A Travelling We Will Go... AGAIN!

Wednesday, August 24th, 2011

Yep, vacation is done. :( All that was left was to travel the whole 10 hours in the car. I have, and always will, hate long car rides. Even when I have my little sister to entertain me, I always just want to get to the final destination. I am seriously going to be so happy when they invent some way that humans can travel anywhere in the world in 5 minutes, flat. Hey, naybe I will do it and become a trillionaire, then I can buy a house on the Mediterranean Sea! For the trip back, it was more or less the exact same as last time, except that I had Becky to talk to a bit and headphones to listen to my Ipod (Becky had an extra pair that she gave to me!)

A nice thing though was that we left a bit early, and were able to take a bit of a detour through the wine country part of France. It was absolutely beautiful, and there were billions of grapevines. Everywhere you looked, there were grapes.  I have never seen so many bushes/vines/trees with fruit on them in my life. It was insane. Becky and I really wanted to try one of the grapes, but we never stopped. But apparently, those grapes make some high quality wine! Eddy told us that it is impossible to find a bottle of wine from that region for less than 30 euro. And for a bottle about 10 years old, I think he said it was more than 10,000. I could never imagine paying that much for a bottle of wine, but then again I wouldn't really know if the older high end wine is worth it, nor would I imagine would I even like it! Because I have tried sips of some wine before, and it tasted nasty (at least to me...)

Imagine this... But practically everywhere you look!

Aside from that, we had a pretty uneventful ride back home, other than stopping in Luxembourg again and Becky and I going into the shop to buy some Kinders! Yay, my first Kinder of the year and it was delicious! Seriously, all of you Americans are missing out on the most delicious candy bar in the world. Once we got back home, Eddy's mother, who was staying with Cecile, had made us a nice beef and veggie stew for dinner. After that, it was immediately off to bed for me because of upcoming early morning wake up for the Rotary activity in Brussels.

The Final Day of Relaxation

Tuesday, August 23rd, 2011 

Today was our final day of vacation in France. It must have been quite a good vacation because by the end of it I was ready to go back to Belgium and get on with my actual exchange (My mum always says that the sign of a good vacation is when you are excited to leave, but ready to go home, or in my case go to Belgium!) But anyhow, back to the actual day. We woke up around 8 (well, Becky woke up and then I was woken up by her...) and had a breakfast of what I have decided is my new favorite, a crossiant with a little bit of chocolate inside of it. I cannot for the life of me remember what they are called, but the are delicious. Just like most junk food is... Earlier during the week Becky and I had decided that for our last day we wanted to go back out on the boat. But then, Eddy brought up that they actually had a tube so then of course, we wanted to do that. So we blew up the tube and went tubing for quite some time. Even though it was a small, donut one person tube, Becky and I tried several different ways of trying to both fit on the tube. After a couple of times of falling off, I decided that it would be more fun if we just went by ourselves and swam back to the boat and let Becky try. She was funny, because she hadn't gone tubing very much before. I was trying to coach her a bit, but after a few times of falling off she was tired and switched places with me. I was really excited to go by myself, because even though Eddy had decided to take us out on the lake because it would be less wavy, there was still pretty good tubing conditions. I was proud of myself because I only fell off once, when I hit a huge wave and my arms were all messed up from going outside of the wake. But seriously, it was an epic fall. I flew into the air, and stayed there for at least 3 seconds. The rest of the time, I didn't fall off but by the end  I was so tired I asked if I could just stop. Seriously, it was one of the best locations to tube ever.

All of that intense tubing made Becky and I so hungry, so we throughly enjoyed our avocado sandwiches (yay, someone who likes avocado as much as I do!) and then spent the rest of the afternoon sitting in the sun and enjoying ourselves. We both agreed that once we got back, we were going to be some of the tannest people in Belgium thanks to the French sun. (And it is quite true... I feel funny saying I am from dreary Washington when I have such a great tan... But who knows, maybe people think I am of some cool ethnicity!) After a bit of relaxing we circled the entire lake, which took quite some time because it really was a huge lake. Eddy and Pascale told us that even though they had been coming to Port Maritima for more than 10 years, that was the first time that they had even really gone onto the lake and looked around. So it was neat, because it was new experience for all of us. Becky was also happy because Eddy let here drive the boat a little bit (me, I didn't really find it quite as fascinating as she did...)

It was bright... Hahaha

The Speed Boat!

