Bretagne avec mes parents!

I have been so busy since my first vacation! Bretagne was AMAZING. I absolutely loved it and had an amazing time!!! We did so much in so little time! We began our journey in Locmariaquer where we stayed at the cutest hotel ever right near the beach. I got to Locmariaquer before my parents and I was able to explore the little town on my own for a few hours! When my parents finally arrived, we went out for crepes and cider, yummy! The next day, we embarked on a bout tour of the Gulfe de Morbihan. It was a bit windy, but it was still beautiful! We stayed in Locmariaquer for a few more days and explored the area and the menhirs and dolmen! The picture on the right is of my mom's favorite island with menhirs on it in the Gulfe... so pretty. The picture below is my dad and me playing in a dolmen (an old burial tomb)! The next day we headed to Loctudy, a little town further West where we saw this beautiful lighthouse! We went to a great creperie where we met some very nice Breton people who really enjoyed meeting Americans, since tourism is not as big in this region as the rest of France. We moved on to Pointe du Van, one of the furthest points West in France, which some people call the end of the world! After that we went to Concarneau, a walled in city that was so cool! There was also a transatlantic regatta that was about to start and we got to see all the boats! After we visted Pont Aven which was really pretty! But one of the best parts of the vacation by far was when we had dinner with a painter that my mom has been corresponding with for a while now! We went out to dinner with Charles Cambier, his wife and two friends, Alain and Elizabeth and it was so much fun! They are such great people and really showed us how nice the French in this region really are! Of course, mt parents were delayed a little bit by the volcanic eruption in Iceland, but they eventually made it home safely!

Les grèves et mes vacances

So, this week was the beginning of my spring vacation! I had made plans to explore France a bit with a friend, Whitney, and we had planned on a trip to Cassis (a little beach town on the Mediterranean), then a bigger trip to Lyon, Grenoble and Geneva (Switzerland!). Then I would travel on to Bretagne with my parents! I started break on a good note; I visited the other IAU program that I got into but choose not to go to in Avignon. I have a few friends who are there from HWS and I wanted to visit them before they left (their program ends in early May)!

We had a great time walking around the walled city, which was really cool! Unluckily and luckily the weather held out... it was cloudy and gross, but it didn't rain, even through there was a 80% chance! A few friends from Aix came to join us and we finally we able to explore the parts of Avignon that are most famous; the Palais des Papes and the Pont d'Avignon! We went to the Palais first ( the Popes moved to Avignon in 1309 but returned to Rome in 1377) and explored that area a bit! It was amazing and much bigger than I imagined! Then we journeyed on to the Pont d'Avignon... which of course, we danced upon (remember the children's song... sur la pont d'avignon, on y danse...?)! I will put those pictures up soon on webshots!


So I mentioned my plans about break (Lyon, Grenoble, and Geneva)... but France does not want me to go there I guess :( The people who work for the train stations throughout France, and therefore the trains themselves are not working... starting Wednesday... the day I was supposed to begin my trip. So we luckily were able to do some quick thinking, adn Whitney and I are exploring a little more of France! We shall see what we are able to do though, because the strike may last for 24 hours or it could last for 3 days... it depends on how the workers feel. Ohhh la la, la France et les greves! Hopefully everything will work out!

Hyeres, Isle-Sur-La-Sorgue and Fontaine de Vaucluse

It has been such a crazy past two weeks! I have had midterms and tons of presentations so I haven't really had time to update my blog! Last weekend,a few friends and I had an epic misadventure in Hyeres, a little beach town on the Mediterranean! It was a good plan in theory, but the strong 50mph+ winds made it a bit of a misadventure. We had planned on sitting on the beach all day... and when we got there, there was a bit more wind then we could handle. So we stayed on this beautiful beach, watched tons of windsurfers and enjoyed the beauty of the Mediterranean Ocean. After a little while, we decided to try to find another beach that would be sheltered from the wind. So the four of us headed in the direction of the port. After a few miles of walking, we came upon the port and the gorgeous area around the port. We walked around for a bit and finally found what we thought was a beach... but in fact it was the very beginning of the beach and there was more dirt then sand. What a misadventure! Well, we finally found an area to sit on and tried to enjoy the sun (the winds were still howling)... so we finally headed back to find a bus. After waiting a little while, we caught the bus, went to a local bar to get coffee and took the train home! The train ride was hilarious and the four of us were laughing the whole time, so even though we didn't have the day we planned, it was still a great day!


