Bonnes Fêtes de Aix en Provence!

Hello! SO you all know that I will be spending the holidays in San Diego but Provence has some pretty cool traditions I wanted to share with everyone.

Christmas Markets: Just about every town has their own set of markets. Often you can find french specialties but you also find things from all over the world. It is fun to try new types of food and find fun gift ideas. Here in Aix, the Cours Mirabeau is lined with a market and my favorite stand is definitely the "vin chaud" (aka hot wine) stand. So delicious!

Santons: These are the traditional Provençal figures for the crib scenes. They are hand-made out of clay and they are only made in Provence. Aix is famous for them! They are beautiful and it is a tradition for French families to put out their "santons" (little saintes) on December 5th and they stay out well into January. 

The meal: it s called "le gros souper" (aka big meal). Traditionally, the whole family is present. The table is covered with three white cloths layered over each other and has three white candles symbolizing the Holy Trinity. The sprouted lentils and wheat, tied with ribbon and sprigs of myrtle decorate the table. In Provence, places are laid for the poor and for family members who have died. 

13 Desserts: yes there really are 13! It is broken up into 3 categories: dried fruit and nuts, fresh fruit, and sweets. Here are some of the common sweets: Calissons d'Aix (almond-paste pastry with sugar icing), brioche, nougat, buche de noel (cake shaped like a log), and navettes. This is often held late at night following the Midnight Mass. 

Sooooo there you have it! 

Gros bises :)

Meet two of my Professors!

My university held a Christmas party last night for all of the foreign students! It was a lot of fun and we got to see some of our professors "break loose". I have six different professors and I managed to grab photos of two of them. :) Madame Abadie is one of my language professors and she is so nice and her class is helpful! Madame Moreels is my théâtre professor and frankly, she is a riot and her class is always hilarious! Watching them dance and interact with their students outside of the classroom was epic! Thanks for throwing such a great party!!! :)

Il fait froid mais...la ville est belle!

Pont du Gard et Châteauneuf du Pape

So today was the last CEA excursion for the fall semester...the next one isn't until the end of January. Anyways...first we headed to Pont du Gard which is one of the best preserved Roman ruins in all of France. It was huge! It was a beautiful day here in the south of France...now it is a pretty consistent 55 ish degrees (or 12-14 degrees Celsius). A tad chilly but absolutely beautiful!

Me...J'adore ma vie en France :)

The CEA Grenoble students joined us for this excursion and it was fun to see them again! 

(Courtesy of Dylan, one of us Aixois! Thanks Dylan!)

(Also from Dylan) Just looking off into the vineyards...I really do love everything about my life in France!

This was where we went for our degustation...aka wine tasting. The building is not the "new pope's house" but the wine is labeled Châteauneuf du Pape. Their wines are considered to be some of the best in France and also in the world. It was interesting to learn about the "terrior"(the individual characteristics and components of the soil) of this particular appellation because it is very specific. Only in this appellation are the vines planted in rocky soil. This is important because it helps to keep a consistent temperature throughout the year therefore protecting the vines from the winter frost and the summer heat. We got to taste 3 different wines and all were fantastic so.....

I splurged and bought a bottle :) I'm saving this one for my birthday! Excited! It is going to be fantastic!

What have I been up to?

CEA took us on a day trip to Avignon! 

me on the bridge...What river flows under le pont d'Avignon? The Rhone!

I'm sure you all have heard this song...our program director Vivienne, forced us to hold hands, dance in a circle, and sing the song while we were on the bridge. The best part?...she has it on video. We look ridiculous but it was fun!

Le pont d'Avignon...

We got to visit Palais des Papes....two words: massive and amazing...

The Christmas market has opened in Aix! The Cours Mirabeau is all lit up and there are a bunch of chalets where you can do crafts, try different foods, buy little things and drink vin chaud (hot wine of course!) Sorry these are pictures from my iPhone so they aren't the best but you can see why I love it!

yum...C'est bon! :)

C'est tout pour ce moment! Ciao et au revoir!

:)

Did you hear?

I will be in San Diego for Christmas!