Around 5, we headed back to shore and brought the boat up and out of the water for the final big clean. And boy, was this a BIG clean. Becky, Eddy, and I were probably cleaning that boat for 2 hours, at least. I can honestly say that I don't think there will ever be a cleaner boat in the world. We cleaned thatt baby inside and out, scrubbing off ever little scuff (pardon my spelling...), rinsed out the salt water from the engine, cleaned all of the boat with soap and water, pressure washed the majority of the boat, cleaned the windows, wiped down the seats and seat cushions, and I think Eddy might have even found a way to vacuum the little carpet inside! It was crazy, but understandable I guess because the boat will be just sitting there docked like the sailboat for an entire year... In the middle of the cleaning session, Pascale came back from running errands and brought us these delicious ice cream cones. They were the kind that you get in the package with the cone and the chocolate, but this oen had caramel in the ice cream as well and chocolate on the inside of the cone all the way down. It was literally the best pre-made ice cream cone I have EVER had.

Once the boat was sparkling, we took showers and got ready to go out to the highly favored restuarant, Les Pins. The special that day was a nice cut of steak, with frites and a petit salad. It was funny, because all four of us ended up getting it! I learned at that restuarant that Europeans like their meat practically raw. Pascale ordered hers to be something something blue, which is that they basically put it on the grill and only the outside gets slightly cooked, but the inside is still raw! Both Becky and I ordered ours well-done (at least, I am pretty sure we did...) and towards the middle it was still really red! But I didn't mind much, because the actual meat was such a nice cut. But the whole time I was thinking about my little sister, Maddie, who generally has to go and microwave her meat even after my dad cooks it really well. If there is any little piece of red, she cooks it more. Maddie would just die if she was ever forced to eat beef in Europe, because even their welldone meat has red on it... After dinner we headed back home and went to sleep, preparing for the next day of a lot of travelling.

Je ne sais pas...

Monday, August 22nd, 2011

Today started out early for Eddy, who once again left to go fishing at 4 in the morning. Me, being the light sleeper that I am, woke up as he was getting ready but luckily in Belgium I have become quite the expert at sleeping in weird, unfamiliar, loud, or bright places. Look at me, adapting to the culture so much ;) and of course, everyone who knows me knows how much of a mornign perosn I am, so I was very happy when I was almost immediately able to go back to sleep. Vacations do that do you... They just make you want to sleep all of the time! So, after I woke up at a respectable time, we had some breakfast and relaxed for a bit. Being with Becky on vacation was really nice, because she is a lot like me and enjoys just sitting and relaxing and reading a good book. (There I go again switching back and forth between current and past tenses... Sorry for that, writing a blog update a week after it actually happened ain't easy!)

So, after lunch we had planned for just us girls to finally go and see the little town were the nativity scenes with some French additions are made. I was quite excited by this fact, especially since Eddy had been talking about it all vacation and I had gotten to see a little shop in Marseille where they are sold, and I had kinda decided that I had wanted to buy some little people to bring back home as gifts. Once I got into the car, I was tired so I feel asleep almost right away knowing that it was an hour car ride. Thank goodness I had vacation to be able to get over all of my jet lag! But then, once I woke up, I found myself in Marseille heading towards the Notre Dame de la Garde. I was slightly confused by this detour, but thought Pascale was just stopping to left Becky see the sights. But then, once we actually stopped, Becky explained to me that while I was sleeping that Eddy had called saying that he'd had a successful fishing day and ended early, which meant that he needed a car to bring the boat in. So apparently, we couldn't go and see the little nativity scenes after all and instead stopped in Marseille just so the trip wasn't a complete bust. The weird thing is, that after Becky told me that I kind of actually remembered the whole conversation thing happening. But not really... My state of sleeping is never really a normal one. I swear I need twice as much sleep as everyone else because we I sleep, I am not truely 100% asleep. If that makes any sense... But anyhow, Becky was able to see the sights and I was actually able to kinda go inside a bit unlike the other day so it was nice. and, on the plus side, Pascale took us back to the delicious homemade ice cream place and I was able to get the same delicious yogurt swirled with berries and a scoop of my new favorite, pistachio ice cream! YUMMY!

After our quick little repeat adventure, we went back to help out Eddy with his big catch of the day. There were soooo many fish, even more than the other day, but today I stayed with Becky and watched Eddy gut the fish. It was nasty! But then again, I am not one to like blood or guts or anything gory. So ya... But I did build up the confidence to try gutting one myself! It was WAY harder than Eddy made it look. Fisrt, you have to cut off the head and all of the bodily organs from that. Then you have to actually seperate the filet from the spine and that was the hard part. If you cut too close, there were too many bones. If you cut too far away, you were wasting quality fish. Once you cut down the spine you just continued out until you reached the tail and finished the cut. I know it doesn't sound that hard, but it was. And when Eddy did it, he made it seem like 5 easy cuts. But it took Becky and I at least 20 minutes to gut one, and they weren't nearly as nice. Once we finished up gutting the fish Becky and I went for a quick walk looking for fig trees along the road, didn't find any so we came back, and then it was time for dinner (which a week later, I do not remember what we had...).



