Wow. Buckle in for a long post. So you know, this was written in a few stages so when you get to the part about the Super Bowl, just know that it was written right after we were done watching it. lol I hope this doesn't seem too randomly written.
Today marks my third week in Aix. Quick review: awesome. Today I got back from a weekend trip. Before I go into those details I would like to share a few things about today. When I got back, Isabelle informed me that we would be having crepes tonight in honor of “la chandeleur” which was actually on Friday. La chandeleur is a French tradition that I shall blissfully remember as “Crepe Day.” On February 2nd, in honor of Jesus’ presentation at the temple, they eat a meal of crepes. They are supposed to hold an old coin called a “Louis d’or” in their hand and flip the crepe in the air. If it falls back into the pan, they will have good luck and if not, well… they need to make another crepe and try again. Lol. Its mainly little kids who actually practice that tradition, so we didn’t flip our crepes. Isabelle was sick Friday so we didn’t eat them on the actual day. Fear not though. The American did eat a crepe on “Crepe Day” thanks to other knowledgeable American friends. :-D We ate a nutella/banana crepe on Friday for lunch as we walked around. It was great. (For those of you know don’t know, because I didn’t know before I came, nutella is a hazelnut and chocolate spread that Europeans adore and eat in bulk) Yet Friday pales in comparison to the crepes that I dined on tonight. We began with dinner crepes full of cheese, turkey and ham (and later one of egg and cheese) followed by dessert crepes. Mmm-- Prior to my feast, I went to Mass in the church that Isabelle was married in. It’s a beautiful church named “Eglise St. Jean de Malte.” This is my third Mass since being here and each one has varied. Of course they aren’t radically different from the ones in the US, but one noticeable difference is when the French go to receive Communion. They don’t believe in a well-behaved line. In the U.S. Communion is choreographed- one row neatly follows the next. Not the case in France. In fact in most public places, it’s a rowdy crowd-all to the front. There is no order. Lol, it is funny though because each time I have really hesitated to merge into the line. Its been slightly awkward, but I figure it out as I go.
Alright, on to the good stuff. The memories of this weekend…
IAU sponsors trips for the students. The first of which was the weekend excursion to Nice, Monaco, St. Paul de Vence, and Cannes. We left at 9 Saturday morning for Nice. It was about a 2 hour drive from Aix. It was great just to see the scenery as we drove. It was a sunny day and we really got to see the mountains around Aix. We arrived in Nice and could hardly believe the view. We first drove along this great stretch of beach. People were out running, walking, riding bikes and even swimming. It was warm and sunny but there was a slight wind that made it a little colder. The bus let out and Amy, Ashley and I decided to eat first. We found a cute pizzeria (yes, we’re still drawn to familiar food) and at there. Ashley made a good point when we were there- it looked like a local hangout. Not too touristy, but more for the actual inhabitants in Nice). We ate our pizza and drank our wine and then grabbed a pastry and walked around a bit. We decided to climb this giant hill that our tour guide had pointed out. (Physical exertion was necessary in order to work off the pastry.) At the very top of a monstrous hill was supposedly a great lookout with a breathtaking view. Also, the signs in French there described a type of castle that was supposedly also at the summit. (We never found that, but we did see the remains of an old Cathedral.) So climb we did and when we started getting nearer and nearer to the top, the city began to open up to us. Peering through the trees we could see the harbor with all of the sailboats and the sun pouring down on the pink and beige buildings. We climbed further up and could then see a lighthouse and a great panorama of the ocean. At the very top we could see the city stretch out into the distance. We could see the older, distinguished part of the Nice near the harbor and then note the progression into the newer, more modern part of the city further away. We then took a right on the hill and started to go down the other side where you can see the rest of the city with its many hotels and a great strip of beach. As we went down, we loved looking at the buildings’ bold blue accents. Once down, we sat on the beach made solely of pebbles and soaked in the view. I wrote in my journal and took a ton of pictures. Later we ventured further into the city, shopped (but sadly, to no avail) and then met up with the bus. Haha- we we’re afraid we were going to be late for the bus so we started to run which was HILARIOUS because as I was running, this one French guy yelled “ATTENTION!” to me and pointed to something on the ground (which we will assume was the work of one of the many lap dogs that they drag around French cities- don’t get me started on Aix’s problems…) so I kinda did a little hurdle thing and gave him a really confused look. Lol maybe you had to be there, but it was another awkward moment of me not understanding the French and another prime example of why American’s might be seen as slightly nutty to the rest of the world.