The next day, we had an IAU excursion to Isle-Sur-la-Sorgue and Fontaine de Vaucluse. It was a gorgeous day and we were excited to explore another part of our area! Isle-sur-la-Sorgue is a little town on the Sorgue river and it has tons of canals and little paddlewheels! On Sundays, there are huge markets, so we stopped here to explore the market a bit, pick up fresh food (from fruit to cheese to bread) and after a few hours headed on to Fontaine de Vaucluse, which is the town where you can find the source of the Sorgue river. We walked into this old town and I immediately fell in love. It had the French charm of a little town and it was beautiful! The Sorgue ran through the tiny town and we were shocked at the color of the river; green and turquoise. They used to harvest some type of plant that made the river this color, but they have stopped harvesting that plant, but the river remains the same color! We walked along the river a bit, and decided on a spot right next to an old paper factory (with a water wheel and all!) and had our picnic of bread, cheese and fruit- tres francais!


After our picnic, we went on a search for the source. I expected it to be some type of a fountain-like thing (as implied by the name Fontaine de Vaucluse). When we finall had hiked a bit, we came across a basin of water that was ice cold and turquoise. The mountains around the basin were so tall that the sun rarely reaches the water basin, which is in fact the source. The water is collected from the surrounding mountains and just pops up out of the ground to make this basin of water! We were in luck though, since it has been raining a little bit ore than usual here, the water level was really high! After exploring this little area a bit, we went back to the town in search of ice cream. We quickly found a little shop and my two month long search for two certain flavors of ice cream finally happening. Lavender and Cassis (black currant) ice cream. Yes, lavender ice cream. I was in heaven. Definitely two of my new favorite flavors of ice cream!!! Sow e enjoyed our amazing ice cream in front of the river... what a day!

So all in all, I had yet another amazing weekend in the South of France!

Chateau Virant, Lac Ste Croix and les Gorges du Verdon

What a weekend!!! The weather here is getting warmer and warmer! This past Friday, a few IAU students went to Chateau Virant, a olive farm and a vineyard located right outside of Aix. It was about 70 degrees and sunny; the perfect day for a tour in the countryside of the South of France! We began witha tour of the building that was built in the 1660s and then moved on to the building where they explained how the made the olive oil and wine. After the tours of the buildings, we were able to taste both the olive oil and wine! Yum! We had three different types of olive oil (one was mild, spicy and then a mix of the two) on little pieces of bread, and then we were able to taste five different types of wine. A white, a rose, two reds (one aged in stainless steel and one aged in oak) and then the Provencal Christmas wine (sweet.... has a caramel taste). They were all delicious, of course. We then went on an hour walk through the vineyard and the olive tree groves to where the bus would pick us up. Needless to say, it was beautiful! We passed some ruins in the field (only in France), some wild rosemary and various herbs and of course, hundreds of olive trees and grape vines!
Sunday there was an excursion to Lac Ste Croix and les Gorges du Verdon, which are about an hour and a half to two hours from Aix. We stopped at a lovely little town along the Verdon river to buy food at the local market for our lunch! After the market, we drove to Lac Ste Croix, which was stunning. It is an artificial lake that was created after a dam was built along the Verdon river, which has turquoise water. And when I saw turquoise, I mean it! Unfortunately it was not that nice out and gray all day (it was supposed to rain... but it didn't!!) but it was still beautiful. We had a little picnic on the beach of the lake and then ventured on to see the gorges and the Verdon River! It was breath-taking and words really will not be able to do it justice (I feel like that is often true, especially when I try to describe things in the South of France)!



