Almost Done...?

You know I have just come to realize that I only have five more days in Lacoste!!! Where did the time go...I guess if you have read my long blog, then thats where the time went! But as I am finishing up and getting ready for the final exhibition, I have realized how much I love being here and how many new people I have come to know. I am extremely lucky to have had this chance!!! And now I cannot wait to come home, see everyone and show my pictures. I will try to keep updating my blog as I make my way across Paris and Italy...but it might be harder because I won't have constant access to a computer.

But as I spent most of my week and weekend doing homework. I have updated the crazy printmaking pictures...Click Here! and I did get one little break on Sunday and a group of us went to a poppy field to take pictures and frolic around in the sun!! It was so pretty and it was a needed break. So if you want to see pictures of that.. Click Here!

Hope things are going well for everyone! I keep posting about Vernissage and when Dad comes on Friday!

Are you there?

Okay I apologize for not having any new posts in awhile. Finals and Vernissage preparation have dominated every waking moment of my time. It just makes me sad, because I really have only one week left, and then my Lacoste experience is done :( I like it here!!! And though I miss home and friends, I know I am going to miss this too. But it was a great experience, one that I will remember for the rest of my life. And I will be back....someday....there is way too much good food and museums that I haven't seen to say that I will never come visit again. I will keep posting as often as I can or if anything interesting happens!! Right now its raining....and the snails are out walking around :)

Wow Where to start!

Okay so it was another mega fun filled weekend. And I am having trouble remembering where to begin....so I guess at the beginning would be best right?? On Thursday we had a field trip for my art history class to Roussillon. It is a small town know for its ochre quarries. Ochre is a red rock and that gives many red/brown, and orange paint its pigment. Or rather ochre is the pigment used when you want these colors. So when you drive up to the town you are immediately surrounded by a terracotta color; from the buildings to the roads, everything is this orange/brown/red. So we ventured into the town looking for the quarry, and instead we ran into the market. Which I love the market, so we had to stop....bad idea....I found way too many things that I liked, and needless to say couldn't possibly live without. But hey that is what traveling is for. So after the market stop, where my wallet became considerable lighter, we were off to the quarry. Now if the town is terracotta red, then the quarry is bright orange, with some yellow on the side. Ochre is by nature a very soft stone, with so many people walking on the stones everyday and chipping away pieces...the tops have this fine layer of what I call ochre sand. I found out later that this ochre sand is what is used as the pigment. Basically you take this crushed up stone and mix it with water/gum arabic/ or egg whites and you get different types of paint. In the end it was really just a bunch of red colored rocks...but I had fun AND if you touch the rock pigment you get red hands for the rest of the day...believe me I tried!! LOL

Heres Some Pictures of Roussillon

Roussillon was a fun little excursion and a prelude to a pretty fantastic weekend. On Friday it was a campus wide field trip to Aix En Provence. Basically Aix is a city. There is not any ruins in aix (pronounced like the letter "x") nor much history, its just a college town with a lot of shopping. Oh and it is where the famous painter Cezanne lived and worked from. That is probably the reason we went there...but to be honest most of Cezanne's work is not there, its in Paris. We did get to go to a museum to see some of his early less famous paintings. And they were beautiful! His paint application is just incredible, you want to touch it....and you can't! But we did see some really nice sculptures in this museum as well....and the rest of the day was ours. So as all girls do, we went shopping. I looked at shoes, souvenirs, dresses, paints, stamps and pastries. Unfortunately I only ended up with the last one...but thats okay! So in all Aix was just a laid back kind of city day. We didn't do much, but then there wasn't a whole lot we wanted to do but just walk around and people watch.

After Aix is when the fun started. The bus that was taking all the students back to Lacoste, made a little detour to drive my three friends and I back to the train station. We were headed for Nice!!!! yippie Vacation time! It was a beautiful train ride along the French Rivera around sun set and we arrived in Nice around 9:30pm. So what do good college students do in the French Rivera on a Friday night? We go out of course! No really we went in search of a beach with one wine bottle in hand to share between my four friends. And when we get to the beach guess what...every other European has the same idea...imagine that one. Anyways we got to Nice and the beach at night and enjoyed some good wine before really crashing for the night. And our hostel by the way was very nice. It was out of the old city in the new part of town, and kind of hard to get to because of a monster hill we had to climb. But it was clean and accommodating and we had quite an experience there.

The next day we decided to return to the beach and have a beach day. Naturally I did not bring a swimming suit, but I thought no matter the water is cold anyway I won't want to go swimming. Well the one day we go to the beach is the day that it gets very warm in Nice. So by noon I was looking for a swimming suit. Which by the way is not advisable in Europe let alone in Nice. The one piece bathing suit does not exist in the French Rivera... and even the ones that are claimed to be one piece, well lets just say its just easier to get a bikini. SO yes I ended up owning my first bikini ever! And it is really tiny...and I did not appreciate wearing it. My friends were very good humored and said I looked fine but I don't believe it....LOL So I ran from my beach towel into the water and froze into a Popsicle because a) the water was freezing and b) I didn't have much on anyways. And then I ran back to my towel...TAA DAA my Nice beach experience. I do have to say that i did look better than some of the other people wearing bikinis....I mean I don't look great in one, but some people just shouldn't even think about it.


Beach Pictures...Sorry No Pictures of the Bikini!

So after a couple of hours on the pebble beach we decided a trip to Monaco was the way to end the day. We changed clothes and headed to the train station. A short 30 min ride brought us right to the center of Monaco to a train station located in the middle of the mountain!!! I couldn't believe it. Then we walked out of the mountain and heard the familiar drone of race cars....we had made it to see the Formula 1 Grand Prix qualifying races...in the middle of Monaco. It was the oddest and coolest thing I had ever seen! I mean they raced down road ways...sidewalks...where ever they could fit the track in. And the spectator seats were the same, where ever the could fit the stands thats where they had them. It was amazing and the sound was just awesome! Basically we just walked around Monaco taking in as many of the sites we could. It was so pretty and clean, I didn't want to leave. I got to see the Prince's Palace on top of one of the mountain like jetties that makes the main bay. I saw the changing of the guard at the Palace and did some shopping around that area. We also stopped for crepes for dinner, I had a veggie crepe which was really delicious. Then we walked along the race track in the marina to Monte Carlo Casino, just to take a look. We didn't even got in, but we saw it and were amazed!!! It was fun too to walk on the track, we walked across the starting/Finnish line! And then it was back to the train station! We were tired! We got back to Nice having a fun filled, sore feet kind of day and just passed out.

Monaco Pictures and Videos

Sadly it was back to reality today as we caught the train home to Avignon and then a taxi to Lacoste. I realized I only have two weeks of class left and one weekend before the Exhibition!!! Aaaggg!! Freak out time! LOL The Exhibition called the Vernissage, is like our finals. So its time to hit the books again and get things done. I am sorry for such the long post, but I couldn't resist writing as much as I could remember! Enjoy the pictures...and videos!

Another Day in South Frace!

So its Wednesday! Nothing new to report, except for a busy weekend ahead and way too much work to do in the meantime. But thats okay!!! I actually enjoy doing work here...imagine that hahaha! Anyways I thought I would post some pictures tonight so for all those keeping track. I have Abbey de Senanque Pictures up! Click Here for Abbey Pics I also added a Princess to the juice box collection. I am sad to say that it was my last box, so no more princesses :( Click Here Princesses And I thought I would upload some funny pictures of my friends and I working. I have a feeling with the more work we have (and later nights) there will be more of our fun pictures!! So keep your eyes out!!LOL Crazy Photos!

