I am HOME

so i landed in ATL airport at 7:55 June 25th. my trip is over!

I will try and give a couple more blogs to wrap everything up. I need to tell you guys about how things went with my family coming over to visit for the last couple weeks. that will come soon. but for right now. I want to see all of you in Person.

FIN

Well, it all ended with a crepe on Cours Mirabeau.... but more about my last day in Aix later. let me rewind it a couple weeks and catch you guys up on a few things.

So, staying at that vineyard definitely was awesome! it has made it into my top 8 experiences here. I mean everything we could see from their front porch was part of their vineyard. 7km long! and they produce over a million litres of wine per season. Our time there started with a great meal at the auberge. by law this type of restaurant has to produce 80% of everything served on site (chickens, vegetables, wine...) and it was so good. After this long meal we got a private 2,5 hour tour of the vineyard. With us was the owner and the 2 chief field managers. we learned all sorts of cool stuff from all the types of wild flowers that were in bloom to how they can control the amount of grapes the vines produce. For dinner we had some great chicken curry, and to finish the night we watch the final match of the euro cup (Manchester vs. Barcelone) the next day we woke up and rode bikes out to the other side of the vineyard and went swimming for a while. then lunch and back into St. Maximin. Int the village there is a huge church. and in the church they have got the sarcophagus of Mary Magdalene. so that was really cool to see.

We did make it up the mountain the next day, and we came down to relax in my friend's pool for the afternoon. later that weekend we went to cassis and the beach there was quite amazing (as always). and my friend finally headed out for Switzerland on Monday

so over the next we i just hung out with friends and did some fun pool chilling. and then last weekend i went to Martigues on my own for a day trip. There is a huge sandy beach outside of the ville. it was such a great site to see. and after 3 hours on the beach i went back to the ville and discovered it. there is so much history there. and the museums are free and very cool! i loved it. great day trip, and i would recommend it to anyone.

on Sunday we had a huge goodbye party for the pastor of the church here. i got there early to help set up and cook chicken for 100 guests. it turned into quite the blow out. and i was able to say goodbye to a lot of people as well. it was bitter sweet (like this whole last week). It has been a string of little get togethers and goodbyes. I keep telling myself that i will see these great people again, but i know it won't be soon for all of them who are staying in France. the ones who are coming to America might be more possible to visit. And i have had to say goodbye too ll the places here and the lifestyle which i love. this place has truly changed me. I climbed up St. Victoire on Wednesday and i spent the night at the top to do some reflecting and clearing out my mind. It was such a good experience. there were actually a group of french people up there that i get to connect with. It was a great way to say thanks for all i have been given here. And i woke up early and hiked down a new way. It was all great!

Today was my last official day of my Experience here (the next 10 days will be 'vacation' with my family here). So i ended it all with a big day of packing cleaning, having a few conversations in french, and then i got a sandwich with the first friend i made here. and i went to a movie with a couple of my newest friends made here. what a way to close the circle on my time here. we also had crepes on the cours while live jazz was playing in the background. I have loved it all! no regrets with my choice to come here for a year. I will see you guys Stateside soon!!!

Hey again.

Hey. so i am 21 years old now! i am officially legal to have a drink all over the entire, big world. lol. I had a lot of fun last night. but let me back it up a few days...

I finished up my exams last week. Accounting was quite the tough one. We shall see what happens. it took me the whole 2 hours to finish up. but i think it was passable. And then i had the oral exam with my Droit Constitutionnel prof. That turned out to be a nightmare. I studied the last 250 years of french governmental history and the differences in their constitutions (they have had many). So i show up for the test feeling good, right. the teacher asks me 2 short questions about the present french government, and then a dozen about the US government. what the heck. I haven't taken US govn since 8th grade. So half of my answers were "je ne sais pas", and then he would tell me what i should have said, followed by my reply of "oui, je sais". lol. so needless to say i don't anticipate the highest marks there. but that's ok. i made straight A's last semester, so it should all balance out in the GPA.

