Off we go into the wild [probably rainy] blue yonder...

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That's right, folks. It's about that time... what time? Oh, camping time. Tonight/Tomorrow morning (4am), we are taking off on our big 3-week camping adventure in Bretagne and in Bordeaux. We're taking off in the Partner with the trailer containing everything we could possible need attached to it.

I've never actually been camping in any sort, so this will be a new experience for me. Michel assures me that its not "real camping" as we're staying in camping sites as opposed to the forest, but still... being in a tent is probably wild enough for me. I'm very excited to try it out, and to see north-western France, as I obviously have never seen it before. Unfortunately, it rains almost all the time in Brest/Bretagne... so, we're taking umbrellas and tarps and I've purchased a k-way (windbreaker).

So yeah, tomorrow we (Michel, Rémy and I) take off from here, then go to Montpellier to meet up with Marlène and her brother, and then we're off to La Rochelle. We'll be in Bretagne for about two weeks, then Marlène and her brother will come back for a wedding and the rest of us will meet up with Claire and Cédric at Soulac-sur-Mer (near Bordeaux) to spend our last week on the beach/eating seafood etc.

We'll get back here (Miramas) on August 18th, after which I 'll only have THREE days left in France, as I leave for Cincinnati on August 21st at the CRACK of dawn. It's very eerie to think about. Anyways, more on that (and the Avignon Festival) later... Not sure how much later, but hopefully today. If not, well, I won't have internet during vacation so it'll be awhile.

Ciao for now all! Bisous and wish me luck!

A French Wedding

My cousin's best friend Jérôme got married to his essentially already his wife Delphine yesterday (they already have two kids). It was a BEAUTIFUL wedding, even if it was unbearably hot during the day. The reception was at a vineyard in a château and the apéritif was in the garden outside. GORGEOUS. Definitely a good night.


Michel was the best man, and thus allowed people to take photos of him smiling. This made me incredibly happy.


Michel, my super awesome cousin walked with me back from the Marie all the way to Arnaud's, even though I had to take baby steps bc my feet wanted to fall off and though everyone else was SO far ahead of us. Finally he just had me take my shoes off. He even bought us cold drinks. :-) This photo particularly is amusing, as he took it because he was like "since you look so nice today, I'm taking a photo of you next to the trashcan."


Rémy standing at the Mayor's podium at the town hall. In France, it is obligatory that everyone get married at the town hall and then either go to the church or else opt out of it.

Furthermore, this would be Michel's flask that he brought. Thankfully no one had mono in the group or else everyone, including the groom, would be sick.


Exiting the Marie, poor couple had lavender EVERYWHERE.


The group of friends with the couple. First wedding I've ever been to where I've been a part of the close group of friends, even if it is because of my cousin. It felt really good to be included by all of them like that. Definitey a good time.

On a sidenote: I love this photo because of me and Michel as well.

No GPS, No problem

Meghann came in from Denmark for the weekend to hang out with me while the boys were in Spain for Jérôme's bachelor party. :-)


Meghann in the Partner on the way home from our failed outing to the beach at Port Saint-Louis.
We (Michel, me, Rémy) decided that on Megh's first day we'd take her to the beach to hang out. Unfortunately, there was so much wind that it felt like hanging out in a sandstorm. I've never had that much sand on my body/in my hair ever... well, except for when you're little and at the beach and you think its fun to intentionally bury yourself in the sand.


Me, just after Michel decided to dowse me in water from the driver's seat. He's such a sweetheart, my cousin.


Beach Attempt #2 (at Sausset-Les-Pins): A greater success... even though the water was FREEZING.


A photo from the beach, that you can't really see in the background.


A better view of the beach at Sausset


Me, Marie-Thé, and Jean-Pierre made Meghann try some French cheeses. Needless to say, she wasn't a big fan. C'est dommage.


Girls night. Had to profit from the fact that the boys were in Spain. You know the saying, 'while the cat's away...'


Our day of shopping and walking around Aix-en-Provence.


In front of one of the main fountains in Aix. Along the Cour Mirabeau, there are fountains all down the center, that, I believe, date back to the Romans (well, if not, the idea does). Actually, one of the fountains (the big one covered in moss that I didn't post a picture of) does date back to the Romans and is notable as the water is hot (34ºC).


Aix's Hôtel de Ville (i.e. City Hall)


The main fountain in Aix, at La Rotonde. It's very cool as its in the middle of a round-about.


Another pretty fountain by La Rotonde where we parked



Megh wanted a photo of the sign, so we stopped and put on our flashers. Went very well, even though we had to wave some people on who wanted to stop and help us. Yay nice people.


I introduced Megh to the famous pain au chocolat... delicious. One can't visit the Hexagon without some delicious viennoiserie.

