Provence

Sorry for the delay between posts, the study part of studying abroad caught me with a few mid-terms and a presentation. All went well :)

This past weekend was pre-planned by my study abroad program and spent in the lovely and scenic Provence area. We were on the bus by 7:30 am to go to Arles, famous for the painting Cafe Terrace at Night by Vincent Van Gogh and for the remains of a Roman amphitheater and theater.

The Roman Amphitheater and Theater were also very interesting. Apparently, the amphitheater was designed so that different social classes would never have to mix on the way to their seats, as the entrances all lead to different expense levels of seating.

Theater and Amphitheater respectively.




We then visited a medieval castle stronghold in Les Baux de Provence. The view from the top of the 245 m high plateau was truly fantastic.

From Les Baux de Provence we traveled to the beautiful walled city of Avignon, home of the Pope's Palace. There is a Pope's Palace in Avignon because of some conflict between French royalty and Roman Pope Boniface VIII. The full story is quite interesting. I found that Wikipedia summed up our tour guide's explanation nicely, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avignon_Papacy.
The Pope's Palace was still quite a sight despite the many fires, destruction attempts, and prison usage it has endured.

Also, it is apparently possible to hold large-scale  receptions within the palace as we observed a large queue of nicely-dressed people walk into the front doors of the palace ushered in by a band and fire performer. Just in case you really need a venue for something...

After Avignon we went to visit the Pont du Guard, a Roman aqueduct built over 2000 years ago. The Aqueduct was originally 31 miles long and was still water tight up until about 900 years ago. Once again, we had beautiful weather. 

Last but not least on our excursion we had wine tasting at a vineyard in Chateauneuf-du-Pape. (Yes, another location associated with French popes. The first vines there were planed in the 13th century by some wine-loving popes). We enjoyed the finer points of two glasses of red, and one glass of white wine. 

Starting this Saturday the 25th is my Spring Break! Stories and pictures to come in early March. I'll be visiting Paris, Edinburgh, London, and Amsterdam!

 

The Italian Alps Adventure

The past weekend was one of the most spectacular and surprising couple of days that I have had yet. I was invited by my new friend, Gloria to go to her beautiful weekend-home in Limone, Italy on last Thursday evening. Five other friends and I left at 11:00 am on Friday and after a series of trains, busses, and a car ride, arrived in a beautiful little town covered in blankets of snow.

Gloria gave us a tour of the house. The outside looked just as nice as the interior.

This was the bedroom I used for Friday and Saturday night. It was definitely hard to come back to the bunk-bed in my apartment in Antibes. 

The view from the living room was quite spectacular.

Some of the group went skiing on Saturday to the advanced part of the mountain. The bunny-hill was not really an option this time, so I went on a self guided tour of the little town with another girl who also decided her skiing-skills were sub par. We still had a lot of fun exploring, and I made a snowman!

Gloria, her brother and father were great hosts to us. I had excellent meals, wine, and conversation. I feel truly grateful for their generosity and willingness to open their home to a group of six Americans. 

Snow Day

Today marked the second snow day here in the south of France. Tuesday's forecast threatened to dump a whopping two inches in usually-sunny Antibes. Well, that was enough for the public bus system to cancel all bus routes for Tuesday and Wednesday until 8 am, and then for my university to cancel all classes for both days.
Tuesday passed rainy and cold but with no snow in sight, and today was bright and sunny.
Here is the view from my apartment documenting snow day number two.

To be fair, my university is located in Sophia-Antipolise, not Antibes, and apparently they did actually manage to accumulate about an inch of snow and ice. 

Maybe living in the midwest has simply toughened me up against conditions such as these :)

Learning to Ski

This weekend passed in breathtaking Superdevoluy, France on part of the French Alps. I have never been snow skiing before but the experience was fantastic nonetheless.

 

This is a picture of the black diamond mountain I skied down on my very fist attempt.... just kidding... this was the view from our hotel room. 

This is the bunny hill that I eventually conquered only falling twice (on the final run)! 

I was lucky enough to room with a girl in my study abroad program who had been a ski instructor since she was thirteen. I really owe my whole Saturday to her kindness, patience, and aid. 

After a solid four hours on the slopes we stopped for the day to eat and rest. Some fellow bunny-hill-conquerers and I decided to get pizza for lunch because we had been reminded "to pizza" (make the skis point in front of you) to stop so much during the day. If anyone is looking for a new way to work out, I must highly recommend skiing. Not only do you get to pass the day in beautiful scenery, but you also get the benefit of exercise for your entire body. 

