Wow: WAY too many things to talk about in regards to my weekend in Venice. Once again, I must organize myself and break my thoughts up into categories. Bear with me... :)
THE BAD STUFF:
1. Students in Aix:
So, I went to Venice w/ a local student group called "Students in Aix". I paid a pretty reasonable fee for roundtrip transportation, 2 nights in a "hotel 4 star" (as quoted from the SIA leader, Souheil, a French Mr. Bean lookalike), and breakfast at the hotel for 2 days. We met at 8pm Thursday for the bus ride, and didn't end up leaving until 9:30 pm!!!! Of course, that's the French way of doing things: always fashionably late. That busride may have constituted the worst night of my life. I slept on and off sitting up for the entirety of the journey, amounting to total of about 1.5 hours of poor sleep. The bus driver was rather schizophrenic about the climate control in the bus: it was either ice cold or 800 degrees (celsius). We made multiple stops for bathroom and food purposes, all of which turned into hour long pauses with the bus doors open to the freezing night air. Keep in mind that we did cross the Alps, so it was cold, to say the least. Anyways, enough description of the ride there as I don't want to relive it and would never want to put you through such torture. To make a long story short, it was pretty bad. Students in Aix is a horrible student group that has severe organization problems and has issues with misrepresenting the truth about their excursions. For example, our "hotel 4 star in Venice" turned out to be absolutely amazing, but an hours bus ride out of town. Aaargh.
2. Absurd amounts of tourists
Venice is an extremely popular tourist attraction as a general rule: delicious Italian food, beautiful canals, gondolas w/ attractive Italian gondoliers singing of amore...what else can you expect? But, Carnaval inflates the tourism factor 10 fold. On many streets I felt like a farm animal being herded, entirely unable to move amongst the crowd of umbrellas and expensive cameras.
3. Weather
The last two weeks of February, vacation time for all French university students and many students in other European countries, was downright awful weather wise. All over southern Europe: France, Italy, Spain...it rained. In fact, earlier in the week in Aix I even witnessed hail falling outside my window in the schoolyard just behind my building. Though fairly easily overcome by umbrella, rain coat and a little bit of optimism, rainy weather is admittedly a nuisance. Photos often don't turn out quite as well without the stark contrast between marble building and blue sky. It's also difficult to conserve money when the only way to escape the cold is to duck into a cafe or ristorante for a pinot grigio or Italian cappucino. Thanks to the wet and wintry weather the majority of my friends (probably 90%) are sick now. I'm not, yet. Cross your fingers and knock on wood.
THE GOOD THINGS!!!!
4. VENEZIA!!!!
Having only been to Venice once before, with my parents about 5 years ago, I remembered Venice as absolutely amazing, beautiful, full of delicious food, and rather small and quaint. This recent vacation to the City of Canals proved me wrong in only one aspect: Venice is actually quite large, and extremely maze-like and confusing. Perhaps because my parents are both very organized travellers, or perhaps b/c my memory fails me, I don't remember ever feeling lost in Venice on my previous trip there. During the Carnaval visit, however, my entire 3 days were spent lost in the maze of tiny streets, plentiful bridges and water, water, water. Unlike most cities, however, the best way to visit Venice is to strike out and get lost. Exploring back alleys, happening upon a new and different square or piazza every few blocks...if ever I saw a crowded street I didn't like, I just turned onto a smaller one and felt alone in the world.
5. Crazy masks and costumes
Carnaval in Venice is known for the crazy, elaborate and sometimes slightly unnerving masks and costumes. Everywhere I looked, whether it be in pigeon packed Saint Mark's Square, on the overcrowded and overpriced Rialto Bridge, or on a tiny street in between, there were festive participants ready to be photographed. I took as many photos as possible, but I can't explain how difficult it is with so many other eager lenses fighting for a shot.