Woohoo Marseille!

Artistaclly shot through the trees...

Pascale and I... Excuse the awkward arm!






The Region of Provence

Sunday, August 21st, 2011

Today started out early-ish at about 7 in the morning, as we all had to get up and going because we were going to the market today. We got to the market just as people were finished setting up. It was great, and Becky and I had quite a nice time looking at everything. We probably circled the entire market at least twice, there was just so much to look at. It was quite like markets back home, with fruits, veggies, homegrown/made foods, and a few pieces of art. But the majority of the stands were actually clothing and accessories stands, so that was cool for a change. Also, everything was really cheap (SUPER cheap for Europe) and so there were many tempting things that just seemed to call out my name. In the end, I only bought a small black purse because I had been unable to fit my main one in the suitcase (I accidentally took it out and forgot to repack it, and by the time I noticed it there was no room), and a gray belt that was a great deal and I kinda needed, considering that lately I had been borrowing my sister’s belt a ton.

I forgot to mention yesterday that after seeing Becky and I interacting and having so much fun together, both of our host families agreed that if we both wanted, Becky could stay with us on the boat until we leave Wednesday, rather than go home with her host family today.  I was excited about having someone my age and who spoke English to hang with, and Becky was excited to have a longer vacation. So, after getting a quick drink after some shopping, we said goodbye to Michel and his family.

We then headed to the bakery for croissants, as all of us were starving because it was 11 AM and we hadn’t eaten anything yet. Then, we packed up a lunch and headed off to this place (which is the equivalence of a county) named Provence. There we went to a museum where there were little dolls with fancy recreations of buildings and other scenery. They all represented Provence way back in the 1700s (I think that was the time frame…) the detail work that went into the museum was crazy, and Eddy explained to us that if one person had done all of the work, it would have taken something crazy like 10 years of non-stop work to complete. It was nice getting to see all of the parts of Southern French culture, and I was actually surprised to see how much of the culture that I had actually been able to experience. It was nice. Becky and I finished looking probably within 10 minutes, and Eddy and Pascale were just taking a lot of time to look at every detail very carefully. We were wondering why they found it so fascinating, but then Eddy told us the reason. He said that a lot of the dolls within the museum represented real actors and actresses that were in movies about Provence and the rest of France. Apparently, the dolls were made to look exactly like the real life people, so there was an even longer story behind the story of Provence.

Grape Smashing Dolls :)

Lavender with a windmill... But not the one we went to!

Goliath got tired of looking at the dolls.

After the museum, we went to a windmill that apparently inspired Alphonse Daudet, a famous Belgian writer, for the majority of his books. Neither Becky nor I had ever heard of this guy, but he is a classic. So classic that his books were translated into English and are used as literature in high school English classes. The windmill, even though we didn’t know the background story, was cool. It was really old, but still in good shape. Also, in the little gift shop that they had inside of the windmill, there was an English copy of the main book by Daudet, called Letters from My Windmill, and Eddy bought a copy so Becky and I could share it and learn about the windmill we had just seen. He also bought us some nice postcards of the region because we hadn’t had enough time to see everything he wanted us to see, and little pins for our blazers that were a cricket, because they are all over Southern France and they have a special species. This cricket in French is actually called the seagale (excuse my French) and you seriously cannot go outside without hearing them! After the windmill both Becky and I were really tired and slept the entire long-ish car ride back to the sailboat. And once we got on the sailboat, we slept some more. Both Becky and I blamed the sun, but one cannot be too sure… Haha maybe vacation just makes everyone a bit lazy and tired. After sleeping for what seemed like forever, we enjoyed a delicious dinner of Eddy’s Chinese cooking and were finally able to sit outside thanks to this mosquito-be-gone smoke thingy that they had bought after seeing how much mosquitoes love me! Then, we hit the sack after a long day. Please excuse my switching from present to past tense. At first, I was keeping up with my blog but once Becky arrived I felt more obligated to spend time with her and so the blog got pushed until more than a week later when I finally had time!

Windmill! Becky and I are enjoying eating some figs... We're obsessed

Tiny me with the windmill!

Close-up of Becky and I!

Aussi, Aussi, Aussi!

