November round up

Howdy partners!

November has witnessed a calm, cool settling of the air. That is to say, the temperature has dropped and the activities have slowed. After fall break, coming back to Aix was like getting comfy on the couch after you get up to make some popcorn - your seat is still warm, you sit down, you sink into your old lounging position, and it feels really good because, let's face it, standing up while making popcorn just takes so much out of you.

Where was I?
Oh yeah: November.

Okay, so not quite the wild ride that we saw in October. But how can you do nothing while studying abroad? Answer: you can't!
So even if you're just in Aix, or you're seeing more of France, stuff is happening! With less than one month until I'll really be back on my comfy couch, I've taken the time to check things off my study abroad bucket list. I got my outdoorsy fix by hiking Mount Sainte-Victoire. I went to Marseille, because how could you not - we're so close! And I climbed the fountain at La Rotunde (that was not on my bucket list, but if I'd known how fun it would be, it would've been!).
I also got in a fight with cheese. But French food redeemed itself at Thanksgiving.


My study abroad experience is not winding down, no way. In fact, I'm probably only just beginning to realize how much I love it here. Which really sucks since I'm leaving so soon! :( Oh well, that's why you gotta make the most of it, right?!

And please don't forget that I've made the big move to a new blog site (since this one can't hold anymore photos)! The new blog is here: thecolourscape.wordpress.com

That's all for this edition of what's-Stephanie-been-up-to. See you in December (that came quickly, didn't it).

xxo, S

and, yo, check those boxes down there sometimes, okay?? Shaker Jerry does.
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Thanksgiving in France

This is my first Thanksgiving I've ever celebrated without my family - and I sure was missing those guys all day!

When I think of Thanksgiving, I picture the center counter at 250 crammed with bowls and platters of turkey, potatoes, veggies, and STUFFING; and going to sit down at the big table; and Lil says something like, "Now, everyone, sit next to someone you don't talk to often!"; and we do; and I get asked awkward questions about my college life BUT HEY IT'S OKAY because I'm with my family and I love everyone and Thanksgiving is probably my favourite holiday :)

2012 will be the year of that-time-I-had-Thanksgiving-in-France-because-I-was-living-there. And that's something I'll always remember, too.

IAU was awesome and they put together this great dinner for us! As you can see, we sat at these huge, long tables and I had all my new friends around and we were just laughing and taking pictures and eating and drinking; and we kept marveling at the fact that "guys, we are in a cave in France and we're celebrating Thanksgiving!" Like, woah!

Not quite the feast that my family puts together, but God bless the French people for trying! There was turkey (a miracle), mashed sweet potatoes, green beans, creamed corn, meatloaf, and gravy. And baguettes of course! I inhaled my first plate and got seconds soon after. So hungry! And so happy! We had pumpkin pie for dessert, too. A lot of people said it didn't taste like pumpkin, but that's because in America we always have canned pumpkin pie with all that condensed milk and crap. But here, since they don't know that's how we do it in America, the used real pumpkin! So this was probably the realest pumpkin pie I'll ever eat!

 friends!

 beaujolais nouveau!

After dinner we walked to Cours Mirabeau to see the new Christmas markets that are set up. So pretty at night! But they were closed; I went home to change; and then we all went to see the huge fountain that has lights too.

what the rotunde usually looks like

We ended up going literally, inside the fountain (all the water is shut off, don't worry) and just hung out there for a while. For those of you who don't intimately know the layout of Aix-en-Provence, the fountain at La Rotunde is, well, huge. It is at the center of the main traffic circle and at the end of Cours Mirabeau, which is the main street... basically, in the middle of all the action. And we were climbing it like a jungle gym!

 

The police drove by a few times and a couple groups of people pointed and stared at us; but no one said anything! Ah, those Frenchys, they really don't care, do they? :)

 yes, yes. happy arms. i know

 
our fountain-climbing group

After a bit of a photoshoot :P we went to the Cathedral to rally the rest of the troops.

Then we went out to our regular haunt, the bar street, and hung around with French people for the rest of our Thanksgiving hours.

But for the most part, I was with all Americans! And all of us wanted to hang out and be together, since not with our families, for Thanksgiving, the most American holiday there is.

This year, I have a lot to be thankful - the most basic of which is that I am in France right now!

I am also thankful for my family, who has grown and changed so much over the years but never grown too big (impossible!) and never changed too much, who has been there for me at every moment big or small, and who I love dearly; for my friends, the new ones and the old ones, the close ones and the far ones, the ones I haven't met yet; for my education at DU and being able to live in Denver; for everything I've learned in the past year about myself and about the world; for all the teachers I've had in my life, lest they know it or not; and for my health.

Whew! What a list!

Anyway, Happy Thanksgiving everyone :)

xxo, S

Mount Sainte-Victoire

Friday 9 Nov-

SO this one time, I climbed a mountain. And it also rained.

No, no, this isn't that other time you're thinking of. This is a new time. A second time, if you will. Or actually, I have climbed mountains many times. And it also rained. Maaaaany times. But this is the first time in FRANCE so therefore it is new and cool and let's just get on with it, shall we?