I did turn in my relief prints today. I thought that they turned out okay. Not exactly what I was hoping for...but not bad...just need some more practice. My professor didn't say a whole lot about them, except for that the thinks I need to keep working on them...so I guess thats good?? But I am starting to get things together for the Vernissage... when I have some prints I will be sure to post.

Have a good night everyone...or day rather :)

Short Post

So I just thought I would thank you for reading my blog the last couple of days. I know they have been long and boring. To make up for it, this is a short post. Basically whats going on here is the weather is nice, the quarter is winding down, the Exhibition that we put on is sneaking up on everyone and we all feel like being outside, not working :) Such is Life right? Anyways, when I have something new to report, or some new pictures I will keep you updated!! Right now I am just looking forward to our field trip to Aix-En-Provence and then off to Nice!!! Catch up later <3

Pictures Posted

Hey everyone, the pictures are posted along with some videos!! Enjoy and thanks for waiting!!

Last Installment of Paris

Okay so here is the last installment of Paris. I am sorry it has taken me this long to write it all down... So its Sunday now, our last day in Paris. At 5pm we have to start heading to the train station because our train leaves at 6:42pm. We started the day off by going to Notre Dame for mass. My roommates were very nice to me and came with me to mass. It was the Gregorian Mass so though most of it was in French, a portion was in Latin. But the singing was so beautiful and it echoed off the walls just right. It was a good way to start off my Sunday. Then we ate brunch at the Sarah Bernhardt cafe. They had the best coffee in Paris, I had two cups! Next was the Museum of the Middle Ages. This was a fun museum, its not one of the main must sees in Paris, but I enjoyed it because it had many of the things I had learned about the quarter before in my Medieval Art and Architecture class. I got to see tapestries, relief ivories, the original statues that were located on Notre Dame before all their heads were cut off, original stained glass from the Middle Ages and the best of all illuminated manuscripts. The curator at this museum was amazing, he took each page of the manuscript and encased it in light plexiglass, that way you could turn the pages in the book and see all of the pictures and writings. And guess what...they really did write with gold. My professor said that it wasn't uncommon for some of the manuscripts to be complete written in gold. I didn't quite believe him, until now!!!

So after looking at icon paintings and tapestries all afternoon, we decided shopping was the way to go before we had to get to the train station. Get in as much of the city as possible before leaving. Unfortunately my one roommate started to get sick half way through our shopping expedition, so we had to cut it short and we ended up back at the hotel just killing some time before the train home. But since I had downed three cups of coffee ( I ended up having one more...opps!) I could not sit still, so I cautiously walked up a couple blocks from our hotel to burn some energy. And what did I find, but the Roman Pantheon. Well French style...It is one of their judicial buildings now, but the architecture is based on the Pantheon found in Rome. It was an unexpected find but fun nonetheless. So after 5 short days in Paris, it was time to come home to Lacoste. We caught our TGV train, which only stopped in Paris for 12 minutes!! And then we were speeding along back to Lacoste.

The last week has pretty much been recovery week. A lot of people got sick in Paris. My friend had the stomach flu for 4 days!! And I had caught a minor cold on the last day there. This week was pretty uneventful. I turned in my history paper on Thursday and gave my presentation. The paper/presentation was on the Abbey de Senanque. A little remote Abbey located in a valley where barely no one can reach them. We actually got to visit this Abbey on Tues of this week. Unfortunately the entire tour was in French, and pretty boring. So I tried to lighten my presentation, so that people wouldn't be too bored. Really the abbey is quite interesting because the complex belongs to hermetic monks. Their lifestyles are severely simple and this aspect is reflected in their art and architecture. So it was interesting to learn how they shaped the buildings and the art to fit their needs.

Anyways, yesterday I took an unexpected trip to Avignon. I wasn't really going to go because the professors were just going to take people to the train stations. But they said they were going to stop and go shopping for awhile, and that was all I needed to hear :)!! So I ended up in Avignon with 3 professors and one other students, all going shopping. It was actually a fun time! And I found a cute shirt I couldn't pass up! Its pink!!( Note for Sam: I did break down and get Wario Touched for my DS it was on sale this time and I couldn't pass it up...bad Sara!!) But that was really my week and weekend. I did promise to post some of my printmaking pieces that I have turned in for class, so that will be up today. Its all just exploring the art of printmaking since I have never done it before. But I like all my pieces. Click Here to see them!!

For the record, that crazy picture of me....it when I was trying es cargo...its actually really good surprisingly!!?

Here is pictures that go with the last post:
http://s302.photobucket.com/albums/nn109/sarapitz/Paris%20Part%203/

And here is pictures from this post, just a couple and some of my comentatry videos:

http://s302.photobucket.com/albums/nn109/sarapitz/Paris%20Part%204/

I will keep you updated on pictures and art as I can. Today's agenda...jazz festival in Apt??

Even more Paris??

Yes yes there is more to Paris....The tricky part in knowing where I left off...hmmm okay so we have done the louvre and Sainte Chapelle... So now its Friday and its museum day!! We only get two days on our museum pass, so we tried to see as many museums as possible those two days. We started off early and went to the Musee d'Orsay, which if you don't speak French, its all good, because this museum houses the best display of Impressionist painters of the 19th Century. Everyone who is anyone is at this museum. Monet, Manet, Van Gogh, Renoir, Degas, Cassatt, Surat, Pizarro. You name it they have it and I loved every minute we spent in that museum. My favorite were the Degas ballerinas (go figure right :))

After a wonderful lunch of tuna on toast, a French delicacy (LOL) It was off to the Opera house with my friend Megan. We walked down to the Louvre and took a roundabout way of getting there, but we found it at last. This is the Opera House where the Phantom of the Opera is based off of. Apparently the Opera House is built on stanchions because there is a water level problem underneath it. But as we walked into the grand opera, the first thing you see is gold...and the next thing you see is the grand staircase...the same staircase where they sing Masquerade....It was beautiful and mind blowing. We got to walk around and see where the orchestra sits and where the people enter into the box seats, very very fancy. Unfortunately we couldn't go into the auditorium because they were practicing on a ballet. But I sneaked a peak and saw dancers practicing on the stage...they were amazing!! Also in this Opera House there is a hall of mirrors. And it is totally gilded in gold. Even the curtains have gold embroidery work on them. It was very shiny, bright and elegant. I could imagine people in the 1900s climbing the beautiful stairs in their long dresses and fans, top hats and coat tails. A beautiful place to visit.

Then around dinner time it was back to the museums...now its time for contemporary art. The best place for contemporary art in Paris is the Pompidu Center. Where the building is basically a work of art. This was an interesting display. I am not really into contemporary art or installation pieces, but I did have a good time trying to figure out where the artists come from and what they are trying to say given what they have on display. There were some classics here that were a must see. I saw Kandinsky's paintings, I saw some Picasso's (nothing real famous) I saw Mondrian, Miro, Braques, and Duchamp. I saw the urinal that supposedly is a work of art...and I laughed! So I saw what I needed to see and then called it quits, my feet were tired that night. We finished off the day by treated ourselves to a good dinner. I ate raw meat on a salad...it was interesting...My main course was better, chicken with a sauce that was to die for. Then as a stroke of genius by my roommates, we decided to go into the Louvre for an hour on our way home. I wasn't so keen on this idea, but I played a good sport. And I saw more amazing art!!! (Flemish and Danish paintings before the renaissance....beautiful!!!) So all in all a packed but good day.