This is NOT a joke people...I'm excited to see my family and my friends :) I am going to do my very best to see everyone I can! I will be in San Diego from the 21st to the 31st of December! I think the best thing about coming back for the holidays (other than seeing everyone of course) is that I get to come back to my beloved France. Don't worry San Diego, I love you and miss you when I'm gone

:)

Other updates:

My Toussaint vacation has finished and I've resumed classes. Very happy to be back in the classroom! I have many exams and exposés in the coming weeks so I have plenty to do! I've learned that the best place for me to work on the language I love is everywhere and anywhere other than class. To be honest, I'm beginning to use French more often than English. I don't rely on my English as much because my confidence in speaking French has grown. It's amazing how quickly my language skills have progressed! I try to only use English when communicating with people in the US. Other than that, I read, write and speak French as often as I can. I love it! It makes me laugh because whenever I update this blog, I find myself writing English as if I were writing French! My brain is going to be temporarily confused when all I hear is English in San Diego because it is very used to French! :)

Fall has arrived in Aix. It has been raining for almost a week now and it is windy and chilly. I love it. It is beautiful and it has been fun to watch the seasons change. We really don't see it that much in San Diego so its a welcome change. 

Food:

Do you buy your milk at room temperature and your yogurt in a jar? I do! It is so strange but awesome! The yogurt jars double as extra drinking glasses and I can buy more milk at once and leave it in the pantry. Strange thought I know but trust me...once you are used to it, it's awesome! 

The other evening CEA treated us to dinner...what was on the menu? A plate full of mussels and frites! Yes it was amazing :) I am spoiled by all the amazing food I eat here!

Il faut que je fasse mes devoirs....aka I must do my homework for all you non-french speakers :)

Bonsoir at bisous!!

A long weekend in Bordeaux...

 Every place I visit makes me fall in love with France all over again...this time it was in the beautiful city of Bordeaux in the south-west of France. In general, it is very different from my world in Aix en Provence but I loved it just the same! For one of my language classes, I have to do an exposé on the Aquitaine region. This trip was perfect because I could gather the information I needed and have fun at the same time! Perfect! :)

My friend Katherine and I took the train from Aix to Bordeaux and even though it took 8 hours, I officially love traveling by train. It allows you to see so much more of the countryside! We passed through 4 different regions before arriving in the Aquitaine and it is a STUNNING region. Fall colors were everywhere and the countryside was full of vineyards! Amazing! Here are a few pictures of things we saw and places we visited...

We arrived in the afternoon of our first day so we took off walking to see what we could find. We found this beautiful park! Look at those fall colors! I have never seen colors like this in San Diego! We walked around for about 2 hours just enjoying the scenery. 

Place de la Bourse...at night! This is one of the most beautiful places I have seen...it is even more amazing during the day! (pictures below) There was a group of 6 men playing French horns so of course, we sat and listened to them for as long as we could!

Ok so when in Bordeaux what must you do? Go visit Châteaux! In the vineyards :) All of the grapes are harvested between September and October so the vines were empty but dressed in their fall colors! 

The exterior....beautiful right? Every wine we tasted was amazing! Obviously...I was in the heart of wine country so of course they were all great! 

I loved the countryside...and the wine!

Place de la Bourse...during the day! This is what makes it so amazing...the reflection! You have to wait for almost all of the water to be gone in order to see it but when you do, it is beautiful! The construction is sort of annoying but at least you all can see what I mean!

 Breast Cancer awareness...French style...AWESOME! The water in the fountain was also pink :)

This is Katherine! She is from Australia...Thanks for coming with me on this great trip! 

So what's next? It's currently Toussaint vacation in France so I have another week off. I will be spending it in Aix...studying! I have lots of exams and exposés to give in the coming weeks so I need the time to prepare! Nerdy but all of my studying has been paying off...nothing is more rewarding then when I am able to speak French without too much extra thought! 

Happy Halloween!!

Bisous :)

Arles & St. Maries de la Mer

Time for an update! Here is how I spent my weekend...we went to Arles and St. Maries de la Mer!

We left Aix Saturday morning and headed to Arles. It reminded me of Aix a little bit but at the same time it is very different. I love all the bright shutters! Our hotel was on this little street!

Arles is famous for its Roman ruins. This is the exterior of an old Roman theater. This portion has not been restored so it gives you a hint of just how tall this structure was. 

Bull fighting arena! This is the old Roman amphitheater and now it hosts bull fights. Did you know that there are two kinds of bull fights? One, is a spanish variation in which the bull is killed at the end of the fight. The other is a french variation where they tie a ribbon between the bulls horns and the object is to cut the ribbon and not hurt the bull. The season just ended but we still got to appreciate the historical background of this arena. 

