Eze, Seminars, and Provence!

I apologize for not posting anything recently. Life at the College has been really hectic as of late and I have fallen behind on my blogs. This one will be a long one, full of all the events of the past two weeks or so. I apologize in advance for how long this will take to read. Also, sorry for the weird placement of pictures on my blog site. For some reason blogger does not like to format pictures very well alongside text, so I put them where I can.

Eze: 

Partway up, but not close enough!

Last weekend weekend we took a day trip out to a place called Eze, which is one of the most well known of the villages perchés (perched villages) on the Cote d'Azur. I had actually visited this town on my last trip to France, but it was for a relatively short amount of time, and without the adventure that we had getting there. The village, as you might be able to guess, is situated on the top of a mountain, making getting up there a true feat. In the past, these villages were created to protect against bands of marauding Saracens who invaded the Provence region regularly. Being situated so high up made assaults incredibly difficult. Today, there is a road that goes up to the town, allowing one to take a bus to the top. That is how I went up last time. This time, however I had to earn my way to the top. We followed le Chemin de Nietzsche, named after the famous author/philosopher of the Zarathustra and who uttered the famous words "God is dead." Apparently, in his later years, Nietzche settled in southern France and made the laborious climb to Eze often. I admit that the old man must have been in better shape than Hayley and I, as the trek to the top was an incredible exertion. It took over an hour of hard climbing to make it from sea-level to the town at the top. Although we were sweating and exhausted throughout the climb, the view as we worked our way through the wooded path was exceptional. From our vantage point, we could see the ocean, mountains, and forest for miles around. It was well worth the pain of the climb. We spent some time exploring the town, enjoying the view, and stopped for some delicious crepes in a little spot looking out over the mountains. The climb down, while a little bit easier, was still quite a bit of work. We really did the full leg workout throughout the day. Hayley got a little nervous near the end, as her legs were quivering from the workout and she was worried that her legs would lock out. All in all, it was a fun day. We got a lot of fun pictures, and although we didn't do terribly much, the sights made the day spectacular. It was our last reprieve before a hectic week of classes.

New classes:

This week marked the end of the super vacation-y phase of our semester here in Cannes. Up to this point, we only really had our 3 hour grammar class every morning, and a seminar with our trip leader twice per week. The rest of the time has just been our leisure/beach time. But now our other seminars at the college have started, taking away the last vestiges of free time. Hayley and I are both taking French Society and Art History, which go for 3.5 hours once per week (Mon/Wed respectively), along with a theater class which will actually begin tomorrow. These new classes, combined with our existing workloads, have had us really busy. It has been a stern reminder that contrary to the tropical weather, we are here first and foremost as students, not tourists. We try not to take that fact too seriously. The courses are actually very interesting. Our society class, along with our CSB/SJU seminar and our observations since coming here, have really helped me to get a grasp for how France works. We talk all the time about the French healthcare system, education, familial policy, cultural assimilation, immigration, and a ton of other subjects. One of these days I plan to write out a post detailing just how different these things are from back home, and what they do better/worse. It has truly made for a mind-opening experience.

The day before we left on our trip, we had a "nice" surprise from our group supervisor, who set up a wine and cheese tasting session for us. We learned a lot about how some of the important French wines are made, stored, and consumed, along with information about their cheeses. These two things are super important in French culture, so it was an absolute must that we experienced them. That is not to imply, however, that Hayley and I enjoyed them. We were dismayed when we were poured several glasses of wine. As much as we wish we could, neither of us enjoy wine. We have tried it several times and tried to lie to ourselves, telling ourselves that we like the taste, but no avail. So we muddled through the wine tasting with pinched, sour faces. The cheese was, as you might be able to imagine, very, very stinky. We tried several different kinds, which actually taste a lot better than they smell. The trick is to not smell the cheese before you eat it.



Provence: 

This weekend we took a group trip through the region of Provence. If you look at a map, Provence is the chunk of land in the southeast of France, touching Italy and the Mediterranean. Cannes (the city where we live) is right on the coast, but there is a lot more to the region than just the beach. Provence is full of rich history, thanks to the Greeks and Romans. Originally, France was home to two main peoples in the south, the Gauls and the Ligures. These two factions warred constantly and were more or less uncivilized. The Greeks founded cities for trade along the coast, creating the colony of Masilla (now the third biggest city in France, Marseille) and a few other ports. When the Greeks because pressured by forces from the local tribes, the asked for Roman aid to help quell the rebellions. After three short and bloody wars, the Romans were able to take control of most of southern France. This was actually a very good thing, as the Romans essentially civilized the entire region, improving the quality of life for everyone. Evidence of their influence is everywhere. More on this shortly.