The next day was a little bit more relaxed. We only had one thing planned, to go to the Pietit Palais to see an exhibition on Goya prints. Goya is a fairly well known artist. He is one of the best print makers in art history, though his subject matter is a little terrifying. But he lived through a time that wasn't the best and it is understandable why his art is so disturbing. The Goya exhibit was a good choice, I got to see the progression of his art. And they had some really good in process works, which you never find with artists. They would have his sketches displayed, where his influence could have came from, the actual copper plate and then the finished print. Most of his prints are copper etchings, but there were a couple of Lithograph pieces as well (those were my favorite) After a morning of Goya, we crossed over the Bridge of Alexander III, which is a famous for being built for the Czar of Russia. It is also the Bridge at the end of the Anastasia movie, and they did a good job re creating it for the animation. It was a beautiful bridge. Then it was off to the Champ Eylsees for some shopping! Or rather looking. The most expensive street of shopping in Paris the Champ Eylsees was the funniest thing to see. They had every brand name store I could think of. I couldn't believe it!!! I went into the Disney store, because it was the only place I felt I could walk into and feel like I could afford something, even though I didn't buy anything. So it was a great walk down the Champ Eylsees and I got to look at the Triumphal Arch on the way down.

The rest of the afternoon I went shopping by myself. None of my roommates are of the shopping nature, but I had stumbled on a 3 building mall that was by the Opera House, that I just couldn't pass up! I had to go and visit. I was overwhelmed being in this mall...it was almost 8 floors!!! But I had fun looking at all the crazy fashions, makeup, stockings, and shoes!!! Oh man the shoes....if only I knew the word for narrow in French....I really do need to figure out how to say that :) But I did end up with a pair of earrings and they are really cute. I will make sure to wear them and take a picture!!

So the afternoon was my shopping expedition, and for our last night in Paris....it was off to the Eiffel Tower and to dinner. But I will give you a rest from reading, and my fingers from typing and I will post more later...including pictures!!

I just updated photos...here they are:

http://s302.photobucket.com/albums/nn109/sarapitz/Paris%20Part%201/


And here are some more: Hopefully a video too:

http://s302.photobucket.com/albums/nn109/sarapitz/Paris%20Part%202/

And I promise another update on the Paris trip tomorrow. I am just really tired and I have a presentation and paper due in the morning. After tomorrow at noon, I am free to write as long as I can :)

More Paris

Okay continuing from the earlier post... The next day, which was Thursday, I got my first taste of the museum scene in Paris. We went to the mega museum the Louvre!!! And I loved it. I could spend months in that place! So may originals that I have studied time and again right in front of my face. I was so overwhelmed, I didn't know what to do with myself. I saw things like the Mona Lisa, Winged Victory, Early Christian Art Icons, David (Early french painter), Italian Art. I just couldn't believe what I was looking at!! After drooling over the masters, I had a quick lunch and I met one of my professors at Notre Dame. See most of the students had the mornings and nights free and then scheduled field trips throughout the morning and afternoon. But since my major was not actually in Lacoste, I had no scheduled time except the main museums. I was free!! Anyways I met my history professor because we were going to Sainte Chapelle.

Sainte Chapelle, the chapel of light, as it is referred to in the history books was an interesting visit. It is now located in the center of the liberty courtyard. So there is heavy security to get to it. But after mustering our way through all the people waiting in line to get their drivers licence renewed and taxes appealed, we arrived at the chapel of light. Sainte Chapelle was originally built as a chapel to King Louis IX and he held services and concerts there. Lets just say I can see why!!! I walked into this tiny chapel, and was overwhelmed by colors. The colors came from the light reflecting off the stain glass windows!! The walls are non existent in this space, the structure is made entirely of stained glass! To say that it was beautiful is an understatement, so the only thing I can say was that it was magnificent. Then to put the cherry on the ice cream sunday, we found out there was a violin concert that night in the chapel and they still had tickets. So my professor and I bought a couple and decided to come back later.

In the mean time, to burn some daylight hours, I decided to return to Notre Dame for a tour and to climb the towers. The main church was just exquisite. I mean I have studied this church multiple times, especially for its unique transfer between styles because it took so long to build. But I was blow away with the massiveness of the space!! It was huge. And the rose windows were something else entirely. I have never see such detail on such a huge scale. I could have sat there for hours just looking at the once rose window...and there are three of them. I also got to climb the 500 stairs to the very top of Notre Dame. Let me tell you the way up the winding narrow stair case was nothing....the way down however was the scariest thing I have ever experienced. I was dizzy and wondering if it was ever going to end. But the view from Notre Dame was inspiring. You can see all of Paris from the top. And you also get to see the gargoyles which are pretty fantastic as well as terrifying!!! I also saw the big bells the towers use to ring in the hours. They are massive!! So everything fits. A massive space with massive bells and creepy gargoyles what more could you want right???

I made it to the bottom just as my shaky legs gave out. I decoded to sketch the cathedral so I had ample time to rest my legs. Then it was back to Sainte Chapelle for the violin concert. And it was breathtaking. I think I sat on the edge of my seat the entire 2 hours. There were 2 violins players, 1 viola and 1 chelo players and the soloist. They played Vivaldi's Four Seasons and Mozart's Nocturnes. And I just sat there entranced for the whole thing!!! I think it was the best thing I did in Paris, besides the great museums. Surrounded by illuminated glass and gold and hearing the echoing music was just heavenly. I really had a good time.

And after that I went to bed. Exhausted after a busy day. And unfortunately thats all I going to write about now. I will tell the next part of the story tomorrow....I am going to try to post some pictures and possibly some videos. Enjoy!!

Paris!!

So the reason I haven't blogged in awhile is because I was in Paris, without access to a computer for about five days. But let me tell you Paris was unbelievable!! I love it. And I cannot wait to go back. I have done so much in the past couple of days I really don't know where to begin. So I am just going to highlight certain things in the next couple of days, that way I don't get tired of writing and you won't get tired of reading. Because If I told you about everything, you would be reading for hours!!

For starters, we had to get up at an ungodly hour on Wed to catch our TGV train in Avignon. But I got to see the sunrise over the valley, and that was something to see!! I found out that I love to travel by TGV train. Its fast, clean and you get to watch the countryside go by. And when I say fast I mean fast!! We had three minutes to board the train!!! That was all the time it was parked for and then it was off to Paris.

Our hotel was in the Latin quarter, just about four short blocks away from Notre Dame. And we got the top level room with a balcony :) The Latin Quarter is the tourist part of the city and there is always something go on. I got pretty good navigating this part of town and after that the metro system, which is better than even DC's metro. You can get anywhere on the Paris metro and it is so easy!!! SO what did we do first?? Lunch and after lunch?? We wandered around until we got lost and had to find our hotel again, so we could reorient. Before dinner we had to take a peak at Notre Dame!!! It was right there, why not right? We got there when the sun was setting and it was heavenly! After a quick bite, we explored the night life of Paris and ended up in a Piano Bar. A very nice little nook with live music mostly in French. It was a nice spot to end the day and have a glass of wine (which was the best I have ever had :))

Princess Fun

Okay, so I don't have a lot to blog about today. But there are somethings I had to share with everyone. First here is a link to a video of the sidewalk arts festival (if anyone is interested) that my teacher put together. He likes to make video montages about our time here, so this is just one of many. And I am briefly in it!! I have on a black SCAD sweatshirt and a blue Nike hat...so look for me :)!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GaKhUhJy8Gs

In other news, I did turn in some prints today for my printmaking class and the critique went fairly well. I also got my first prints back so I will try to photography them and post them as soon as I can.