Anyways, it was a very enjoyable visit. I'm so glad she could make it to see a bit of Provence, as I'm a huge fan.

Furthermore, I had a big success in that Rémy's GPS died (battery) and I successfully navigated us to Aix-en-Provence and then back home again. After 4 months, I'm getting my bearings.

Camping night at the beach?

My first Sunday back from Paris, we tried to do a test run of camping at the beach at Port Saint-Louis. A good time, even if it was an ultimate failure due to the fact that the Mistral was blowing so strong.


First off, we forgot to bring charcoal. Thus, Rémy and Cédric went searching for wood-type material and found some reed type stuff (not quite wood not quite a normal plant) to burn. Unfortunately, we deemed it impossible to fit this into the small grill that we brought. Thus, Cédric decided it'd be a good idea to dig a hole in the sand and just use that. Problem: we didn't have a shovel. Creativty reigns.


Céd and the hole


How many men does it take to dig a hole?
Answer: two.
I was amused. As such, I got sand flicked at me by a certain Mr. R. Santucci. Such a gentleman.

The best part about this hole, is that it proved to be unnecessary. When Émérick and Jérôme arrived, they brought charcoal. I think we may have ended up putting the grill down in the whole, but I'm not even sure. Obviously, it was not me that did the grilling.



A plant across the way was burning excess gas. Thus, we had a decent amount of light even late at night. This would be me trying to test my night photo-taking abilities on my camera. Decent

All in all a fun night, even if it did end in failure. At around 2am, me and the guys (because I was the only girl with 5 men, of course), tried to see if we'd even be able to pitch the tents. We tried to pitch Rémy's and he almost became a kite. As such, we packed up and headed home for the night. Pity. But, my bed IS comfortable, so it was okay.

To me, one of the very cool things about being here is that we can spend the time like this at the beach, relaxing, and then go home at night. It's just a thing to do for an afternoon, not like a vacation where you have to spend as much time as possible or if the weather is bad you're really upset. Here, we just say, "oh too bad, guess we'll go next weekend."

Oh Provence, comme je t'aime.

Bastille Day

Happy Bastille Day! Let me start this off the way my day started off:


The e-card Sarah sent me, which was the first thing I saw this morning... They had a whole series of Bastille Day cards on the site today... I got a real kick out of them (and Michel, in turn).
How appropriate that the last time I updated this it was the US's Independance Day and today, it's Bastille Day here in France. I find it amusing the worldwide, it's known as Bastille Day, but here, no one uses that. Today is referred to as the Fête Nationale or le 14 juillet, not anything remotely near "Bastille Day."

Anyways, it was a very good first Fête nationale française. We didn't do anything big, but it was interesting seeing the differnces (and similarities) in the customs in comparison. One thing I thought was very cool about the celebration here is the Défilé militaire du 14 juillet, or the National Military Parade, essentially. It takes place every year (usually down the Champs-Elysées) and representations of all the different parts of the French military parade down from the Arc de Triomphe to the Tribune constructed at the Place de la Concorde, where the President of the Republic and all of the visiting heads of state are standing. This year there was a big to-do because one of these heads of state was the President of Syria, Bashar al-Assad. Personally, I loved the Parade. When I say all of the parts of the military are featured it's true, there are the graduating students from the Grandes Écoles militaires (i.e. École polytechnique, Saint-Cyr, École Navale), the regular military, the élite French Foreign Legion, even the police and fire fighters, as well as the air patrol, the tanks, the calvary... you name it, it's there. Interesting thing to note: The Légion Étrangère always marches last as they have a different step from the rest of the French military (88 steps per minute versus the regular 120) and they are also the only corps that does not split in two at the end in front of the Tribune.

Also, it was bizarre watching the Parade in one aspect, because I don't know any of the national song things (aside from "La Marseillaise," of course). Really makes you realize how much the culture of your own country is embedded in you, and how much of that we take for granted as common knowledge.


A shot of the Défilé militaire in 2007, taken from the Elysée website. I have no rights to it, obviously.
Anyways, beyond that, we just had a relaxing day. Michel and I rode his motorcycle tonight to a nearby town called Martigues to see a fireworks display and meet up with some of his friends. The meeting up with his friends happened, and was chill (we got a drink and chatted), but sadly (and unsurprisingly) the fireworks display was cancelled due to the fact that there was a lot of Mistral today. The south of France has lots of problems with fires during the summer as there is frequently a lot of wind and the countryside is very dry... Alas, no fireworks.

Still, all in all, a very good Bastille Day.

Oh, and PS

Happy Fourth of July.

Being out of the country on such a holiday is very odd as it's just a normal day here.

Eat a hot dog or light a sparkler or something for me.

