Spring Break Trek through Berlin, Milano, Sardinia and Paris

So previous to final exams which consume the last two weeks of term, I went traveling around Germany, Italy and France with two great girls from my program. First off, we went to London's Stanstead Airport (second time this semester I have slept over here), then our connecting RyanAir flight took us to Berlin, one of the coolest places I have ever been. Our hostel (the Circus) was fantastic and we took a walking tour that afternoon. In addition to getting us well acquainted with the layout and history of this city, we learned lots of insider trivia from our guide. We spent Monday between the Jewish History Museum, the Topography of Terror exhibit and later the Reichstag. Monday took us to the Sachsenhausen concentration camp just north of Berlin. We had a private tour and learned about the different stages of the camp. It started out as a prison, then the Nazis took it over, then after Liberation the Soviets took it over. I was very impressed by the tour; it was something I will never forget.
Tuesday we left for Italy on our 3rd RyanAir flight. Milan was interesting experience having just come from a place where most people spoke a decent (or impeccable) level of English we encountered true language shock in Italy. Our hotel (in reality a hostel) provided lots of good stories and we did partake in a bit of touristing during our 2 day sejour in this Northern Italy city. After Milan, we flew to Sardegna (as the Italians and French refer to it) and stayed at an adorable B&B with a great view of the port! We hit up the beach and enjoyed lots of pizza during our weekend. Like in Milan, communication was also a bit of an issue. Fortunately people were very patient with us! It was quite a relief to head to Paris and a language that we understand a bit better :)
While in Paris, with the rest of the program, we saw the Eiffel Tour, Musee d'Orsay, Giverny, Versailles, Pere Lachaise cemetary, La Comedie Francaise, and took a boat ride along the Seine!
Next up for me is finishing finals then a visit from the family! Then its off to Italy and soon enough home :)

The UN, Cheese & Trains

So last weekend was spent in Geneva, Switzerland! I took the Friday night direct train from Aix and met up with my fellow MHS alum, Brandon for the weekend. He is studying in Geneva for the semester and offered to be my tour guide for the weekend. On Saturday we walked all around Geneva, the old and new parts. Took a tour at the UN (I had more fun than the 8 yr olds in my group), visited the Reformation Wall, and the church where Calvin preached. On Sunday, a group of kids from his program and I went train-hopping in the countryside around Geneva. We visited the Cailler chocolate factory in Broc (the picture of chocolate above is just a small idea of what we ate that day!), then we were off to Gruyere, the village where its namesake cheese comes from. The day ended eating delicious cheese fondue while looking at the pre-Alps! Then Monday morning I was back on a train heading back home to France. French trains are very nice- definitely an upgrade from the commuter rail, and I was quite amused by all the dogs on board :)

Weekend Adventures

The past two weekends have been spent exploring the southern coast of France. First was a visit to Cassis, complete with lunch on cliffs, mango gelato on the beach and a wonderful sunburn :) Last weekend was Marseille, specifically a visit to the Iles du Frioul, one of the islands just outside of the old port.

The seaside here is very different from Cape Cod - complete with white rock cliffs, and blue-green water. It is strange (and wonderful) to be going to the beach in March. The weather here in Aix is what we in Massachusetts would equate with the end of April-beginning of May, aka mid 60s mostly sunny stuff. Can't complain, I'm really not missing the snow and cold of crazy New England weather :)

One Month in One Post

Sorry for the delay in blogging! Here is a brief update on the last 30 days here in France....

Just got back from a very exciting winter break! Along with the other Gordon-in-Aix-ers, went to London for a few days. I saw a ton in just 3 days! I stayed in my first hostel with one of the other students; we were just across from the London Bridge (not nearly as impressive as I had hoped). We basically just walked around, took lots of double decker buses and explored the city till we dropped dead from exhaustion. It was wonderful, and wonderfully abusive to my feet. Here is a checklist of all that was accomplished during the 72 hour stay:
- saw Parliament, Buckingham Palace, Hyde Park, Harrod's, the London Eye, Westminster Abbey, the Tower Bridge, St. Paul's Cathedral, the Millenium Bridge, Shakespeare's Globe Theater, the Tower of London, Camden Market, Abbey Road, the National Gallery, National Portait Gallery, Trafalgar Square, the Museum of Natural History
-walked up and down the Thames daily
-ate fish and chips for the first time!
-rode the Tube
-experience hostel life to its finest

The second part of my vacation took me to Scandanavia; namely Denmark and Sweden. While the others flew off to Dublin, I caught a flight to Copenhagen and met up with extended family. I spent approximately 56 hours in these two countries combined and had an amazing time! The last time I met this family was when I was 5, needless to say it has been a while! I spent the better part of this time chilling out with my hosts Robert and Ankie and driving around in a very comfy Volvo (which my abused and blistered feet adored!). Here is the checklist from this leg of my trip:
-saw lots of old churches (including one built in the 11th cent.), lots of bikes, and lots of Swedish countryside
-ate a LOT of food (a nice mix of Danish, Swedish and Italian cuisine)
-watched House w/Swedish subtitles (apparently dubbing is not popular here, which explains why people are so open to using their English)
-(re)met my 3rd cousin who it turns out is ridiculously cool, loves the OC and is a fabulous hairdresser
-bought Swedish boots!


