Starting to feel like it's crunch time...and so I'll spend this Sunday focusing on my final essays (due in less than a month!). At least it's raining so I don't feel guilty for staying in on a beautiful day :)

My final essays are pretty intense and require a lot of independent research (ex: the theme of 'les baigneuses' (bathers) in 19th century art) and a comparison between Baroque, Renaissance, Classic, and Romantic music. Interestingly - I've just found out that my grades from this semester do not have any influence on my overall GPA at Wheaton....I have to forget this little fact if I'm going to have any sort of motivation to do my work....

Friday night I went on a tour of Nice's contemporary art along the tram line with Sheridin, my host mom and her friend. The tram line is only 3 years old, and while it was being constructed the city of Nice hired artists to install pieces along the line. Some of the pieces are visible all of the time (lampposts in Place Massena) but some take a little investigating to find. 

Lamppost with all different types of lamps

"Waterfall of things" painted on an apartment building

bench made to look like stones

end of the tram line

out to dinner after the tour

 On Saturday Celine and I went on a tour of the Astronomy Observatory of Nice. Although most of the information given on the tour was way too scientific for me I still really appreciated seeing the facilities. The Nice Observatory is one of only two in France - and was built in 1878. Most of the equipment, including a 22m long telescope is just as old as the building.

view of nice from the observatory

HUGE telescope used for tracking planets and stars

Vacance de Toussaint aka VACATION

      Last week I had a much appreciated break from classes. Things have been going great at school... but getting a little pause is never something to complain about. I was a little bummed to have missed Halloween because not many French people seem to care about our silly American holiday -- all this really means is that I've had a lot of time to think about it and  my costume for next year is already in the works and it's going to be incredible. On the afternoon of Oct 23 I arrived in Oviedo, Spain (an airport almost as small as Santa Barbara's) and met my very best friend from home, Jackie. Oviedo is located on the north-western coast of Spain and Jackie is spending the semester there studying Spanish. I was actually very surprised at how much Spanish I could understand - possibly from taking a few classes here and there, but most likely due to its similarities to French. I tried to talk to her housemates a little bit but English always managed to take over. 

    Jackie and I had an amazing time walking around Oviedo, eating churros con chocolate, and drinking cidre - the area's specialty drink made from fermented apples (kind of tastes like blue cheese to me). One afternoon her house mates made an amazing paella dish with 5 types of seafood (clams, shrimp, calimari...I'm actually not even sure what else was in it). Needless to say it was homemade and the most delicious thing I've ever eaten. We also took a whole day to cuddle up in bed and watch Gossip Girl...that's what best friends are for :)

HUGE park in Oviedo - San Francisco

Beautiful part of town...a little bit like Old Nice - lots of winding streets and cafés

Cathedral in the old part of town

View from a pathway overlooking the city!

Friends since 1996

I know this picture is insanely immature but really...the town of Oviedo just can't cut their plants like this..

After spending a girly weekend with Jacks I flew down to Madrid to meet my parents! From there we spent four days traveling around Spain...We visited Toledo, Granada, Cordoba, Cadiz, and Trujillo! Because we were traveling so much my time in Spain wasn't quite vacation-like...but I am so happy to have visited so many incredible sites (Cordoba's Mezquita and the Cathedral of Toledo are must-sees). Cadiz is very very very tourist friendly - paths for self guided tours throughout the city are painted on the ground and accompanied by brochures (why doesn't every city have this!??).

Cathedral of Toledo

Inside of the Mezquita

Cordoba from across the bridge - looking towards the Mezquita

This weekend I am off to Rome with my parents! Once I return I'll have to hit the books - so many finals, so little time left!


Bisous! 

just a few photos...

Sunrise - October 14

Thomas and I playing with Photobooth :)

Photos from "La Grève" -- almost a weekly event.  Last photo is of "Sarkozy" being hung. 

Rollerblading on the Prom

Craziness - Marseille, Aix, Operas and Plays.

Once again I've been lagging on writing new posts...no excuses this time :)

I've been filling my time with classes, trips, and planning my October break vacation! I'll start off in Oviedo, Spain visiting my very best friend Jackie before meeting up with my parents in Madrid. I am insanely excited to see some familiar faces - much needed.

I also have some news - this morning I moved out of my homestay and moved in with a new family. Things weren't really going as well as anticipated and so after some thinking I decided to stand up for myself and make a change. Thanks to Mom and Dad for their support on this decision...and especially Dad's wise words: "Life's too damn short to not be completely happy."

I now live up in the hills of Nice and have an AMAZING view of the Mediterranean. I live with a woman and her 4 year old son :) I already feel so at home here - definitely a positive change in my life.

