of evacuating students from flowing lava.)  After going through the suburbs of Clermont, we drove through several small towns all within the local area.  Our first stop was the Buron Dame Tartine in Le Mont Dore (http://www.auberge-dame-tartine.com/), a restaurant and inn converted from an old farmhouse, where we ate regional specialties (many with the amazing cheese and ham from the Auvergne - miam miam, as they say here). 

View of mountains from the outside of the restaurant

Another view - it's a big ski area in the winter

Kathy and Marie-Elisabeth in front of the Buron Dame Tartine

We drove back to Clermont-Ferrand on parts of the Rue des Fromages d'Auvergne.  Yes, that translates to "the road of cheeses of the Auvergne."  Not only does it go through towns in which they make excellent cheese (what were you thinking? that it was paved with cheese?) such as the tasty Saint-Nectaire, but it goes through other amazing towns.  From a distance we saw an old castle, and we stopped in the medieval town of Besse, which still has buildings from the 15th century in use today.

Church at Besse

street in Besse with volcanoes in background

House where Queen Margot stayed when she visited some time in the late 16th century

City gate in background

Now we prepare for the start of classes tomorrow, followed by a welcome gathering in the evening, then my first Comparative Torts class on Tuesday morning.  Au revoir!

je suis de retour sur le blog

Travel and meetings have prevented me from updating the blog. I've found time to explore Clermont-Ferrand and enjoy its cafes, but since I didn't have internet access, what else could I do? But at last, an update from le professeur.

So did I say earlier that I missed Paris?  It's a special place, but I am loving Clermont-Ferrand!  It is a typical French city in a beautiful setting.  It is easy to get around - very walkable with a convenient tram system.  (The train station, however, has neither elevators nor escalators nor ramps - stairs only.  Two flights of them.  This is important when carrying luggage with six weeks' worth of clothing and law books.)

Thursday and Friday, we were guided by our fantastic French summer program director, Martine Jarnevic.  I have had the pleasure of meeting her and her husband, Jean-Pierre (who is the dean of the law school at the Universite d'Auvergne) when they traveled to Jacksonville, and it is wonderful to have her guiding us through the summer program.  I've been a bit nervous about the cultural differences in our law school methods, but she is making the transition very easy.  Yesterday, we were able to meet up with our Florida Coastal colleague David Pimentel for a wonderful lunch, then a tour of the law school facilities.  Our other French director, Marie-Elisabeth Baudoin, guided us through the classroom technology and gave us more helpful advice.  They have made us all feel very comfortable and welcome.

And yesterday I successfully ordered in French deux croissants et une baguette at a boulangerie down the street from the apartment - no English spoken! Baby steps ...

Now for pictures of Clermont-Ferrand (I will post some Paris pictures later):

Place de Jaude

View of Place de Jaude and Opera House from cafe where we ate lunch today

Statue of Vercingtorix in Place de Jaude

View down street from Place de Jaude - Puy de Dome is partially visible at right in background

day 2

Jet lag recovery still a work in progress ... Yesterday, we had a lovely afternoon in Paris, mostly wandering around the Left Bank and Ile de Cite.  Lunch at a typical French bistro, toured Notre Dame, purchased macarons at an incredible confectioner, then drinks and snacks at Le Deux Magots, which was a favorite hangout of literary types like Camus, Balzac, and Hemingway.  I'll download pictures later.

Cab ride in from CDG was interesting - not just because the driver took us on a long, convoluted route (trying to give us a tour of the city, right?) but because of an encounter at a traffic light.  A rather scruffy-looking pedestrian crossed in front of our cab, while we were stopped for the red light, and motioned at a large bus and at our cab to "stop."  The driver began shaking his head "no," as if he was not going to stop, and the pedestrian began to argue with him (while our traffic was still stopped).  Finally, after the pedestrian was safely across the street, the driver said in French-tinged English, "Eet ees a beet early to be so drunk."  (It was 2:00 p.m.)

This morning we had a perfect petit dejeuner in the hotel, and are now heading out for some shopping.  (I'll hit the tourist spots later with Jamie, but I know he won't want to shop so I'm getting that done with Kathy, who is fluent not only in the French language but in French retail as well.) 

Je suis a Paris!

We arrived around 1:30 p.m. and the weather is beautiful! Hotel (http://www.hotelaumanoir.com/uk/index.php) is adorable but rather small - six weeks' worth of luggage and two travellers wouldn't fit on the elevator at once, so we had to ride separately.  So grateful that Kathy not only speaks fluent French but has lived in Paris, so she could direct the cab driver appropriately.  Now we're off to explore and adjust to the time difference.  Au revoir, mes amies!

Je voyage

Thus begins the start of my blog in which I share my experience teaching summer school in France.  Let me start by thanking the Florida Coastal School of Law, which started the program with the Universite d'Auvergne a few years ago and is allowing me to teach there this summer.  For more information on the program, check out this link: http://www.fcsl.edu/content/summer-france-2011

Now, for the FAQs:

• How long will you be there?
• The program is six weeks long, and I will have a little travel time before and after the summer semester.  My good friend and colleague Kathy Hartland is the program's coordinator on this side of the pond, and she and I are leaving this evening to spend a couple of days in Paris before we travel to Clermont-Ferrand, the site of the university.
• What are you teaching?
• Comparative Tort Law - comparing the tort (delict) systems in common law and civil code countries and the litigation processes in each.
• Will you be teaching in French?
• Oh, dear, no.  Rosetta Stone is good, but it isn't that good.
• Is Jamie going with you?
• He will be there for about three weeks.
• So did you just announce to the internet that you are going on vacation?  Isn't that a bad idea?
• My house and my cats will be well cared for by a very good friend who will be staying there.  And we have a very good alarm system, so anyone thinking the house will be open and empty will be disappointed.
• Who are the students?
• Mostly students from Florida Coastal, many of whom I have already taught and are brave enough to take yet another class with me.  There will be a few French law students taking the class as well. 

This will be the last entry before departure - au revoir!