And the best news of all, when I went to Apt this weekend I forgot to say that I went to local grocery store, with the intention of just buying some bottled water and soap. Well instead I came by these wonderful little juice boxes that were bright pink. As I looked closer at them, I noticed they had Disney princess on them and they were a pink fruit punch. Well I couldn't pass that up!!! So I have been taking pictures of them as I drink them and I thought you might like to see them....I thought they were sooo cute! Its a Sara moment you know??? LOL

Click Here for Princess Juice!


Have a good afternoon and I will see you all in Paris!!

Updates

So I am sorry I need to update you all on what has happened in the past couple of days. There was not a lot going on this weekend, but a lot of little things made the weekend special. Lets start with Friday. On Friday morning I went to the corkscrew museum. Now I know what your thinking, corkscrew museum, its like the paperweight museum once you see one, you have seen them all. But this was actually pretty cool... They have the oldest French corkscrew all the way up to stainless steel ones that you can purchase. My favorite corkscrews were the ones that had dual purposes, like someone put a corkscrew into a handel of a walking cane, or a tiny little hand gun, or a pen....ect. It was so funny. Another reason we went to this museum is because the man who owns it is in contract with the students at Lacoste this quarter. We are all eligible to submit a poster for this museum. The winner receives 1000 euro which is a nice reward. So we all wanted to go to the museum to know what we were designing the poster for.

Unfortunately the weather turned really nasty in the afternoon. It was rainy and windy and horrible. A nice afternoon to be inside and write my art history paper. (And I was a good student and did just that...hahaha) On Saturday the day started out relatively nice again. I went into Apt in the morning with my friends to the market and the store. It was a fun little side trip. The market is my favorite part of Apt, because they have everything!! And there is so much to see, smell and buy, I can never decided what to do first :) But this time I had my wits about me, and I bought some local honey....actually it was lavender honey, and it was amazing!! My student rep. Brett told me that if I liked honey, I needed to try the local Lavender flavor, and I am so glad I did!!! I also bought strawberries right off the stand. They are the best biggest, reddest (is that a word?) strawberries I have ever had. They were sweet and juicy and my roommates and I ate them all in two days!!

After Apt, I finished my paper and took a walk through the valley with my friend Nicole. It was a great walk, since it has been miserable all week. We ran into two couples who were walking in the valley too. It was very funny because we had the greatest French/English conversation ever. I figured out that they have a summer house in Lacoste and they love it here. They asked about our school and what we wanted to do after we graduated and where in the US we were from. It was very cute and they tried so hard to speak English, and we tried so hard to speak French.

Sunday was sidewalk arts festival, Lacoste style. I prayed all day and night for no rain!!! We were supposed to get nasty weather today, and everyone in the village had worked so hard to make chalk and organize everything, I did not want it to be cancelled on account of rain!! But luckily the day dawned bright and WINDY!!! I walked outside and it was the first time in my life, I thought I was going to be blow over the balcony!!! It was scary, if it wasn't light out, I would have thought I was stuck in a tornado!! Sidewalk arts was fantastic! All of the village showed up for it and many people also came from surrounding areas. The judges were three local French artists. I decided to do the chef Gusteau from Ratatoullie. I thought he would be a cute character to do. I think he turned out very nice considering we were not working on sidewalks but rocky asphalt. (Everywhere else is cobblestone except for one main road and the parking lot...so thats where the festival was) Almost all the kids knew exactly who it was and even some of the French locals too. So that made me happy. It was collectively decided that I won the children's choice award (this wasn't a real award) because they all liked my square :) There were a lot of amazing pieces and I am going to post pictures here in a bit that way you can see what went on. Though French judges have there own ideas about what is "art", it was still a good day.

Right as we were packing up the sky turned black (literally within like 30 minutes!!) And the rain let loose along with the North wind, called the Mistral. (Basically the wind of the French Alps that blows into the Valley....the Mistral sucks!!) It was the worst weather since we have been here. And I holed up in the library for the rest of the day. And thats it folks, my weekend in a very large nut shell. Hope you've enjoyed!!

Here's the Pictures as promised!!

http://s302.photobucket.com/albums/nn109/sarapitz/Sidewalk%20Arts/

Mosaic World

Sorry another late post...or rather an early morning post. Yesterday was a day full of surprises. My art history class was taking a field trip to go see a local Mosacists (don't know if thats a word, but basically a person who does mosaics) studio. Jean Pierre is a man who works for the college and he also has his mosaic business on the side. Now I know what your thinking, because I was thinking the same thing...mosaics.???pretty small tiles made into pictures, not terribly interesting. Boy was I wrong! His studio was amazing. It had to have been an old barn turned into two separate viewing spaces. One is the workshop where he actually builds the pieces and the other is where he displays the finished works. The cool thing about Jean Pierre is he normally doesn't go out and buy tiles or pieces of marble or rock to make his works, he find the things he wants right from the Earth of Southern France. In particular, he looks for old pottery, marble, stone from the Roman period. Which is very prevalent in this area because it is a valley in which multiple empires have been built, one on top of the other, and on top of the other. So it is not unusual to find artifacts or pieces of rock from the Roman Empire after a heavy rain storm!

So we visited his studio and saw unbelievable art. And I am serious, I would love one these mosaics, but I am positive I could never afford them. Its interesting too how Jean Pierre works on these mosaics. Here is my short explination of it, so if your not interested in how mosaics are made, skip to the next paragraph...it won't bother me !! :) So he finds all these ancients stones and marbles and the first things he does is cut them into baguettes (I didn't know. but the French word baguette is actually not the bread...it means stick!) with a water powered diamond saw. Then he takes each baguette and places it on a hammer anvil and hammers out all the little pieces or shape that he needs. Next his design is drawn out on paper and labeled with the appropriate shapes and colors. Then he just begins to fill in the picture, like a giant coloring book. He uses wood glue to stick the tiles to the paper. If it is a large piece, sometimes he will outline each major shape with a piece of iron, (Like in stain glass making) but he has moved away from that as much as possible, because it is not aesthetically pleasing. So after all the pieces are in place and they are glues down, he sets them in a metal frame and pours about an inch of concrete on top. That way if the stones are different sizes or thicknesses the will all be flat on the bottom. After the concrete is dried, he carefully flips the design and sands away the paper. And there you have it, a mosaic table. He covers the surface of the mosaic with beeswax so that it plugs all the holes. And let me tell you it is a amazing!

We toured his working studio and all of his "portfolio pieces" and then got invited to see his house and have "pain au chocolat" (yummy chocolate mini crossaints) with tea and coffee. His house was very quaint and he has a bunch of treasures just from living in the Provence area. Like a stone necklace from the BC era and some neolithic tools. Becuase of all his hunting for old stone, he comes across some pretty interesting things digging in the ground!

The rest of my day was pretty uneventful. I am still trying to get a Barcelona trip together. It will be a short one if I decide to go, but fun none the less. I am pretty set in going to Nice and the French Rivera in three weeks. And next week we will be in PARIS!!! That is going to be a great trip and we leave on Wednesday morning, very, very, very early. Otherwise classes are going pretty well. I have a paper for art history I need to finish this weekend (crossing the fingers that I get that done) And I have a litho print due on Monday, which is coming out okay....not exactly how I would like my print to come out, but oh well. And Sunday is the first ever Sidewalk Art Festival!!! I will be posting a lot of pictures from there! Hope things are going well and I will post later after the corkscrew museum trip this afternoon!