So on thursday i went back to Gorges du Verdon. It was quite a different experience. I rented a Kayak. The river was calm in this area with a huge lake at the entrance to the cliffs. And these cliffs were indescribable. the water was a chilling 8 degrees still, but this time i had NO wetsuit. I still couldn't resist doing a little cliff diving tho. it was a great time in the wild. on our way back we stopped at a cool village in the cliffs that is famous for pottery and their amazing view of the countryside. After that we drove into the heart of the lavande country. We stopped at a local lavande farm and got to learn more about the whole process from some of the family owners. Apparently we were about 4 weeks too early to see the bloom. you know the classic purple covered fields of france. Right now poppy flowers are in full bloom. and the fields look fiery red.

Saturday was my big VIP day in Cannes. The film festival came to a close last weekend. My friend Thierry had been at the festival all week and was leaving just as i was arriving. So... he gave me 2 of his VIP passes to use. A girl i met up with on the bus and I decided to make it a day together. We had a great time. I am talking private beach, open bar, free Puyricard chocolates, private dock, and comfy seats with good looking people all around. It was 10 times better than what the average person would get. Awesome. And we also got to go into the Carlton hotel and chill in that lounge for a while. We watched the red carpet for a bit, but i didn't recognize anyone, and there were like a million people there to watch. And we ended the night with a little movie premier out on the beach. You got to be envious of this day. lol. It was one of my french dreams come into reality.

I forgot about friday. ha. I went and played some Laser tag with my friends. I got 1st place all three rounds. so bring it on!

Ok, monday was my birthday. i had a ton of fun. a friends from GSU came into town that day, and he is staying with me for a week or so. And we went out to an underground discotheque, and then hung out in the park with frenchies til about 3am. It was a great day, and thanks to all of you who sent out birthday wishes. I am 21 now, legal worldwide!

Today (wed), we are going to one of my friend's vineyards. hopefully do some wine tasting, swimming, possible horseback riding, and who knows. We will be staying there overnight. should be a lot of fun, and just a cool experience. Then friday we hope to climb the mountain, and go for a swim at a friends house out in the country. It's going to be a good last few weeks here in France!

Keeping busy

So... i know that i start a lot of these with "sorry it has been so long". but it only gets harder to sit down and find the time as the year is winding down. Yes i am starting to feel the end draw near. And i don't want to leaver here. so if everyone i know could just get on a plane and move to France, that would be great. haha. Well, anyways i have just got a month left!

So i have kept busy. I had 2 exams last week, and i have got 2 more this week. so cross those fingers, because they (just like the classes) are going to be in 100 percent French. I have got accounting in the morning. ouch. So this is me procrastinating (those of you who know me, know that procrastination is my favorite part of studying). But it should all work out in the end

On friday i went to a big end of the year bash with a lot of my friends. We had good drinks, good burgers from the grill, a fire, swimming, Wii, and so much more. It really was great to have a big shebang with a lot of people that are leaving this week. Oh and around midnight we all went out and did the ziplines at this house. imagine flying into a pitch black forest. It was awesome. you just have to watch out for that tree at the end of the line.

Saturday started out early. I got hooked up with some people who are moving teusday and need some help getting the house ready. so i went out to their place in Puyricard, and they set me to work. They had a pool, that really looked like a pond when i arrived. There were 2 inches of leaves covering the bottom. It was not pretty but with 5 hours of hard work... It was clean and clear. And it felt great to actually make some money for the first time in 10 months! I can't wait til this summer. I have got to find a job in Georgia (anybody know of one?) After work i got cleaned up and headed out to a tailgate. You heard me. I tailgated at an American football match here in Aix. Our team is #2 in all of france. The playoffs start in a couple weeks. Anyways, i made such a good mixed grill. mmm. and then The Argonauts (name of our team) crushed the opponents. 43-6 at the half. And there were some really good plays. Get this, the audience does the "braves tomahawk" here. It made me feel right at home.

