A Lifetime

     Dearest Readers,
     Nerd Alert: you know when Spock does his Vulcan mind meld and he can read your thoughts and experiences? That's what I wish I could do for you and my past few days. It's nearly impossible to attempt to explain to you all the things I've done and seen in the past eight days. But I'll attempt the impossible. First off, let me give you a list of places I've been in eight days. Ready? Bordeaux, Toulouse, Nice, Monaco, Cannes, and Eze. Yup. That's not a lie. I've been traveling like a mad person. Here's how this blog post will go. I'll post pictures and write descriptions by the pictures of the place, etc. Buckle in.
First off: Bordeaux:

This was a local book sale in the downtown square of Bordeaux. I ended up buying the a book in French by Orwell. I'm excited to read it! The first day we got there (to the hostel and Bordeaux) it was night and we met some incredible people. The next day, Sandra, Katherine, I and two guys we met at the hostel toured the city with us.





This was a public garden in Bordeaux. There was a place where the trees were surrounded by these men with the names of famous people. I believe that I could spend days by these little tree men :)

 These are two monuments that, of course, have history but all Bordeaux drips with history. But we couldn't be too serious in Bordeaux so we stopped at a playground and enjoyed the sew-saw!

 So, we saw churches, walls, ruins, and other buildings that originated as far back as the 4th century. Can you believe that? Left: an ancient church and part of it (not pictured here) has a crypt! So, first day in Bordeaux: walked around and visited the lovely sites.

Left above: The Grosse Cloche
 Right above: old Gothic church
Right below: Pont Pierre 

Above left: a church with a 4th century crypt!

   Right: a band from a gypsy festival which I went to! They were called the String Swing and were amazing. Seeing the gypsy culture alive and thriving in this type of setting was beyond cool. Their culture as a nomadic group was evident in how they lived life and didn't sweat the little things.

 Okay, I want to tell you some about the people I met at the hostel (two in particular). Chris: he was a 29-year old German traveling around Europe by hitch-hiking. We hung out the first day together and I have to say, his view point and relaxing attitude was inspiring. Next up? Thomas: a French guy who traveled around with his friend (who practically sat in the corner of any room and stared creepily at people...no lies). He was easily the biggest chain smoker I've ever met. I thought it was ridiculous but after getting to know him a bit more, he had interesting points and was a conundrum. How you ask? He was completely living for the moment right now but he wants to do humanitarian work in Africa later on. Crazy, right? I'm so thankful that we stayed at the hostel even though I forgot my towel and had to use a t-shirt to dry off after my showers. Also, the hostel had no mirrors and only one shower. Therefore, for me, it was best to 
just embrace the fact that I was going to look like poop but I wasn't going to let that not let me enjoy myself! But meeting people from around the world? Priceless.

       

This was the second day in Bordeaux: the beach! It was gorgeous. It was, by the way, also the first nude beach I've ever been, too. Also, if it is the last nude beach I will ever be to then that is fine with me!




Toulouse: On the third day in Bordeaux, the girls and I decided to hop a car and hitchhike to Toulouse. We used a thing called Blabla car in which you ride with someone who is going to the same place. It was crazy cool to just meet random people and hitch a ride to La Ville En Rose (the pink city). Toulouse is called the Pink City because of all the bricks and when the sun sets, the bricks reflect a pink glow. We went to a church, bought a candle to light and we actually saw a church service and the priest giving communion! Seeing the church in use, the organ in use, the singing, and communion was one of the coolest things I think I've seen so far in France. Also, we went to the market then and I bartered and bought a tapestry from a African guy. 

 




















Next, we took off to Nice!

 Alright! So on the fifth day of travel, we head into Nice. As you can see, Nice is quiet nice (haha, I know, bad pun). It was a rock beach which was weird but the sound the waves made on the rocks as the waves receded was relaxing. In the photos below, you see the main square which was lit up with Buddha lights. Crazy cool! Also, the picture of fruit was a market which happens on Fridays and it was fabulous! So much fresh fruit and soap. Soap sounds strangely out of place but Nice is famous for its fragrant soap and perfumes.