More Pictures In:

http://s302.photobucket.com/albums/nn109/sarapitz/Mosaics/

Keep on Trucking!

Or walking since I don't have a truck. Things are going well in little Lacoste. Not much to report on, but plenty is coming up in the coming weeks. On Sunday SCAD Lacoste will have their first ever Sidewalk Arts Festival. I am super excited about it!!! I just don't quite have my subject nailed down for it yet. So if any of you have any good ideas on what you would like to see....LOL let me know.

Lets see what else is going on.....On Thursday I will be going to a local artists mosaic studio. That should be really interesting. Jean-Pierre works for the college and but is also a local mosaists (is that a word?) He digs up old Roman tiles and uses them in his works. But I will give you all the details after I see it.

Today I went to Yoga, and let me tell you it kicks my butt into shape every week. I mean I thought I was a little bit flexible considering I fence, and I danced for all those years, but wow she has us using muscles I never knew I had...hahaha. I also went to a lecture about the Louvre. And now I just want to go to Paris and go to the museum. There are so many wonderful pieces to see I don't know how I am going to choose where to go.

On that note the Paris trip is in two weeks. And then after that, there are tenative plans in the works for Barcelona!!! and after that for Nice/Monaco. But that also depends on homework. Unfortunately things have picked up in that department too, which is sad. But I guess thats why I am here right? To live Provence, learn French and eat way too much good Food! Take care all, I will update when I have things to talk about!

Late Post

Okay so this post is actually supposed to be for yesterday. I am sorry I was really tired when I got back that I fell asleep without going to the lab. I apologize.

Yesterday was an busy running around day. The plan was to go to Avignon in the morning. So I got up early, no problems there and went down to the bakery to get some breakfast. The lady is sooooo nice there and I ordered most of my meal in French. You should have seen the meringue that she bakes...is the size of my face. I had to ask her what the big white puff was, because I didn't know. HAHA So I got my Orange drink and a pastry and headed on my merry way. I had an apple for later and I wanted to grab the Rick Steves travel book from the Library before I left for Avignon. I'm walking down the street and I pass Finn's house ( which is the guy who graciously takes me to mass, he works for SCAD. Does the landscaping and odd jobs and is really nice Irishmen) So anyways I pass his house and he calls out to me to come join him and his wife Karen (who I take yoga classes from every week) for breakfast. I accepted, even though I really only had 15 minutes to spare. They were very nice to me and I had a great time talking and eating. But all of sudden I realized my bus was leaving without me!! I had three minutes to get to the top of the village!! I gave Finn my thanks before trying to sprint up the hill. I say try because you all know my running capabilities...and if you don't....well I suck! And the hill kicked my butt. SO I finally make it to the top gasping, to find my ride and all of the other students waiting for me, and who else is there but Finn. He drove his car up (1/2 min drive) to tell them to wait for me and he was planning on picking me up on the way there...but I took a different route. What a way to start the day!!

Avignon was amazing though. We had a group going, Nicole, Niel, Megan, Robert and Sandy. The first three and I decided to go to the Papal Palace. That was the main reason to go. But along the way we ran into stores. Not market buys but actual local shopping. IT was so much fun!!! We walked through the Papal Palace next. The Palace was built when there was the great schism in Rome. The Papacy decided Rome was not living up to its original standards so they moved the papal court to Avignon. Its stayed for almost 100 years before it was moved back to Rome. It had great architecture and it was fun to walk through it with the little headset on. After the palace, we met up with Robert and Sandy for lunch. It was some good French pizza and better company. After lunch Robert and Sandy went to find an art supply store, and the rest of our group went to look at the papal church and gardens. Both places were magnificent and it was warmer out so it was nice to just walk around. We also found a carousal in the middle of the town center. All of the girls wanted to ride it, and Neil was a good sport and took pictures of us. That was pretty much our day in Avignon, we did a little bit of shopping before we left, but unfortunately I only found a gelato stand...but it was good Carmel gelato anyways!!!

We got back to Lacoste a little bit later than I would have liked, because I had to so a swift change to get ready for mass. I met back up with Finn who was taking me and we drove off into the country side to find the little church. This week it was at St Pontillon. I thought the church in Leox was small...about the size of a chapel. This church was the size of two closets put together!! But it was entirely made out of stone. From the walls to the vaulted ceiling. It was an amazing feat! And the church bell was still rung by hand by a little cord that dropped down beside the door. It was so interesting to watch. After mass, Finn took me to another windmill. Last week he showed me one that sat on top of a hill in a village. This week the windmill was in the middle of a field, and a man still lived in it!!! The windmill didn't work, but it was a house all the same!! So after all my adventures I still had to work on homework. I muscled through as much as I could before I promptly went to bed! And that was my day.

Sunday had been catch up day for me. It is beautiful outside today, it makes me sad that I was stuck in doors all day. I have a paper that I wanted to get started on and my journal needed to be updated for class. Tomorrow starts another process for printmaking...who knows what will be in store. Until next time, Have a great afternoon!!

I am updating pictures as we speak

For Nimes and Pont du Gard:

http://s302.photobucket.com/albums/nn109/sarapitz/Nimes%20Pont%20du%20Gard/

For Avignon:

http://s302.photobucket.com/albums/nn109/sarapitz/Avignon/

Rainy Day!!

Field Trip Day! and Unfortunately rainy day. I have to give props to my Dad, I had originally packed a rain coat and umbrella, but he talked my into a poncho instead of an umbrella. A poncho, he said, will be able to cover more and I can put it on over my backpack, with an umbrella, I have one less hand and it doesn't cover as much. AND that proved very true today! I was probably the driest out of the whole group even though I looked like a teenage mutant ninja turtle. (My poncho is green and my backpack made a very good looking "shell") LOL

Anyways, today we went to Nimes and the Pont du Gard. Nimes was an awesome city. Really the first city we have gotten to explore in. All of the other places we have visited have been towns and villages, with open air markets or little family run shops. Today was the big city..haha. The first thing we did when we got off the bus was the Roman Arena. Basically Nimes has got the best kept secret in all of Europe! They have a Roman Arena that they still use today. Mostly for bullfights, but also mock gladiatorial games. It is the best preserved Roman Arena in Europe and it was awesome!!! It hold 27,000 people and it was made from cut stone...no mortar! I couldn't believe it when I saw it. I loved it! So after I climbed to the very top of the arena and did a lap around it, I decided it was time to move on.

We walked around Nimes and found a nice little cafe right where we were supposed to meet our professors at the Miason Carree (An old Roman Temple) We decided to grab a cup of coffee and just enjoy people watching. I had my first cafe experience and I ordered my own coffee in French and it was very fun!! and very good! Anyways after the wonderful cup of coffee we headed out on a little walking tour. We went through a very beautiful park that had fountains and marble statues and stairs. It was amazing and I really don't know how to explain it. but I will upload pictures and you can all see for yourself. Then at the top of the park hill there is a watch tower, La tour Magne. Built in the BC era it was the first tower in Nimes. And when you climb the 200 steps to the top you can see out over the whole town. The view was incredible!!! I could see into the Arena I had climbed around on that morning!