Ahhhh...how relaxing to be on a break from school for awhile!! Our weeklong February break started Monday, and I have done nothing but chill out. While many friends are gone in Italy, I decided to kick back in Aix for awhile. It's been nice to save the costs of travel and lodging, and staying in Aix has given me some time to myself. In addition, I've had more time to cook elaborate meals (vegetable curry with couscous; spinach and goat cheese ravioli with market fresh sun-dried tomatoes). Miles came to visit late Friday after what sounded like a wild few days in Torino. The Olympics were amazing, he reports...he got to see men's freestyle moguls, a US hockey game and a medals ceremony, among other things. Though jealous I couldn't make it to the games, I was more than happy to have a familiar face here to stay for awhile. I had a blast showing Miles around my little Provencal town in between his naps...he barely slept the entire time he was in Torino. We went to the Saturday market: my absolute favorite thing to do in Aix. We spent time in cafes, watched a few movies (The New World, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, among others), ate delicious meals, drank Mort Subite (a delicious beer whose name means 'sudden death'), indulged in way too many pastries from the 24 hour boulangerie. Overall, we had a blast.
One day we were feeling particularly motivated so we took a small hike just out of town. Though the first half of the hike consisted mostly of narrow paved roads, it was STEEP!!! Our derrieres were absolutely burning by the time we reached the top. We discovered a large forested area with multiple trails, among construction fences (truly a la francaise). We reached an amazing view of a dam, a small reservoir and Mt. Sainte Victoire in the background. Of course, being the burly Coloradans we are, we stared fatigue in the face and decided to make it to the dam before lunchtime. The reservoir, though very small, was extremely quaint. We ate a meal of (what else) baguettes, cheese (Tomme de Savoie), wine and a tartelette aux framboises (that's raspberries for all you non francophiles), then explored the dam a bit. Built with the funds of Emile Zola's father, the dam was originally used as a water supply for Aix, but is no longer. It is now an emergency reserve, mainly there for history and beauty's sake. No swimming is allowed, but I imagine as the months warm up I may disobey the signs that warn against it. It's amazing what one can get away with by batting eyelashes and saying "je ne parle pas bien francais". Haha.
Miles had to leave today: a long and tiring overnight bus back to Madrid. Since his bus didn't leave until 11pm from Marseille, we decided to spend part of the day exploring the port town before he had to set off. For anyone who has been to Marseille, it is admittedly not the nicest city on the map. With a massive impoverished immigrant population, Marseille provides a stark contrast to the middle to upper class of Aix. However, we had a pleasant day exploring the port, eating delicious food (seafood for Miles...Marseille is famous for bouillabaisse) and checking out churches and clocktowers. We even witnessed a major beer drinking extravaganza at an Irish pub on the port: I guess there was a huge British soccer or rugby game going on. I was sad to see Miles go, but now it's off to my next adventure. Starting tomorrow I have a 3 day trip to Venice for all the masks, clowns and crazy festivities of Carnaval, Italy style.

Hmmm...where to start. The week was relatively uneventful as far as classes go: I am starting to get used to the long blocks of class. My shortest class is 2 hours (straight) and my longest is 4 horus, with just 15 minutes of "repos" in the middle. It's a little difficult to handle, especially coming from CU where most classes are only 50 minutes. But, I imagine it will get easier as time goes on. Tuesday was a friend's 22nd birthday, so we hit the town dressed to the 9's. After a few rowdy Irish pubs we ended up at a club called "Mistral". Very posh and chic, we felt a little uncomfortable, but danced anyway. Speaking of which...the dancing here is absolutely hilarious. Though I don't profess to have any sort of coordination, I must say that I don't think the French have "the moves". Most club dancing can be summed up in 2 words: 90s techno. There is a lot of fist pumping, finger jabbing and bum shaking, but in no particular order and to no particular beat. All the same, it is a lot of fun to go out and experience the Aix night life.
The rest of the week went well, and ended in very little weekend homework: something I was very pleased about. Friday afternoon some friends and I headed to the "Renoir" movie theatre on the Cours Mirabeau to see the original version, French subtitled "Le secret de Brokeback Mountain". I have heard loads about this movie, all positive. I have wanted to see it since I got to Europe over a month ago. Everywhere I go I hear someone else raving about how great it is. But, as luck would have it, the projector was broken. Though we wanted to stay and relax in the amazingly comfortable theater seats (the first comfortable sitting apparatus I have encountered thus far in France), we were forced to leave and were refunded our money. Maybe another time: I refuse to give up on that movie.