Today, Sunday has been awesome so far. 5 friends and I went out to Les Gorges du Verdon to go RAFTING. The 2 hour drive out there at 8 in the morning was beautiful. We pass some great scenery; mountains, plains, little villages. once we got into the national park area the views only got better. It is impossible to describe, but i will try a bit. This is pretty much the french equivalent to the grand canyon. very different but all the same magnificent. We came around one of the cliffs and in front of us laid a huge valley covered in a cloud. It was something to see. Well, we got down to the raftin place, paid (signed 0 consent forms, they didn't even ask our names. only in France). And then we got suited up in some wetsuits (very necessary. the water was like 8 degrees Celsius). And we hit the water. It was a smooth trip down the Verdon, but there were some cool rapids. after we went through the biggest one of the day, the guide and us got the raft over to the side and we climbed a rock. this was followed by all of us taking turns jumping into the beast. what a rush! just got to not get thrown into the rocky cliffs to the left. ha. well the rest of the trip went with no problems. we had a splash fight, flipped the boat once, and did some swimming. It was great! i would suggest it to all

Well, i guess it is time for me to get back to my studies. Wish me luck. I hope all of you are doing great and having a good summer where you are.

Grandparents came for a visit

Well, Papa Don and Jojo (my grandparents) came to see me last week. We sure did have a lot of fun. I have been sleeping for the past few days just trying to recuperate from all the things we did together. So i will try and give you guys the short version of how things went down.

... I didn't even recognize them when they got off the bus Thursday afternoon. But i guess they figured out who i was pretty quick, and they ran over and gave me a good hug. After this, we put our things up in the apartment we rented for the week (awesome place by the way), and then we hit the sunny streets of Aix. Of course the first thing we wanted to do was sit at a café on Cours Mirabeau, have some wine and some french food. And that is exactly what we did with the exception of Don ordering a beer (he wasn't too keen on wine until later in the trip...) So we had a nice 2 hour meal and watched the Aixoise culture walk by in front of us. And then we headed up the street a little ways and into a cathedral. It was cool to show them something that was Built starting in the 5th century. Man, the USA is so young. After visiting some neat places in town, we got pizza (very french) and headed to the apt to call it a night.

Well, friday we hit the ground running. We woke up and went to the famous street markets of Aix. We got zucchini and fresh Parmesan cheese for dinner. Then we went and saw my school (it is celebrating its 600 anniversary this year). And for our afternoon we planned to go into Marseilles, so we got some senior discount bus passes and went on our way (for just 1 euro). We started Marseilles with a 2.5 hour lunch right on the vieux port. It was nice to relax before we started the miles of walking that i had planned. We wound up seeing 3 cathedrals, all completely different styles and really cool. One of them was on top of a huge hill and overlooked the entire city (2nd largest city in France) and also the Mediterranean Sea (where you can see the famous Chateau d'If where the Count of Monté Christo was held). From here we walked down the hill and back thru time once more to a Gothic style cathedral which got its beginnings from the 200s! But everyday does come to a close and so we watched the sun start setting over the city from the train station and then we caught a bus and got to see it finish setting over the Provence countryside. It was very beautiful. Finally we got back to the appt and started cooking a tasty pasta dinner that lasted til 11pm. Oh, i forgot Jojo had a French guy hitting on her while Don and I were in a store. We came out and he was telling her how much he wanted to marry her!