Last Day in Gay Ol' Paris

So, I've spent practically a week in the City of Light. Doing research and checking out museums mostly. I've learned that I'm much to social as a person to ever enjoy taking a vacation by myself. Upside: I've learned how to run a microfilm machine, navigate Paris, and bypass the really long lines at the Louvre and the Musée d'Orsay (i.e. buy your tickets for 1,50 more at the FNAC before you go).

Furthermore, while I may not particularly enjoy spending so much time alone, I do feel proud to have done it. I have successfully done things I would never usually do like go to the movies alone, go shopping alone, or even go out to eat alone. While I'm sure they would have been more enjoyable had I been with a friend, they were good experiences that have taught me that I can get by on my own, if I need to. Also, on one hand, being alone in the museums may be better. While I can't discuss the art with someone (which would have been fun), I did get to choose my own pace and see exactly what I wanted to see. Well, until my brain shut off after 5 hours and all art began to look the same.

Also, I do like Paris. I really didn't when we were here a few weeks ago, which made me very sad... as well, I almost feel that you much have some fondness for Paris if you like France and well, I didn't. This time, the fondness grew. I told Tim that Paris had some growing on me to do, and it did. This time, I feel I experienced more of Paris and less of tourist Paris (though I did go to the big museums here). I walked around and enjoyed the neighborhood I was staying in (Montparnasse, very cool). It is true that each neighborhood of Paris has a distinct feel to it, and I particularly enjoyed that of the 16e Arrondissement.

I also spent a lot of time on the Métro. If you arn't someone close to me, I probably haven't told you, but I really love public transit. So simple, so inexpensive. Also, navigating the system and arriving sans problème always appears to me like a subtle victory. I love the métro in Paris even more than my already declared love for Chicago's L. I love the underground network that takes you all over Paris and I love the old-style signs that announce its locations. I suppose it is this love that is also to blame for my love of the SNCF and the European rail system. Oh, and, in Paris, I also love the metro because every time I enter the Châtelet station to change trains, there's a quintet playing random show tunes and popular songs... Cello, Violin, String bass... in the station, serenading the passersby. Perfection.



On that note, I do, in fact, love Paris. It's been an interesting week, and I feel that I kind of know a bit about this #1 Tourist Destination. Though, I will admit, that this love for Paris is still very superficial: Eiffel Tower, Musée d'Orsay, strolling by the Seine etc. and pales in comparison to my ardent love for southern France. A week here, and I am practically counting the minutes until I can go home tomorrow. In fact, I'm going to go to the train station in a bit and see if I can catch an earlier train.

Three weeks... is too long a time to go without being "home." Even if I've been away from my real home for months, three weeks is far too long to go without having somewhere that can be considered "home." I've grown to hate a little living out of a suitcase/in a hotel room. I can't wait to get back and do laundry (that's not done in a sink) and to be surrounded that is the welcome commotion of living with 6 other people. So, Paris is great, but "home" is where the heart is.

On that note, I'd better get out of here and see what I can while the sun is shining.

Family Vacation: Florence

Our last city on our family vacay was Florence. It was a rather brief stop-over (hence fewer photos), but still a pretty cool city. I feel that we all would have liked it much better had it not been swelteringly hot the whole time.


Departure/Arrival board in the Venetian train station. I love the way the destinations and the information scroll through and change.


Ponte Vecchio... another huge bridge with shops on it (similar to the Rialto in Venice, but bigger.) The top is actually an art gallery if I remember correctly.


Grandma on the Ponte Vecchio... i.e. shopping/her natural habitat


Calling all Vespas... seriously, was there a memo saying "all Vespa riders, park here!"?


Straw Market! Pretty much a super awesome covered (and by covered, I mean by a huge stone roof) market in Florence. My grandma bartered for me and got me a really nice laptop bag. Apparently Florence is big for leather.


With my Grandpa on the Ponte Vecchio


Our "spot" if you will. Free seating in Florence (and most European cities really) is hard to come by. So... we found a low lying window-sill and made it our own. My dad took a photo of us here that is WAY better than mine, but he has yet to email it to me. Also, see those slushies? SO good. Made even better since they were sold to us by the attractive italian guy who told me each time we went in there (twice) or when we walked by afterwards how beautiful I was/how my eyes were like the ocean. See, flattering, and amusing if you're in the right mindset.


Touching the Boar's nose at the Straw Market for good luck! As you can see, he's a pretty lucky guy.


Another view of the Straw Market... it was very cool. And hot. Oh lord was it hot.


Do Not Disturb... Apparently at this hotel you REALLY don't want to be disturbed... Notice, the guy on the sign is flicking people off.

And thus ends the photos from Family Vacation 2008. From there, the fam went back to the States (after a hellish experience in New York overnight) and I went on (with out major difficulty) to Lyon.