After we stared at the gorges for a while in pure amazement, we boarded the bus yet again and took the drive of death up a tiny little road that barely could fit the bus! Luckily French bus drivers have no fear and can conquer any road, everything was fine! We finally made it to the top of the cliffs and it was totally worth it. The views were amazing. We could see the lake that seemed to stretch on forever. But what was ever more amazing, was that it was around 65 degrees and to our left there was a huge mountain that had snow on it! It was beautiful to see a turquoise river meeting a snowy mountain!



We then went to our final destination for the day, a little village named Moustiers Sainte Marie, which is one of the cutest little villages ever! It was so quaint and French (thus adorable) and we explored a little bit, found a cafe overlooking a little river and had some coffee! So for a short conclusion: la vie francaise est bonne et chaque jour est une aventure!

Montpellier, Hérault and Sète

This past weekend I went to Montpellier to see Alissa and my aunt and uncle! I arrived in the afternoon, after a pretty two hour train ride along the coast! We walked around a bit and I enjoyed being in a little warmer climate than Aix (with lots of palm trees!). After a little while, we were all hungry and tired (they had just arrived after a long flight) so we began our search for crepes. After our early dinner (5:30) Aunt Lynne, Uncle Ted and their friends headed back to their hotel that was outside of the city and Alissa and I went back to our hotel as well, but ours was in the center of Montpellier. We hung out for the night and I was able to meet a lot of Alissa's friends!





The next day, we went on a great journey! We began by getting out of Montpellier and heading towards the Hérault region, which was about thirty minutes outside of the city. We were on a mission to find some grottes (caves)! After driving through the wine country part of this region, we stumbled upon the pont du diable ( bridge of the devil) and a beautiful turquoise river! After exploring some ruins that we weren't supposed to, we entered into the Grotte de Clamouse, one of the coolest things i have ever seen! It was a huge cave that was just recently discovered (50 years ago) with stalagmites and stalactites that were hundreds of thousands of years old! Definitely one of my favorite things I have seen and experienced so far! We walked up and down stairs in the cave for about an hour and a half and stared in awe at these giant, ancientt formations!




After our cave tour, we went on a search for lunch. We had a French picnic in mind, but had difficulty at first finding food! It was a Saturday afternoon and in this region, everything seemed to be closed from 12 to 3! Finally, we were able to find fresh French bread, lots of cheese, and of course, wine. After locating our lunch, we went back and found a spot overlooking the pont du diable! We were surrounded by olive trees and vineyards and it was absolutely beautiful. The picture that comes to mind when someone describes the French country side doesn't do it justice; it is just that beautiful. We then had to make a hard choice; wine tour or find another cave to explore! Alissa had told us that she saw a winery near by that she is familiar with from working at a wine shop! She sold a few types of their wine and said it was delicious. So we decided a wine tour in the south of France was a great idea. We went to the Mas de Daumas Gassac winery, which was located a few miles down a stone road, surrounded by little chateaus and tons of grapevines! We were given a tour and ended up being able to taste a special wine that they usually do not offer for tastings (it was a 90 euro bottle of red... YUMMY!). After our wine tour, we took the scenic route back to Montpellier, which took us through some adorable towns!




My favorite part of every day comes next: dinner. We went to a restaurant with a great menu! I decided I was going to be adventurous and try things that I have always wanted to try. For an appetizer, I would have terrine de foie gras (goose liver spread), my second appetizer (yes there were two) was les cuisses de grenouilles (FROG LEGS... tasted like chicken!), then I had duck cassoulet. Then came the cheese and dessert... what a meal! I was also able to try a little shark (sorry Ashley!!) that Alissa's friend Lisa ordered, which was delicious! It was similar to swordfish! What a day!!!!!!!!!



