Chocolatier et Chateauneuf du Pape

This excursion was a trip to visit Paola's mom at her work. She sells chocolate and win at Bernard Castelain. The store is divided into two different sides, the chocolate side and the wine side.

We watched a film about how cocoa is harvested in Africa and also the chocolate making process. Then we had a demonstration by one of the workers who explained the different ingredients in the different types of chocolate. We had to wear hairnets into the demonstration, but we were able to taste raw cocoa, chocolate covered almonds and other chocolate candies throughout the demonstration so I'd say it was worth it. :)

After all the chocolate, we went for a walk through the vineyard. It was very beautiful, hilly territory. It was then that we spotted the road to Chateauneuf de Pape, or in otherwords a castle. So we walked through the vineyard with our destination looming in front of us.

When we finally made it to the castle, we found out that it is a wine tasting place/ hotel. So we walked around the outside and took pictures. There was a cool secret passageway that was my favorite part :)

After we made it back to the chocolate store, Paola's mom let us try three different wines. It was fun, they were all red and they were pretty bitter.

The three that we tasted

L'Anniversaire de Jessica

Today is Jessica's 20th birthday so we had some celebrating to do. We woke up early and went to church. I could not understand much over the PA system that they had, but at least I know what's supposed to happen. They had the readings written down which was nice because I could read and reflect on them when I couldn't understand the priest. The church was pretty full, except not many people our age and they had a big choir singing since it was the anointing of the sick this week.

Next we went to châteaurenard for their weekend market. We didn't do to much shopping, but we sat at a cafe with Paola's mother Lourdès. Paola, Jessica and Lourdès all drank noisettes which is this petite cup of coffee which is very strong and only has a little bit of milk in it. They would dip the sugar cubes into the coffee and eat them and they called these coffee coated sugar cubes, duck. Since I don't like coffee I drank an Oragina (carbonated orange juice). It is my favorite drink here! We had our drinks out on the patio and stayed there chatting a long time after we were finished. It was very enjoyable and I found that I am understanding a lot more french and wasn't lost in the conversation there at all!!

Paola's mom made what was basically a french version of scalped potatoes for lunch which was very delicious. Then we had a lemon meringue pie which Paola's mom had bought from a bakery for Jessica's birthday. The label is made from an almond based paste which I'm not sure still if I like it.

After that we went to the brand new Ikea that just opened here. (They pronounce it more like Ekea) It was huge and it was crowded. I have never been to an Ikea before since there aren't any in the U.P. They had a guy dressed as a viking outside which I'm still not sure I understand and a live band walking around. It was fun to see all the rooms they had set up and the prices were very good. We were looking for stuff for Paola's new apartment at school and it made me wish that I could buy that kind of stuff here too!

Then it was back to the same cafe for another round- this time most of us had Oraginas. Then we went to rent a movie. Their system is different here. If you don't know what movie you want to see, it is harder to find one. Instead of a store with tons of shelves of DVDs, there is an automatic machine which you scroll through to find your movie and then you pay with a card and it spits it out. Probably more space efficient, but I missed looking through the shelves of DVDs. We had some friends over to watch Knocked Up in french while we had more cake- chocolate this time and more Oragina yumm! It was all very fun, but now I am very much ready for bed!

Faire du Shopping

Yesterday was a cooler day in the 80s with a beautiful but strong wind. On weekends the town center of Avignon is closed off to cars and is open only to pedestrians for shopping. It is very convenient. We parked next to the wall that surrounds Avignon which I found cool just because it made me feel like I was in medieval times- except with cars and electricity...

I ended up buying a really pretty teal dress, but sadly I bought it from H&M which we have in the U.S. haha, but I love it anyways. I tried this italian ice cream when we were town. I had the milk and dark chocolate flavors. It was so thick it was almost like cold fudge! Very yummy, but even the small size was too much since it was soo rich.

As I was shopping, I tried to speak French to the vendors, but found that they kept responding in English. It was nice sometimes, but also frustrating since I'm here to learn the language. I must have a super bad accent. There was one time when I said, "Quatres chose s'il vous plaît" to the woman from the dressing room and she counted out my clothes in English. Just from that small phrase apparently it was evident. Gah! Well I suppose I'm here to improve, so it can only get better.

Fontaine de Vaucluse and Little Venice

Today after resting for the morning since it was over 100 degrees, I finally ate some food! Then we watched Grey's Anatomy in French with English subtitles. It was funny to hear the voices that didn't match.

Then after it cooled off and I was feeling much better, we ventured to Fontaine de Vaucluse which is a mountain spring that is so deep they have never reached the bottom. People have died trying to reach the bottom, but the farthest down that they have reached is 600m.

The village surrounding it was very pretty. There was ruins of a castle in the background and the very pretty river with clear, mountain water. I got to put my feet in and it was so refreshingly cold. It might be even cooler than Lake Superior! haha

My feet in the mountain water! So wonderful!

It is so beautiful, I have troubles choosing which photos to select!

