Hike to the Barrage de Bimont or Barrage Rigaud

On Tuesday the 24th, we went on a hike in the hills nearby Aix. We hiked to a dam near the Sainte-Victoire National Reserve. The dam was called Barrage de Bimont or Barrage Rigaud. The landscape was amazingly beautiful. It reminded me a lot of the mountains in Southern California. Anyway, unfortunately we were unable to hike as much as we had intended because there were restrictions on hiking in the area due to possible fire danger, it was really fun and I am so glad that we were able to see the countryside. Here are pictures from the hike:

A view of the dam from the trail

A closer view of the dam from the trail

Looking down on one side of the dam

Looking at the other side of the dam

A photo with my friends and I

A group photo on the trail.

I will keep updating as much as I can!

À Bientôt!

Pont du Gard and Avignon

On Sunday the 22nd, we went to the Pont du Gard and Avignon. Both sites were amazing because they had such old ruins and were really cool to see.

We spent the morning at the Pont du Gard. The Pont du Gard is part of an old roman aqueduct that is still standing. The aqueduct is so cool because it is still standing after all this time and it is really huge. Here are some pictures from our visit to the Pont du Gard:

The Pont du Gard

My roomate and I posing on the aqueduct.

The channel where the water used to flow

Momo and I posing in front of the Pont du Gard

The Pont du Gard

My friends and I in the river that flows beneath the Pont du Gard

A group photo on the Pont du Gard



In the afternoon we went to Avignon. We went on a tour of the Palais du Papes, which was where the head of the catholic church resided for several years. It was an incredible castle with a lot of history. We toured the castle with an audio guide so we learned a lot about the history of the popes that lived there and about the castle itself. Here are the pictures I took from the Palais du Papes:

The outside of the Palais du Papes

My friends and I in the square outside the Palais du Papes

One of the main halls in the Palais du Papes

The view of Avignon from the top of the Palais du Papes

After visiting the Palais du Papes Momo and I headed down to the Pont d'Avignon. The Pont d'Avignon is basically the remains of an old bridge. It is really cool because you are able to walk to the middle of the river and look up and down it. Also, the Pont d'Avignon has a childrens song about it:

Sur le pont d'Avignon
L'on y danse, l'on y danse
Sur le pont d'Avignon
L'on y danse tous en rond
Les beaux messieurs font comm' çà
Et puis encore comm' çà

Sur le pont d'Avignon
L'on y danse, l'on y danse
Sur le pont d'Avignon
L'on y danse tous en rond
Les bell' dames font comm' çà
Et puis encore comm' çà

Here are photos from the Pont d'Avignon:

Le Pont d'Avignon

Looking downriver while standing on the Pont d'Avignon

Momo and I standing on le Pont d'Avignon

Momo posing on le Pont d'Avignon. The statue she is "holding" is part of the Palais du Papes.

Looking back at Avignon from the end of the Pont du Gard. All the buildings in the picture are parts of the Palais du Papes and other old buildings.

I will continue to post as much as I can!

À Bientôt!





Les Gorges du Verdon

On Sunday the 15th, we went to Les Gorges du Verdon. This was by far one of my favorite excursions so far. The french call Les Gorges du Verdon the grand canyon of France. It was so beautiful. The water amazingly clear, and the cliffs were so cool.

Before we arrived at Les Gorges du Verdon, we stopped in a quaint little town nearby called Quinson. There, we spent the morning in the Musée de Préhistoire (Musuem of Prehistory) which had an exhibit all about the prehistoric people and artifacts like pottery, bones, and arrowheads. It was really interesting to learn about the people who lived back then. Also, there was a site nearby where remains from the prehistoric times had been discovered but unfortunately we did not go see the site.

After the museum, we went into town and had lunch at a pizza place. The pizza was delicious and the buildings in the town were really cool. The buildings all were older and showed some of the old french construction. After lunch we walked through the town and there were many vendors lining the streets trying to sell lots of different things that ranged from soaps to used clothes to assorted junk. My roommate got an old fashioned key from one vendor for free. It was really cool to see all the things people were selling. Some were selling really old items. Here is a picture of a vendor who was selling old tools and such:

Finally, we made our way to Les Gorges du Verdon where we all rented kayaks and paddled up the river. The gorge was so amazingly beautiful. It was sunny but really windy, which made it difficult to paddle but it was still so much fun. The sides of the gorge had beautiful white stone and were covered in bushes and the water was so clear. Eventually the entire group split into two, one that would continue further up the river and one that would turn back to the lake. My roommate and I were in a kayak together and we decided to keep going. The scenery in the gorge was breathtaking and I hope that one day I will be able to return. Unfortunatly I did not bring my camera with me on the kayak because it would have gotten wet but I do have a picture I got from google:

(There were several other boats on the water besides kayaks, such as paddleboats, canoes and small

motorboats).

Overall, that was a great day trip that I really enjoyed quite a lot. I hope that I will be able to have another trip as fun as that one.

I will upload more soon.

À Bientôt!