Saturday, August 20th, 2011

Playing a bit of catch up here… So sorry if my accounts aren’t as detailed. But then again, that just might be a good thing! I always find myself rambling on quite a bit, with way more to say than I originally thought. So today, we got up and had a breakfast of croissants. They remainder of the morning was spent reading and waiting for the arrival of Eddy’s friend Michel, and his family (as well as their Australian host student, yay!) When they arrived around 10 in the morning, we all got ready for a long day out on the boat. The day was heaps of fun (and now I find myself talking like an Australian… haha). We just spent the day swimming a lot wherever we stopped. The first time we stopped was closer to the port and in a little cove near some not-so-high cliffs. We probably spent the most time there, and had a lunch of pizza which we had bought from a pizza truck the night before. Swimming in the ocean was a lot more fun having people to be with. Even though both Becky (the Australian) and her host brother Coco had goggles, we just traded off and took turns touching the bottom about 15 to 20 feet down.

After our first spot we drove around quite a bit near Marseille to show the whole family the sights. Even though I had seen it all before, it was a lot of fun because Becky and I braved the waves splashing on us and the bumps from going over huge waves and sat in the very front of the boat, which isn’t padded and all you hold on to is the metal railing. It was painful the day after, but definitely worth it. It was also quite nice having someone to talk to all day that spoke perfect English and really knew exactly what you were going through. Even though I have only been in Belgium for a little less than 2 weeks, I still find it quite hard to adjust to all of the changes, such as listening to things in French, reading menus in French, and not being with my family who always seems to know the perfect time to do everything and I don’t have to say what I want to do when I want to, because they just seem to know. They are my family. SO needless to say, it was quite nice not to have to adjust so much.

Another nice thing about having Becky with me is that she has been on exchange since last January because of the weird school system in Australia. So I got to see firsthand how maybe I will be after being here for 7 months. She said that I actually understand and know a lot more than she did when she first came here, and now she is talking quite fluently to her host family as well as mine. And to hear about all of her trips and what she has done in school, it’s just comforting because it is something to look forward to in all of the homesickness and worry that I will NEVER be able to learn French, no matter how much or how long I try for.

After boating, we went to the same old restaurant that we had gone to twice already. Apparently, it is just THAT much better than any other restaurant in the area. But then again, I wouldn’t really know…. Being around Becky and her family made me realize how different I act around kids rather than just adults. Even with Coco who didn’t speak English, I was more open and playful and less reserved. I don’t really know why I am that way, but maybe it is just because I find it harder to relate to the adults. It also made me realize how much I want to have host siblings in my next two families. After dinner, we all were exhausted after a tiring day on the boat and went to bed almost immediately, although it was quite the cram. Pascale and I slept in our normal places, Coco slept where Eddy been sleeping, the host mum slept in the same type of bed across from Coco, Becky slept in the tiny area that is squished up against the ceiling, which is actually where I have been putting my luggage and things, and eddy and Michel slept on the speed boat where luckily there was a nice covered and cushioned area at the front of the boat. Although it was quite squishy, we managed.

Suprise Snapshot by Coco... yes, the bathrooms were for both sexes. I just liked the cool reflection :)

Pretty Sunset

Large Cities and American Restaurants

Friday, August 19th, 2011

I never know quite how to start out my blog. I feel like if I was to go straight into a lively description of the day, it’s just too much to handle and well, it gets boring after a while! But, when I try to think of witty entrances, they always just sound lame. So excuse my intros, because I just never know where exactly to start out. Well, I guess when I wake up is good. Pascale and Eddy went out on another fishing trip today because yesterday they caught hardly anything. As they once again woke up at 4:30 AM, I kindly opted out of this excursion. I felt even worse denying them a second time, but they are always encouraging me to do what I want, and quite frankly I didn’t want to wake up early for another unsuccessful fishing day. So instead, I stayed on the sailboat and read. Once they got back, I learned that I might have been entertained quite well after all because they ended up catching about 40 kilos worth of mackerel. After they cleaned up the fish and stored them in the freezer, we headed out to visit Marseille as we had planned last night.

The Catch of the Day

So after about a 25 minute drive, we arrived in France’s third largest city. It was waaaay bigger than I expected it to be, after seeing it on the sea and viewing it from far away. We first went the St. Vincent’s Basilica, which I guess has been there for a very long time. The city of Marseilles was built about 600 BC by the Greek (or Romans, one of the two) as a port city along the Mediterranean Sea. So, I imagine that that church was very old as well. Not quite as old, but old enough. It was a plain, but pretty old church. Unfortunately, it was being restored, so I don’t think that we got to see it in all of its glory, and the crypt was just plain sad because most of it was closed off.