Next stop is a town called Little Venice. We only walked around a little bit, but there was lots of music playing as we walked the streets. (I even heard a Michael Bublé song!) The streets were even narrower there, but we were never far from the water. The little restaurants on the streets looked so cute!

This is the unscarable bird that was guarding the church door!

Sick!

I have been sick for the past 32 hours. When I arrived in Avignon, Paola's sister was sick with what the doctor thought was food poisoning. Then I got sick and we thought it was because I had a lot of red and green peppers which I don't normally eat. Then Paola's mom got sick and went to the doctor. It turns out we have some kind of gasterointestinal flu. (We weren't careful about not spreading germs with her sister since we thought it wasn't contagious) I can't remember the exact name of what I have because I was pretty out of when they told me. I threw up multiple times the first night and couldn't even keep down water. I was so thirsty all I wanted was a huge glass of ice water, but I couldn't even have that! The medicine I took was two pills that you put under your tongue and let them dissolve, so that was different and pretty chalky. It has now been over 32 hours since I have eaten anything. I will try some bread today and see how that goes. I slept all day yesterday because I was so exhausted- it took all my energy.

I am feeling better today although my back is really sore. Is it possibly to get a sore back from laying down too much? Once I was done throwing up, the hardest part was the heat. It is so warm here and oftentimes there is no escape. I'm sure I will get used to it eventually.

Palais des Papes

The other day Paola, Jessica and I drove into the center of Avignon. It is so hot here that we don't usually go out in the morning. We waited to leave until a little after four. The architecture is so different here. Everything is so beautifully sculpted! It is a very busy place and the streets are very narrow. They do their parking meters a little differently too. They have one that distributes cards that you have to keep in your window showing that you've paid rather than having one meter per spot. Parts of the road were paved in regular stones. I came to learn that this is very painful to walk on after a while if you are not wearing thick soled shoes.

We went to the Pope's palace which dates back to the time when there were multiple popes. It was like another miniature Rome. A lot of the decoration has worn off over time, but the monstrosity of it is still very visible.

We toured the palace and used audio hand guides in English. There was one room that had a secret treasury where the floor lifted up to reveal coins. There were some beautifully painted chapels and chambers. Unfortunately we couldn't take pictures in the rooms that still had the original paint.

All the popes to reside at the palace.

After the tour we went the Avignon Bridge. There have been many famous songs composed about it. The odd thing about it is that it was never finished and only goes partway across. There is also a chapel in the middle of the bridge which I found interesting.

The chapel on the bridge

View of the popes palace from the bridge

Overall it was a wonderful tour with some very interesting history. On a different cultural note. I have noticed that Malcum in the Middle is on a lot here and is very popular. I find this amusing because I used to watch it a lot with my family.

La Fête de Crêpe

I have spent two days in Avignon now. Whenever you meet someone here you touch cheeks while kissing the air three times here. The first time that I did it, I didn't touch the guys cheeks and the guy said I was doing it the American way. haha My first day here, we went with Paola to her friend Léa's house where she had a cake and crêpe party. They had chocolate cake, Madeleines and of course crêpes with nutella. We also had Oragina and an alcoholic cider drink (Yumm) I have noticed that they drink very often here. By drink I don't mean always alcoholic, there is lots of water and juice too at most gatherings. Adeline actually drank the crêpe batter! The group of her friends spoke very fast, so it was very difficult for me to understand, but they also spoke English very well. Paola helped to translate when needed and I tried to say what I could. Léa had made her own dress which I was very impressed with and made me wish that I could sew well!

Most of the houses look like this, tan with shutters that open and cool canopies made of plants. I have noticed that oftentimes many windows and doors are left completely open, to let in the breeze. Luckily there are not a lot of bugs that come in so it feels very nice and well... open!

After eating we moved to the backyard and they passed around a bottle of Clairette de die. It was very delicious! The backyard was very beautiful. There was lots of green grass and cacti and it was very picturesque.

Paola and Jess

Victor drinking the Clairette as we passed it around.

Later, we went over to Adeline's house for more chatting. I learned more about the French education system and talked to a guy who studied in California for a while. Then Jessica and I went swimming in Adeline's pool. It was nice to swim under the stars in warm water!

It is really really warm here and I love it!

The long journey

Hello Everyone!

I am here, in Ireland anyways, awaiting my flight to Paris. My first view of Ireland was very misty and farmlandish- I suppose this isn’t too much of a surprise. My flight from Chicago to Dublin was very successful; it even came in early. I watched remember me on the TVs they had on the backs of the seats and also played some solitaire and hangman on it as well. They fed us a multi-part dinner, which I wasn’t expecting. It had a salad, cheese, chicken, rice, vegetables, a breadstick and cheesecake. In addition to this they had the normal pretzel and pop deal. It got dark pretty quickly and I enjoyed watching the moon until they made me close the shade. Of course I had to pick the window seat above the wing so my view was rather obstructed. Then later when I peeked in the shade and could see the pretty shades of dawn we were given croissants with ham and cheese and some orange juice. I was still full from the previous meal considering I hadn’t done anything but sit there, but I ate it anyways because I figured I will need the strength for the remaining flight and train ride ahead. I’m pretty tired because even though it is 8:40 here, it is 3:40 back home. I really wish that I had the Internet, I am very lonely traveling by myself and can’t wait to see Jessica and Paola’s familiar faces when my travels are through.

