This weekend was our school-sponsored excursion to Aix-en-Provence. My first voyage outside of Paris and into France (because as the French say, “Paris, it’s not France.) We left Friday morning and took the TGV (super-fast train, apparently travels at 300 km/hr according to my host father). To my surprise, I arrived in the train station to find Becky (my friend who is studying in Poitiers) there. I had figured she would meet us in Aix, but I got to ride the train with her. J
We arrived in Aix around 4 p.m., about an hour later than we planned (the train was late). We dropped our things at the hotel and took off to get to Cezanne’s workshop before it closed. We succeeded, and saw the room where Cezanne painted for the last 4 years of his life. It was interesting b/c the objects that he painted were still there, and many of his paintings had the walls or the windows of the room in them. Cezanne was born in Aix and lived there most of his life, so the whole city is obsessed with him, and there is a Cezanne trail with footprints leading around town. After we descended from his workshop, we wandered back to the hotel and our guide, an art history professor, Mme. Molle, talked to us about the city and its architecture and history. She was a super-knowledgeable guide, about art and architecture and the region. However, she never stopped talking at us and treated us like we were elementary schoolers. Every time we got on the bus she told us to put our seatbelts on and she always made us wait for her to cross the road first and she yelled if we were whispering at all or the tiniest bit late. At one point a girl took a picture as she was telling her not to (totally accidental that she actually took the photo) and Mme. Molle yelled and said she was the professor and we were the students and we needed to respect what she said. I can’t remember the last time someone insisted on making that student-teacher distinction…but that’s the French way. Mme. Molle was quite a control-freak and she would lecture and direct the bus driver constantly, and when we got off the bus this afternoon at the train station, he said to one of the Midd students, “Je veut la tuer…translation, I want to kill her.” Anyways enough about our guide.
Our hotel was right in the center of the city, ideal location, and very charming. I shared a triple with Becky and my friend Kay. The room was adorable: it had a sitting area with a pullout couch and a loft with two twin beds. I took pictures…I’ll post them soon. Friday night we ate dinner at the hotel and it was delicious. It started with kir, an extremely French/provencal aperitif consisting of white wine mixed with black currant juice. It’s probably my favorite drink, light and sweet. We had a traditional fish soup with croutons and gruyere and a main course of veal and vegetables. Everything up til then was tasty, but the dessert was absolutely fantastic. I believe it was called millefeuille (but I’m not certain) but it was a very light tart/cake with cream filling and honey drizzled on top and garnish of raspberries. An absolutely amazing finish to a 2.5 hour meal. Tired and full but very happy, we returned to our room with the intention of heading to bed. Naturally we talked until the wee hours of the morning. We actually did a really good job, I think, sticking to the language pledge during the trip. Anytime we were outside our room, we spoke French, including the 3 hour train ride full of catching up and all our free time up until dinner. The combination of French and English was fantastic and it’s definitely becoming much easier to hold normal conversations in French.
Saturday morning we ate breakfast bright and early in the hotel. I hadn’t appreciated French breakfasts yet, as they consist mostly of sweet carbohydrates and caffeinated beverages, but the hotel buffet seemed to be the best France has to offer and I enjoyed it. There were lots of mini pastries (brioches, pain au chocolat) and big croissants, yogurt (including my new favorite, mango), fruit, cereal, toast, and individual pieces of cheese (we each snagged a few for snack later on). I can’t imagine eating pastries and all that every morning, but I enjoyed it very much for two days. After breakfast Mme. Molle led us on another tour around town, through some cathedrals and a brief visit in a museum. We then hopped in a mini- bus and headed to the Mediterranean!
We arrived in a small coastal town called Cassis. For most of us, it was the first time we had seen the Mediterranean and it is incredibly beautiful. I always had thought nothing could beat the Caribbean, but this was amazing. The weather was also fantastic: very sunny, not too cold, cloudless blue skies. Quite a contrast from the grey of Paris. After gawking at the water for a while, my friends and I bought sandwiches and ate lunch on the beach. We touched the Mediterranean and took lots of pictures.
After lunch we hopped back on the bus and went on to Marseille. I was excited to go to another well-known French city, and I’m glad I got to see Marseille and the beautiful ports, but I have no desire to return. It’s a very old, very historical city and the ports are fantastic. The architecture is a strange combination of very old buildings and modern architecture (much of the city was destroyed by bombs in WW 2). We spent two hours there, listening to the history from Mme. Molle and also having a café in the sun across from the port.