Bastille Day or le 14 Juillet

On Saturday the 14th (Bastille Day!) we went to the beach! We went to a touristy town called La Ciotat which was right on the Mediterranean. The water was so beautiful and clear. When we arrived we were given free time to have lunch and my friends and I all chose a restaurant right next to the Viex Port. After lunch, we headed to the beach. It was sort of cloudy that day but it was a warm day and there was just enough sun to enjoy it anyways:) I went into the water a couple of times but it was pretty cold so I didn't stay in too long. So we lounged on the beach sun bathing for the rest of the afternoon, and at around 5 o'clock we headed back to Aix to watch the celebrations for Bastille Day. I really liked going to the beach and we will be going again this thurday so I am very excited. Here are some photos I took of La Ciotat:

The Viex Port of La Ciotat

The beach at La Ciotat

Momo and I in La Ciotat

Walking back to the bus after a long day at the beach.

When we returned to Aix everyone was given time to get ready for dinner in the cafeteria of the Residence. Our dinner was salad and ratatouille with rice and the ratatouille was sooo good! After dinner we headed out to the center of the town to find good spots to watch the show. Unfortunately due to techincal difficulties there were no fireworks which was a dissapointment. Instead there was a light show at the main fountain, La Rotonde, and a concert at the end of the main road, Le Cours Mirabeau. It was really cool just walking around because there were so many people and so much going on. I am really glad that I was able to experience the French independence day, even if there weren't any fireworks. Here are some of the pictures from that evening:

Walking towards La Rotonde (seen in the background)

My friends and I posing for a picture

La Rotonde during the light show

The concert stage from a distance

Some dancers preforming at the concert

More of my friends and I posing for a picture along with a random french guy who jumped in the photo at the last moment (photobomber!)

I will continue to update as frequently as possible!

À Bientôt!

Arles

On Sunday the 8th, we got to visit Arles! It was an amazing town because there were so many ancient ruins to see which was really awesome! At the same time, we got the chance to look at a photography exposition that was going on in Arles. When we got there, as a group we looked in at some of the displays for the photography exposition which was very interesting before going to have lunch. We were able to split up for lunch so a few of my friends and I all ate at a cafe where in Arles. I had a cheeseburger (not very french, I know, but I was craving it) and then we had time to explore the ruins and the city.

Here is the town center.

 We got to explore the catacombs in Arles which was really cool and scary at the same time! One my friends, Danielle played a prank and scared some french tourists who were in the catacombs with us by posing with a scary face behind a pillar in a dark area and waiting for them to see her. It was really funny and the french tourists took it in stride and said that it was a good joke:)

A corridor in the catacombs of Arles

Some ruins in the catacombs

Here is an ancient roman theatre that is still in use today

My roommate posing with a weird face (its hard to see because she was in the shade) in front of a part of the theatre

The outside of the ancient roman arena or ampitheatre. (It is much taller than it looks in the photo because the street is raised above it.)

Another ruin in Arles with a poster from the photography exhibition on it.

After exploring the city we looked at more of the photography exposition in another part of the city and they were all very cool photos to look at. Finally, we went out to dinner in a restaurant in town which was delicious and returned to Aix happy:) Overall, it was a very fun day.

I will continue to post more!

À Bientôt!

Flamenco Concert

On Saturday the 7th, the Abbey Road staff took us to a Flamenco Concert. The preformers were a family from Catalonia and spoke catalan so all the songs they sang sounded very pretty. The dancers preformed modern flamenco dances instead of the traditional flamenco which was interesting to watch. I really enjoyed this concert. I took a few pictures of the concert and I recorded a video of the last dance. Unfortunately, I can't seem to upload the video on my blog but I will still show the photos.

The concert took place on the lawn in front of this old house in Aix

 Here is a photo of the singers/musicians singing on the stage

I had trouble posting the video on this blog, so instead, I uploaded it to Youtube. Here is the link:

Flamenco Concert

I will try to post more if possible.

À Bientôt!

Marseille!

On Thursday, we went to Marseille in the afternoon and it was amazing! The city was beautiful. We arrived at the bus station and walked down to a shopping area where we had an hour to shop at the boutiques and at le Centre Bourse (shopping center in Marseille, like a mall). After that we walked down to the Veil Port where we took a small train/bus up to Notre Dame de la Garde where we had a breaktaking view of Marseille. Notre Dame de la Garde is on a hill above the city so we could see everything. It is basically a large church and it overlooks the city but it was beautiful. After we spent an hour there, we took the metro to have dinner at a morrocan restaurant and the food was interesting and really good. When the meal was finished we took the metro again to go see a concert about African dancing but our counselors were given bad directions and so we were unable to make it to the concert. Instead we headed back to the bus and returned to Aix. It was a really long and eventful day and my feet hurt afterwards from all the walking but it was worth it to be able to see such a cool city.

Here are some pictures from Marseille:

Notre Dame de la Garde

 Stairs up to train station

 The Saint-Vincent-de-Paul church

 

The street we went shopping on, it has many boutiques

A ship in the Vieux Port

A view of islands off the shore of Marseille, several have old forts on them.

The Monument aux Morts (Monument for the dead)

Notre Dame de la Garde

The tower of Notre Dame de la Garde and the statue which represents Our Blessed Mother carrying her Son who is blessing the city and its harbor.

The inside of the Basilica

A closer look at the front of the Basilica

Momo and I lighting candles inside the Basilica

A group photo at Notre Dame de la Garde

A view of Marseille from Notre Dame de la Garde

The view of Marseille from another side of Notre Dame de la Garde

Momo and I at Notre Dame de la Garde

I will continue to post when I have the time.

À Bientôt!