I did meet two travel companions of sorts, which helped a bit. I ended up sitting next to an old Irish man. Although I wasn’t sure what to say at first, I knew that he probably had some interesting stories, so we chatted. His name was Aiden and he was from the northern part of Ireland although he had been practicing dentistry in the U.S. long enough to marry, raise a family and retire. He has taught at many universities and was also a dean of students at a college of which I can’t remember the name. He told me that one of his sons is a vet and that they rescued an abandoned kitten who didn’t even have his eyes opened yet. They had to nurse it and clean off fly eggs from its fur. Poor thing! I was very happy to hear that she had grown into a beautiful cat with long Whiskers and a long tail J  He was also very friendly in sharing his European experiences and reassuring my doubts and travel worries. He also bought two bottles of red wine, scotch and another drink for the flight. It was a seven-hour flight, but still. Haha. I enjoyed having someone for conversation on the way over. He told me a travel parable of sorts:

     There was a man who was very impatient to get to his flight destination on time. He was demanding of the flight attendants that he must be at his meeting by 10 a.m. and that he was all ready and the delay was unacceptable. Once he was helped and gone another person came and commented on how rude the man was and how they should not have let him treat them like that. They replied saying that the man would be at his meeting on time, but his luggage would be in Hong Kong.

    

I thought it was amusing anyways and a good thing to remember- I certainly felt better with my luggage by my side even though it was a pain to lug it around! There were some French people close by as well, I was a little disappointed that they spoke so fast I could only catch a few words. The other person I met was another study abroad student heading for the Netherlands. Apparently he extended his graduation date so that he could do it. He was friendly and we found our respective flight connections and went through security and customs together. I have my first stamp in my passport book! Who cares if I am only here in Ireland for three hours? My passport is marked! Haha. I hope to come back here at some point during my stay anyways.


I liked seeing a sunrise and a sunset in one flight!

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Now I am writing from Paola's house. Here is the rest of my journey!

My next flight was to Paris and I was surrounded by about twenty very loud French teenagers. They were all coming back from Ireland and had huge Leprechaun hats on. When we landed in Paris one of them shouted "Vivre la France" and they all replied with the same. Then they started different chants and songs. I wasn't expecting it at all. I would have liked to have chatted with the teenagers next to me, but they were a couple and were making out the whole time. So I just looked out the window and tried to eavesdrop to practice my French. haha

While trying to find my baggage, I befriended an older Australian man who was touring Europe. My bags was one of the last ones to arrive of course! Then we went to find the train which was not so easy. Once we found the place I couldn't print my ticket on the Kiosk and had to wait in a huge line to get help. I was really worried about missing my train, but in reality I had plenty of time. After I got my ticket I learned how non-explicit the ticket was and had no idea where to go. I was lucky enough to find three New Zealander women who had brought their bikes with them to do a tour who were also on their way to Avignon. We had to wait until twenty minutes before the train arrived to learn where the platform was so then we hurried to it and to find the letter which corresponded to the car that we were in. (They were in the same car as well! I felt lucky) It was nice to tag along with them and let them take charge! By the time I was on the train I could barely keep my eyes open. I was trying to stay awake to watch my stuff but I ended up tying my purse around myself and wrapping my legs around my backpack with the zipper towards me and nodding on and off. I tried writing, chewing gum and whatever else I could but I was getting to my 32nd hour of travel and I was exhausted. When I got off the train Paola was right there and what a relief. We drove back to her house with Jessica. Once there Paola's mom had made us dinner of a pasta type. It was no surprise that we had bread and cheese with it as well.

Paola's mom doesn't speak much English, so I tried to speak what I could. It was fun and a very nice environment to start trying. After being with people I knew and being able to relax I found that I was awake once more. We went for a dip in her pool, I skyped with my parents and Dennis and then we went off to bed. It took me forever to fall asleep which is the opposite of what I expected!

Before departure

Waiting at the airport in Dublin

My plane!

Quotes

My flight connection

Getting Ready To Fly

I leave in one week to my European excursion. I just bought all of my travel sized commodities for the plane ride. I also got space savers which are super convenient. I will be flying out of Chicago with a layover in Dublin and then on to Paris. Once I arrive in Paris I will take the train to Avignon. I am visiting a friend Paola that I met when she did an exchange program to Marquette. My friend Jessica from Marquette and Tech will be meeting me there too. They will pick me up from the train station and we will tour that area for a little over a week. I just bought a new Panasonic camera from American today. I love it a lot already and cannot wait to put it to good use!!