Saturday was also a busy day. We started the morning with buying a fresh baguette and catching the bus for Mont Saint Victoire. We hiked up thru the olive fields and once we got above the tree line we felt the full force of the Mistral (20mph winds of Provence). It made it really difficult to stay on the side of this huge mountain. So once we got to the halfway point, we found a shrub and ate lunch behind it and out of the wind. The views were amazing. We got down and were back in town by 1pm. Then i had to shower and head into town to help set up for the wine tasting we were going to that night. So i helped Hilary set up and then we went out to the meeting spot to get Jojo and Don and also 7 other people. But the other people never showed up. So we wound up getting a Private tasting of 5 wines! It was awesome, and to all our surprise Don enjoyed himself and was even asking for extra tastes. After all our questions were answered and our noses were a bit redder we thanked Hil and went up stairs to Have a great Italian dinner (and Hil let us have a bottle to finish with our dinner, 2003 Pinot Noir). And man was dinner tasty, and the service and atmosphere was top class at Pasta Cozy. After dinner we went to a rooftop party in the middle of the city. We got to meet some french friends of mine and get a great view of the city at night. And Jojo got to practice her "bisou", the french cheek kiss. It was yet again another great and full day.

We were happy to wake up to a rainy day on Sunday. Rest was definitely in need. So we just took it slow all day. Jojo read her Jane Eyre book and Don and i sat and talked for a few hours until we found a formula one race on TV. After the race we went out and saw my new dorm room (Awesome!) and we picked up some sandwiches to bring back for dinner. We had dinner, watch a movie (About Schmidt), and then we went to sleep.

on Monday we woke up in a rush ( I called the bus station and found out that we only had 20 mins til we had to leave on the bus). Arrived in Cassis by 9am and it was earlier than most of the town had woken up. We ate crepes in the park (Nutella, chocolat, and honey nut). After eating, we hiked the first of the calanques and learned some cool history of the area while we got some breathtaking views of cliffs and the Mediterranean. As we came back to town we saw a woman laying out Nude (finally a real french experience. lol). Then the sun popped out and we had charwarmas for lunch in downtown. Went and saw the light house where I left the grandparents for an hour (don took a nap, and jojo watched a guy swimming and hoped he was also nude). And they saw kids taking sail boat lessons, while I took a nap on the beach. Then I stepped in the freezing waters of the Med Sea. So, we took the bus back and while we were waiting for our transfer bus in Aubagne jojo got pooped on by a pigeon. lol. but we made it. We saw where Cezanne died, and the old Aix pony express. For dinner we grabbed 2 pizzas from Pizza Capri (3 fromage and chirizo). I helped some tourists get a cab for the airport. we ate dinner and Don and I stayed up again (every night talking til 12am, until don's alarm would go off).

And the last day finally was upon us. But we still had big plans! There was a tour of a local chocolat factory in Puyricard, just 15 mins north of town. So we took the bus there, and actually got dropped off at the wrong place. I had to get my friend that works at the factory to come and pick us up for the rest of the way. Ah, so we arrived a bit late, but it was just in time for the actual tour. We had to go thru a "clean" room and wash up before we put on hairnets. the tour was really cool. We were on the floor walking in between all the different stations for all the processes that the candies go thru. And my friend came and did part of the tour with us (he is a manager there and gave us a few cool extra background stories). We got to sample a lot of the chocolat and we saw some of the trade secrets. mmmm. Well after we had had our fill we went back into town. We got packed up and then grabbed some charwarmas for lunch (i swear these are the best sandwiches). And before the bus left we even had time to stop by a museum and look at some photography. So, I said my final goodbyes to my loving grandparents and waved them off as the bus drove away.

We sure did have a lot of fun.

Provence, how i love thee...

Well i have been having a great last couple of weeks.

I went on an excursion to Avignon. This was a lot of fun! We arrived at the old walled city at about 10am. Started out walking up a stone spiral staircase that was inside of a tower until we reached the top of the city wall. Then we walked on the top of the walls and up a hill to the highest point in the town. We got some great views of the city, the many cathedrals, the Pont(bridge) d'Avignon, and the Rhone river. And then we made our way over to a huge "place" where we could see the palace des Papes (the Pope moved to this city for a couple hundred years back in the 14 century). He built a fortress right in the middle of the town. pretty cool stuff. I had been here in 2006, so i did not pay to go inside with the rest of the group. Instead i just wandered the streets and got myself lost. I found a lot of cool things as i went. Passed a group of folk singers, saw a wedding in progress thru open cathedral doors, found a secret garden. I also stumbled into a crazy art gallery where i was given a glass of Rosé (don't worry it was already noon, perfect time for a chilled glass of wine in Provence). And i chatted it up with the artist for a little while. and then i got to find a big market to walk thru. The town was so cool. And i ate the biggest charwarma of my life! mmmm.