Saturday morning we hit the ground running for our CEA excursion to Nice and Monte Carlo. We caught the bus at 8:30am and drove about 2 hours to the amazing Mediterranean resort of Nice. I admit, I actually had pretty low expectations for Nice as I have heard it is not all it's cracked up to be. I beg to differ. Nice was absolutely amazing. Despite our minimal time there, I loved the city. We started off on the Avenue des Anglais: the sea front boulevard named after the rich Brits who made Nice what it is today. We headed first to the traditional Saturday flower, fruit and veggie market where we bought the uiciest strawberries I've ever seen. After a stroll through the market, drooling over grilled panini, tender herbed goat cheese and purely local olive oil, we headed up the Colline du Chateau for an amazing view of the pebbly beach, the Baie des Anges and the Alps in the not so distant distance. The weather was absolutely perfect for our visit of the French Riviera: cool, but very sunny and only a slight ocean breeze. By the time we reached the top of the "hike" we were pulling off our jackets. After checking out a waterfall at the top of the colline, and after purchasing a few postcards, we headed back down to Vieux Nice for lunch. On the square just in front of the Palais de Justice, we found a perfect lunch spot with a large table for the six of us right in the sun. I had a margherita pizza and goat cheese stuffed ravioli (both split with a friend). Needless to say, by the end of our meal I was stuffed. After quickly paying we ran to the "Bataille des fleurs", a crazy traditional parade in celebration of Carnaval. The name Bataille des fleurs comes from the fact that flowers (fleurs) are thrown at the guests in plentiful amounts. The flowers, aromatic yellow sprigs called mimosas, are collected in great bunches by local women to be used as table center pieces. The parade was absolutely amazing, and our admission had been paid by CEA in advance. Though we didn't get bleacher seats, we enjoyed every minute from the sidewalk on the Avenue des Anglais, the Mediterranean shining in the background. The "Bataille" was full of intricate costumes, hilarious crossdressers and immaculate floats and balloons. See photos.
After the parade we had just enough time to see the famous fountains in the town center, get caught up in a student-led demonstration/riot, and get slightly ripped off buying some gummy candy. (Did you know: Haribo candy company, known for gummy bears and other gummy things, is based out of Marseille? It's all the rage here) Caught the bus around 5pm and were swept off for an evening in Monte Carlo.
Though the bus driver got lost and it took longer than expected, we eventually made it to Monte Carlo with just an hour or so to get ready for dinner at the Cabaret theater. With required attire of no sneakers, no sandals and no jeans, we went out in dresses and heels only to walk about 25 minutes up a hill to the casino. As it was dark, I didn't get a great view of Monte Carlo on the way to dinner except for the silhouettes of gigantic yachts in the immaculate harbor. Also, Monte Carlo is absolutely the cleanest city I have ever seen. There are security cameras everywhere as well as police, which makes it seem very eerie and very safe at the same time. The streets were oddly deserted for a Saturday night: we saw only 10 or so people on our walk up the hill. Once we reached the casino, I understood why. Nightlife in Monte Carlo consists entirely of gambling and cabarets: you must be rich to play there. Dinner was great: four courses including delicious pesto soup and creme caramel with flambeed bananas (Jada would've loved it...) Then there was a show after dinner called "From Broadway to Monte Carlo". It was very entertaining: songs from many different broadway classics including "Mamma Mia" and "We Will Rock You", as well as some Riverdance and lots of half naked women. It was really amusing if a little bit contrived. After the show we hit the town. Weather: pleasantly mild. Played a few slots at the casino, something I needed my mom for as I had no idea how to play. Then we went to the "American style bar" suggested by CEA as it was the only thing open past midnight. It was packed, but relatively lame with loud 90s American music and 7 euro beers. I went home relatively early to our hotel, just 3 blocks from the port.