After Nimes we went to the Pont du Gard. This is a Roman aqueduct, meaning a bridge that transports water to Nimes. It is also a great example of the ingenuity of the Roman engineers. I mean this bridge spans a valley and a river. It was built stone by stone, all perfectly cut and leveled so that gravity would force the water to travel down into Nimes from a higher spring in the mountains. It is an amazing feat, one that I can barely comprehend. I mean it was built when there were no cranes, levels or even power tools. How did they cut each stone to fit so perfectly? And it is still standing today, years later!!

Unfortunately at the Pont du Gard it started to rain. So I pulled out my trusty poncho and became Sara the awesome art animation ninja turtle...LOL just kidding. I did have a lot of fun in my poncho though, because I felt kind of ridiculous in it. And since it was green and a lot of the trees are green I tended to blend in with the environment which was kind of fun. OH and a warning, when you go to touch the water under the Pont du Gard, don't fall in!!! I about tumbled into the water head first when I bent down to touch it because I had my bag on and my poncho and I was off balanced. But it is a really funny picture because it was snapped right when I was trying to regain my balance. HAHA

So tomorrow is the Papal Palace in Avignon. Its an early start so I will see you all (or talk to you all) on the flip side!!

Here is some pictures from the Roman Ruins from yesterday and Van Gogh's Asylum visit

http://s302.photobucket.com/albums/nn109/sarapitz/Glanum%20%20StRemy/

The Romans Are Coming

No just kidding, the Romans have already been here. Yup thats right, today I went to see some Roman ruins. It was amazing!!! I mean these things have been around since like 100 A.D.! of course now its mostly piles of rubble and rock and some standing columns, but you can just image what it looked like when it was prospering. The city (?? ) of Glanum was located on the old Roman road it was like a stopping point for rest and relaxation. Today it was blooming with big pink trees (yes pink ones!!! I loved it!!!) mostly in pieces. But you can still make out the bath house and pool from the Monumental section of the city. There is also some pretty impressive standing columns in the Residence district. And in the Sanctuary area that is a temple to Hercules, (did I mention it belonged to the Greeks before the Romans build on top of it??) and a spring right next to it dedicated to the local water god, which name eludes me right now. All in all a very impressive site, and it was just amazing to think of this place as still being around. I mean no mortar between the stones and yet beautiful carved columns and symmetrical temples...I can only image. So much character in such a peaceful place.

We also went to St. Remy, specifically to the metal institution that housed Van Gogh in his later years. The interesting thing about this place is that it is still running today. Obviously we didn't get to go into the working ward, but the kept the room Van Gogh stayed in. And all of his paintings that he is famous for, he painted while at the asylum. It was interesting because on the grounds they have this trail of paintings. At intervals along the trail there would be a plaque with on of Van Gogh's paintings, and when you looked up, you were in the exact spot that he was in when he painted it!! It was really neat, I stood on the hill where he painted his famous painting, Starry Night. I also got to see the violets that he painted along with some of the olive trees. St. Remy was very interesting because they left the ward as Van Gogh would have experienced it. It is eerie to think I traveled the same paths he did, saw the same things and climbed the same stairs! LOL

After that it was another windy day in Lacoste. I didn't do a whole lot, just updated the sketchbook at little and tried to work on my research paper. Right now I am also trying to get a trip together to go to Barcelona. But its being a bit more difficult since we have to change countries. And I found out (though I already knew this, just didn't really think about it) that in Barcelona they do not speak Spanish, they speak Catalan, a dialect of Spanish. :) Random trivia for you! Well I am going to sign off now. Tomorrow is a campus wide field trip to Nimes, and we have to be up EARLY! Let you know how it goes. Bonne nuit!

Burr Its cold out there

Yup thats what I said. Its is cold here today, and it looks like it will let loose rain any second!! But the god part about rain is that the whole valley is covered in a mist like fog. It is very creepy looking and cool at the same time. I am sorry I don't have anything interesting to write about. I just wanted to say Happy Birthday to my brother Adam!! Have a great day today, hopefully your day is sunnier than mine!!

Otherwise, I have a print due tomorrow morning. I am a little worried about it. Its at that stage were it looks really good, but it could look better if I ran one more color through the press. But the color could really make or break the piece...so I am debating right now. Play it safe or take a risk??? Anyways, I did make it to the grocery store in Apt yesterday. That was a fun experience. It is very different than an American grocery store, loud, crowded and it smells funny. But I had a good time trying to figure out all the French products. I got some granola bars that I am going to try. At least I think their granola bars...lol Well I miss all of you at home and in Savannah. Hope things are going well and I will give you an update when I have something exciting to talk about.

Look for it on Thursday, we are supposed to be going to some Roman ruins and the place were Van Gogh stayed when he was hospitalized.

The Hike

An unexpected day. Thats all I can say...and that rhymes! It was an early morning Sunday, I got up and worked in the print shop before brunch. That way I had the shop all to myself. It was nice, I still don't know if I got the hang of printing but thats okay. I am learning. After brunch the plan was to walk to Bonneaux. My two friends and I were geared up to walk there. But our coordinator, Brett, was trying to get a group together to go to the Cedar Forest lookout ridge. He told us he would give us a ride to Bonneaux if there was room because it was on the way. As it turns out we were the only ones that showed up for the ride. As we were driving toward the Cedar Forest, Brett convinced us to go there instead and he would drop us in Bonneaux later. I am so happy he talked us into it!!

The Cedar Forest was incredible. Cedar trees are no normally found in this region. The Romans brought Cedar trees with them and began planting when they were fortifying the valley. Now the trees have naturally spread out, but you can still see the line where they haven't crossed and mixed with the other trees yet. The Cedar Forest was planted on one of the taller ridges encompassing the valley. So the view was spectacular. I have never been able to see so much land at one time as I did today. I can't even begin to describe the view, it eludes any description I could possibly think of. I guess it is enough to say I would love to go back and just sit and look out over the valley all afternoon. :)

After our walk along the ridge, Brett drove us into Bonneaux. Since it was Sunday there wasn't many things open, but we just wanted to walk around. Bonneaux is about twice/three times the size of Lacoste, or maybe it just feels that way because there is a lot more going on. There are more restaurants and cafes, just more things to do in general. My friends and I had a great time walking around. We got to see two churches. The old church sits on the top of the hill and you can see it from Lacoste. The newly renovated church sits in the rough middle of the village. Both churches were very beautiful and earthy. The old church was especially interesting. They were restoring the building, so we weren't able to go in it. Instead we could walk around it, and we had a great view of Lacoste from that site too.

Brett was nice and drove us back to Lacoste when we were done exploring. And the rest of the night was spent doing homework and watching movies with my friends. It was nice to just sit and relax. And I finally got to call my family, which is why this post it a little late...sorry. All in All I thought it was a great first weekend in the South of France!

Posting pictures now!! Here they are

http://s302.photobucket.com/albums/nn109/sarapitz/Cedar%20Forrest/

Good Day!

Today was a great day! I got up early, and went with Lauren down to the Bakery (Boulangerie). And I ordered, by myself, in French a pastry! I was quite proud of myself. It took a lot of learning and repeating, but I did it.LOL And it was the best almond croissant I have ever eaten in my life. The reason we got up early, was because there was a hiking expedition that left at 10am before breakfast. But as I was getting ready this morning, I realized, it would probably be better if I just stayed here and did laundry and some homework (since I hadn't started any yet) And I am glad that I did. My friends came back from the hike, sunburned and tired!

