Au Revoir

24 Posts later, and I'm back in The United States of America.

It's been 1 month and 5 days since I left Aix, and my life has become way too normal. Nannying 9-5 and then waitressing at nights and on weekends, it's sometimes hard to remember that I spent 5 months of my life living in the South of France.

Life in America pretty much smacked me in the face. I landed at 8:30 pm on the 4th and started nannying at 8 am on the 5th. I was spun around so quickly that I didn't have time to reflect on my life back in France or process the change. I became so busy with work and with putting my life back together in the States that there were times I almost forgot that I had spent 5 amazing months galavanting around Europe. It wasn't until I couldn't find words when somebody asked me how my experience was or until I noticed how many Blonds there are up here in the Midwest that I realized France had truly affected me.

It also isn't until I look at photos from my trip or try to paint a picture of what it's like walking down the cobblestone streets that I'm brought back to the market and to the park and to the cafés. It isn't until I forget the English word for something and can only think of the French word that I miss the language. And as pessimistic as it sounds to say that I don't miss France until I'm reminded of it, the point is that I miss it. And when I do, it's more than just a fond memory. It's a gut-wrenching longing.

I miss the musty smell of my 17th century apartment.
I miss the fountain, the tree, and the grass-spotted cobblestones in my courtyard.
I miss the way people dress.
I miss the aisle in the grocery store dedicated to cheese.
I miss the line out the door of the Boulangerie every day at noon.
I miss the 4 flights of stairs I had to climb to get to my friend's apartment.
I miss the stupid tour groups and how I felt like a local because they drove me so crazy.
I miss walking into a store and - without missing a beat - saying "Bonjour" or "Bonsoir" to the owner.
I miss the way that by the end of the trip, if something didn't happen the way it was planned, I would roll my eyes and say "France..."
I miss the little old ladies and their dogs.
I miss the man at the market who sold me my broccoli and told me I was his favorite customer.
I miss the way that the smell of Herbs de Provence would fill my apartment every time I cooked with them.
I miss the colorful doors.
I miss the fountains.
I miss hating the cobblestones.
I miss sitting outside at a coffee shop, sipping on a Café au Lait and feeling the warm sun on my face.
I miss being able to take the bus to the beach.
I miss how proud I felt when a French man believed me when I told him I was French.

But most of all, I miss how whenever I was away on a trip, I couldn't wait to get back to Aix.

Although there are several things that I missed while I was in Europe (efficiency, having a car, deodorant, filter coffee, produce that lasts for more than 4 days, etc.), and although I'm very happy to have them back in my life, there will always be a special place in my heart for Rue Sallier, for Cours Mirabeau, for Jacob's Patisserie, for Le Marché à Place des Prêcheurs, for Le Scat, for Parc Jourdin, for Monoprix, for Papilles, and DEFINITELY for Crêpes-a-Go-Go :)

Overall, I'm very glad to be back in my homeland, but it will never be "too soon" for me to return to Aix-en-Provence.


Au Revoir!

Sisters Take Over Aix

Taking Madie back to Aix was one of the most bizarre experiences I've ever had. The fact that the first time Madie landed at the MP2 airport and took the Navette into the city center was the last time I would be doing the was the ultimate paradox that I could not wrap my head around. It was also the beginning of the end; the last 6 days in the city that had been my home for the past 5 months; the time when I would be saying goodbye to the friends with whom I shared an experience of a lifetime; and the time to put all 5 of my senses in high gear as I tried to memorize every scent, taste, touch, sound, and sight of the city that I had fallen in love with. 

It was also the time to check off those last things that remained on my Aix To-Do list. First stop: Cézanne's studio.

At the beginning of my blog adventure, I wrote about Paul Cézanne; the painter that grew up, studied, and painted in Aix. Now it was finally time to rekindle my fascination with him and visit the one place where he got his inspiration.

Now, I wasn't allowed to take pictures of the inside of the studio, but it was definitely interesting to see where he found his genius. And the coolest part about the studio was that it's supposed to be set up practically the way he left it, so you really get the feeling that you're connecting with the artist he was at one point. 

While I was on the property, I decided to get in touch with my inner-artist. 

I call this one Watering Can Sits on Rock.

