Allow me to start with Thursday. Thursday was a relatively normal day, for the first half. Upon returning home from school, Shawna and I decided to make a quick run to the market to buy a bottle of wine. Both of us had changed into shorts and a tshirt after getting home from school, and we really didn't feel like changing into regular clothes just to run down the street. So, for the first time in France, I stepped outside my gate wearing "American" clothes. In the fifteen minutes (tops) it took Shawna and me to walk down the street a block and a half, buy a bottle of wine, and walk back, we received more honks, shouts, and blatant stares than ever before. And yes, we were laughed at. For wearing shorts and a tshirt.
Thursday night, Adrien had invited us to a party in Centre Ville Avignon. Shawna and I were happy to finally go to a party inside the walls, as opposed to an un-walkable distance away from our house. Andrien told us that we had to wear dresses, so we complied. In the fifteen minute walk from our house to O'Neill's where we waited for Levy and Nicolas to pick us up, we received ten honks/shouts from strange men. We counted.
Nicolas and Levy arrived late, as usual. We then walked just a few blocks down from O'Neill's to get to the party. Shawna and I had been expecting a normal house party where everyone just so happened to be wearing dresses. This was not the case, and we had our first "I cannot believe this is happening" moment of the weekend. Instead of walking into an apartment, or a student house, or a bar, we walked into a very mod club-thing. There was a ginormous bouncer at the door, and the lobby was all glass and mirrors and flowers. We passed through the glimmering lobby and entered a large courtyard. At the far end, there was an open bar that was serving free drinks to students for most of the night. The other half of the courtyard was taken up by umbrella-ed tables and plants. Everyone was incredibly well dressed, and I felt out of place in my flats. It was the kind of thing you would see in a movie. Shawna and I went to the bathroom expecting the normal gross bathrooms that we've found in France thus far, but were again proved wrong. There were purple lights in the stalls.
(Shawna and me, in the purple stall.)
After a few hours there, we decided that it was discotheque time. We drove to a discotheque just outside of the ramparts, but for some reason, we parked incredibly far away. We had to walk through the cold, and then wait for a while before we even started heading for the door. Most unfortunately, when we walked up, Emmanuel (Nicolas' girlfriend) was in the front of the group. She looks young. Although she was of age, the bouncer at the door still decided to card us all. I have never ever been carded in France, so I didn't bring any ID with me (bad idea, I know), and Shawna's purse was in Levy's car. Instead of going through the hassle of going to the car, then home, then back to the discotheque just to get ID, we decided to call it a night. It was probably best to call it quits while we were ahead, anyhow.
The next morning (Friday) we got up early to go to Aix-en-Provence. However, while getting ready, Shawna discovered that a round trip bus ticket to Aix and back would cost roughly 27 euros. Neither of us felt like paying that much for a day trip, so we changed plans at the last minute and decided to go to Orange instead. A round trip train ticket would only cost 6.70 euros, and Orange is only 14 minutes away by train. Orange is, well, small. It is also somewhat run down. The fact that it was a holiday on Friday (we didn't have class) probably didn't help the whole deserted feeling that the town gave off. We walked in to Centre Ville, and discovered that, if nothing else, at least Orange had good post card shops (many of you readers will be receiving one in the next week or two). However, a train ride to Orange is not worth it just to buy post cards, so we hit up a few of (actually, all of) the main tourist attractions.
Orange is known for an ancient Roman theater. We learned from a short video that the theater was built in 1 A.D (over 2000 years ago!). The theater went through a series of changes and uses depending on who was in charge of Western Europe at the time and the prosperity of the region/France. At one particularly low point in Orange's history, the theater was literally used as a town. Houses were built into the seating area, and there was even a main road that ran through (this should give you an idea of the size of the theater). For years, houses were continually built. Centuries later, several layers of houses had to be destroyed and cleared away to unearth the theater. Today, plays are still performed on the theater's enormous stage.
(The theater...it kind of looks like the amphitheater in Nîmes...)
