Reflections on a Semester in France: The 10 Most Important Things I Learned

As I reflect on this trip I am reminded how incredible this experience has been. I have thought countless times of moving out to this country, preferably along the French Riviera, and forgetting all my worries.  To briefly conclude this journey I will relate the 10 Most Important Things that I have learned while in France.

1. Paris is always a good time.

Sometimes restaurants are not open at midnight, like they are supposed to be, because certain girls took too long to get ready and you end up eating at some small Chinese restaurant.  Sometimes the city of Paris has different plans for you and you just have to get lost in the city. No matter where you go in Paris you are bound to have a good time. Whether the climate be cold, windy, rainy, or snowy, the city has an incredible beauty that encompasses all others.

2. French wine is divine.

I would not consider myself a wino, though every now and then I like to enjoy a glass that complements my meal.  There is no doubt in my mind that French wine is the best in the world, and for good reason, the French know their wine. 

3. French people love their cigarettes.

There is no problem with cigarettes in France, despite the fact that they still kill you according to the slogan on most cigarette packs, "Fumer Tue", "Smoking Kills", accompanied with the picture of some poor decrepit individual with a disease caused by smoking.  This does not matter though, the French will continue to smoke if it kills them.

4. The French architectural style is the most beautiful in the world.

There is no doubt. Every building is incredible, from the chateaux to the apartment complexes, to the villas and little cabins.  Each building is different in some small way, but they are all joined together by the beauty of French architecture.

5. The aristocracy did not just have a lot of money, they had A LOT of money.

Versailles is approximately the same size as Paris and each chateau houses enough rooms for a small country.  The incredible amount of architectural brilliance in cohesion with the landscape and the significant amount of artistic pieces reveal that these French counts and dukes and kings did not have a lot of money, they had an overabundant cornucopia of money that refilled itself by means of a money tree growing out of it.  The way that we know they had this much money doesn't come from the chateaux that these aristocrats built for themselves, but the ones that they built for their mistresses as well.

6. The Alpes-Maritimes has the best view in the world.

 
The ancient towns like Eze, St. Paul, and Cagnes-Sur-Mer, provide an incredible contrast with the more modern cities like Nice and the Principality of Monaco.  These contrasts seem to complement the scenery of the mountains on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. It does not matter where you go in this area, the view is always incredible.

7. Disney movies lie to you, particularly about happiness and intercultural competence.  Romani people are not fun to deal with.

My first realization came in the Loire Valley, after I had finished reading Victor Hugo's "Notre Dame de Paris", when I wanted to watch the Disney interpretation to make comparisons.  The two renditions are completely different and I criticize Disney for trying to make such a tragic story into a children's story, as the two plots did not even reveal an inkling of similarity.  My second revelation came through Caylene, when she explained to me that Native Americans do not live like Pocahontas, instead, they like Twilight and cannot talk to the plants.  The third revelation came through my experiences with the romani people, or gypsies, in Paris.  I was accosted at several times by these troublesome nomads who tried to pickpocket me, then steal my money. If someone asks you to sign something for a donation, put your hands in your pockets, hold on to your valuables, don't acknowledge anyone, and whatever you do, keep walking... 

8. Everyone wants to get a picture of the exact same thing.

Everything in France is incredible and everyone wants to get a picture of it.  On many occasions people will fight to get this picture. If someone were to look through all the students' pictures, they would find the exact same picture somewhere.  All of the people in this image are at some stage of taking the same photograph...

9. French cuisine is incredible. Everything tastes delicious.

There is nothing to say that can describe the cuisine here.  Everything tastes incredible. You cannot simply say, "Let's go to that good restaurant," because all the restaurants are delicious. This picture is a special tribute to Amorino's Gelato, as it will be missed, along with all the other French foods, when I have to go back to America and eat food that doesn't even compare to the same caliber of cuisine.

10. Bring a bigger bag next time, or just move here.

Everyone in the group bought a bunch of stuff in France, or along the trip. There are flea markets and street vendors everywhere, and the quality of the stores here makes the products in American stores look like posh and prepped up pieces of garbage. Ultimately, everyone in the group needed a larger suitcase to contain all of their original items and new purchases.  My advice would be to save yourself the trouble and just move out here. I am looking for some new roommates... The picture should act as a hyperlink for one of the pieces of real estate I plan on obtaining...