Some quick highlights of the past couple weeks....

Last weekend the group went to Aix-en-Provence and Marseille. In Aix we took a "Walking in Cezanne's footsteps" tour of the city. It was great to see the city from a cultural/historical point of view compared to my previous trip to Aix when I just took pictures of buildings that I thought looked pretty. In Marseille we saw an opera (I know I know...I'm becoming so cultured) and I actually really enjoyed it! The opera was set during the beginning of the Revolution (1789...an all-important date here in France) and was based on the idea of finding eternal love after death (the two main characters are sentenced to death soon after proclaiming their love for each other). Total tear-jerker.

While in Marseille we also visited Notre Dame de la Garde, the beautiful church visible from everywhere in the city. I had visited this church when I was 17 but forgot about the beautiful mosaic work inside.

view of Marseille from the train station--
Notre Dame de la Garde is up on the hill in the right hand corner of the photo

Next we went on a very windy boat ride to Iles de Friouls - islands just off the coast of Marseille. We only had about an hour to explore the island but it was so windy that walking in a straight line was impossible. This wind is called"Le Mistral" because its the very specific wind that comes off of the Rhone river valley. We started the joke that it's actually Mr. Mistral who is blowing our shirts and dresses up :)

More veggie pictures from the marché (market)...note how small the potatoes are here! 

I learned something interesting about typical French architecture....take a look at this photo and notice how small the 3rd story windows are compared to the 1st and 2nd floor balconies. Before the 1850's  the apartments on the top story of a building were the least expensive, usually rented by maids, starving artists, and other low-income earners. Nowadays we have the idea that the top story of an apartment is the best, and is always the most expensive (penthouse suites in apartments or hotels). In 1857 the first commercial passenger elevator was installed in a department store in New York City. Since then, and as more and more people started to trust in the new technology, the top floors of apartments have been the most coveted (they've always had a better view! )

Last night I met up with a friend from the group, Sheridin, for dinner and a Baroque concert. We had a really hard time finding the venue..or any posters for the concert...so wandered around Old Nice for awhile. We happened upon a little theater and were looking at some posters for upcoming events when a guy came out and invited us in to see the play - that had just started! The play was some ridiculous, absurd, french comedy with only 4 actors who broke out into song every 2 minutes. I haven't laughed so hard since I got here - and it was about time! It was fate that we stumbled upon this hilarious little play - and exactly what I needed.

I'll be starting this next week with my normal optimistic attitude (I think I lost touch with it for a little while). I am so excited to see Jackie and my parents..and in just 2 short weeks! When I get back my break I will only have 6 weeks left here -  time is really flying by! And I have also made the resolution to keep up on my blog --- no more laggin!

The last two weeks have been insanely busy - I'm actually surprised that I have enough downtime today to update my blog. I've officially started classes and had my first "holy sh-t" moment sitting in my L3 "Literature and Painters of the 19th century" class. I have 5 classes here - all in French - and am starting to feel a little nuts for taking this on. My level of comprehension is actually pretty good  and I follow 95% of what my professors are saying. I'm still exhausted at the end of each day...and come home and get to speak MORE French. I've been here for a month now and I know that my French is improving drastically - even my host mom has told me that I'm getting better - but I still can't really believe that I am taking classes along side French students.

 I want to start off this post by showing some pictures of Nice! I realized that I haven't really taken pictures of what I see most days... So below are two pictures taken from Place Massena - one of the biggest open areas here.  The first photo is looking north - just past the fountain is Avenue Jean Medecin. Jean Medecin is one of the main streets in Nice and the tram way runs all the way up this street. The second photo is looking east towards "Old Nice".

       Last weekend (Sept 17,18,19) was the Patrimonie weekend here in Nice (and all over France actually). Patrimonie is loosely translated as "heritage". This means that last weekend all of the museums in Nice were free and there were tons of free concerts, heritage events, and conferences to teach tourists and locals about Nice's heritage. Friday night I attended an organ concert at one of the largest cathedrals in Nice. On Saturday I walked through the Musée Matisse. I never knew much about Matisse before going to the museum but fell in love with his work. He used hundreds of different mediums and techniques and I especially liked his collages. The museum was set up almost chronologically and so I could follow his transition from starting as a museum-trained, dark, unoriginal painter to experimenting with color and texture to really finding his own style. 

      Sunday morning I went to the Eglise Saint Croix which is located in Old Nice and is NEVER open. The church is in desperate need of major repairs and is covered by huge tarps as they wait for money to start work. Inside the paint is peeling and faded, the walls are crumbling, and everything is covered by a thick layer of dust. Despite all of this Eglise Saint Croix is the most beautiful church I have ever been in. The church was opened on Sunday morning for an a cappella concert. The group was made up of 3 men and 2 women who sang exclusively in Niçois - the true language of the city. Everything about the morning was spectacular.