Woke up at a decent hour for breakfast the next morning and realized the view from our hotel window was actually spectacular: we could see the port, the yachts, sailboats and the Med. Our hotel was actually relatively ghetto, but I can imagine it was not cheap considering the city. After a huge breakfast of the typical croissants, bread, jam and nutella, a few friends and I headed out. We only had until 1:30 to be tourists. First we went to see the port in daylight, then went to a few minutes of Catholic mass at a beautiful church. Then we discovered the cleanest, most amazing looking train station I've ever seen. It was at the top of one of the cliffs, and had an amazing view of the sea. In case anyone doesn't know, Monte Carlo is extremely "cliffy". EVERYTHING is built on cliffs, and one must either ascend windy, zig zag roads or climb beaucoup de stairs to get around. After some exploration, we went to the Palais Princier for the changing of the guards at noon. Very cool, of course, with the rifles, drums and uncomfortable looking uniforms. Similar to Buckingham Palace. I spent the rest of the day at the aquarium/oceonographic museum, which is breathtaking both outside and in. I took lots of fish pictures: see attached.
A short and windy bus ride after Monte Carlo we landed in Eze at the Fragonard perfume factory. We took a short tour where we learned that there are only 120 "noses", or scent testers, in the world. Apparently being a "nose" is a quite lucrative profession preceeded by 7 years of schooling and consisting of just 2-3 hours of sniffing per day. "Noses" cannot drink alcohol, smoke cigarettes or eat spicy foods as a prerequisite to their job. We saw the workroom of the nose, with tiny glass bottles of over 250 different scents, from ylang-ylang to vanilla, and fleur d'oranger to lavander. We also saw the soap presses and the machines that mix the face creams, as the Eze factory specializes in soaps and lotions rather than perfume. After the tour we were left in the "showroom" to try out smells and decide on purchases. Overwhelmed by all the variety, it took me and some friends 1.5 hours to choose our souvenirs, and we walked out of there with headaches, large shopping bags and light wallets. :) We had very little time before we had to board the bus to Aix, so we grabbed some quick crepes in the medieval village and were on our way.
WOW!! I know it was a long entry, but SO much to talk about in such little time. What a blast of a weekend. Now it's back to the grind for a few more days, then a week long break on the horizon.
A few last minute random thoughts:
- I have never seen so many people exercising at one time (running, jogging, biking) as I saw in Nice on the beachfront promenade. It was amazing, inspiring and overwhelming all at once.
- Monacans speak an interesting mix of French, Italian and English. The locals all look Italian to me (tall, dark and handsome types). Monaco (the principality) only has about 30,000 residents, many of whom probably have links to the Grimaldi Dynasty. The streets of Monaco are very well kept, and police men are stationed at most corners to ensure that no one jaywalks or otherwise interrupts the flow of this eerily utopian society.

Last Monday I began my school routine that will stick throughout the semester. I am taking 16 hours of class in French, of course, 10 of which are required grammar/lab/speech classes. On top of those, I have a theater class (my favorite so far), a French novel class, and a politics class. As I am a new student jumping into classes that have been taught since October, it is a little hard getting used the structure here. Most classes started off with teachers handing back previous assignments and referring to previous lessons: something that might take a little getting used to. I must admit, getting up to go to class here is just as difficult for me as it is at CU, but I manage. I only have classes Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, so can't complain too much.

Thursday was a Catholic holiday called Chandeleur, the day Baby Jesus was presented in the temple 40 days after his birth. It is celebrated by a procession of the faithful holding candles blessed and lit at the church. If the candles are successfully brought home without the flame dying, prosperity and successful harvest are in the future of the holder. It is French custom to make and eat crepes on this day, as it is said that crepes were served to pilgrims along their journeys home. So, of course, we followed suit. We had a crepe party in my apartment with 6 to 8 people. On the menu: cheese crepes with tomatoes and herbes de Provence, cheese and chicken crepes with thyme (for the meat eaters) and nutella and banana crepes for dessert. It was a delicious feast. Another ritual which we adhered to is that of holding a coin while making the crepe. If one can flip the coin and the crepe at the same time and catch both while making a wish, that wish will come true. We had a few mishaps, but most of us rocked the hand eye coordination.