So yup, thats what I did today. I did laundry and homework. I know that sounds boring but it was actually kind of fun. Laundry here was an experience. All the directions were in French, and there is no temperature setting for the water (at least not what I could see) And the detergent didn't have a measuring cup, so I had no idea how much to put into the washer because the measurement chart was all in ml. So I kind of guessed and pressed some buttons. But in the end it worked!! Phase I done. Next drying. So there are dryers here, but most students and locals just hang up their laundry on lines. I wanted to try it too. I found a bunch of lines next to my room and began hanging. It was a lot of fun, and almost everything dried.

Homework required me to be in the print studio for most of the day. I pulled my first monoprint ever. It came out okay. Not the way I expected, but hey it was the first. And lets just say by then end of this class I better have muscular arms!! With all the ink mixing, charging the brayer (rolling the ink onto a roller), running paper through an ancient press and cleaning up afterward....It was like a work out!! LOL I am hoping to start a print tomorrow and perhaps one more before I there due on Wed!!

Now my next bit of culture shook came this afternoon. I had the opportunity to go to mass with Finn, a local who works for the college. Finn is a Irishman who now has a home in Lacoste. He is a really nice man, and knows the history and the stories of the valley. So it was a great 35 min ride through the valley to the little little town of Lioux. He just knows so much about everything, it was like getting a private tour. We got to the church and it was a small little building, but it had so much character. Wooden benches and fresco walls and paintings. It was such a humble church and 20 people showed up for mass. The service was completely in French, so I really didn't know what they were exactly saying. But it was funny I did know when the different parts of the mass were. It was a great experience. And I think Finn was surprised how much I enjoyed it. We are already planning on going next weekend, which makes me happy.



That was my day in a nutshell. Kind of a big nutshell huh? I uploaded new pictures check under the Menerbes entry and the Bories too. See ya!

Menerbe

Walking, walking , walking thats what I did today!! A group of us decided to walk to a nearby village called Menerbe. It was a 7km hike...or 4.5 miles each way. My walking shoes were working :) It was quite a hike, but we started out early enough and arrived in town about 10:30. I got to walk along the highway and see the trees, mountains, and fields up close. I went with my two roommates Lauren and Ashley and a friend Nicole. Then we talked two guys into coming with us last night. Neil and Steve put up with a bunch of girl chatter, but they seemed to enjoy it and had fun seeing the town.

Menerbe is beautiful, like almost every other thing I have seen in France. It is mostly a residence village and it is built around a mountain, instead of on a side of it, like Lacoste is built. It was fun to see the views from the top, and I don't think the villagers see many Americans, because everyone we met wanted to know who we were. We decided we would eat lunch in town too and found a little pizzeria. It was so funny. The pizza came out as flat as a pancake and as big as a dinner plate. But it was yummy. I had margarita pizza and it was amazing!!! After pizza I decided to order a coffee. It was interesting because it was the first coffee I have ordered in France. And I got the bitterest (is that a word?) coffee I have ever gotten in my life, served in a shot glass...hahaha But it came with little sugar cubes and a piece of chocolate. So I stuck those in the glass and knocked it back. And you know what....I was ready for that walk home after that!! I was so talkative, and energetic my friends didn't know what to think1

So after the trek back, it was time to get ready for the gallery opening. There was a famous French photographer who decided to open a small gallery here in Lacoste. So I dressed up and went to look at her work. It was really interesting, the photographer followed around an prima ballerina for most of her life. And all of the subjects were of this ballerina, so naturally I loved it!! There was also very nice wine served and little o'rderves. (haha can't spell that one) It was a good time to mingle and get to know other people on the trip.

Then after dinner I got a new challenge (Sam this is for you and anyone else who understands animation speech.) I found a guy at the gallery who is a broadcast design major and he has MAYA!!! :) He always looked familiar, because I guess I have seen him in Monty all the time. But he was doing stuff in maya, and didn't understand it. So I offered to help, and I helped!!! LOL I know it sounds so funny, but I haven't animated in like three weeks. And I have been wanting too so bad, but they just don't have the program on the lab computers. So I had fun! But I had to work on a mac and it wasn't as easy!! There is not a middle mouse button, and that totally confused me. I had to figure out a way to work around it until my friend figured out how to make the left mouse button work like the middle one.... Anyways I am done geeking out, but yeah I am a nerd, cuz I got really excited about animating today!!

So needless to say, I animated after dinner, and didn't do any prints in the lab like I was supposed to. Which makes me sad because tomorrow I had signed up to go hiking up the mountains, and now it looks like I will have to stay back and work on homework. I normally would just go on the hike and do homework later, but I might have an opportunity to go to church tomorrow night, and I really don't want to miss that either. So I am in a rut...I don't know where I will go, but I am going to sleep on it and decide in the morning. Thanks for listening everyone. Until next time. Bonne Nuit!

ps I promise more pictures next time :)

Here they are!!
Pictures:
http://s302.photobucket.com/albums/nn109/sarapitz/Menerbes/

Bories and Gordes

Today was an adventure/explore day! For my art history class, we took our first field trip! We went to see the Borie Village. An antique form of stone houses used specifically in this region. It was really interesting to see because these huts weren't made with mortar. People built them with interlocking pieces of limestone. In the end they look like little stone haystacks, but in fact this village was really well organized. Those people in the 17 century, really knew what they were doing LOL They had a hut or room for almost everything. From the pigsty to the goats, barn house to the wine cellar. It was truly amazing. I really liked touching the limestone, it was so old. And the funny part about it they still use these architecture forms today. Mostly for wood sheds, and tool sheds. Neat place, just wouldn't want to live there now! According to the history people were still living there up until the 1960s!!

After the Bories Village, we drove to the village of Gordes. Absolutely stunning village built into the mountain side. It was such an amazing site to see, I couldn't believe it. We actually didn't have a great deal of time in Gordes, just really a get out and look. But the views were amazing and I got to go into my first Church. It was a hodgepodge in art and in style, but it was beautiful and cold!! There were no heaters in there, it was colder in there than it was outside!! The walls were totally painted and it was interesting to see what "an everyday church" looked like.

Upon going to the church, we literally walked into a cafe/park/fountain where a film was being shot. It was funny to see! There were two French men holding big baguettes and then a man in a striped shirt came in on a bicycle. It was totally FRENCH!! But they still say ACTION really loud. We found out later, the film was for a local station.

I wish we would have had a little more time in Gordes. It was a quick walk around and then we had to get back into the vans. It was a beautiful little village and I would have loved to have walked down the narrow street or sat in the main square at a cafe. Oh, well there will be plenty more little visits to do that!!

When I got back to Lacoste, I was done for the day! Woot!!! The weekend has officially begun! So what did I decide to do...but go to French class. Yup thats right. I am learning French from a native speaker. Her name is Dominque and she is very nice. I learned how to introduce myself, and say that I am from American. I can also ask how people are doing and tell them I am a student studying animation. I was proud of myself!! :)

Well I have a busy day tomorrow, and I promise to upload some pictures soon. Tomorrow we hike up to Menerbs with a group, and that should be pretty fun!

Pictures
http://s302.photobucket.com/albums/nn109/sarapitz/Bories%20Gordes/

Not another Boring Entry!!

Okay so I don't want to be boring today. And now that I have started my art history class, things are going to be a lot more busy but thats okay :) Our first field trip for that class is on Thurs, so I might not write until then. Because then I will actually have something to say. I just wanted to tell you that I did update photos. I added pictures of some of the snails, and the racetrack.

