Bienvenue à Grenoble: Settling in..

I learned a very important travel lesson this week...bring your phone charger.
On Wednesday I ended up buying two mobile phones in an hour - pretty impressive even by modern levels of communication. Originally bought an Alcatel phone (no, I hadn't heard of them before either) for about 25 quid to tie me over as a French phone, and then went on the hunt for a Nokia charger for the Irish one. Long story short, turned out cheaper to buy a new Nokia phone to get a charger than a charger on its own...so hey, 3 phones, why not?

Had another enjoyable soirée on Wednesday, meeting some more people and getting to know the night scene in Gccchhhunoblh a little bit better. On Thursday, after doing a big shop in a Casino that I eventually found ( for things like pots, pans, bins and soap etc, surprisingly forgettable up until now), I went on an evening wander of the city. After only 5 days or so I can safely say that I love the place. Something about it just really works! The scenery is breathtaking, the town itself has a really nice atmosphere, and the transport system of trams and bikes is amazingly efficient. I had heard that Gcchhunoblh was similar to Dublin, and I have to agree, but I've realised that it's what Dublin COULD be like if someone cool and forward-thinking designed it. Simple things like tram-lines on the grass...why not?? They'd probably think of some excuse back home and someone would probably complain for environmental reasons or something, but it works so well and the grass is fine!

Tram lines on the grass...why not?

The tram goes right through the university campus too, making it super easy to get places, and Sciences-Po is just two stops down from my Résidence so technically walkable if I was feeling energetic..

Finally organised my things in my room and used our shared kitchen for the first time...two of the hob rings out of six actually work so it's a bit dire, but I managed to cook up some pasta even if it did take me quite a while..
The painter guy came around this morning and said that they'd start re-doing the room on Tuesday so happy days! My chewing gum covered walls will hopefully be transformed into something slightly more aesthetically pleasing. Fingers crossed. Here are some pictures of the place, including some of the journey from Geneva...they don't really do it justice though!
À bientot! :)