Next I headed to Musée Massena. This museum is housed in a former villa right along Promenade Anglais. I loved the old posters advertising Nice as a destination for the winter months. Many doctors from northern Europe in the 19th and 20th century advised their patients to go to Nice (and really anywhere on the Cote d'Azur) so that the sun could cure any sickness that they might have.

 Monday morning after my Musicology of Baroque and Renaissance, Heather (the other Wheaton student  in Nice) and I took a train to Saint-Raphael - a small town just west of Cannes. I was intrigued by the town's website - which promised mountain hiking and tons of sporty, outdoor activities. The website lied. The hiking that they advertised was actually closer to Nice. Oh well. Monday evening we walked around Saint Raphael and the quiet neighboring town of Fréjus.

While walking along the boat dock in Saint Raphael we saw a map of the area - and a hiking path that followed the coastline all the way to Agay - a few towns over. Heather and I were looking for something adventurous and the next morning, without really knowing what we were getting ourselves into, we set off on our hike.

the very left corner of the map is Saint Raphael and the bay on the right is Agay

Ile d'Or (Island of Gold)

     The path was clearly marked in some places and completely lost in others...we had to jump a wall and were clearly trespassing on private property more than once. We made our way along the coast climbing up and down rocks and dodging waves as we inched along walls. The coastline was absolutely gorgeous - red rocks were contrasted by clear turquoise water. We got a few weird looks from French beach-goers as we trudged along the beaches sweating and carrying big backpacks. When we finally reached Agay we collapsed on the beach and slept for an hour. We ate at a restaurant and explained to the owner/waiter what we had just done. He looked at us like we were nuts and told us that we had just hiked 12km - about 7.5 miles. I slept really well that night.

     Wednesday morning I was back to school and had my second Art History course. This class is one of the Sweet Briar College courses - but is still taught exclusively in French. We spent the morning discussing architecture in Nice and walked around for a little bit. Our professor showed us  apartments and other buildings that were built in the 1920's -  50's when architecture changed drastically in Nice because of the war. The once wealthy were forced to abandon their grand villas and many were replaced with high-rise modern apartment buildings. Some (definitely not all) of the modern apartment buildings are spectacular and have strong art deco influences. We had the opportunity to walk into one such building which had a grand foyer similar to a hotel, a giant modern stained glass window, and (my favorite part ) a wide snail-like staircase that crept along 4 giant pillars that reached all the way to the ceiling - 8 stories high.
     Next we went to Musée des Beaux-Arts - another museum housed in a former villa. This museum has a wide variety of works both modern and old including Rodin's  marble sculpture,"Le Baiser".
     Wednesday night I attended my first opera. One of my host mom's choir groups performed the opera of Napoleon III which was written specifically for this year - which is the 150th year the Nice has been a part of France. I was really impressed by the soloists who were singing and acting simultaneously.
     Thursday there was another strike but none of my classes were cancelled this time. Getting from one side of the city to another without public transportation took a very long time - I  really rely on the tram and bus systems now. While walking through Place Massena I saw the beginnings of a demonstration but nothing seemed riot-like or out of hand. This weeks strike was held for the same reasons as the last one - but nothing seems to be changing the government's decision to raise the retirement age.
      Thursday night I went to my first indoor soccer club meeting - "Foot Féminin" as they call it here. This club meets just once per week but I'm just happy to be playing a little bit of soccer while I'm here :)
       After my Musicology of Romantism class on Friday morning I ran into my professor at the Boulangerie near my house. She  invited me to a practice of her choir/orchestra group who is performing tonight (Saturday) at the Cathedral d'Antibes. I was completely blown away last night, even though it was just the practice. I was one of only 5 audience member and felt like I was attending my own private concert. They perfomed Bach's Oratorio de Pâques and Mendelssohn's "Psalm No.42 Wie der Hirsch schreit". Both were extremely beautiful. Both the choir and the orchestra were made up of about 40 people. I couldn't believe my chance encounter at the Boulangerie turned into such an amazing experience. My professor told me that the actual concert will be even more spectacular because the acoustics in the cathedral are far better than in the practice room. Unfortunately I cannot attend tonight's concert in Antibes because a) it's completely sold out and b) I have a flight early tomorrow morning to Paris!
      I will spend the next three days traveling to Paris, Zurich, and Geneva to represent Wheaton at college fairs. I'm very excited to visit Paris and explore 2 cities that I've never seen even if I only get to stay in each place for 20 hours! Hopefully I can convince some European students to apply to Wheaton, too!

À bientôt!