After we returned from Marseille we had a free evening. I went out to dinner with a group of six girls. I knew two from the Midd program and Becky. The others were both year-long France girls, one from Paris and one from Poitiers. They both spoke very well, and I hope my accent sounds a lot more like theirs when my semester is over. We had a lovely meal, starting with a free aperitif. After dinner we decided to find another spot for dessert, as we had eaten outside and the outdoor heaters weren’t sufficing to keep us warm. We returned to the hotel and asked to be seated for dessert there. A snooty waiter told us there was no room, but one of the waiters from the previous night saw us, and seated us in a separate salon. We had the room all to ourselves and there was a tv. We watched some dog trials (all border collies!) and then the French version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. We spent almost four hours together and spoke French the entire time. It was one of my favorite moments so far in France, because the French came very naturally, even though we were talking about a wide variety of things, including lots of things related to Middlebury and campus life and tuition (we tossed in a bunch of English words). It was fantastic to converse so easily and so normally in French. There was much less pressure because we didn’t feel compelled to be perfect like we do when speaking to fluent speakers and we didn’t feel bad about tossing random English words into the conversation or asking how to say/translate something.
Sunday morning we rose early again to enjoy breakfast, and began the day by going to a cute Provencal outdoor market. We then boarded our bus again to travel to a monastery where Van Gogh (pronounced Van Gog in French) spent a year. Half of the monastery is now an institution-type place, and the other half is a museum of Van Gogh. Van Gogh went to this place right after he chopped off his ear to recover from whatever malady he was suffering from and the entire museum was dedicated to discussing whether or not he was mentally ill, and how doctors would diagnose and treat him today versus when he was there. it was very strange, but also interesting. Not what we were expecting, but still neat to see.
Afterwards we headed to a small Provencal village where we ate lunch. Nearly all of us chose the same restaurant and we told the waiter we were in a hurry, since speediness is not the French way, especially when it concerns food or Provence. Luckily the waiter was amused by americans and the opportunity to say random things in English, and he served us quite rapidly. After lunch we reboarded the bus and headed to Baux de Provence, a medival village & chateau situated on top of a hill. It was very quiet, as it was a very small town and it was a Sunday afternoon. A few small shops were open, and I found a Provencal gift for Mom's birthday.
The village was our last stop and we proceeded to the TGV station, arriving a solid hour before our train. The train ride passed very rapidly, as Becky and I talked the entire time (our homework sat untouched in front of us). We pulled into Paris at 9:15 and I made it home by ten.
When I got home I went to find my host parents to tell them I'd returned, and they were very happy that I came to see them. They're extremely cute, esp. Mme. Beguin, and she loves when I come talk to her.
We arrived in Aix around 4 p.m., about an hour later than we planned (the train was late). We dropped our things at the hotel and took off to get to Cezanne’s workshop before it closed. We succeeded, and saw the room where Cezanne painted for the last 4 years of his life. It was interesting b/c the objects that he painted were still there, and many of his paintings had the walls or the windows of the room in them. Cezanne was born in Aix and lived there most of his life, so the whole city is obsessed with him, and there is a Cezanne trail with footprints leading around town. After we descended from his workshop, we wandered back to the hotel and our guide, an art history professor, Mme. Molle, talked to us about the city and its architecture and history. She was a super-knowledgeable guide, about art and architecture and the region. However, she never stopped talking at us and treated us like we were elementary schoolers. Every time we got on the bus she told us to put our seatbelts on and she always made us wait for her to cross the road first and she yelled if we were whispering at all or the tiniest bit late. At one point a girl took a picture as she was telling her not to (totally accidental that she actually took the photo) and Mme. Molle yelled and said she was the professor and we were the students and we needed to respect what she said. I can’t remember the last time someone insisted on making that student-teacher distinction…but that’s the French way. Mme. Molle was quite a control-freak and she would lecture and direct the bus driver constantly, and when we got off the bus this afternoon at the train station, he said to one of the Midd students, “Je veut la tuer…translation, I want to kill her.” Anyways enough about our guide.
Our hotel was right in the center of the city, ideal location, and very charming. I shared a triple with Becky and my friend Kay. The room was adorable: it had a sitting area with a pullout couch and a loft with two twin beds. I took pictures…I’ll post them soon. Friday night we ate dinner at the hotel and it was delicious. It started with kir, an extremely French/provencal aperitif consisting of white wine mixed with black currant juice. It’s probably my favorite drink, light and sweet. We had a traditional fish soup with croutons and gruyere and a main course of veal and vegetables. Everything up til then was tasty, but the dessert was absolutely fantastic. I believe it was called millefeuille (but I’m not certain) but it was a very light tart/cake with cream filling and honey drizzled on top and garnish of raspberries. An absolutely amazing finish to a 2.5 hour meal. Tired and full but very happy, we returned to our room with the intention of heading to bed. Naturally we talked until the wee hours of the morning. We actually did a really good job, I think, sticking to the language pledge during the trip. Anytime we were outside our room, we spoke French, including the 3 hour train ride full of catching up and all our free time up until dinner. The combination of French and English was fantastic and it’s definitely becoming much easier to hold normal conversations in French.