We saw the beautiful Van Gogh café where Van Gogh painted Café la Nuit. 

Don't you just love this little building!!! I do!!!!!!!

After spending the night in Arles, we headed to St. Maries de la Mer to witness a very old tradition. According to tradition, the three Mary's (of biblical times) were banished on a boat with no oars. They landed in this town unharmed and now each year, the people hold a ceremony in their honor. The purpose is to thank and bless the waters of the Mediterranean for providing safe passage.

This church is over a thousand years old! We waited outside for mass to end so we could follow the procession down to the ocean.

The horses ridden by guardians, accompanied the priests into the water to bless it. Very traditional!

Shell hunting :)

Hello ocean! It was a cold and windy day but it was still beautiful. It was so nice to smell the ocean. I will admit that I miss that smell! 

Family photo! From left to right: Jessica, Claire, Kreya, Dylan, Colin, Olivia and me!

After the ceremony we had a little bit of free time and then....we went horseback riding!

This was my horse...Il s'appelle Carmuzze. We got to ride for an hour and a half along the coast and through groups of wild pink flamingos! It was beautiful! It was so fun!

What's next? We have a vacation from the 27th of October to the 6th of November. Plans? I'm still undecided but I think I am headed to Bordeaux for 3 days with my friend Katherine from Australia. It should be fun!

School is still going well and I am loving everything about Aix. They started to line the main street, the Cours Mirabeau, with Christmas lights! I can't wait for it to be done! It has started to cool off and now it is only about 65 degrees (average) everyday. The Mistral wind is insane...I thought I was ready for it but I was wrong! Layers and scarves are the thing to have here! 

What do you all want to know about life in Aix? I try to write as much as I can but I don't know what to write half the time! 

Bises :)

This week in Aix...

Salut tous! This was the first real week of classes and everything is still going great!

This is what else I have been up to...

Meet the St. Victoire mountain...It is only about 6km outside of Aix and it is beautiful. There are tons of different trails to hike and explore. Near the mountain is the water reservoir that delivers water to most of Provence. You can't swim in it but it is still beautiful to look at. 

Fun Fact!!!! Can you see the red rock in the photo? This area is famous for fossilized dinosaur eggs. Many areas of the mountain are off limits for that reason but you can go with a guide who can show you some prehistoric history.

Beautiful isn't it????!!!!!?!?!

One of the trails we plan to do takes you up to the top of the St Victoire. That trail takes about 2 hours to get up but once you make it, you have a great view of Aix en Provence, Marseille and some of the surrounding smaller towns.

Other happenings...

Not to much to report on the rest of the week. We went to a comedy show (in french) and dinner with the CEA group. It was hilarious...well, the parts I understood were hilarious! I understood most of it....really!

I did some more exploring in the markets and I've decided that just about anything you buy from the local farmers is amazing! I will take pictures of the markets this weekend and post about them more then. They are packed and full of all sorts of fun things...not just food! 

Plans for this weekend: Markets, CEA fam picnic in the park, and maybe a day trip to somewhere close 

:)

grosses bises de France!!!

French University in Aix

My university is beautiful! Don't get me wrong...Cal State San Marcos is pretty great too but now I get to go to classes in an amazing old building! :)

My classes are great and I really think my French is going to improve so much! No English is spoken at school so it really forces you to speak...The first week has been a little exhausting but I love it! I don't mind listening to French all day long! :) unlike at home, I am in class everyday. Even Fridays...so far it's not too shabby. Maybe it's just because I love the language so much...nerdy I know!

Time to head to class!!

À bientôt!!

Les Baux en Provence and St. Remy

Quick update!!!

Today, I got to go to Les Baux. It is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen! Sorry, some of the pictures got mixed up as I uploaded them :)

View from the bottom looking up at Les Baux. The weather has been fantastic!

It's me!!!!!! G'ma...I know you love this place and if it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have been able to experience it. Than you for making all of this possible! I love you!!!

View into the valley from up on one of the towers. The valley is filled with olive trees and it produces some of the best olive oil in France. 

Old Roman architecture! This was in St. Remy which was about a 5 minute drive from Les Baux.

This is where Van Gough spent a year in a mental institution! Not too shabby right?

More Les Baux...I have so many more pictures but this place is magical! I loved everything about it! Check out my Aix en Provence facebook album to see all of the pictures!!! 

:)