After Avignon we all took the bus to Pont du Garde. one of the most famous monuments in France. It is an old Roman Aqueduct they helped carry water 500km. It was really neat to visit this place again (i had went in 2006). I did a little hiking around the Pont and crossed to both sides. I even took a little nap. This place is a must see if you make it down to Provence.

So the excursion was awesome!

Just yesterday I went to "Les Calanques"=best hiking in my life! these are white stone finger shaped cliffs that span the 20km between Cassis and Marseilles. the water is the bluest that the Mediterranean has to offer. and the views are just spectacular. I will never forget this hike. and i have got to go back soon! When we stopped for lunch in En Veau, i looked around and i could not believe the place that i get to eat. It doesn't even compare to any experience i have had in Georgia. Oh yeah, and at lunch time, we got to see the French rescue team run some helicopter exercises right in front of us for like 20 mins. they were lowering people onto cliffs and then they would leave and come back and rescue them. It was pretty entertaining. Man, that was a great hike.

So... I also finally got to move into a new and renovated dorm! It feels like a 5 star hotel compared to that last place. I have got my own fridge, toilette and shower. Plus hardwood floors and an amazing view of the french countryside. you wouldn't believe what i get to wake up to.

So i have had a busy week so far. and my grandparents (Jojo and Papa Don) are supposed to be arriving tomorrow! cross your fingers that they can get on the plane (they are coming standby). But i have got a lot of fun things planned for us. If they get here, we will be going to a wine tasting, touring a chocolate factory, visiting Marseilles, and climb the famous Mont Saint Victoire. Of course we will be doing a lot of relaxing at cafés and checking out all the cool/historic places in Aix. So if you want to do all this stuff too, then get your butt out here!

Alright, that should keep you fascinated and jealous for a little while. I will try to post again soon. I hope your lives are all going well!

It is vacation time!

Man i am loving it here!

So the french schooling system makes no sense at all. I finished with all my classes last week and the exams are not until the first couple weeks of May. This means that i have got some free time on my hands. I guess you saw the pictures i put up instead of a story for my last blog. sorry. i was rushed that day. But as you can see, I went to a Wine and Chocolate tasting, went to the movies (3 times), watched the Tour d'Aix (bike race, and saw a crash), and spring arrived with a Harley on the Cours Mirabeau.

My fun has not stopped there! I have been going to the parks around town a lot lately (the weather here has been great for the most part, although it is cloudy today). I have hiked Mont St. Victoire a couple more times, and i have got a post Easter trip planned with the church here. Speaking of Easter, I went to a big pic-nick/egg hunt last Saturday. That was a lot of fun. Afterwards the university students grilled out at an apartment on the south side of town.

And then on Sunday Carnival hit the streets of Aix! It was completely crazy here. The opposite of what you think of when you think French village life. There was confetti and silly string covering all corners of the street (and all over everybody). The little kids were dressed up in crazy costumes, and a lot of the adults too. There were more people in the streets than i have ever seen. And then the bands and floats came down the cours. It was all followed by a group of about 200 people all dancing in unison. The atmosphere couldn't have been more jubilant. There is still confetti all over the place.

And then on Monday, I climbed Victoire in the morning, hung out in the park during the afternoon, and went to a rooftop BBQ at dusk. What a great time that was. To be right in the middle of town and on a rooftop terrace. seeing the clock towers and cathedral steeples lit up at night. Drinking wine and eating shish kabobs with friends.

Well i am not quite sure all that lies ahead of my these last 3 months, but i am ready for it!