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Published: October 21st 2008
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Hi Everyone!
I just got back last night from the most amazing trip- our group went to the South of France this weekend. It was absolutely beautiful. We hopped off the train and onto our bus which took us up a mountainside road that looked down on the ocean. The first pictures I took were from the bus window. We were all so funny, crawling over eachother to get the best shots, trying to take the picture before the next tree came into our lense's view! The bus took us to a church called Bonne Merethat sits at the highest point of the city and served as a sort of lighthouse in the past. There something very bizarre happened- I ran into a girl I'd met from Elizabeth's school group! She was there in Marseille for a weekend trip with a friend. Can you imagine the coincidence of being in that city at that church at the same time? Crazy.
The first night we stayed in a hotel and for the first time since I left the States I slept in a bed with two pillows. Amazing. Not only that, at dinner we got butter with our bread. And
ice in our water. AND.... when the water carafes were empty, they were refilled. The same with the bread baskets and the butter plates. It was a little like magic that way.
It was like they had asked us for a list of all the tiny niceties we miss about dining out at a restaurant in the States and made it happen. The only thing missing was some chips and salsa, but I'm certain that's just because it wouldn't have gone with the wine.
Ok, so, back to Marsaille: the weather was beautiful and there was a beach... is it going too far to mention that from our room we had a view of the water? If it is, you should probably stop reading this entry. There's more.
The next day we went to Nice and things only got better. In addition to the view of the Mediterranean Sea, Whitney (my roommate) and I checked-in to find chocolates on our pillows. The next day we took a walking tour of the older parts of the city. I took pictures of the narrow steps and alleys. A friend of mine mentioned that alot of the buildings reminded him
of the French Quarter in New Orleans- I took pictures of those, too. Can you tell which ones he was talking about?
The rest of the pictures are of this AMAZING villa, the Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild, that was on the French Riviera. The woman who lived here bought the Villa to house all of her collections- she liked to collect fine China, exotic plants (like cactus, haha), Marie Antionette-like clothes, shoe-horns, all kinds of things. There were amazing gardens surrounding it and every twenty minutes the fountains started and there was a sort of fountain-water show choreographed to music from Fantasia (which I thought was cool, but also a little bizarre.)
The next day was a blur. We had to be ready with our bags by 8:45 in the morning to take a bus to Antibes. Then we walked. A LOT. and we listened to our guide, who talked. ALOT. We went to the vacation spot of Scott Fitzgerald and several other famous Americans, like Stein and Alice B. Toklas. Our guide told us that before the Americans came to the south of France in Summer, nobody did. She said it was very unpopular because it was
so hot, and that to come to the south in the summertime would have been to commit social suicide in French high society.
Then the Americans came and started sunbathing in the hot hot heat, and everyone knew we were crazy. I think our reputation is still suffering repercussions.
After enjoying a nutella crepe on the French Riviera (sorry, couldn't resist!!) I left with the group for our final destination: Ferdnand Leger's museum. He was a cubist and a communist. Both he and Picasso weren't allowed to re-enter the United States after declaring their affiliation to the communist party. I thought his work was interesting. I'm not a very big fan of cubism, as a rule, but I can appreciate what I think the artists were trying to do with it. At this particular moment, though, I was exhausted. When the bus left for the airport to catch our 8:30 flight, I was glad to be going back to my room in Paris.
But when I woke up this morning and it was raining the Parisien cold, wet rain, I missed the French Riviera!
Midterms are this week so I have to buckle down and study,
but after that Mom's here and I'll be posting a lot more pictures of Gerti and Family!! Hope everything's going well with everyone. I miss you all very much!!
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