The Basilica

The Crypt

After the Basilica, Eddy and I (Pascale, who was hurting from standing and fishing all day, stayed at the car with Goliath) walked the streets along the port and looked in all of the windows and saw the beautiful sites of the old Marseilles. It was nice, and Eddy even bought us some ice cream because it was about 33 degrees Celsius. So I think high 90s for us… Don’t get me wrong,I love heat, but it was just a bit much after being in the boat all day, with only a small fan to cool me down. But the ice cream we had, it was wonderful. Eddy told me that it was even homemade, and it definitely tasted like it! Pascale picked us up after our little walk, and we drove down the most famous street in the city. Unfortunately, I have forgotten what it was called, but oh well. It was very busy, and I decided that I would never want to drive in Europe because they really are crazy drivers. Everyone is parking everywhere, on the sidewalks and on the barriers in the middle of the road. There are also hundreds of people zipping around on their little Vespas  or whatever those bikes are called, and the are zooming in and out of traffic to try and go even faster than the already speeding cars. And other than the very main roads, the others are just like little alleyways that are generally one way with cars parked on either side and even for small cars it is a tight squeeze. Luckily, even the people that have Hummers and trucks over here don’t have them nearly as large as they are in America. Or else, I don’t think they would be able to drive down any streets except for highways!

Marsielle, the 3rd Biggest City in France

Southern France Buildings (I seem to have the obssession for different architecture!)

Le Centre de Marsielle

The final thing we did in Marseilles was to go the Notre Dame de la Garde. Unfortunately, by the time we got there it was closing so we only had the chance to take a few quick pictures. But I think we may go back, if I want to see the actual inside of the church… But I didn’t really mind that the church was closed, because the view was simply amazing. The church lies at the very top of the city on a hill and it is probably the highest point for quite a long while. It’s height makes for astonishing photos of the entire city of Marseilles. But really, the city was so huge (actually much bigger than I thought) that I couldn’t even get it all into one camera view. But it was simply amazing to see the whole city just go on for miles and then out to the sea, which seems to just simply go on forever. I am really glad that I got to see it, and even more glad that I was able to take some beautiful pictures. Even though the city was completely crazy and I much prefer the more laid backed Martigues to it, the city was definitely something that I had to see before I left France. The only city that I now am dying to see in France is of course Paris. Then, I will have gone to the 1^st and 3^rd biggest cities in France, and driven through the second biggest (Lyon). Now, I think we will eat dinner in a bit and get prepared for Eddy and Pascale’s friends who are coming to visit tomorrow along with their Australian exchange student. I can’t wait to have someone to speak English to! Real English, not slowly and without having to explain myself at all! But then again, I heard that most Australians come in January due to their weird school year so I may feel even more inferior to all of the other beautifully French speaking people… But oh well, I will just have to get over it! Au revoir et bonne nuit!

Notre Dame de la Garde (no, not THE Notre Dame!)

Marseille

Ah, horrible tan lines.

It was much bigger from way up there... Couldn't fit the whole city in one shot!

***Well, I had such an interesting night that I just absolutely had to comment on it. So first, after getting back to the boat I discovered that we would not be eating a while, so I went and took a shower because I was all gross and hot from today. Then, as soon as I got out we left for a restaurant that Eddy said had a specialty in meat, I was, of course, happy with this choice and surprised that we were not joining to Les Pins, but they said that they wanted to save that tomorrow for when the others are here. But anyhow, so I am in a dress because I had noticed people around here, at least at  the restaurants that  I have been around so far, dress up quite a bit. And since I had just gotten out of the shower, on the way to the restaurant I am literally hanging my head out the car window trying to dry my wet hair because I really don’t know if it socially acceptable to go out with wet hair. And I couldn’t bring my hair dryer, because I knew they would have one in Belgium for me to use and that if I brought mine it would probably just blow up anyhow… But, back to the rest of the night as I wasn’t looking like a dog out the window… When we pull up to the restaurant, it is The Buffalo Grill. I find out, more or less, that they thought this was a restaurant that I had at home that I would quite enjoy as a change. Now, don’t get me wrong, I had a delightful dinner of ribs. But here I was, an American in France, who travelled halfway around the world to go to a barbeque place way overdressed. It made my day, not only because it was funny but because the ribs I ordered were just what I needed after trying so many new foods, even if the barbeque sauce tasted a bit off. Another funny thing is that they were boasting about being this All-American restaurant that I have never even heard of and under their “American desserts” they had pancakes. Although Pascale and Eddy knew what they were, I found it very funny that they would serve pancakes as a dessert. I mean, if they were REALLY American they would know that no one would ever have pancakes as a dessert. And lastly, we had a male waiter that had some extra weight in the just the right places that made him look severely pregnant. Don’t get me wrong, if was a very nice and good waiter, even talking to me in English about he tried to live in the U.S. once for photography but that it was entirely too expensive. But I couldn’t help looking and him and how the rest of his body was perfectly skinny, but there was his stomach, with what looked like a perfect little baby bump and hips. And I also am almost 100% he was fully male. Seriously, this is something that if I were back home I would have snuck a picture on my phone to show people. And now, that is finally all I have to say.***

