Last weekend, before classes started, I went to France. The inspiration came from one of my new classmate's Facebook status and the fact that one of my DC roommate's parents live in Provence. Fortunately the stars aligned and I was able to spend a fantastic three days in an incredibly beautiful part of the world. The weekend was made all the better due to the warmth and generosity of my gracious hosts.
Provence is on the Mediterranean coast of France and is famous for wine, lavender and olives. I've been to Northern French cities many times thanks to my childhood in the UK, but this was the first time I had been to the South and it was everything I had heard it was.
We started off from Marseille and drove over to little town called Cassis. On the way we took the mountain road in time to see the sun set over the sea and all the lights come on in Cassis. It was perfectly clear and we were able to watch the sun go all of the way down. It doesn't matter how many times I see the sun set, it’s still one of my favorite things and this was one of the most beautiful.
After some fantastic food and a view of the sailboats bobbing in the bay at the yacht club, we drove back to their home in Puyloublier which is right at the base of Montaigne Sainte Victoire which was made famous in many paintings by Cezanne. The next morning I woke up to church bells and a breath-taking view of the valley. I spent the day in Aix with my roommate’s mom. She was born in the US and so spoke perfect English, but has lived in France most of her life and was an incredible tour guide of Aix.
The father is an MBA from Columbia University and has now retired and enjoys looking after the olive trees and land around their country home. He also has a telescope and as it was a clear night, after dinner I got my first view of Jupiter and four of her moons as well as a basic lesson in astronomy, wine making and olive growing. It was a perfect mix of simplicity, science, culture, art, relaxation and activity and just what I needed before a week of 10 hours of classes every day.
On the way home, I met up with one of my classmates in Montpellier and we drove back to Barcelona which was a short 3.5 hour hop. It’s so easy to jump from country to country here – the Euro has made things incredibly simple and the proximity of so many beautiful places has ensured that I’ll be spending every possible second travelling and reacquainting myself with this amazing continent. Right now, it’s hard to remember why I ever left…
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