Well, I've been in Aix-en-Provence, France for five days now, though it seems like much longer. I had flawless travels, which I was very surprised by and grateful for due to my solo flight history. The flight was not full at all, so I was able to move from my aisle seat next to a strange man and take over a two seat row next to a window. I was quite pleased with my ability to spread out, and with my choice of seat, as I positioned myself near a very attractive French man across the aisle. He won my heart by offering me his peppermint brownie when he was finished with his meal. I managed to sleep for quite a bit of the flight in various positions and arrived in Brussels, less than bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, but ready to check-in for my next flight. There was a bit of confusion with how I had checked in with Cleveland, but I got my boarding pass with plenty of time to spare, and with enough time to bump in to Mr. Brooding Frenchie again as he lamented his long layover. He was also headed to Marseille, but at 1:05 pm, as opposed to my 9:25 am flight.
I quickly found a CEA representative after I exited the plane in Marseille and was taken away to my living destination: Chez M. & Mme. Chaudansson. The 14 year old son, Mathieu, and Mme. Chaudansson greeted me, helped me lug my bags up to my “penthouse suite,” and then fed me. I live on the third floor of their beautiful home. There is a pool and garden out front and three levels of simply decorated house. My housemate Kim lives on the ground floor across from the kitchen. Then family lives on the second floor, and I live in a room on the third floor. I have my own bathroom up here, and only share the upstairs with a weight room.
Things have been moving pretty quickly since I arrived. On my program there are 37 students, and we've been in and out of Orientation activities all week. We've had meet-and-greets, free dinners, placement exams, cultural talks, city tours, etc. The city of Aix is so charming. Le Centre-Ville is full of midevil, twisty, turny streets lined with Cafes, Bakeries, Markets, etc. It has a really thriving scene for people my age due to the three French universities in town, and the plethora of study abroad programs here. Aix is also called "the city of one thousand fountains." Though I haven't found one thousand, there really are lots of fountains
I don't really have many pictures of Aix yet, thought today I snapped about 200 hundred pictures during a group excursion to Isle Sur La Sorgue, Fontaine De Vaucluse, and Gordes - all in the Luberon region of France.
Isle Sur La Sorgue is known for it's antique shops - 300 permanent antique dealers. We were able to shop around the street markets today for antiques and food. The city is surrounded by the river Sorgue and there are many picturesque "roues" or water wheels.
Fontaine De Vaucluse is a medieval village tucked in a "closed valled." At the base of the cliffs a deep pool of seemingly still water is actually a full-fledged river gushing up from the ground. It was truly gorgeous, and not something I expected to find in Southern France. It was quite chilly while we were there and I couldn't imagine how cold it was for the kayak racers who were competing.
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