Adventures in Martigues

Thursday, August 18th, 2011

Ok, I lied. Today was definitely the best day. As planned, Eddy and Pascale woke up at the bright and early time of 4 AM. Of course, me being the night owl I am, I chose to opt out of the fishing exploration.  I felt genuinely sorry, because Eddy had seemed quite excited to share with me his love of fishing, but they DID leave the choice up to me, and do to the fact that I have constantly felt like sleeping even after a good night’s rest, I think he understood.

So after dinking around (wow, I didn’t know that dinking was actually a real word…) , having some breakfast and reading, I set off on a walk. Once I heard that Eddy and Pascale would be fishing for the majority of the day, I just knew that I had to make some kind of plans for myself! So in my head I madfe the promise to myself that I would look at the route to Martigues next time we drove by and walk there myself today. So after we drove through the town the other night to be able to look at Martigues and its beautiful lights, I memorized the path to down. Although I have always had a knack for directions, this was not hard because you simply followed the road straight along the canal until you got to the bridge! So after lathering myself in lots of sun screen, I embarked on my mini adventure.

Getting there took me a LOT less time than I thought. Walking fast, I got there in about 20 minutes and was able to wander around town for the whole afternoon. It was absolutely beautiful, and I loved looking around all of the little shops and what they were selling.  I found all of the beautiful spots that Eddy had showed me the other day by car, such as the little canal that is absolutely breathtaking and gives Martigues the name of Little Venice. I took so many pictures today that I have to download them onto my computer now, and was also able to find a little gift shop where I bought some postcards to send to people back home. Although I have nobody’s addresses and will not be able to send them once I get back home with Internet access, it really is the thought that counts! J

I was in France!

Little Venice

My attempts at being artistic.

Martigues

I love all of the adorable alleyways they have in Europe.

Another one of my little discoveries was this beautiful Catholic Church right across from the Little Venice canal. It’s so beautiful, and yet most people walk right past it because they are so taken by the more noticeable beauty of the canal. Just like every Catholic Church, it was open. I loved going inside, and it was nice to just sit there and be able to pray a little bit, especially I haven’t gone to church since I have been here (ok, I missed one weekend and sometimes at home we are just so busy that I don’t even go for like a month, but I really feel that I could have used it, even if it was in French…) Being an exchange student has already turned out to be a whole different experience than I thought, and I am glad that I have my faith to help me along the way. After the church and walking around for so long, it was time for me to get back home so I could be there when Eddy and Pascale got back.! So anyhow, I got back, ate lunch, drank lots of cool water (although it was on my mental packing list, I forgot to bring some on my journey…), and finished my third and final book. Eddy and Pascale had noticed how fast I was going through my books, and now they are taking me to get more where I am SURE that they won’t let me pay… Ugh. It just makes me feel bad that I haven’t really paid for anything when I am given the money to do so. But for the time being, Eddy and Pascale went back to the fish market and I am waiting here, writing my blog. I don’t know whether tonight we will go and have all you can eat clams, or enjoy a dinner here but whatever it is I sure it will be great.

Beautiful Church

The Interior

The Side View

Discovering the Coast of France

Wednesday, August 17th, 2011

Just a quick recap of last night… we went back to the Restaurant de Pins, the same one from the first night, which seems to be Eddy and Pascale’s favorite. I thought I was being safe when having ordered a cream pizza with ham and bacon, but once I cut into I realized that their  “white” pizzas were made with some kind of gross cheese. I don’t know what it was, but I definitely could have avoided this if only I had not waved off Pascale and said that I knew that it was the “white” pizza. I am sure she was trying to tell me about the gross cheese… ***It was goat cheese. Will definitely note to avoid that in the future....*** But oh well. The pizza was quite good after I scraped off the cheese underneath! And the crust was just simply delicious. I also got to try a lot of different types of seafood, because Eddy and Pascale had gotten this HUGE seafood dish. So I got to try one of everything that didn’t have eyes (now those, I refused) and I figured out I like clams. Or at least the type they serve in Southern France… So now, I think we may go back Thursday night because it is all you can eat clams night. YUM! After dinner, we went through Martigues on a night drive to see all of the pretty lights, and even though it was 11 PM it was still a bustling little town.  I simply think that any town in Europe is the town that never sleeps.