We loaded into the bus and traveled up to a perched village. This was my favorite part of the entire trip- it was gorgeous. It was right around sunset so everything was absolutely drenched in golden sunlight and our bus kept climbing higher and higher into the mountains. The sea spanned out beneath us and we kept passing tiny, old towns nestled into the mountains. Finally, we got to where we spent the night at the Centre de Mediterranean which was this estate type place turned into a kind of hostel. It had beautiful grounds, which included an amphitheater made by a famous French artist. We got out, unpacked and started trying to get dressed for Monaco. Lol I say started to, because it was quite the process. We knew Monaco was ritzy and that you had to be well dressed to get into Monte Carlo. Well, Ashley only brought flip-flops and black capris because she had thought it would be warmer. Worried that one of our comrades might be left behind, we all started swapping clothes until everyone had an outfit that not only maximized style, but warmth as well. Girls will be girls. We boarded the bus again and hit up Monaco at night. It was beautiful and we came at it from the top of the hill. Grace Kelly’s former castle could be seen on its rock, all illuminated and we had a great view of the city lights with the ocean. We then went to Monte Carlo, the famous casino, and Ashley and I each gambled away a Euro. After having quenched our need to give away our money, we left and walked around the stores, dreaming about being rich enough to shop there. We took a bunch of pictures- it was great. Coming back from Nice our bus driver made a U-turn in a place so narrow that I doubt I could have done the same in a car. The bus erupted in applause once he had accomplished that feat. They are insane drivers here.
I woke up fairly early the next day and attempted to see the sunrise. I was early enough but the sun rose in the wrong part of the sky and my view was partly blocked by the tall trees. Still it was a peaceful moment that I somewhat enjoyed (I say somewhat because although it was beautiful, the lure of my bed was strongly felt). Everyone woke up and my group was a little late to breakfast. We had coffee given to us in cereal bowls. I know my friends from school are appreciating what it meant to me to be given a coffee that huge. Yes, it was a dream come true for me. Though after two weeks of drinking my morning espresso (in what I first believed to be a toy teacup) at Isabelle’s house, I was seriously alarmed at the size of this coffee. Have the French not heard of a coffee mug? Regardless, like Alice in Wonderland I drank from my cup three times too big and then we loaded into the buses and headed to St. Paul de Vence.
St. Paul de Vence was so cool. It is this fortified city up in a mountain. All of the streets are very narrow and windy and run one right off of another. All of the Americans kept saying they couldn’t believe people actually live there. It’s true. You kind of feel like they see us coming and yell to one another “The Americans are here!” and everybody goes and pretends to be the Provincial Frenchmen that we expect them to be. You can walk along the wall around the city and it has some great views of the countryside. I took a lot of pictures- be sure to check them out. (Again, the links are on the left) St. Paul de Vence had this quaint, quiet feel to it. It was really peaceful and calm. Ashely and I both said how we wanted to come back. It just seems like such a great place to spend a day slowly meandering around. We also went to this really great modern art museum, which I would talk about in more detail if it had really meant that much to me. It was cool to see, but we didn’t have much time in the town so we didn’t focus on it too much.