After climbing all the stairs at the theater and poking around the ruins of an ancient Roman temple, we crossed the road and stopped in a museum that was essentially a waste of time. Oh well. We continued on. We wanted to find a park to eat our lunch, and the map indicated that there was a GIANT park just North of the theater. When I say giant, I mean it. On the map, it was bigger than the city center of Orange. To get to the park, we had to climb a quite enormous hill. I think we accidentally took the ghetto route. The "stairs" kind of disappeared, and became a rocky path. Then the rocky path disappeared. Eventually, it leveled out, and we found ourselves in a random wild area. There, we found a little stone cave surrounded by gorgeous wild flowers. Eventually, we saw the head of a statue sticking out of the trees, so we followed a little path that lead there.
(Flowers!)
At the base of the statue, we ate our little lunch of pb&j, apples, and goûters. Our picnic was enhanced by a perfect view of Orange, the theater, and the mountains. Friday was a beautiful day, and it was lovely to sit and relax in the shade, surrounded by lovely scenery and wildflowers.
(Picnic-ing in the park.)
After our brief repose, we descended from the top of the hill. We discovered that there had been a MUCH easier way to access the park. Oh well, our wilderness adventure was still fun. Once we got back to the actual city, we poked our head into a few shops and Notre Dame of Orange (every French city has to have a church). Then, we set off to find the Arc de Triomphe of Orange (apparently, this little city has an Arc de Triomphe, like Paris. I do not know why). It was upon finding the Arc de Triomphe that we truly accepted that Orange was kind of a fail of a town. The entire thing was covered with plastic, as it was being renovated. The "Champs Elyseés" of Orange was quite disappointing as well, in that it didn't exist. Instead of Paris' Louis Vuitton and Virgin Records, Orange had a Chess Club and an abandoned lot.
(Orange...)
Unfortunately, we still had about two hours before our train left for Avignon. We wandered around the city center some more, bought some ice cream, and ended up sitting in another park, where we wrote the post cards that we had purchased earlier. At least we made good use of our down time.
We returned home to Avignon. A few hours and a quick shower later, Levy and Laurent arrived to pick us up. We picked up Katie at Red Sky, and we proceeded to drive to Apt, where Levy and Nicolas live. It was sunset when we left Avignon, and the drive to Apt was absolutely gorgeous. Shawna, Katie, and I, squeezed in the back of Levy's tiny car, amused ourselves listening to and commenting on the French music, and genuinely appreciating the fact that we live in France. Night slowly fell as we drove, and the moon came up big and round over the mountains. While passing through a little town whose name I do not remember, Shawna commented how much she would love to live in one of the picturesque houses there. About 30 seconds later, we pulled into a driveway.
"I cannot believe this is happening" moment number two. As we pulled around the driveway and past a very nice house, we found a large dinner party happening in the backyard. We had apparently arrived at Thomas' house, a friend of Levy et. all. His parents were apparently throwing a dinner party, and a large portion of the guests were all quite happy (aka: drunk). Thomas showed us around front to a table of snacks and drinks. We nibbled on bretzels (pretzels in French), and mixed drinks, and (get this) PLAYED PETANQUE! We only each went once, but at the end of the first little round, Laurent and I were winning.
(Laurent, contemplating.)
We were not able to play petanque long, as Thomas came back around front and beseeched us to come sit down at the table. There were probably 20 guests there + Levy, Shawna, Laurent, and me. Even though we had already eaten, we literally did not have a choice but to eat. There was SO much food on the table. I was still full from dinner, but to be polite I took a slice of quiche. Then Thomas plopped a giant dish of lamb in front of me. Yes, I ate lamb. And then I had some really strong cheese. At some point in this merriment, a very drunk man who may or may not have been Thomas' father danced on the table. He also mooned a certain half of the table (I was not included in this half). It was...hilarious. Nicolas, Adrien, another Thomas, and Julie also arrived eventually, and we sat around talking and laughing and drinking for a quite a while. Just imagine: a warm May night in France + wine + cheese + laughing friends + candles + good food + petanque. Do I really live here?!
