st. louis

i just have to say how great it is to be back home in st. louis. here's to driving around for an a hour in my car listening to jack johnson, working at whitmoor, hanging out with awesome friends, poking fun at british accents, talking to friends in london who i met in rome and laying out in my yard to get as tan as possible! cheers

back in the states

monday morning i awoke at 4:30am(france time) and some how carried my heavy bags to the airport...checked them and sat to wait for boarding. just as when i had arrived, it was raining as i boarded the tiny plane, which i believe held around 20 people. i guess i take the sunshine with me! arrived in munich safely and had no problem getting to next gate(H 02). After seating myself in 39G I met a german boy named Franz, whose first time it was to America. he was overly giddy, like a kid trying to hold in a secret! we talked most of the trip, which is good because it kept me from feeling sad from realizing i may never see some of the best people i have ever met...we arrived in chicago, after filling out our forms for customs, at around 1:30pm(chicago time). after going through customs for 2 hours, collecting my bags, so that i could recheck them with united airlines, i finally sat down for another 2 hours of waiting to board. an american man sitting next to me accidently leaned over to look at something outside the window, turns and apologizes for hitting my personal bubble. i tell him after living in europe, there is no bubble, and we both have a good laugh! i adjust the cubs cap i just bought and think, maybe being back in the usa isn't going to be that hard getting used to after all!
we board and spend another hour waiting for clearance. i luckily am sitting next to a german man named lutz, who speaks superb english and we have in depth discussions on language and enjoy laughing at our flight attendant who is all over the place! 2 hours later, i arrive home and mom and head for a dinner at olive garden, with me driving!!!!
next day, i get up early and head to the golf course, and find that i still have a job! and there are 7 girls now working down in the bag room. john says i can start friday at 6:30am...so i am thuroughly excited!! then grandma and grandpa show up! we hang out all day and later with mom go check out aunt gi's amazing embassy hotel she designed. talked to my friend sar from australia for an hour tonight, he is doing well, but we are both a little bummed not to have gotten to see eachother a second time in europe.
today, is a day to relax, soak up some sun, clean clothes, and my room. as i add to this blog i am enjoying listening to dispatch play, 4 months without it and it is still as good as ever!

no screens

so, i decide to read a little bit before class today and since the weather is immaculate, i thought i would open the window. but, being as there are no screens on the windows here, a massive bee flew in and started buzzing around me. then my landlady monique and vivienne the cea director arrive for the end of term inspection of my appartment. they laugh at me and say- c'est natural gail! i prefer my non human neighbors to stay out in the garden where they are intended to be. but i guess i am one of few who dislikes getting stung! tres bizarre.

queen of the castle

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Originally uploaded by villagirl.

ok, not really, but being up there sure felt like i could be in control! unfortunately, this family with 2 little boys saw me sitting up there and wanted up also, and there is a 3 story drop to the courtyard below. we couldn't exactly find a room that looked like in the movie count of monte cristo, but it was a beautiful day and we had fun trumping around. we had brought along the white wine we had bought ate the cassis vineyard a week and a half ago, so we settled down and drank through that! back in marseille we shopped a little and i successfully returned some sandals that i had purchased last visit(with a little help from elena-thanks girl!).

farewell dinner

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Originally uploaded by villagirl.

monday evening we had our farewell dinner instead of our usual happy hour. It was in this cafe down a pedestrian street and from first inspection looked like it would seat 12 people comfortably. But don't judge the book by its cover! there were actually two floors beneath this and it was spacious and very chic. mirrors and statues of cherubs everywhere! i decided to dress up for the occasion, since i have been slacking a good portion of the semester due to the cold and wind. alhtough in the photo you can't tell since we are all sitting. from left to right: me, diane, liz and lauren.
dinner started at 8pm and we had goat cheese toast with salad! then the wine came and we drank to goodbyes and diane's birthday the day before. there was a choice between salmon and beef, and i of course chose beef all the way. dessert was a little tricky since we had 3 options. so, we decided to each order different ones and split. strawberries and cream, tiramishu and chocolate brownie with custard sauce. needless to say, it was a fabulous dinner, just sad it had to end. went to O'Sullivans bar after this for one drink and then to jess and elena's since it is of course monday evening!