Le Palais des Papes

La grand chapelle

We were lucky enough to be able to skip classes on Friday to be able to take advantage of everything we needed to see. We rented a bus for the weekend and set out. About 20 minutes out from Cannes, the landscape began to change. Mountains sprang up, seemingly out of nowhere, in beautiful red, white, and almost purplish hues. We saw a few huge stretches of Lavender fields. The Provencal countryside is absolutely gorgeous. It was a very enjoyable two hour drive to our first destination: Avignon. This was one of my favorite parts of the trip and the one that I was most looking forward to. Avignon is home to the Palais des Papes, the site of one of the most important European historical events. Essentially, in 1309, the Pope moved the papacy from Rome to Avignon, for political reasons. However, in 1337, when the Popes moved back to Rome, there was an event known as the Papal Schism, where there were three popes in the world, as there was the "real" pope in Rome, and what were known as the anti-popes in Avignon, who refused to relinquish their power. Keep in mind that at this time, the Catholic church was the most powerful entity in Europe, but especially so in France. The palace was much larger than I expected. There were massive dining halls, various ceremonial rooms, small chapelles, a monstrous main chapel (seen on the right. Note how small the people are compared to the ceiling), and we even got to peek into the Popes office. One of the most interesting parts for me was seeing the vaults. We got to go into the room that houses all of the riches of the Catholic church. The audioguide said that gold coins, relics, etc. were piled high in the chamber. What was truly impressive was that floor was actually just a false floor, and that certain stones could be pulled away to reveal the true treasures hidden beneath. The sheer wealth that would have been there as shocking to me. As I walked around the grounds of this huge, majestic palace, I found myself wondering how it was that such wealth could be collected from the peasants and used to create such edifices to God, such excess. It was truly food for religious thought.

One section of the Pont du Gard

After leaving the Palace, we took a short drive over to the city of Nimes to see the Pont du Gard. Remember the Roman history lesson above? The city of Nimes was one of the most important Roman colonies. To facilitate the transport of water to the city, the Romans built an aqueduct spanning 31 miles. While most of the aqueduct moves the water underground, the Pont du Gard spans the Gardon River. The bridge is massive, with three tiers made to transport water at the top levels and foot/horse traffic at the bottom level. For me, the most impressive part is that the Romans did not use an ounce of mortar to create this structure. They built a bridge 160 ft. high by cutting each stone to fit and packing it so tightly that you would not be able to slide a piece of paper in between it. Not only that, but that this structure has stood strong for over 2000 years, surviving major flooding and other natural and man-made disasters, without falling. The colossal effort that it must have taken (not to mention slave labor) to create this feat of engineering must have been incredible. We spent a couple of hours eating lunch on the banks of the river and walking around to various scenic view points around the aqueduct. 



Our next stop was the city of Arles, another heavily Roman-influenced town. We arrived in the early evening and had a few hours to relax and catch our breath at our hotel before going out for a group dinner. We walked through town to a small restaurant, where we proceeded to celebrate M. Villette's (our CSB|SJU group leader) 70th birthday with a great dinner and an expensive bottle of wine that we all pitched in to buy for him. The meal was a Provencal specialty. Thanks to the Romans, the city of Arles is home to a gladiator colosseum (more on that later) which is still in use today, although the gladiators of today are actual bullfighters. Our special meal, therefore, was tauraux or bull. It was cooked in a really dark, hearty sauce and tasted kind of like a really strong/heavy roast beef, although that doesn't quite get at it. 

Flamingos!

The landing coast of the three Marys

On the way to our next stop the following morning, we pulled over to the side of the road and got off the bus. On the side of the road was a huge flock of flamingos! Apparently they often come to this part of Provence. Because of the different diet in France, however, they were hardly pink at all, but rather a pale whiteish color. It was an amusing distraction. Soon after we arrived at a place called Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer. This town was supposedly the landing of the three Marys in the Bible: Mary Magdalene, Mary Salome and Mary Jacobe. The legend is that after the crucifixion of Jesus, the three women set out in a boat without sails and were guided by God to land in this town. Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer is also the site of a yearly pilgrimage of the Roma gypsies, who pay homage to Saint Sarah, their patron saint, by taking relics of the Marys to the ocean. Sarah was thought to be a servant to them. We were able to climb to the top of the scenic church and take a look around the town. It had a pretty view of the ocean and the surrounding area. We didn't stay for long, as there really wasn't much to do or see. We stopped to eat at an exotic bird habitat, enjoying sandwiches as we saw more flamingos and other birds. I'm not really sure what this had to do with France, but it was an amusing lunch and a show.

