Au Revoir Aix

The time has come for me to leave this lovely dreamland and head back to reality...I just finished packing up all my stuff and will head off bright and early to start the trek back to the States. I cannot believe that I'll be home tomorrow...it's crazy! (However, after 24 hrs of straight traveling it will be more like day after tomorrow...) I've loved my time here but at the same time, I'm ready to go back. The constantly crowded streets of Aix filled with swarming tourists are good encouragers to leave, but it's still very bittersweet... I laugh at myself for saying this but I really miss my school/science classes, having a job and being productive...however I have been so grateful for this petit pause :)

Anyway, the last few weeks in Aix were awesome. I spent time with friends and it felt like somehow I grew closer to people than I had been before so it's a bummer that everything clicked into place right before leaving. Regardless, I am so lucky to have made such great friends with people from all over the US and I cannot wait to make trips to see them all. If this experience has taught me one thing, it's to abandon all judgements. I've become close friends with people who come from backgrounds that could not be more different than mine and we've had some great adventures. I've learned about different college campuses, religions, and cuisines- Who would've ever imagined I'd be eating homemade Louisiana jambalaya in France?

I don't want to get all sentimental as I feel like that's all that's been going on the last few days with everyone leaving, however, I just wanted to say thanks to all of you who have been reading this and supporting me along the way. It really means a lot and all the support really made this experience so much easier and life changing than I ever would've imagined. I hope my blog has sparked a little travel inspiration in you because I know that now it will continue to be a huge part of my life. Experiencing different cultures and opening our eyes to the rest of the world is so important and I don't think there's anything who cannot benefit. It was a great little sector of my college education :)

Thanks again, and for those of you in California...A BIENTOT!

(These signs point to the pool, parc, and track where I went to one of the three daily. A little routine that I'll miss...)

A trip out to St. Remy where several of Van Gogh's paintings were inspired...unfortunate weather but everything was so lush and in bloom it was beautiful...

Paris...j'adore

At the end of my Mom's trip to France and as one of my last trips, I convinced her to take a weekend in Paris with me. Let me say that many travelers, including myself, have had many preconceived notions about Parisians and while I've learned to be less judgmental, I'll admit all the rumors about Paris were running through my head. While the serious Francophones claim to love Paris as if it was their homeland, here in the south they love to criticize Parisians and most of France likes to pretend that the Ile de France (region around Paris) is it's own separate country. My Mom was also a victim to these negative opinions and it took a great deal of persuasion to agree to the this trip. However, after spending three days in Paris, I think it's safe to say that my Mom and I both fell completely in love with the city...

We took an incredibly early 6:30 am flight which brought us in the city in perfect time for a French breakfast at a cafe. Our hotel was in the 7th arrondissement right near the Eiffel Tour and filled with dozens of cute restaurants, bakeries and cafes (very much the theme of Paris, go figure...). During breakfast we mapped out our day and first set off to the Rodin Museum. It's situated in a beautiful old maison that used to be a center for the arts back in the 1800's. His sculptures are scattered around the house and throughout this huge impeccable garden- it was like no other museum I'd ever been to.

We were amazing tourists that day despite our early morning and also managed to go to the Musee d'Orsay, see the Eiffel Tour at sunset and take a night cruise on a Bateau Mouche. The Musee d'Orsay is the second largest museum in Paris next to the Louvre (and many would say it holds a much better collection...) and it has numerous works by my favorite painter Renoir so I loved it. A Bateau Mouche is a large open top boat that goes alone the Seine and gives you spectacular views of all the major sights of Paris- it is the "city of light" so it was great to get a view of everything at night and not have to walk...

Paris in the springtime is beautiful- everywhere you look there is beautiful architecture, luscious gardens with colorful flowers and trees overflowing with rich green leaves. The next morning we strolled along the Champs Elysees and saw the Jardin de Tuileries and outside of the Louvre.

The lines were way too long and we're not much for the super touristy spots, so we opted to go to the L'Orangerie museum instead. It houses Monet's waterlilies and a small collection of other pieces by Cezanne, Renoir and other impressionists. It was so nice to be able to enjoy a museum without crowds and we both loved seeing the expansive waterlilies in person- they're quite remarkable.

That night we got the most delicious dinner from this Italian catering/take-out place and brought it to the grassy park under the Tour Eiffel to eat. The weather was beautiful and summery and it was the perfect cap to another perfect day.

The next day was Sunday and therefore church day...we saw St. Chappel, Notre Dame and the Sacre Coeur. Each was different with it's own unique history that it's impossible to not be moved and tranquil when inside churches like these.