After a long week of classes, my first test and lots of confusion, I had a brilliant weekend. Friday was devoted to hiking Mount Sainte Victoire with a few friends. Mt. Sainte Victoire, as can be seen in the attached photos, is absolutely gorgeous. It is a large, grey, "cliffy" mountain that seems to stand alone in the middle of the flat, rolling hills of Provence. We caught the early bus at 8:45 and took a short ride through the misty country side. We arrived at our starting point about 9:00, all a little carsick from the windy mountain roads. Though worried that we hadn't packed enough clothes, as we could see our breath in the air, we trekked up the trail. Along the way, we saw lots of crosses and other religious statues. Though our goal was to make it to the top of Mt. Sainte Victoire, where there is a chapel and cross, we soon found out that we had gotten off the bus on the wrong side of the mountain. We ended up walking the length of the mountain, discovering a cave, resting for "cigarette" cookies on the edge of a cliff, and getting lost. At one point we had absolutely no idea where we were, and those less seasoned hikers actually began to pray for our safe return to flat ground. It's funny: it's times like that when true colors shine through. I learned alot about my friends. After much back and forth motion, a bit of cliffhanging and some serious rock climbing (without gear, mind you) we made it back to the trail and inquired with two French women how to reach the road in order to catch the bus back to Aix. Total time hiking: 7 hours. Sorest body part: ankles (I was wearing street Pumas with no support).
Saturday was a relaxing day, as we were all a bit weary and sore from hiking, and since we had skiing to look forward the following day. I spent my day first at the weekly market held near the Palais de Justice in the Place des Precheurs. As I've mentioned before, Aix is a market town. There are markets of some sort every day of the week. But Saturday is special: that's the day when booksellers, pottery throwers and soap makers come from all corners of Provence to sell there wares. I took many photos, though I purchased only food: a sack of sun-dried tomatoes for 2 euro, a log of goat cheese for 5, a courgette, or zucchini, for a couple centimes. After hours sifting through everything from clothing to Indian spices to bowls of lavender, two friends and I headed to a "patisserie" for cafe and chocolat chaud. I later bought free weights at the "Decathlon", an extensive and surprisingly cheap sporting goods store here in Aix. I figured 14 euro worth of free weights and the use of free hiking and running trails is a worthwhile alternative to the 220 euro gym pass offered by my school.
Sunday started early: myself and 7 other girls woke at 5 am and caught the ski bus to Vars at 6. After three hours of windy roads on the top floor of a double decker bus, we arrived at Vars. Our ski package through a local student travel agency included a great reduction on rentals: 12 euro for skis, boots and poles. For anyone who knows me, I haven't skiied since I was about 12. First stop: the bunny hill. And let me tell you how different a "bunny hill" is in the Alps as compared to Purgatory. It was actually quite steep, and I was charged with helping our three novices down as I was one of the "experienced". Pretty hilarious. Though I didn't fall all day, a few friends had some pretty severe wipeouts. After an hour of the bunny hill, two girls and I headed off on our own for the more "advanced" blue runs. We had an absolute blast. The scenery was breathtaking and I actually picked skiing up pretty fast. Though I would be horrible in comparison with my brother-in-law or my dad, I looked almost professional around my friends. Funny how things are all relative. After a long day skiing we rendez-voused at the base for "chartreuse vert" spiked hot chocolate, then caught the bus home. (Which was an hour late). Arrived back in Aix at about 9:45pm, and I was out cold in my bed by 11pm.
Now it's back to the grind of school again. A little stressful since I am also in the process of planning multiple trips: Carnaval de Venise in late February, Morocco in April and possible Corsica and Sardinia towards the end of school. Next weekend is reserved for Nice and Monte Carlo, a weekend trip preplanned (and paid for) by CEA. I can't wait. Until then...