The break was capped off by a night spent at the Stanstead airport. Basically the most cold and painful experience of my life so far. One that I hope never to repeat. After surviving this, hopped back on a plane, came back to France and promptly got ill. The last few days have been spent in and out of bed but it looks like things are getting better! Nothing like being sick in a foreign country!

Monaco, Politics & Meryl

So two weeks ago I went on a day trip to Monaco. Here's a sampling of pics from that Saturday: (top) the beach at Monte Carlo, (second down) view of the harbor in the older part of Monaco near the palace, (third down) Grace Kelly's tomb in the Cathedral, (bottom) Ariana, Jessica and I with the Mediterranean in the background.















I have been settling into school well. My favorite class at the moment is French Political Life (big surprise there). My professor is ridiculously funny- calling on us by nationality, insulting Americans (joking of course) and complaining about the French and strikes. His class makes my Wednesday mornings. Definitely missing my politics-crammed schedule from last semester but this class is helping to ease the blow of having only language classes. My schedule is for the most part very nice. I have 4 hours of class monday through wednesday, then I have 8 hours on thursday- but happily none on friday!
I'm fairly well adapted to the 1/2 hour walks to and from school (but have mastered the bus system for those cold rainy days). The weather has been very New-England-esque recently, except for the wind. This past weekend it was super windy but still sunny; this phenomenon is known to locals as the Mistral. It is safe to say that I am not a fan.
I am however a big fan of my host mom. While her exact age remains a mystery it is accurate to say she certainly doesn't act it :) Some nights I (the 20yrold) beat her to bed! Last night when we were hanging out watching tv, I asked her which American actors the French know (and like). Her response - John Wayne, Steve McQueen, Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan, Julia Roberts, and can't forget Meryl. Meryl is actually all over the place here- Doubt is being released this weekend.
Just bought tickets for winter break in a few weeks. I will be going to London!

palatial papal pandemonium

So last weekend was the trip to Avignon, home of the papal palace in the 13th century (during a brief vacation from its home in Italy). We saw took the tour of the palace then went to the famous bridge (which doesn't actually cross the Rhone anymore, but when it did, things were hopping).
The palace was so massive- the basic idea was for each pope to personalize it and expand according to what he thought best. Result: 2+ hours spent roaming around an unheated palace :) good times!
ps. those giant black telephone-like things we (from left to right: Me, Ariana and Jessica) are holding in the picture, were our tour guides through the palace. Mine had a sick British accent.

This coming saturday- Monaco: home to Monte Carlo, millions of millionaires and the belated Grace Kelly

In other news: We got our entrance exam results last week and this week had our first classes. My roommate Ariana and I both tested into level 2. This means I have 12 hours of language class/week, 2 hours of phonetics, and 6 hours of electives. All my professors love making jokes about Americans (well actually any people groups not French). My French political life teacher was probably the funniest- most of the students had sat with their fellow countrymen and so he proceeded to call on us by nation (ex: Canada - do you understand what was just discussed?) I have yet to get used to have 4 hour classes- but the perk is no class on Friday!

Oh and a few last things: since we live 20 min outside of town going out at night can be challenging, so we have discovered the joys of french tv. So far we have watched: Schindler's List, Meet Joe Black, Armaggeddon (all dubbed of course) and the piece de resistance- Extreme Home Makeover! Or as the French call is Les Macons du Coeur. This show certainly doesn't translate well but it makes for a very entertaining evening! I just discovered my host mom's collection of French disney movies. Score!

rocks, et la rotonde

So here are some of those pictures promised in the last blog. The first one is the mountain from the path in the park. Mt. St. Victoire is interesting in that the more angles you get of it the more its shape changes. This second photo is of the rocks seen in the path. Madame explained to us that these rocks are special because of all the stones/mineral deposits which give them their vibrant varied colors.










The past few days we have spent exploring dowtown (known as the centre-ville). Here is a picture of the main fountain (La Rotonde) that I pass everytime I go to school or into town. And here is the Cours Mirabeau- sortof like Main Street on european steroids. There are restaurants, shops, banks, movie theaters, and cafes either on or just off the Cours Mirabeau. It is the place to be for certain! And it is an interesting change from my walk from Bromley to Jenks :)