Saturday morning we ate breakfast bright and early in the hotel. I hadn’t appreciated French breakfasts yet, as they consist mostly of sweet carbohydrates and caffeinated beverages, but the hotel buffet seemed to be the best France has to offer and I enjoyed it. There were lots of mini pastries (brioches, pain au chocolat) and big croissants, yogurt (including my new favorite, mango), fruit, cereal, toast, and individual pieces of cheese (we each snagged a few for snack later on). I can’t imagine eating pastries and all that every morning, but I enjoyed it very much for two days. After breakfast Mme. Molle led us on another tour around town, through some cathedrals and a brief visit in a museum. We then hopped in a mini- bus and headed to the Mediterranean!
We arrived in a small coastal town called Cassis. For most of us, it was the first time we had seen the Mediterranean and it is incredibly beautiful. I always had thought nothing could beat the Caribbean, but this was amazing. The weather was also fantastic: very sunny, not too cold, cloudless blue skies. Quite a contrast from the grey of Paris. After gawking at the water for a while, my friends and I bought sandwiches and ate lunch on the beach. We touched the Mediterranean and took lots of pictures.
After lunch we hopped back on the bus and went on to Marseille. I was excited to go to another well-known French city, and I’m glad I got to see Marseille and the beautiful ports, but I have no desire to return. It’s a very old, very historical city and the ports are fantastic. The architecture is a strange combination of very old buildings and modern architecture (much of the city was destroyed by bombs in WW 2). We spent two hours there, listening to the history from Mme. Molle and also having a café in the sun across from the port.
After we returned from Marseille we had a free evening. I went out to dinner with a group of six girls. I knew two from the Midd program and Becky. The others were both year-long France girls, one from Paris and one from Poitiers. They both spoke very well, and I hope my accent sounds a lot more like theirs when my semester is over. We had a lovely meal, starting with a free aperitif. After dinner we decided to find another spot for dessert, as we had eaten outside and the outdoor heaters weren’t sufficing to keep us warm. We returned to the hotel and asked to be seated for dessert there. A snooty waiter told us there was no room, but one of the waiters from the previous night saw us, and seated us in a separate salon. We had the room all to ourselves and there was a tv. We watched some dog trials (all border collies!) and then the French version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. We spent almost four hours together and spoke French the entire time. It was one of my favorite moments so far in France, because the French came very naturally, even though we were talking about a wide variety of things, including lots of things related to Middlebury and campus life and tuition (we tossed in a bunch of English words). It was fantastic to converse so easily and so normally in French. There was much less pressure because we didn’t feel compelled to be perfect like we do when speaking to fluent speakers and we didn’t feel bad about tossing random English words into the conversation or asking how to say/translate something.
Sunday morning we rose early again to enjoy breakfast, and began the day by going to a cute Provencal outdoor market. We then boarded our bus again to travel to a monastery where Van Gogh (pronounced Van Gog in French) spent a year. Half of the monastery is now an institution-type place, and the other half is a museum of Van Gogh. Van Gogh went to this place right after he chopped off his ear to recover from whatever malady he was suffering from and the entire museum was dedicated to discussing whether or not he was mentally ill, and how doctors would diagnose and treat him today versus when he was there. it was very strange, but also interesting. Not what we were expecting, but still neat to see.
Afterwards we headed to a small Provencal village where we ate lunch. Nearly all of us chose the same restaurant and we told the waiter we were in a hurry, since speediness is not the French way, especially when it concerns food or Provence. Luckily the waiter was amused by americans and the opportunity to say random things in English, and he served us quite rapidly. After lunch we reboarded the bus and headed to Baux de Provence, a medival village & chateau situated on top of a hill. It was very quiet, as it was a very small town and it was a Sunday afternoon. A few small shops were open, and I found a Provencal gift for Mom's birthday.
The village was our last stop and we proceeded to the TGV station, arriving a solid hour before our train. The train ride passed very rapidly, as Becky and I talked the entire time (our homework sat untouched in front of us). We pulled into Paris at 9:15 and I made it home by ten.
When I got home I went to find my host parents to tell them I'd returned, and they were very happy that I came to see them. They're extremely cute, esp. Mme. Beguin, and she loves when I come talk to her.
1 comment:
Hi Kristen! Your weekend trip sounds like it was absolutely adorable. I'm so excited to hear about all of your French adventures, and I can't wait to visit you in Paris. Alex and I are probably coming in early March sometime. We're still working out the itinerary for our trip, but Paris, of course, is right at the top of our list. It sounds like we might need to visit southern France, too! I'm really enjoying reading your blog, so keep posting, and have fun! We all miss you here!
-Katie.
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