 The street with the prayer flags really stood out to me. I was blown away with the vibrant colors of the city and the feeling of life. The vibe was youthful yet with such an old spirit. The group photo is the ISEP group (which is all Americans). They are some fabulous people and a big shout out to them for making this trip awesome.





Eze: 
     First off, Eze is a city from Medival times. Also, it was my favorite thing from my trip to Nice. The city is mounted on a hill and as you walk, you wind up through narrow roads and imagine life hundreds upon hundreds of years ago. You imagine knights, peasants, royalty all living upon this hill top.

   











                   Most of these pictures are taken from the top of the city. The feeling I got when looking out over the town was such a mixture of emotions. I was thrilled to be seeing history and nature combined in such a gorgeous combination. Yet then I started to think about how hard life must of been back then for so many of the people. If you weren't royalty or a knight, you were poor and struggling to survive. And then, of course, my sociology major kicked in and I started to realize that life is still like that today. But I've been incredibly blessed to be born in America and furthermore into a family which could afford me an education and so much more.

Alright! Enough of the emotional stuff now, I'm sure that random people who stumble upon this blog think I'm a werido. This picture on the right is from the top of the city. Stunning, right? I know. And I was there! I wish America could preserve history in such a fashion while making use out of it! Alright folks, it's on to Monaco!










Monaco:

Alright, this is the harbor for Monaco and I have never seen so much opulence in my life. I will admit that Monaco was lovely and clean (I need to emphasize clean because it was SO refreshing to visit a clean city). However, I will now state something that, if you really know me you won't find surprising: I would not want to live in Monaco.Why? It was too rich. I saw a car that was 2 million dollars and other cars that cost (easily, at least) 1-2 million.  I got sick to my stomach that people waste (yes, waste is a strong word but it is the correct one to use) money on things like that while millions die from such simple things that could be prevented. Alright, the shaming is now done. The picture on the right is of nothing less than the Monte Carlo casino. It was luxurious out to wazoo. I felt filthy just walking on the rich carpets and with my chacos on, I could easily be spotted as the American.  Alright, on to the last stop, Cannes!



Cannes!

 Let me just say, although I'm not a big fan of beaches, this one was quiet lovely. The water was the clearest blue I've seen in such a long time. Also, for those of you (my father) who don't know, Cannes is where they hold the Cannes Film Festival. It was awesome to walk and just imagine the place full of movie stars and chill by the beach for a day! 


The photo on the left reads like: Sandra, Steven, Myself, and Guilliam. Guilliam is ISEP's trip planner. Let me tell you, I call him Smeagol because this guy is awesome and hilarious yet will pop up from no where and can sometimes weird you out.

Oh, hey there. This is the view of Cannes. Jealous yet? You know you are so don't try to fight it too hard. The city had colors galore and it made you want to just kick off your shoes and relax...which we did. 

 Alright, the last photo! This is a picture of a perfume factory in Grasse which is famous for their perfume. I got to tour the factory and smell all the scents. I learned that a perfume maker is not allowed to drink alcohol, eat spicy foods, and other such non-sense so clearly I will never be a perfume maker. Hm, oh well!





     Alright, if you've read this entire blog post then pat yourself on the bag because it was a long one! These have been my past 8 days. I promise you, as long as this post is, it is an extremely condensed version of these travels. I have met many people. I have seen many things. I have eaten and drank weird things, some good while some being not so good. I have attempted to take advantage of everything offered. So here is the one thing I feel like I have learned a bit more about: love. I know, weird. But throughout my travels, I've seen how people interact with each other and the environment. It has become abundantly clear that people need to feel loved and cared about. So, while I'm beyond thrilled to have seen history, I'm even more glad to understand a bit more about people in general because history is in the past but I can still make an impact today if I love people in the right way. Random side note: school starts on Monday!