Mount Sainte-Victoire, or La Montagne Sainte-Victoire, or [mo' sah vik-twah], or [la mo-tah-ñ sah vik-twah], if you wanna get all faaaaancy and pronounce it in French like that, is this bad boy right here:

It's Paul Cézanne's famous mountain, famous because he painted it, that is. Legend tells of a legendary mountain whose kung fu skills were the stuff of LEGEND!

(haha)

Anyway, you can see MSV from many places in Aix, and some people can even see it from their homestays! It looms over the town, this funny shaped rocky outcropping. So yeah, I get why Cézanne thought it was a cool thing to paint. I see you, famous mountain, I see you.

Lots of people I know have already climbed the mountain. Fun fact: I once, in casual conversation, mentioned that I wanted to "climb MSV soon," but was told that "well it's not really a climb, it's more of a hike." Whatever lady, whatever. Fun fact: my fun facts are often not very fun.

Continuing on.

As you will soon see, this person was clearly misinformed as I did, indeed, climb Mount Sainte-Victoire.

Me and another Steph went with two other girls, who I hadn't gotten to get to know very well. So not only was this some good time in the Great Outdoors, but also some bonding time with new friends :) After buying snacks, lunch, and stocking up on good ol' H20, we headed to catch the 11:15p bus. Which did arrive! But the bus driver said he wasn't going that way.

Um, strange.

There would be another one soon, he promised. So we waited.

We waited an hour until the next bus arrived. This one was ready to drive us all the way to the MSV bus stop, which was good because it was already after noon and, especially since the sun sets so early now, we didn't have much time!

If we hadn't been with the other two girls who had hiked it before, we wouldn't have known where we were going. When you get off at the "bus stop," it is literally just the side of the road, about thirty minutes outside of Aix. You have to walk along an unmarked road for fifteen minutes before you see anything that remotely resembles a trail. What you have actually arrived at is the parking lot, which leads to the reservoir for all the water in the Aix-en-Provence region.

Why is the water so blue? No idea. But we drink it!

the dam behind us

So we walked along the top of the dam to get to the trail. Along the way, we peered over the edge. It's a looooooonnnnngggggggg way down...

Successfully having frightened ourselves, we continued on towards the cloud-covered mountain. Soon, we said, we will be in that cloud.

At first, it was pretty simple, albeit verrrry slippery. The ground had a lot of clay, interestingly enough. As we went onward, I found myself thinking less about the kind of rock I was walking on, and more about which rock I would walk on next and would it please just magically lift me to the summit. That is to say, the path got harder.

We chose the blue trail. I'm not sure what the other trails are, which colour corresponds to which difficulty, but blue was just the right amount of challenge for me. We hit some rocky parts that definitely required a scramble or two. But overall, it was a trail like any other I've encountered (in the White Mountains) that went straight along the ridge and up to the top.

reservoir behind me, about 1/4 of the way up

on the ridge

steph, me, melissa

definitely in a cloud

yup, look at all that cloud on me!

below the summit; cloud-covered top of msv is behind us

that is also the invisible top of the mountain behind me

view of the valley!

The descent was tricky in its own way because it was so slippery, but it did go much faster! Steph and I slipped and fell twice each, and Melissa only once. It's okay though, it's only because she's climbed MSV before... sure, that's why ;)

We were also hustling because we wanted to make it down before dark, which we ultimately did! We made it to the base, got to the bus stop, and on the bus all before the sun set; but by the time we were in Aix, it was dark. Which is kinda sad to walk home all sweaty and tired when it's dark out. Like, world look at me! I just climbed a mountain! IN THE RAIN! I WAS IN A CLOUD! DID YOU HEAR THAT? IN. A. CLOUD.

But it's okay, I mean, it's dark. Instead of looking mountain-conquering-cool, I just look creepy as all get-out walking around, sweating on a 50° evening with a pink backpack.

Overall, much safer than when I hiked in Ireland (sorry, guys). I'm really glad I got to go hiking, since I missed out on the big family White Mountain adventure this year. So, maybe it's not the Alps. But this is my first foreign mountain, and I think that deserves something.

Like pizza?

Like the best pizza ever?

YES!

What pizza am I talking about? LET ME TELL YOU.

On Saturday, the day after our hike, me, Steph, and Melissa, went to get dinner. Now usually I'm not up for Pizza, but it's been raining like crazy in Aix (and in Avignon) so some warm yumminess was welcome. Pizza Capri is great and all, but this is très magnifique. The place we went to I'd never even noticed before. It's got lots of cool colours and has a yellow sign that says "Pizzeria." It has a name, too, I just forget it. But it also has a wood-burning oven, and we all know that just makes all pizza so much better. Ah, I'm getting hungry just thinking about it!