As we were leaving from lunch, it started pouring rain. We arrive about an hour later at a city called Aigues-Mortes, which was founded by Gaius Marius in 102 B.C. The most interesting part of the city is that is was build to be impregnable by any attacking force. This was achieved by creating a wall around the entire town that was over 18 feet thick of solid stone. No amount of battering would bring this wall down. Sadly, the rain picked up to the point where it was absolutely torrential. While we did have umbrellas, only a few people in our group (not including us) were brave enough to go exploring in the city, as the rain was creating small rivers in the streets and we were all freezing. Instead, we enjoyed some crepes and and hot drinks in a cafe just inside the city walls and enjoyed the view of the fortifications from our dry and semi-warm vantage point.

Arles Colosseum

Cheering on the gladiators

After we left Aigues-Mortes, we headed back to Arles to see the sights in the light of day. Fortunately the rain let up for a time so that we could enjoy the incredible remnants of Roman civilization. The first stop was the arena/Colosseum in the center of town. I wish I had thought to find out exactly how large it was, but I was too busy marveling at the architecture. The structure was absolutely massive and in surprisingly good condition. When we went inside, it was easy to imagine the seats packed with Roman citizens and desperate gladiators on the sands. It is easy going day to day looking at stories about the Romans as almost fictional, but standing in the arena it really hit home that this is a very real and incredibly impressive part of our world's history. We went straight from the arena to a Roman amphitheater a few blocks down the road. If it was easy to imagine the gladiators, it was no less difficult to imagine the liveliness of this sight. Roman ampitheatres are truly revolutionary for their time. A person can stand down on the "stage" and speak in a normal speaking voice and be heard by the old man sitting in the farthest seat away. The sound carries amazingly well. It is very striking to stand in this chunk of perfectly preserved history in the middle of a modern and bustling city. We had some people in our group give a historical presentation on the stage, utilizing the Roman's ingenuity. If you closed your eyes you could almost see ancient Roman men putting on theatrical performances below. Amazing. That night, the rain began again in earnest, so we took the bus to our restaurant, which was on a boat on the river cutting through Arles. Sadly, we were forced to trudge through water that was legitimately midway up our calves before we made it inside. We felt slightly out of place inside this fancy restaurant with soaking wet clothes and the strong desire to take off our soggy wet socks and shoes. For dinner we enjoyed this wonderful turkey in a nummy French sauce dish thing with Provencal rice. It was phenomenal. For desert we had this super warm chocolate cake/pastry thing with whipped cream and happiness. It was a great way to make up for feeling like drowned cats.

Amphitheater stage

Amphitheater seating

Master marksman!

On top you can see what remains of the castle

The next (and final) day of our weekend trip was spent entirely at a place called Les Baux de Provence. This village was something akin to the villages perchés that I was talking about at the start of this post. It is essentially a castle built high up on a mountain for defensive purposes. For almost two thousand years, the lord of Les Baux held sway over the countryside, with its rich vinyards, olive fields, and other farmland, collecting riches and defending against Saracen invaders. The most interesting part of this town was that they have kept a fairly good historical representation of life there going. As you walk around the castle grounds at the top of the city, you get a chance to see some of the defensive and offensive siege machines- catapults, balistae, mangonels/onagers, battering rams, etc. We got to fire crossbows down at an archery range, watch historical re-enactments by these two French actor guys dressed up in costume and everything, and listen to an audioguide of the history. I was even chosen, along with another guy in my group to arm on of the trebuchets for fire during a demonstration. It was extremely taxing. We were essentially slowly raising a several hundred pound counterweight on the largest machine. By the time we got to the end, I felt like my arms were going to fall off. It was kind of sad because after all the prep time it took to set up the shot, the trebuchet fired backwards (which only happens very rarely and usually due to the projectile being too light, as ours was), but it was still a fun and once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. We ate lunch while watching a sword-fight between the two actor guys and proceeded to make our way up the the upper battlements to see the ramparts/watchtowers. The view from up top was gorgeous with a great view of the mountains in the distance, the rocky countryside, the neat rows of orchards lining the fields all round Les Baux, and the tiny red-roof village below us. It was easy to imagine why the lord of Les Baux were so keen on defending the area. In total, we spent several hours there with all of the interesting sights to see.

The village that the lords ruled over

 After that we made our way back to Cannes. We were all dead on our feet and ready to do nothing for the rest of the day, but our obligations as students forced us to sit down and do homework, as we did have to go to class the next day. It was also painful to return to our normal cafeteria food after a few days of wonderfully prepared, rich tasting meals. But, as the French say, "c'est la vie!" 

Thanks for putting with with this longer than average post. I hope that it was enjoyable to read, despite my history lessons. For now we go back to the day-to-day grind of classes with our new seminars and practicing for the theater production, which I will discuss more on soon. Hope everything is going well for everyone back in the U.S!