For the remainder of the last day we just wandered around and soaked up the last few blissful moments of Paris. What the photos don't show are all the great people who we came across and of course the delicious food and wine we ate and drank. I can't even count how many Americans have told me that the Parisians they met were so rude, unhelpful, etc. etc. but everyone we encountered were completely the opposite. The French in general are more closed off than Americans so obviously you aren't going to receive the same customer service as you get in say, a grocery store (checkers will definitely not strike up a conversation here like they would at Trader Joe's) but if you're prepared/used to that then you know that they're just being who they are. When they hear that someone can speak French they are delighted and are so much more willing to help even though we're obviously tourists. They were so much friendlier than I expected, however I know that if my French was were it was when I first arrived here I might not have received the same treatment. Even when I would translate to my mom after someone told me something they still remained speaking French with me, it was a breath of fresh air because I had been told and expected exactly the opposite, I was quite flattered.

All in all I really loved Paris so much that I could even see myself living there someday...it has everything I look for in a city...History, a great sense of culture and pride, infinite activities to do both outdoor and indoor, great food/drinks (including a great array of different cuisines), easy public transportation, and the best...TONS of people exercising everywhere! What is there not to love...I already can't wait to go back...

Now I only have two weeks left in Aix and am soaking up every minute. I am loving life and so happy for every opportunity I've been given. Tomorrow we're headed back to St. Remy where we first had lunch at Lolo's house in the very beginning of the program (100+ yr old chateau in the middle of an olive grove). It's crazy how quickly time has passed...I'll be seeing most of you very soon! I'll keep you updated on the last adventures, there are bound to be some fun things happening (besides finals...).

Bisous!

Les Vacances avec Mamma O'Neil!

Spring Break part two has finally (sadly) come to a close and it finished off with some of

my favorite travels of the last few months. My Mom arrived in Aix and after a nights rest we picked up our rental car and ventured down to the Cote d'Azur. (Props to my Mom for driving through the impossibly small and winding streets in some of the port towns we were in; she did a great job.) Our first stop was Antibes where we stayed for three nights and used it as our home base for day trips. It was a very cute little town, reminiscent of Aix but situated right on the water. Picasso lived there for a summer and we visited a cute little museum in his old house that looked right out on the water.

We went to outdoor markets, enjoyed beautiful hikes along the ocean and ate delicious food- it was bliss. We stayed in a residential area outside of

town and we enjoyed peeking in at some incredibly large estates with amazing views. It's a law in France that houses must be passed on through the generations once theprimary owner dies so most of the chateaus have been under one families ownership since existence (and most are hundreds of years old!)

For our first day trip we went to Cannes where we picnic lunched and touched the Mediterranean for the first time! It was a beautiful day and the sunbathers were out in numbers. Cannes was different from other Riviera villages in that it has tons of palm trees (probably for tourist purposes) making the beachside areas feel a bit like Miami. There are lots of high-rise apartments and high class shopping- you can only imagine what it would be like when the film festival is up and running although it was nice to see it pretty void of tourists. After Cannes we drove down the coast for a few hours and just enjoyed the sheer beauty of the area that we wouldn't have been able to access if it weren't for our car. There are stunning cliffs and Calanques (red rock cliffs) and villages tucked away between winding sea ridge roads- the views were breath taking.

Another day trip we took was to Monaco- home of the Grand Prix and world famous Monte Carlo Casino. Monaco is actually it's own separate country but it's all clustered in such a small area that you would think it's just one big city. It's really majestic and certain spots you have great views of the mountains, port, ocean and palace all at once. It's a great combination of old European historic buildings, HUGE yachts, and the beautiful blue ocean all at once- I was quite enchanted. We went up and saw the palace and walked through the gardens, which despite all the tourists were very serene. When driving in, we also accidentally drove on the course for the Grand Prix that was being set up, it was exciting...There was a big tennis tournament going on so we couldn't get up to the casino but I have a feeling we would've been underdressed...

Our next stop for the final leg of the trip was Villefranche sur mer where we spent the night at a cute little family run bed and breakfast. We had a delicious dinner in town that night looking out over the sun setting on the little bay which was so nice and relaxing after a somewhat long day of driving...traffic can be horrendous in these small villages with one way streets- my Mom was a trooper...The next morning I woke up early and went on the greatest run up to a point that looks over the whole town- there's nothing like the morning sun over the Mediterranean Ocean...We then had a delicious French breakfast, chatted with the owners a bit (all of the French who we met on the trip were so nice and I feel like my French improved tenfolds) and then we were off on the road again back to Aix...

My Mom found this great apartment that she stayed in for a few nights where we cooked together and enjoyed the recently beautiful springtime weather out on the terrace. Our next stop was Paris of which I just returned from yesterday. Unfortunately I have to go study for finals right now but within the next few days I'll update on the Parisian adventures.

By the way...a big thank you to all who voted for my video- we were awarded SECOND PLACE!! The winnings are in the form of travel vouchers so now I just have more trips to plan for when I get home...wooo!! Thank you all for the support :)

More soon...!