Apparently, it's a thing to not have menus in Europe. Instead, the just bring the huge menu sign over to your table and you all look at it for a while. Once you've decided, the waiter comes back, takes your order, and brings the menu to the next people who need it. This place had one travelling menu, and another that was always on the wall - the pizza menu, of course.

me and both menus

steph's pizza; mine in the background

We ordered our pizzas - I got the Parma, which was like a ham salad on top of regular pizza - and also some drinks to celebrate our awesome victory over Sainte-Victoire the day before. Steph had heard of this drink called kir which is crème de Cassis and white whine. It ends up tasting just like rosé, in case you were wondering. But crème de Cassis is also really interesting. It is a liqueor derived from black currants, which are commonly found in English literature like Peter Rabbit and that's all I know about black currants. 

cheersing the kir

oh, also they gave us a whole bottle of cold water. that NEVER happens here!

After a delicious meal with great new friends, and a wonderful hiking experience together, Mount Sainte-Victoire is a good place in my book! No bad memories whatsoever :) In fact, I'd totally do it again sometime.

xxo, S

Avignon

On Saturday, me and K-bird went to Avignon.

where in the world is avignon?

about one hour from aix

After a small bit of confusion over bus tickets, we took the 11:30a bus from Aix, arriving in Avignon around 12:30p. If you remember our impression of the Avignon gare routière (bus station) on our way to Barcelona,  you're probably surprised that we ever voluntarily returned. It was still gross and creepy! But that's not where we were hanging out for the day - and certainly not what the rest of the town was like!

 eerily empty for a saturday

 strings of christmas lights and a closed market

 avignon hotel de ville

Avignon began as a medieval city and its walls are still standing, encompassing the centre ville and oldest part of the town. Here is a bit more history about the walls, and some photos (I didn't take any :/ ).

Unfortunately, it was drizzling quite a bit on our tour d'Avignon. We walked up the main street, got a map and some info from the office de tourisme and headed to Le Palais de Papes, the "main attraction" of Avignon. The Palais is actually an immense complex that was the home of the popes from 1309 to 1377, while there was chaos in Rome.

outside the entrance; palais neuf

main courtyard; here, the pope would wave, acknowledging his admirers who came to acclaim him

When they returned to the Vatican, the Palais was still used by the "antipopes" until 1433; it then changed hands and purposes numerous times, deteriorating more and more over the years, until in 1906 when it became a museum; in 1995 the Palais became recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage site (as all the best things are: Stonehenge, Pingvellir National Park, etc.); and is constantly going through renovations and construction.

When I said the Palais is immense, I really meant it! We spent probably close to two hours walking around the place. With your admission, you get a handheld, touchscreen audio tour that blandly tells you each and every detail about all the rooms, floors, paintings, and cracks in the walls in a bored British accent. Needless to say, it got old pretty fast, although I did learn a lot!

 k-bird listening to her audio tour

behind her is a fireplace that takes up the entire wall

 the "cloister" courtyard. the silver bell was used to announce important ceremonies, events, and meals. i like to think that meals count as both an important ceremony and event.

 classic gothic arches in the courtyard

k-bird sitting behind the arched windows, overlooking the courtyard

 what a cutie :)

 stained glass windows in the main dining hall (below)

 the massive dining hall, 500 metres long, used to have a deep blue ceiling decorated with gold stars to represent the heavens - how very harry potter of them.

 tallest chimney i've ever seen; this was the kitchen, where they cooked on a hearth that took up the whole floor

 the main chapel, where all the most important ceremonies took place

 getting some fresh air on the roof!

 views from the top of the palais roof

We had tickets to go see the famous Pont Saint-Bénézet, as in the French nursery rhyme that goes "sur le pont d'Avignon."

Buuut... it was still raining, so we went off in search of a café.

Instead, we walked around - in the rain! - before finally finding a bakery. Everything was closed for some unknown reason and there were no people in the streets (at least, not where we were). We attributed this to the French (and European) tendency to close down from 2p-4p (14h-16h), but it was unfortunate that we didn't get to see the town in action and had to walk around in the grey rain.

The bakery we found was great! We each got a quiche lorraine (they heated it up - yum!) and some coffee. They also had bread art all over the place!

By this time, things were opening up again. We got really lost trying to make it to the main streets, and by the time we did, we were wet and cold again. After picking up a few (damp) postcards as souvenirs, we found a café near the Hotel de Ville we had passed earlier and had a drink while it got dark outside.

 [photo credit: @katiekomnenich]

 [photo credit: @katiekomnenich]

The town looked pretty at night, especially since everything was still shiny from the rain! But it was time to go back to the scary bus station and head home to Aix on the 6:45p bus.

Despite the rain and the unusual amount of walking we did, I had a fun time in Avignon :) It was great to spend time with K-bird and catch up on life, and also to see more of France. Even though it's been fun to travel around Europe the past few weekends, this is the country I'm studying in.

I also saw another one of those 8-bit cthulu guys - that's three times now! Thoroughly astounded, I decided to do a bit of internet poking. After playing around with different Google search terms (ending with "small mosaic street art europe 2012"), I found this page on Wikipedia, which explained everything.

Apparently, the art project is called Space Invaders and began in 1998 in Paris, which explains why I've seen the "invaders" (not cthulu) in La Ciotat and in Brussels, but has since spread around the world by the French artist known as Invader. Who knew?!

xxo, S