Fort Carré

The model - since I couldn't actually get a picture of the real thing from that angle...























Designed by Vauban - he designed several buildings and forts (37) and upgraded many others (approx 300) around France. His style is incredibly distinctive, so you can usually tell when he built it. Vauban was a key figure in advising Louis XIV about securing France's borders.























This was built prior to the city of Nice actually being apart of France. Each of the 4 corners of the building are strategically placed with one pointing towards Nice and another pointing towards some part of Italy.

















































Behind the walls, situated in the middle, are the officer's quarters.




































































Supposedly parts of the James Bond movie, Never Say Never Again, were filmed here.




























Port Vauban:


















Supposedly the most expensive Port in France - but I find this hard to believe because St. Tropez is only a couple hours away... and I've seen the kind of people that place attracts...

Out & About in Antibes

I got to live there! Isn't it gorgeous? This is the view from the beach that we went to every weekend. It is only about a 5-10 minute walk from Johanna's apartment.


























In the old part of Antibes, a small church tucked away on their narrow pedestrian-only streets.






























































Absynthe Bar:























So they will bring you a glass with absinthe in it... and then you take one of their special spoons, put a piece of sugar on it, and let the water from the pitcher slowly drip over until the sugar has completely dissolved into the drink.
























The stuff that they sell in France isn't the real thing. There are no hallucinogenic qualities to this beverage. If I remember correctly, from my reading on Wikipedia, you might be able to buy the real thing is Spain - but I can't be certain.



Cap d'Antibes:











































So we went scuba diving not too far from here - in a slightly less rocky and wavy place...




















The only reason there are any waves on the Mediterranean Sea is either because of all the boats racing by or there is a storm... otherwise, there isn't even a tide (or rather, the tide is so minimal that you wouldn't even notice it).

















And despite my best effords, I was still pasty white...



Don'tcha just love the road signs in France? You have about 1 second to read it and figure out where you're supposed to go? That seems perfectly reasonable right? That's not even the worst one I saw while I was there.

Farewell Amadeus!

Main Campus
























Unfortunately, I didn't get to work at main campus... I was a mile or two away at the HP building. A much smaller atmoshere.



















These buildings were so difficult to get around in that I would joke about how the aptitude test that HR gives is only to ensure that people don't get lost in the buildings.


















It felt pretty nice to walk through those doors though.

































Looks remarkably similar to the metro gates in Paris... same company? Perhaps.

My Co-Workers















This is Ghislaine (French), she was my manager.























Thomas Browne (French) - He took me and Flo snorkeling at the Cap d'Antibes (pictures to come).

















Johanna (Swedish) & Dominic (British/German - my Project Management "trainer").



My Going-Away Gathering
















If you look closely, you'll notice that those pictures of me dancing with the street performer were passed around the office and put on my going away card.


















It took two interns to replace me. :-P

Not really, Hannah (on the left) and Liz (on the right).



















So, I don't know if this is in all of France or if it was specifically at Amadeus - but when you have a going-away party, you pay for it yourself. Typically, people brought croissants & pain au chocolat (what I lovingly call Chocolate Croissants) and orange juice. An odd combination if you ask me, I could never drink orange juice with croissants. In fact, I rarely drink orange juice despite the fact that I practically grew up in the Orange capital of the world.

Last Night Out Dancing

Oh yes - we're just so bored and beautiful... :-) It's all about the attitude... or something like that, I don't really know.




















This is more like it...





















Fernando, by the way, is sooo much fun to go dancing with.

























Boali in Cannes... tons of fun... spent several nights there.