Today was beautiful and I have found more intersting things out about Lacoste. There is nothing here!!! LOL No TV, barely any radio, no cars, no DVDs, no restaurants, nothing related to everyday exsistence for us in the United States. But you know what, I LOVE IT! Its a sleeply little place, where not much changes and everyone helps out. Funny but you just don't see that in American very much, or if you do its so rare, its almost wierd. But all in all I am happy here, and busy. As always, I just wish I could share it with everyone else :) Have a good day everyone and check out new Lacoste pictures!

http://s302.photobucket.com/albums/nn109/sarapitz/more%20lacoste/

I know I won't take anymore pictures of Lacoste, everyone is getting sick of seeing the same village hahaha

By the way Happy April Fools Day!

Classes have begun

The day started early today, waking up to a bleak and cloud covered valley. The clouds covered most of the hills and moutains around us, so it was creepy and silent in Lacoste this morning. Also the rain made all of the usually beautiful cobblestones slick and scary. At one point a cloud passed over Lacoste and we couldn't see into the valley. It was awesome! But it was a good morning becuase I got to go to class.

I started my Intro to Printmaking. And I am excited to get going with it. Our first assignment is a monotype print. (Don't really understand the method to it, but I do now it only make one print) My teacher is great! He knows a lot about the subject matter and he is really funny. It is going to be a whirlwind of 8 weeks. There are so many field trips and assignments and fun things going on in the village, I don't know how I am going to fit it all in...but I am going to try :)

After class, I had the afternoon to myself. I almost didn't know what to do with it!!! I am so used to being in Savannah, where there is always work to be done, gettting a free afternoon usually ment a nap or talking with friends. But I did do some homework, and I went for a walk. When I was walking I noticed something about Lacoste. It is so quiet here. There are no noisy cars, airplanes, music or college students. The cars barely fit through the narrow, sidewalk streets, so most people just park their cars at the bottom of the village and walk. And airplanes are non exsitant here. Most of the students are in class during the day and as it gets darker here, voice levels go down as well. It is so relaxing. I also have noticed every meal comes with a hard French bread and cheese. Very Very good cheese. Breakfast Lunch and Dinner! I am going to have to do some serious walking!!!:)

Along my walk I did discover something else, SNAILS!! Real life Snails in the middle of the paths and on the rock ledges. They were just minding their own buisness crawling around very very slow. I saw them becuase one had a particularly large and beautiful shell on its back. I bent down to pick it up and look at the shell, and I saw that something slimy was connected to it!! It was quite a funny revelation in the middle of the path up to the Chateau, I was just gald I decided to take my walk alone...hahaha

Unfortunately not a lot happened today becuase it was so rainy, but its a new day tomorrow. So from all of the snails and me in France... goodnight!! Or rather Good Afternoon!!

Another day

Well its offically day three in Lacoste. Today was really interesting. We had the day to ourselves, and after an interesting night, lets just say we started the day off in the late morning. After a hearty breakfast of crossaint and eggs it was time for some walking. My roommate Lauren and I and our new friend Nicole decided to walk down into the valley. I had heard some of my professors talking about a race track built by the locals, and I wanted to find that too. So we trecked down the hill into the valley. And almost every 10 mintues I had to stop and take a picture. It was a beautiful walk. The trees are all blooming white blosoms and it is so green here!! When we made it down to the bottom, we decided to turn around and treck back up the hill beause rain clouds were coming. We had wanted to go to the nieghboring village but there was no way we were going to make it without rain gear.

But during the long walk to the top, I did find my race track. But to my utter surprise, its not a race track for real cars...but for remote control cars!!:) This was the most interested thing I have seen in a long time!! It was a full blow dirt race track built with jumping ramps and turns. Grown men and boys were racing gas powered remote cars. They did flips and turns and would knock each other off the track...it was intense and so much fun to watch. I am going to post pictures of it as soon as I can! And hopefully they do it every sunday, becuase it was so much fun to watch

Finally we made it back to Lacoste, after about a 3 hour hike. But it was well worth the journey because of all the great things we got to see. I decided to take it easy and wander through Lacoste some more. The people are so nice and everyone you meet always acknowledges you with Bonjour.

So it was a much needed slow day. Tomorrow reality sets in becuase classes start. So more news on how that goes when I have some to tell. And I promise Pictures will be up soon! Until later..

My First Full Day

Okay...so here was my first day in France. IT was amazing. After sleeping for 10 hours, I got up early to the sun pouring into our room. I found out our room faces East. But it was a beautiful sunrise and warmed our room up, so I actually felt the need to get out of bed...LOL After a wonderful breakfast of nutella on a small waffle, a banana and ceral, I was ready for a day of exploring! wow did I go Exporling!!! The whole campus went to Apt a small Village about 15 minutes out of Lacoste. There was a open aire market, a art supplie store, a supermarket and a computer store. It was amazing. The open aire market had tons of merchanside to look at. From food, to plants, to soap and clothing. The Provence valley is famous for its Lavender, and you can smell it everywhere! I went around with my trusty naviagator and roomate Lauren. She is awesome, and we have a lot in commom, I have a feeling we will become good friends if she can put up with my annoying questions about French. She knows enough French to get around and talk to people...and I am still trying to learn how to say "hello" and "how much is this" and "do you speak English" But we had a good time roaming around Apt and listening to the people. The Languauge is so pretty here. I could literally just sit, watch people and listen to them talk, they sound so beautiful, even when I don't know what they are saying.
We also went into the supermarket to get some essentials. It was interesing becuase the don't supplie people with bags here. Instead you either bring your own bags or baskets or you buy an enviornmental friendly bag from there, and keep re-using it. It was a lot of fun looking for American type brands and seeing how their products change for French people. The only bad part is everything is in French....and I know my four years of Spanish is only going to help me so much...haha
After Apt, we made a stop at Pont Julian. It is a very old bridge that is no longer in use, but still perfectly standing It was beautiful! It is over 2000 years old!! Can you believe that. I actually touched a bridge that was made during the the Roman Empire?! And it was still all put together. I would have never thouhgt.
Then after lunch we had a tour of Lacoste given by a local villager named Finn. He was amazing and had all of the interesting stories and poems about the history of this place. The tour was very informative and we got to walk all the way up to the top of the hill to Chateau de Sade where the Marquis de Sade lived. The view was spactacular and the commentary along the way was helpful and insitful.
Dinner time!! We had a wonderful Bienvenue (welcoming) dinner. It was traditional food that included salad, soup, a cheese course and dessert. Delicious!! What a wonderful way to end the day! Well if you have made it this far you are a brave being. I didn't realize how much I had writen until now. But thanks for listening and I am sure when school actually starts, I won't be getting this detailed with my blogs, but for now it is fun writing and I hoped you have enjoyed! Until next time. Bonne journee!

More pictures coming soon! Here is the link
http://s302.photobucket.com/albums/nn109/sarapitz/lacoste/

Getting There

So I am going to make this short and sweet right now because I am going through some major jet lag right now...But I promise to go into more detail tomorrow or Sunday. I made it to Lacoste WOOT!! But it was a long two days of traveling by planes and bus. It is amazing though and already I have learned so much about French culture and I don't speak a word of French! Anwyays I am going to crash for like 12 hours and I will write again when I can coherently put together a sentence. But as for now I am safe in Lacoste and I cannot believe this place is real!