Again we loaded the buses and then took off for Cannes. We were starting to get tired. We got to Cannes and saw a nice view of the harbor. We went to an outdoor café and got lunch. Afterwards we walked around a bit and saw what we thought to be where the celebs had their pictures taken at the famed film festival. So of course, Ashley and I take pictures. We did find it odd however that the carpet was blue. We thought it was because they only rolled out the red one when celebrities were there. We were getting some pretty weird looks as we posed for pictures on the stairs, including the doormen who were watching us. We didn’t have much time in Cannes. As we were driving out of the city, however, our tour guide pointed out a building with a red carpet and said “I hope you all got your pictures taken that you wanted to there.” Ashley and I looked at each other and started cracking up. For a while, we thought we walked wrong carpet! Hahaha… leave it to us. But I just double checked with google and the theater where we took our pictures was in fact one of the ones that shows movies during the festival. It just wasn't the main one. lol, still... I will now forever cherish the pictures I have of us walking the blue carpet.
And that was my first excursion out of Aix. It was funny because when we got back to Aix and were walking along Le Cours Mirabeau, we all agreed that we felt like we were home. I think that’s a good sign :-D
For those of you who were wondering, the weather has been pretty nice here. Its been going back and forth a bit. When we first arrived it was like spring. We stepped off of the plane and immediately started loosing layers. Every French person I met told me that it wasn’t typical of Aix around this time and that it would turn colder. Which it did. It turned to coat and scarf weather fairly quickly and one night there were the slightest flurries. It was hilarious because I came home and told Guillome that it was kind of snowing out and he told me I was wrong and that it never snowed in Aix other than a week in December. Later, he went out and called home and said I was right. Psh, of course I was. Don’t tell a girl from Illinois that she doesn’t know what snow looks like. After a few days of it being cold though, it started to warm up again. They have this cold wind that they call “Mistral” which has all of these rules associated with it. If it blows for so many days, it will blow for so many more before stopping. Well, all the same, it has been kind of warm the past few days. Last Friday I walked around in sleeveless in the afternoon because it was so warm. In Nice I wore a thin long sleeve with jeans and wasn’t too cold. Today I wore my coat and was fine. The warmth comes and goes but you do get the feeling that spring isn’t far off. One thing that rarely changes though is the sun. It has been sunny 95% of my time here so far and the sky has been so blue. It’s been really nice by my standards. It was 63 degrees today.
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Super Bowl
We just got back from watching the Super Bowl at a French club. Haha We decked out in as much American garb as possible. I, for example, sported my pink Illinois shirt and a gray zip up hoody with jeans and tennis shoes. As soon as we walked in, we knew the Americans were dominating the place tonight. Loud cries were coming from clusters of them sitting around “giaraffs” of beer. The great thing about it was the extreme variation in the club. You had the Americans intensely watching the game right next to the group of European cross dressers dancing by the bar. However, the line was not finely drawn. We heard chanting of “Go! Go! Chi-ca-go!” from them later when Chicago had the ball. Now, I am not one to pretend that I follow football, or even that I fully understand it. (Although, I really should seeing as how I had to cheer at high school football games for four years.) But the fact that there was a little piece of home being celebrated somewhere in Aix, made me appreciate that beloved sport like never before. It was cool to know that all of my friends were probably doing the same thing at the same time I was, just elsewhere in the world. Guillome went with us and when Chicago fumbled, or when the Colts scored, he made a disappointed face at me. It was nice to share something like that with him. One of my major complaints of watching the Super Bowl in France, however, is their lack of American commercials. As an advertising major, I enjoy them. Tonight they played British commercials because it was a British channel. Bummer. Ashley is spending the night tonight. Isabelle set up a little mattress thing on my bedroom floor. I’m having flashbacks to middle school sleepovers, but I’m glad she’s here.
(Written last night)
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Also, to answer the question concerning the jams and jellies, I have tried them. They are great! There’s this strawberry one that I’ve been eating every morning. This area is especially known for its olives so we always have olive oil on the table during dinner.
Well, that’s it for now. Hope everyone is well! Much love! A toute!
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