I am at the end of what I actually think has been the best day in France yet. We woke up at the reasonable time of 8:30 (of course, I had to be woken up…) got ready, and immediately went on the boat as planned. But, for whatever reason, once we got to Allen’s boat and knocked on the… boat, I guess, he was nowhere to be found. After searching for him for a bit and calling his cell phone, we gave up the search and went on our way. So, no secret area, but I didn’t mind! We travelled along the coast for what seemed like FOREVER (probably a good hour and a half) and then we got closer to the coast, which revealed a little brake in the rocks. On either side of you, there were these huge, but gorgeous rocks and on the left, there was even a little building with a cross near it and a restaurant. After seeing this, I got excited for what was to come. We travelled for probably about another half hour along similar rocks, some very high with houses hanging off the side,  and the view was spectacular. It was also nice because it was something new to see, because there definitely wasn’t road access to what we were seeing. Eddy finally reached our destination after a while. It was the beautiful little cove, with lots of buoys to hook your boats up too. There were so many sailboats there it was crazy, in our speed boat I felt like a minority.

Kinda bad quality, but gorgeous!

Please excuse the fishing pole that is in the way...

I was in love with the cross. It was just nice suprise in the middle of nowhere!

Our cove we stayed in!

So we spent the majority of the day in the cove, which I definitely did not mind. First, I went to the front of the boat again to tan (this time thankfully with sun screen), read, and just simply relax. It was absolutely perfect. Not only did I have the entertainment of my book, but there was also a lot of people watching going on. The cove we were in, of course, was surrounded by pretty tall cliffs. But everywhere, there was people climbing up onto the cliffs and jumping off. A large part of me really wanted to do it, but I knew I couldn’t stand to do it by myself, so I just enjoyed watching other people jump off instead. It made me want my family to be with me, because I knew I could probably persuade my dad, Bolton, and possibly even Erin to do it with me. But then again, Mum, who hates heights, probably would have stopped us anyhow. Or she would have been yelling at us to be careful the whole time anyhow…

One of the coves... If you look really closely, towards the middle you can see some kids jumping off of the cliffs!

The coves were gorgeous!

The rock that is sticking up on the right is called by the locals God's thumb:)

LOVE!

After having lunch and doing lots of relaxing, we headed back because it was actually a pretty long journey back to the canal that our port is at. We did, however, go a bit slower this time and even went closer to the coastline, which I was happy about because it meant that I could even better see the sights and that the ride would be less bumpy (I easily get motion sickness, and I keep forgetting to bring my medicine with me…) So on the way back, we saw the city of Marseilles, which was definitely way bigger than the quaint little Martigues near us, as well as any other cool parts of the cliffs and the crazy houses on them. But my favorite thing we saw is the actually prison, on an island just of the city of Marseilles, where the Count of Monte Cristo was held. Now, having avidly watched the movie a number of times, I was delighted to see this prison. But the thing is, until now I didn’t even know that the Count of Monte Cristo even existed. Well, I am still not 100% sure, but the way Eddy was talking about it it seemed to be real. And also, the prison didn’t really look like the prison that was used in the movie, so I guess it must be real! You learn something new everyday…. ***Okay, well I know feel extremely stupid, but I know that the fictional story was just set at Chateau d’If, which is what I saw***

Marseille, the 3rd Biggest City in France

Close-up!

Chateau d'If

Crazy houses on the side of the cliff...

Just one piece of France's endless beauty

In France, I have tasted, seen, and experienced many new and different things. I’ve swam in the Mediterranean Sea.  I’ve tasted all sorts of sea food that I have never tried before. I have learned more about the flora of Southern France than I think the locals even know. I have learned a bit more French (but hey, it is holiday!). I have experienced European swimwear (and unfortunately nudity at a far distance…).  I am finally getting a decent tan. I’ve learned about driving a speed boat in the ocean. I’ve seen the prison of the Count of Monte Cristo and learned that his story is, at least, partially real. I have experienced Belgian cuisine. I have seen many Southern France coastal towns. I have fallen in love with the whole atmosphere of the world around the Mediterranean Ocean. I have been reminded exactly why it is that my mom always tells me to put sunscreen on.  I have gone to a French bakery and thoroughly enjoyed their croissants.  I have been to a European supermarket and seen what they have to offer. I have eaten more fresh baguettes than I thought ever would. I have slept, and hopefully soon, will sail on an actual sailboat. I have learned that American toiletries are better than Europeans. I have had it be sunny ever day for almost a week. I’ve been the minority among a lot of French speaking people. And yet, even after all of this, a part of me still misses home. I’m not crazy, am I?