We then drove to Levy's house, where we all crashed. I woke up Saturday morning to a nice breeze through the open window, and a cat sleeping next to me. I knew at this point that my life was good. After everyone woke up, we watched the French equivalent of MTV Video Countdowns until Adrien arrived with croissants and pain au chocolat. We got ready for the beach, and headed out.
The next hour or so is a blur of confusion. We drove down a large hill, got out of the car, and walked through a very crowded market. Random members of the group appeared and disappeared again, and eventually, we found Levy's car. At one point, with Adrien driving, we ran into a wall. Then, we found Alex. Then, we lost Alex. Then, we saw Alex walking along the side of the road. Then, we ended up standing on the side of the road. Suddenly, Thomas and Nicolas arrived. Somehow, I ended up in a car with Thomas, Alex, Laurent, and Nicolas, and Levy, Shawna, Katie, and Adrien were in the other. Confusion (mostly) averted, we started driving.
I honestly cannot describe the drive we took from Apt to La Clotat. Every turn we took, I was reminded again and again why I love France. We twisted through the mountains, drove along tree-lined streets, caught glimpses of chateaux tucked away in the hills, and climbed a cliff over looking the Mediterranean. In short, it was gorgeous.
We stopped at a grocery store outside of La Clotat where we bought some things for lunch, and the boys made sandwiches on the car hoods, and we picnicked in the parking lot. A short drive and a short walk later, we were at the Mediterranean. We found a place on the beach, and lounged around for quite some time. The beach was not sand, which was very weird. It was made up of a bunch of really tiny rocks. Definitely a change. Shawna and I took a brief walk to the edge of a point, and nearly killed our feet on the way there. A little while later, Katie said that she would buy us a shot if we jumped in the water. We agreed. The water was cold-ish, but not as freezing as I had expected. The salt water was surprising and lovely at once when it washed over my face. Our swim was very short, and Shawna and I got out, shivering a little. Adrien and Laurent had been standing by the water, and they laughed at our coldness. An attempt to pull Adrien into the water went horribly awry, and I ended up running across the beach, sopping wet, in my bathing suit, after Adrien. I eventually gave up. And then, Adrien picked me up, and rolled me in the sand/rocks. Since I was still wet, they stuck. Adrien laughed. He loves me, obviously. The rest of the afternoon was taken up with attempting to get rocks out of my bikini, and laying on the beach in the sun.
(This is the Mediterranean Sea, folks.)
Somehow, Shawna and I managed to befriend half of the handball team from Apt (namely, Levy, Adrien, Thomas, the other Thomas, and Alex), and they had a match in La Closat on Saturday evening. After packing up and drying off, we got back in the car so the boys could get to their handball match. I had never been to a handball match, but I’m so glad we got to see the boys play. It was a very intense game (in my opinion...although due to my handball inexperience I could be very wrong). Both Alex and Levy were thrown out due to excessive fouls (or, that’s what I gathered), and the two teams were never more than three points apart at any point during the game. Eventually, Apt pulled ahead and won 25-21. Yay!
After the match, we were all quite ready to go home, so we climbed back in the car. This time, Shawna and I drove with Levy and Thomas. Thomas, being the sweetheart that he is, drove us through Marseille. He is a fireman there, and knew the city very well. He pointed out the main sights and drove us through Vieux Port before we got back on the highway and headed back to Avignon. My shower was very welcome, as was my bed, upon my arrival home.
It has been SUCH a good weekend. Even though I’ve travelled a lot in France already, and I’ve been here for nearly 7 weeks, I still have a hard time believing that I’m actually here. This weekend, however, I knew it. I finally got that feeling, that “I AM IN FRANCE!” feeling that I’ve so been waiting for. And it was absolutely perfect. I am so happy to be alive, and to be here. =]
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2009495&id=1417500098&l=117023af3c
^ Photo documentation doesn’t quite suffice.
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