Avignon
June 6th, 12:39 AM.
Well, I guess I should start by profoundly apologizing for being the girl who cried blog update a few days ago. I suppose I was just so sure that I'd get around to it, and I shouldn't have been. See, with the program winding down like this, we all seem to have realized that we want to spend time together, we want to go places and take pictures and savor like it's our last day. But that's another blog entry. It's far too late at night at this point to get so depressing, even if I do want to write some metaphorical stuff. Maybe if you would find it interesting I could get metaphorical and introspective and things a few times after I get back home, I just hope it doesn't seem too narcissistic of me to keep a travel blog going after I get home. It's awesome that you have all enjoyed it so much, and heaven knows I've certainly loved writing it, but I understand that this is a blog about a journey, and that journey is going to end. Well, I've gone and gotten all depressing anyway.
Let's talk about Marseilles and things.
Well, last Friday we met after Oral Production class to bus down to Marseilles for the weekend. Actually, we spent Friday afternoon hiking around the calanques. (Side note: why do program directors not tell you that you'll be hiking on this program, and that maybe you should bring some hike-appropriate shoes?) The calanques are gorgeous, and each photo was totally worth the hours-long climbing on trails of rocks (if you have facebook, go look at my Marseilles photo album and you'll see the kind of hiking I'm talking about.). The whole time I was thinking about the incredible stuff I've seen and done on this trip, and hoping against hope that someday I really truly will come back to Europe. My inner realist has already started reminding me that there's no guarantee I'll ever be back, but there's always that hope that someday I'll be able to get back, maybe hit Italy, which is the one thing I genuinely wish I would've done that I didn't. Man, I'm apparently pursuing depressing material tonight. The calanques hike was roughly three hours, a great deal of it uphill and over enormous rocks (I mean, you couldn't see dirt between the rocks there were so many rocks), but it was one of my favorite things I've done on this whole trip. Talking linguistics on the way uphill with Major, quoting Robert Frost poetry on the way downhill with James, and everything in between was pretty fantastic. I use very dramatic adjectives, don't I? Fantastic, gorgeous, incredible...I guess that's a good thing that I can use all these great expressive words.
After we were done in Cassis (that's where the calanques are, it's not technically Marseilles,) we went to Marseilles and got a little time in our hotel (Hotel Relax) to shower and get ready for dinner. Dinner was at this rather fancy place called La Maison Blanche, and it was one of the most fantastic meals I've eaten in a long while. And keep in mind that I am in France, so I've had a lot of other fantastic meals on this trip. This one blew most of those away. First course was eggplant with goat cheese and bacon on top. I've learned to like goat cheese, but only in small quantities, not that you'll find that particularly interesting. Anyway, the bread and salad were great too, and the water was pretty good (funny thing about France, you've pretty much got the choice of wine or water with dinner. I've been drinking lots of water since I got here.) Then the main course was seafood risotto complete with mussels, squid and, get this, baby octopus! Which is pretty good if you can get past the fact that your food has small tentacles. That was disturbing the first time I ate one, marginally less disturbing the second time, but seriously, they weren't half bad taste-wise. That's one way I think I've changed over here: I've definitely gotten used to eating new foods almost without hesitation. I don't even ask what things are anymore, I just pick up a fork and dig in.
Oops. My alarm goes off in seven hours. Seven hours is more sleep than I've gotten in quite a while, so I'm going to take advantage. If nothing else at least I'm pretty sure this is getting posted tomorrow, and I'll at least finish talking about Marseilles if I've got time. Worst that can happen is that I leave you in suspense for a while.
Anyway, let me at least conclude in case I don't add any new material tomorrow. I'm officially in my last week of the program, which is uber depressing although I have never been so anxious to see my family before. We're spending a lot of time going out at night, walking around in the afternoons, and just generally spending the rest of our time in each others' company enjoying the last moments of our incredible life in France. So I hope you at home will understand if I am not the most faithful of blog-keepers from here on out. I hope to put up at least one more good-sized update, but please understand that I have to leave this country knowing that I lived every moment to its fullest, and I've got to be spending as much of this time with my friends enjoying Avignon as possible. No promises, I'm going to try, but just keep that in mind.
Plus in a week I'll be with you in person, and I'll have a ton of stories to tell in person. Hopefully I won't repeat my blog entries too much and bore you all. I'm so excited to see you all that I hardly recognize myself. One week and four hours from now I'll have landed in Columbus. I will see you SOON!
Until then, miss you all, thinking of you all (and really sorry that I'll probably beat my postcards home, but that's another entry...)
-G
Avignon
June 6th, 10:09 AM
Alright, well I guess I'm going to try to add a little to the entry as I wait for my turn to give my final talking presentation for Oral Production.
I guess I had left you off with dinner at La Maison Blanche. After dinner we randomly walked around the port for a while but we were all pretty exhausted from the calanques, so none of us stayed out long. Kendall and I were both into our room by 11:30, and decided to go French channel surfing. Since I have gotten to France, I have watched a grand total of about two hours of television, and 95% of that was all weather or news reports that Danielle sometimes turns on for background noise. So the opportunity to go French channel surfing was pretty fun. We found many bizarre things, dubbed in about ten different languages, only two and a half of which I understood. However, let me share with you the magnificent adventure that IS the fact that
They show Battlestar Galactica in France! It was dubbed and magnificent and it was even from the early seasons before they ripped up the plot. It reminded me how much I miss my US television, which is funny because I don't even really think I watch that much television at home, compared to other folks my own age at least. But as soon as I heard the theme song I wished I could just kick back and watch some TV. That'll be something to do once I get home. Watch some television.
The next morning James, Ian, Major, Kristen F., Melissa and I met in the lobby and started randomly walking around the city. We almost ended up going to Chateau d'If but we didn't feel like paying 15 euros apiece so we decided to go to Notre Dame. Melissa and Kristen took the little tourist train, but the boys and I decided to walk.
Cue: second enormous uphill climb in a twenty-four hour period.
Again, it was so worth it. Great view, and climbing all the way there really made me feel like I earned the pictures. After that we got some steak-frites and met back up with Melissa and Kristen (silly them and getting driven up the enormous hill...). After some cafe time a bunch of us went over to the beach for the rest of the afternoon.
It was really cool, and I jumped in another pond (which for those of you who don't know is a metaphor for doing something cool or adventurous that I wouldn't do at home,) but I just don't feel like advertising it on the blog. I've been jumping in several ponds lately, and each of them are stories for getting home. Don't worry, they're not racey or anything, I just figured I should reserve some stories that can only be heard in person. That way I don't get home, try to tell all my fun stories and get a lot of "yeah we heard that, yeah that was on your blog, yeah we heard that already too."
Eek! Presenting time. Hopefully I'll update more after I present but if not,
Miss you all, see you in LESS THAN ONE WEEK.
G
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