On Sunday, my family left to drive Alissa up to Marvejolsand they could continue on their vacation to the Dordogne! Instead of going right back to Aix, I decided I would travel on my own to Sète, which is a little town on the Mediterranean coast! It was really windy and since it was Sunday, there was not much open, but I still enjoyed my day very much! When I first arrived, I immediately was in love. Sète has the nickname of being the Venice of France, with tomns of canals! It was one of the cutest towns I have ever seen! I headed right for the ocean and found a nice little spot to sit and read, right near the harbor and under the lighthouse! I basked in the sun and the warmth for a little while! I spent the day people watching,reading, staring at the canals and ocean and drinking coffee. What a hard life I am living! What a great weekend!!!!!!!

Marseille for the day

So over the past week or so I have had to chance to travel a bit! First, I went to Marseille, one of France's largest cities and about a 30 minute bus ride from Aix. My two friends and I did not do much research at all, but I knew that the old port section of the city was supposed to be beautiful! But the bus dropped us off in the sketchiest part of the city... luckily we stopped in a McDo (McDonalds...) and found a map of the city and figured out where we were and how to get to the old port. We walked along the quais (side of the harbor) and found some really old and cool fortified castles and had lunch right along the Mediterranean!!! It was a beautiful day and we decided to spend our last couple hours at the place with the best views. Notre Dame de la Garde is one of the highest points, if not the highest, in Marseille and has gorgeous panoramic views of the city and the ocean! We were able to see Chateau D'If (from the Count of Monte Cristo) and all the islands right off the coast! Notre Dame de la Garde is most famous for the 9 ton statue of Mary and baby Jesus (his wrist is 42 inches around... and gold!) We spent some time photosynthesizing and basking in the warmth of the sunlight of the South of France.

As we were leaving, we realized that there were a lot of policemen hanging out on the road where our bus was supposed to pick us up to bring us down to where we would catch the bus back to Aix. Now, there are often policemen around... but near bus stations and train stations... so it was unusual to see policemen at the base of Notre Dame de la Garde! We sat waiting for the bus to come pick us up (we didn't know the way back otherwise we would have walked!) for about twenty minutes. After a little while, we decided to find our way and walk down.. since the police population kept growing! We finally figured out that there was either a riot or a strike going on and figured that the buses were not going to come get us! We finally made it back to Aix, and all in all it was a great day!!

Maastricht and Barcelona!

My February break was a success! I had an amazing time in two great countries and there is so much to tell! First of all, I began my trip to Maastricht, the Netherlands by taking a 20 minute bus to the TGV (fast train) station halway between Aix and Marseille. I got there early because I had never been to the Aix station. I looked around, found out what I was supposed to do and waited. My train said that it was "en retard" (late) so I was thinking I would have to wait a bit before my train arrived. Without warning though, my train arrived, on time, and I just barely made it! But I got on the train and then attempted to find my seat. I was on the second level of the train but I found that an older woman was in my seat. I just let her sit there though and found another seat, with a better view that was empty! I enjoyed the scenery on my 3 hour train ride to Paris, where I knew I had to get off and switch stations. I got off and started to walk to the information center so I could find out where I had to go to get to the other station. I finally found the desk after 20 minutes and hurried to the metro. It took another 20 minutes to get my ticket and get on the metro the person at the information desk told me to get on. It was the wrong one, but I didn't know that until I was twenty minutes out of the way at the wrong stop. So I switched trains and finally got on the right one. I arrived at the station with twenty minutes to spare and got onto my train to Liege, Belgium.

Finally I arrived in Liege after 3 and a half hours, where I had an hour wait until my connecting train to Maastricht, the Netherlands. I arrived in Maastricht to be greeted by happy Carnival goers dressed in green, red and yellow. My friend Andy picked me up and we began the journey in the snow. Obviously, since the Netherlands are much further north than Aix, I had a lot of adjusting to do! The next few days were spent catching up with my roommate, Maggie, and meeting all the international students who live on her hall. We attended the Carnival festivities and it was tons of fun! The Dutch are such happy and enthusiastic people and I loved witnessing something that is so important to them. They are such a proud group of individuals! They also are very into dressing up for Carnival. I was told that unless I wore either a costume or the Carnival colors (red, green and yellow) I would be booed whenever I walked anywhere! So I bought a scarf with the right colors and attempted to dress up!