contemplations

well, it has occured to me that i do not have class until thursday and i should take advantage of this situation...so tomorrow i am going to try to go to chateau d'if with elena and jessica. then i will attempt to get myself out of bed early enough on wednesday to catch the tgv to paris. i really would like to go see the musee d'orsay since i have missed it every time i visited paris. so i guess we will see!

sundays in aix

so, sundays just may be my favorite day in aix because the town feels as though it is recooperating from saturday with the markets and all the tourists raiding every shop and windy street. today lauren and i walked around and sat at a cafe to soak up the sun. i leave in 8 days and she leaves in 6 to start her internship in the camargue- an national park that we visited about an hour west of aix. then we decided to buy some wine and get a tarte since this will be our last dinner together. we, along with erin, have been eating dinner together ever sunday evening all semester. chao...!

burnt!

So, life is all together good right now. True, I have a cinema test in less than 20 minutes, but I am feeling confident about it. Besides this fact, I have acquired some french substitute of Aloe Vera(they don't import it) and my skin is doing well. Although i see signs of peeling, but as long as I get some degree of a tan, I am ok with this result! On a different note, I just may have found someone to split my hotel room with me for my 2 last days in France, so I will not be alone! And I have a class picnic tomorrow in Marseilles at the beach. Eileigh and I are probably going to shop til we drop afterwards! I mean, we only have 2 weeks left to stock up on good clothing before it is back to dressing like everyone else in the states. I for one want to go out on a bang!

Cassis

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Originally uploaded by villagirl.

After Vivienne informed us Saturday that May 1st is a national holiday and nothing is open, including buses, Jessica, Elena and I weren't sure we'd make it to the beach. So we checked online and discovered the trains would still be working! Woke up and we made it to Cassis by noon. The town is beautiful and bustling and everywhere people are selling lilies, because to give someone this flower on May 1st, is very special. We headed to the beach and quickly discovered that it is a topless one. We stayed until 4pm, at which time I realized that I was extrodinarily burnt-opps! So we got a gelatti on our way out of town and made our way back to Aix. While switching trains in Marseilles, we had to wait 2 hours, because there were children playing on the tracks. But I eventually made it home and had spaghetti with Erin for dinner!
Today I had to hit the pharmacie for a french likeness of Aloe Vera. But the lady chastised me for not also buying sunscreen( I figure I can head to the grocery store and buy it for half the price). Pharmacies are so expensive here. But the pain is worth the tan that will come later!!

Excursion

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Originally uploaded by villagirl.

Excursion on Saturday! We went to St. Remy(I had a wonderful white chocolate and menthe drink) and explored the old town. Then we went to the old mental hospital where Van Gogh spent the last year of his life. Went into his room and the view out his window is where he painted one of his scenes. So, I bought the poster of this scene. We walked up the road to a very old farm house and under the rock is a shed. Next to this we ate lunch on pic nic tables and enjoyed the sunshine. I drew in my sketch book, the rock jutting out above us. When we were done and I had had my coffee, I went and tried climbing this old roman pyramid. They used to have soldiers up at the top directing the workers(and apparently they had wips). After the others had drunk a sufficient amount of wine, we left and headed for a medieval town-the name of which escapes me. Following Vivienne's (our director) lead, the usual explorers-bryan, aisha, lauren, and myself- rushed up through the town to the top where there is a breath taking view of the whole area. You can see the Camargue, old mines, and rolling hills with vineyards and olive trees everywhere! Very windy, but felt great in the warmth. My camera decided to die about this point, so no pictures, sorry. After listen to english recordings of the fort and surronding area, we headed back down to the bus. Took a 4 minute drive and arrived at Les Caves...where we had some wine tasting. Walking inside, I felt like I was in an Egyptian Pyramid. My favorite was the red selection, but the rose was good as well. Took a group picture outside with the medieval town behind us and then headed home.