Excursion to Vence

Yup, another excursion where we walk around forever, and I nod my head and wink at Blondine. Vence has this town called Saint Paul, and I understand why they built a huge wall around it with a cannon guarding the door, because the view is très belle. My favorite part was waiting outside, where these old men played joule de boule (I think that's what it's called), and watching them bicker was amusing. I now know what to do as an old man, when I can't golf. Oh and matisse museum was alright, I just don't understand that kind of art...#idontgetit.

Vence

Another excursion. This weekend we went to Vence. Again.. the "veille ville" was gorgeous. The architecture is really pretty. The is an amazing panoramic view! I love everything about this place! We went to Saint Paul's and went to the Church designed by Matisse. His art is always amazing! 

Whenever they have the slightest amount of space.. they fill it with some kind of a plant. Their doorways and windows are always filled with pretty plants and flowers!

Vielle Ville houses!

Side of the hill... The Hollywood "Vence" sign is in there. Kind of hard to spot. 

And of course we finished the day off at Amorino's for some gelato! 

Ticking clocks, drinking water, and Italian underwear

The Port of Antibes

This was a week of excursions. We went on three excursions with the school and one of our own. On Monday Blandine took us to Cagnes-Sur-Mer, where we looked at a bit of the small French town feel dating back to the Middle Ages. On Wednesday we headed to Antibes, where we got another feel of the Vielle Ville style French culture. Antibes houses a Picasso museum, an Archaeology museum, and the largest port in Europe. The Picasso museum did not have a lot of Picasso paintings, but it did have a decent amount of other works of Picasso's style and tributes to the famous artist. The port was very interesting, mainly because the yachts looked like they cost more than the whole area of the Mediterranean. One yacht had a helicopter port on it and I have made it my lifelong goal to procure that vessel.

Beepiby Bobibdy Italy

Yesterday we caught a train for like 45 minutes and ended up in Italy. Nice just got so much cooler to me. It was great experience, had my first canoli, bought sexy underwear, and had pizza next to the beach. I went with a group of girls, which means I walked around while they shopped and looked at everything. Even with this inhibition, I had fun. Great adventure and worth the trip. And get ready to understand nothing of what people say. Unless you know Italian.

Italia!!

Well we all decided to go to Ventimiglia today. We all hopped on the train and went to Italy. The train ride was only about 45 minutes. We hit up a bunch of markets. 

This is the view from the train on the way to Italy. I love all the houses that are built into the side of a hill right one the Mediterranean! 

There are are always street performers when you 

go anywhere with a large crowd. 

Its pretty amazing how still they stay!

 

Of course we had to have pizza in Italy! 

Theses are the markets we went to. All of us girls were in heaven... The boys probably not so much.

All you need is Love!

What can I say that hasn't already been said already about Paris?? Beautiful, a dream come true, romantic, one of the words that comes to mind for me is speechless. Everywhere that we went in Paris during one point or another I was literally speechless. Im sure there were a couple of tears as well. That's what Paris does to you, it really is the City of Love. A city that is rich in history, everywhere you turn there is a museum or a plaque telling you the history behind a building or that certain area. Being a humanities major I learn about this stuff everyday, about the arts, the history behind it, the who, what, where, when and why? That is all and good, but to see some of the art pieces and places that you learn about and see in books, does not do them justice.

 

Some of them were overwhelming like the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, and  the Arc de Triomphe. In the Louvre, the art of David, was beyond what I was expecting. The Mona Lisa was "smaller in person" but that didn't take anything away from her splendor or her famous smile.  On a boat tour we took on the Seine they informed us that if you were to spend a minute in front of each art piece in the Louvre it would take up four months time. So I'll need at least 2 years with the Louvre to feel like I've at least seen a glimpse of some of the greatest artists ever known. At the Musée d'Orsay I had a nice little chat with one of my favorites, Mr. Van Gogh, while looking at his self-protrait. Yes I am one of the few that refuse to believe he killed himself. ;-) paintings like this for example are the ones that you have to experience in person, I felt like I was looking into his soul, there is so much emotion in that painting! The Musée Rodin was another one that was fascinating, pretty much every museum in Paris you can find something that will captivate you. 

 But enough about all the art and history stuff, and more about what everyone is really interested in......the food! While in Paris not only did we have crepes by the Eiffel Tower. But we had the best hot chocolate I have yet to taste, at Angeline's, it was like drinking a melted candy bar. Laduree the best Macroons in the world, by far!!

    A little pastry called Paris & New York at Versailles, which was heavenly.   Also Escargot, that was surprisingly delish and hopefully gives me some extra credit! ;-) Thanks to Tammy and Brent for sharing their treasures!!!