Maggie and I then took off for Barcelona! We got into Girona late on Wednesday night and took a shuttle to Barcelona! We managed to get to our hostel and slept soundly. We woke up and took off for our first day in Barcelona! We were both so excited to be in warmer weather and the sunshine! We took a free walking tour all around the Gothic quarter, which was gorgeous. We walked around, and Maggie was amazed at the warmth and sunshine that I am so used to now! We had the most delicious large lunch which consisted of cream of mushroom soup, paella with calamari, mussels, rabbit and sausage, and finally toffee cake. The next day, we went to Sagrada Familia, the church and building that Gaudi is most well known for! It was beautiful and so intricate (this is Maggie and me in front of it!). We then continued on to Parc Guell, which was also designed by Gaudi. Gaudi was hired by wealthy families who wanted to show off their wealth. So for one family, he created Parc Guell. It was so gorgeous; with great views of the whole city, Sagrada Familia and the Mediterranean! Between the palm trees, bright colors, the view and the architecture, I was in complete awe. This was definitely my favorite spot in Barcelona and it was breathtakingly beautiful. We then returned to our hostel and prepared ourselves for the cooking class that we were going to later that night. We headed off to the meeting location and walked to the restaurant where we would make our own tapas, paella and sangria. Needless to say the meal was delicious and I was in gastronomic heaven! The paella had calamari, mussels, prawns and perch... amazing. The meal was also great becuase we we surrounded by people from different countries. There were some Germans, some Australians, some Belgian and others. It was so interesting and the discussions were always lively! The next and our last full day, we headed to Monjuic, where the Olympic stadium from the Barcelona 1992 Olympics was located! This little mountain offered great views of the city and was really pretty. We went to the stadium and the surrounding area and really enjoyed being in the sun! We took our time and wandered a bit until we found the MNAC (Muesem of National Art and Catalonia). We did not go inside, but the outside was beautiful and looked like a palace! We then decided it was time to go to the beaches.


Maggie luckily speaks a little Spanish, so when it came time for us to ask which bus to take to get somewhere, she was able to. We were told to take a certain bus, so we did. Turns out it was the wrong bus. We did not realize this until we passed Sagrada Familia, which is on the other side of the city and the opposite direction of where we wanted to go! We finally went to ask the bus driver where we were when we were told that this was the last stop and we needed to get off. Cool. So we laughed for a very long time about this and finally found someone to ask where exactly we were. We took out our map and asked her to show us where we were, and she laughed and pointed to an area... off the map. So we somehow managed to reach the outer city limits!!!! The bus driver came back from doing an errand and the woman kindly told him (in Spanish, she didn't speak any English!) that we were lost and needed to get to a certain stop. He told us to wait for a bit and he would show us exactly where we should go. He stopped the bus after 30 minutes or so and called us to the front. He then told us where to go! How nice!! So we finally found our way back to the hostel and managed to find lunch. We then went out to dinner with a friend from high school! Liz Pino is studying in Barcelona so she knew exactly where to take us and the restaurant was amazing! We had such a great time catching up and the waitstaff loved our table of four girls! Liz then took me out for a great night and we went to the beaches on Barcelona, while Maggie had to leave to go back to Maastricht! She had a really early morning flight and a shuttle from Barcelona at 3am... so she had to leave us early to gather her stuff at the hostel. We headed to the clubs that are on the beach and enjoyed the nice weather and the warmth!

I left the next day and began my 9 hour bus ride exhausted. I had to do some homework but managed to sleep a little bit. But I have come to a conclusion, I do NOT fit on European buses. My legs are too long and therefore it was a very uncomfortable 9 hour busride. But the views were amazing and we pretty much drove along the Mediterranean the whole time! Not only did I see tons of palm trees (my new obsession), but there were hundreds of wind turbines! I was so happy to see three of my favorite things (wind turbines, palm trees and the Mediterranean Sea)! We also drove through the Pyrenees Mountains, so that provided lots of really pretty views! Finally, I arrived home safely in Aix and was so excited to be home! All in all, it was a great vacation!!!!