There's Never a Bad Time to Read

Tuesday, August 16th, 2011

First to finish out last night….  I finally had a normal dinner of ravioli with a red meat sauce. It was definitely good, especially since the ravioli were made fresh nearby (or so the package claimed….) Allen joined us again for dinner, which meant that I just sat there eating my food while I understood maybe half of what they said. But it’s whatever, how else am I supposed to learn the language?

I woke up this morning to an empty sailboat. Without a note or anything, I had no idea where they had gone but figured it was just for a few errands. Eddy and Pascale reappeared around 11, and they informed me that they had gone to run a couple of errands and they hadn’t wanted to wake me. After yet another breakfast of delicious croissants, Pascale took me to the local bookstore. Although the choices of English literature were fairly slim, I still managed to find three books that I was really excited about.  I felt very bad though because they keep on insisting that I shouldn’t have to pay for anything, even though I always bring along my money and try to pay. But I never want to turn down their what seems to be endless generosity, so they always win the money battle. One of these days though, I really have to get them to understand that I can pay for at least some of the things we buy, whether it is directly related to me or not!

After the bookstore, we went to the supermarket. They had about the same kind of foods as in Belgium, but the produce section was really cool because above each fruit and vegetable there was a sign saying where it had came from. I was surprised to find that over 90% if the produce was grown locally in France. Then again, there are lots of different climates in France allowing for the prosperity of many different types of crops. But still, it was quite impressive. It would be like Washington and Oregon being able to grow any kind of fruit or veggie that you want locally. We ended up buying a lot of new and different foods for dinners for me to try, such as duck (which I actually said I do not think I like) and lamb chops. When in France…

The Western Europeans’ kindness never fails to amaze me. Besides from the whole kissing practically whoever you meet, they are just in general very friendly. There are hardly any horns honked, people let pedestrians cross the street before going even if they are doing it illegally, and there always seems to be a smile for everyone. For example, in the supermarket there was a man behind us who had only one little thing of cheese to ring up. Pascale, noticing his single item and then our heaping cart, allowed him to go ahead of us. I saw another person do the same for a different man who only had like three items. I mean, you hardly ever do this kind of thing in the U.S. But then again, that IS why express 20 items or less lanes were created…

After shopping, we came back to the boat, had sandwiches, and Eddy and Pascale left again to go and get a cooler. Guess it ended up being hotter than they had planned, or maybe we just bought more stuff that needed to be cooled than they had expected… Either way, I opted out to stay on the sailboat and read. It was nice to be able to just take a long break and read to my heart’s content. It is exactly what a vacation should be like! At least, in the Lancaster family that is the ideal dream. Anyhow, I am also excited to get off of this boat tomorrow. Allen, who apparently is a pretty good friend of the family, has been invited to join us on the speed boat tomorrow and he promises to show Eddy this apparently wonderful and kind of secret spot along the coast where we can spend the day. Should be fun! And then, on Thursday, the plan is to wake up super early to go fishing. Although I have never been, I think I may opt out of this early morning activity and sleep in instead. I know many people really love fishing, but I think I am among the number who would find it a bit boring. And if it weren’t for the early morning, which everyone that knows me knows that I DO NOT like AT ALL, I would give it a try. But for now, I will have to take a rain check on the whole fishing thing. Now all that is left is dinner, which I am sure Allen will once again join us for, and sleep.

But one more final thing I forgot to mention… After waking up Monday morning, I discovered about 70 mosquito bites all over my left leg. Although I knew mosquitoes really do enjoy the Lancaster blood, I had not had them attack me quite so bad in a long time. I probably have over all 100 mosquito bites, if not more. Once Eddy and Pascale had seen them, they were really worried about the how big and swollen they appeared. Even though I told them that this kind of thing happens all of the time, and that I have even at one time gone to the doctor for it, they still insisted that I take some kind of medication and apply a medicinal lotion to all of my bites. Unfortunately, the medicine isn’t helping much and my left leg itches very badly. But, it is just something that you grow to ignore and hope that no one thinks it is too weird when a girl walks into the supermarket with one leg covered in swollen red dots!

Basically what me entire body looked like... but worse even after this day!