While we were in the studio, we learned that if you walk up the road, you can travel to the hill where Cézanne used to stand and get the best views of Monte St. Victoire. We couldn't resist :)

Kind of tough to see here because of the clouds, but if you look dead-center, you can make out Monte St. Victoire (it makes a much bigger impression in person, I promise).

Zoomed in.

Next thing on my list was to make it to the top of Monte St. Victoire. I had kind of muddled around the base of it earlier in the semester, but I wanted to reach the cross at the top.

So on June 3rd; my last day in France, Madie and I took the bus to the base of Monte St. Victoire and began our climb. 

Croix de Provence (Cross of Provence): 2h 15

Madie and I were in a bit of a hurry because we had a dinner date with a good friend of mine that night, so instead of casually meandering up to the summit, we booked it. We made it up in 1h45, and I swear - it was a tough hike. Huge boulders - the size of two steps of stairs that you have to take over and over and over again. Imagine taking stairs 2 at a time for almost 2 hours. For one of the first times in my life, I was thanking God for the overcast. 

Finally we made it to the monastery! 

Of course the only running water up there was "pas potable" or "not drinkable."

After the monastery, there's a steep 15 minute hike up the actual summit of the mountain, where the cross is. It was insane to think that I was finally fulfilling something I had been wanting to do since the first time I had heard about (8 months ago).

We made it!!!

Aix is down there somewhere...

HI from Monte St. Victoire!

After climbing the mountain, Madie and I had worked up quite the appetite. And in perfect timing since we were going out the this Fondue restaurant with my best French friend. Seeing as it was my last night in Aix, we figured to go all out - ordered cocktails AND wine. And we even went the extra mile and got Cheese, Meat, AND Chocolate Fondue! It was an absolutely divine meal, and obviously made a statement on my experience since it's being mentioned in my blog.

Cheesin with our Melted Cheese :)

After our wonderful meal, I was forced to say a very bizarre and unreal goodbye to my friend. Julie was the type of girl who would drop anything for you if you needed her. She was always up for an adventure, and was beyond excited to show me her world in France. Why she decided to spend her time hanging out with some weird American girl, I have no idea, but I'm so blessed to have had her in my life :)

On our walk home, I could not allow myself to leave this city without crossing yet another thing off the list: I needed to jump into one of the fountains.

It's strictly forbidden to get into the fountains, but I had nothin' to lose seeing as I was leaving for the U.S. the following day. So. In I went :)

I don't really have the words to express how I feel about leaving my beloved Aix, so I'm just going to finish this post the only way I know how.

À Très Bientôt, Aix :)

À Très Bientôt!

Sisters Take Over Vatican City

Landing in Rome, I immediately fell back in love with Italy. It had only been a couple weeks since I had last been there, but man did I miss it. 

A lot of the things that we did were things that I had already done during my first trip to Roma, so this trip was primarily about showing my sister all the cool things I had learned the first time around. However, the one thing I didn't get to do on my first trip to Rome, I made sure to check off the list this time.

So Mad and I decided to head to The Vatican to see Michaelangelo's The Sistine Chapel.

On our way up to St. Peter's Cathedral, Madie and I did something I thought I would never do: We fell for one of the guided tours. And honestly, it wasn't all that bad. We got a guide, and a speedy entry into the Vatican, and it only cost us about 15€. Here are some pictures from our tour:

Some globe art thing that some guy did

The ceilings were amazing

Where Madie and I saw real-life example of "trompe l'oeil" which means "trick the eye" - a style of painting that appears to be 3D because of the very detailed shading technique

A very impressive painting in the Vatican Museum

A shot of St. Peter's Cathedral from the Vatican

Now don't think that just because I don't have any pictures of it that I didn't make it into the Sistine Chapel to check out the beautiful paintings - I did, you're just not allowed to take pictures while you're in there. It's kind of ironic, because the Chapel is indeed just that - a chapel that's used only by the Pope. It's a sacred place and should be treated that way by those who are inside; AKA silence. However! The guards who are in the chapel have no problem shouting at the top of their lungs when they spot somebody trying to sneak pictures of the ceiling. And I'll tell ya. Scares the daylights out of you.

Although the Vatican tour was definitely not the only thing we did while in Roma, I won't bore you with the details since it'll include a lot of the same things I've already written about.

So for now,

Ciao from Roma

Sisters in Piazza de la Repubblica :)

À Bientôt!