Your arms and shoulders will carry the heavy equipment to and from your hotel room.

Your legs, of course, control all movement while skiing. 

And your abs will certainly be used to stabilize your body when trying to get up and out of the powdery snow you just ran into. 

Atop the bunny hill. 

On Sunday I was pretty sore from the day before so some friends and I decided to just ride a ski lift to the top of a more difficult spot just to see the view. While the clouds were clear, it was plain to see how nicely nestled in the Alps we really were. 

 

There was a small restaurant at the top where we ate lunch. 

Shopping in Italy

Friday and Saturday marked great days for shopping at outdoor markets in Ventimiglia and San Remo, Italy. The quality of goods is sometimes questionable but the prospect of a good deal is always right around the corner. Personally, in Ventimiglia (pronounced Vent-ee-mee-lia) I found a bracelet that I love for only 2.5 euro.

But that trip was relatively short in comparison to the day we spent in San Remo. After perusing the market, we had plenty of time to go explore the city.

Here is a picture of a church we stumbled upon while searching for a pizzeria. 

We found a fantastic little pizzeria called Pinocchio's Pizza. If you have no other interest for Italy, I must recommend that you go solely for the experience of truly authentic pizza. 

Besides pizza, of course we needed to get gelato. 

Well shopped and fed, we were able to venture onto a small, rock peninsula. The view of the shoreline as well as the ocean were incredible. 

Not all of Saturday was spent in San Remo however. Our study abroad leader then took us to Dolceacqua, Italy for a quick tour of the historically rich little town. 

 We were able to take a tour of the fortress atop the hill. Some parts of the stronghold dated back to the 11th century. 

Views from the castle were breathtaking. I still haven't become accustomed to mountains in the skyline. 

First Week of Classes

Sorry it has been so long since my last post, the internet here has become a bit unreliable.

The good news is, the recent struggle with the WiFi network has been the only trouble this week. My classes are quite enjoyable and the professors for each seem dedicated to making their lessons fun and easy to learn.
Tuesday is Advanced French from 1-4, Wednesday is Organic Chemistry from 8:30am-11:30am, and Contemporary French Culture is Thursday from 1-4. Thats right, a whole semester of only having classes three days a week! Many of the other students in my study abroad program are in the same situation because, as you can see, the classes are three hours long once a week instead of one hour long classes three times a week. I feel very lucky to have such a schedule, especially for weekend travel plans.

This weekend my study abroad program is taking us to San Remo, Italy. Pictures to follow!

Walking around France

I am standing on a pathway that wraps around most of the Nice-Antibes sea line. It is possible to bike  all the way along if you're up to it. Also, beyond Nice in the background are the French Alps. We passed many colorful alleys and great little shops that I am excited to explore further. 

This picture was taken on our day-trip to Nice. Most of what you see in the background is Antibes. Nice used to be a part of Italy which is why so much Italian architecture is intermingled with the French influences. 

Today we were also able to visit the famous casino in Monte-Carlo, Monaco.  Apparently, this casino is the reason why Monaco is still a country. In the 18th century, Monaco asked Napoleon Bonaparte for  a loan to keep Monaco alive. Napoleon obliged on the condition that the debt be repaid within ten years. After 9 years had passed, Monaco still had not earned enough money to support its economy, let alone repay France. That is, until someone had the idea to build a casino. The debt was repaid and nine years later, the prince of Monaco deemed it unnecessary for his subjects to pay taxes. Wow!

(The pine trees are imported, France keeps their Christmas decorations up for a while) 

This is a panoramic view of Monaco that one of my friends on the trip took. Walking around the city was definite motivation for higher education. The streets were very clean, the shops boasted merchandise of which the smallest price was 120 euro, and, much like the unemployment percentage, the crime rate is zero. 

We were also able to visit the perfume factory, Fragonard. We saw how and where the perfumes are developed in a beautifully-scented atmosphere. After I left, my clothes smelled of the perfume in the air. The tour was very interesting and much the town surrounding the factory was built with old stone and simple yet intricate design. 

Overall, a very good couple of days exploring Antibes, Nice and Monaco. The fun facts included above are courtesy of our very knowledgeable and friendly tour-guide.