Week 14: 12/15-12/23
Welcome to /miel/, a written account of my life and what my days hold here in France. Thank you for coming to read today.
Last Saturday, I went to the Christmas market in Noyon and it was surprisingly cute and full of good things. Compared to the other markets I have seen, it wasn’t anything crazy special, and there were only about 15 booths, opposed to the 100+ I saw in Reims for instance. Nonetheless, they had mulled wine, hot churros, artisanal crafts, and some rides for the kids. It was very sweet, and I was happy to see that Noyon has it together just enough to pull off a nice Christmas market.
I also went to see one of my professors play flute in the band. They had one choir group and one band group (each of about 15-20 people), and they performed on the main road in Noyon. It was absolutely freezing. I watched them play a few Christmas carols and I felt empathetic to the musicians because I truly know how cold their fingers, mouths, bodies, and noses were. I also felt empathetic to my parents and support system for everyone that stood outside in December in Bozeman, Montana to watch me play my instrument when it was probably -5 degrees outside. I hope the hot chocolate kept you warm all those years, and thank you for always coming to watch me play.
Now, I am writing this on the bus as I come back from Aix-en-Provence. I have spent the week here and around the area in the south of France and long story short, it has been AMAZING! I took a “BlaBla Car (bus)” on Sunday to get to the south. BlaBla car is a ride-sharing app that is super common here. For instance, if I am driving from Belgrade to Bozeman for work, and I’m going there anyway, I can register my trip on the app, so if someone (anyone) wants to share a ride from Belgrade to Bozeman, they can pay a few bucks and carpool. So this company has buses that go all over France and Europe for way cheaper than trains or even airplanes.
The drawback is, my bus ride from Paris to Aix is… ten (10) hours long.
It’s the price I pay I suppose, and travel time doesn’t really bother me too much, as I grew up with doing 6 hour road trips pretty frequently, so I’m okay with it. I got in late on Sunday night, so I slept in Monday morning! My Airbnb was perfect for one person, as it was about the size of my room back in the States (small). The bed was up in the loft, and my face was only about one foot from the ceiling so I had to be careful to not sit up too fast! I had a full bathroom and a small kitchen space. Again, perfect for one person.
Monday morning, I wandered around Aix and found so many small boutiques and eateries. What made it even better, was that it was 55 degrees outside – BALMY! The sun was shining, and I already began to feel rejuvenated after only a few hours here. I ended up meeting another language assistant from Kenya, Stella, and we spent the afternoon together wandering through the Christmas market and throughout the town as a whole. That night I spent some more time enjoying the night life in Aix, as it felt so safe and secure, and it was still warm. I sipped a couple glasses of wine while reading, all on a patio outside. It was a perfect evening.
Tuesday, I wandered around more and did more of the touristy things I wanted to do in Aix. I went to the Granet Museum and saw a vast collection of sculptures, religious paintings, contemporary artwork, and historical artifacts. Of course, I went to the cathedrals around town, however only one was open, the Cathedral Saint Saveur, and it did not disappoint! I was impressed by the ornate nature of the decorations, and this is the first church I’ve seen that had TWO large organs on both lateral sides of the congregational seating. I could only imagine to hear both of those organs being played during a service. 1400 surround sound I suppose!
I had dinner with Stella and her boyfriend that evening. It was a perfect night to relax, eat some homecooked food (fajitas), and watch some TV. It was a very pleasant interaction and I think I’ll be seeing them in Noyon soon!
Wednesday, I made a trip to Avignon (about one hour Northwest of Aix). I took a BlaBla car, and was in Avignon by 10 am. I quickly sought out the tourism office and found out what I should do for only one day in Avignon. I knew about the town already because it has a lot of history behind it that I learned in school. In the 1300s, this guy named Clement IV decided that there should be a pope in France. Of course the Italian pope said, “…no”, so Clement IV said, “Well fine, then I am going to build a palace here in Avignon anyway and I will be a pope.” For over 100 years, there were two popes in Europe, and this palace in Avignon housed 7 popes during this period.
I visited the Palace of the Popes and it was INCREDIBLE. I spent about 2.5 hours here and could have spent more, but I had other things I wanted to see. Included in your ticket is a free tablet that helps guide you through the Palace. For example, if I go to the Pope’s bedroom, I can scan a QR code with my tablet and the tablet has a 3D recreation of what the bedroom actually looked like. It allows you to move throughout the room and click on different things (maybe a window for example) and it shows you what it is and its importance. Out the window, you might see the view that the Pope had. It was a very cool experience I hadn’t seen before!
I purchased the ticket that included the Palace, the Pope’s Gardens, and the Bridge of Avignon (well worth the price, and a deal if you’re visiting all these places). After I was done at the Palace, I wandered through some other gardens I found, and ended up at the Bridge of Avignon. Again, they give you a free audioguide to walk through the Bridge and you can hear all about the history. Honestly, at this point I was pretty “history-ed” out, and it was difficult for me to concentrate on the immense history this bridge has to offer.
I wandered throughout the town, found a few museums that were interesting, and finally had to catch my BlaBla car back to Aix. It was a pleasant ride… until I got dropped off in Aix. This is how the conversation happened when I was getting dropped off:
Driver: “Abigail, do you know this place?”
Me: “No, I don’t.”
Driver: “Do you know Aix at all?”
Me: “No, I am not from here.”
Driver: “Do you know what bus to take to get to the center of town?”
Me: “Nope.”
*I look down at my phone and I have 2% battery left.*
Driver: “Oh well, there’s the bus stop, so good luck. Bye!”
It goes to say that I found my way home, I took the right bus, I navigated to places I knew, and arrived safely chez moi. But, bad reviews for my driver. That was extremely unhelpful, as it was completely obvious I’m not from Aix, let alone that I’m not from the country in general. I hoped for better!
Anyway, yesterday (Thursday), I went to Marseille (one hour south) for the day. It was pretty great! Again, my first stop was the tourism office and they told me how to spend the day. I went to the History Museum, all detailing the history of Marseille from wayyyyy back. It was really interesting to see the influences that have had an impact on creating this port town. Then, I took a bus to the Notre Dame de la Garde, to get to the tallest point in Marseille and to see this incredible cathedral.
First, the outside is not like any I’ve seen before, as the stone is striped with black and white stones. You can see all of Marseille as you walk around the outside of the cathedral and it was a perfect sunny day as well. Inside, you walk in and it’s just GOLD everywhere. The art is FULL of gold and it’s sparkling with the sunshine that’s coming in the windows, the ceilings are vaulted so high that you put your neck at 90 degrees so you can have the full view of the pure gold ceilings. Even the floors are a beautiful mosaic pattern. It was incredible. Please, look up pictures of this cathedral!
I ventured back to town, wandered through the Christmas market, and then had to make my way to a workshop I had booked at a local bar to learn all about “pastis”, a liquor that is anise based. It was a 1:1 workshop and I learned all about how it is made, the history, and I was able to taste a range of different kinds. My favorite was the Ricard Citron pastis. But, if you don’t like the taste of black licorice or anise… this may not be for you.
I rode the metro back to the train station, took a train, and voila, I made it back to Aix. I walked through the Christmas market one more time, and I went on home to prepare dinner because I was exhausted. This morning, I woke up, arranged everything at the Airbnb and here I am writing on my 10 hour bus ride.
Tomorrow, I am headed to Reims to spend the Christmas with a few friends there and I’ll finally return to Noyon to stay on the 26th of December. I love travelling, but it always feels good to sleep in your own bed.
I hope you all have the merriest of Christmases, and I hope you are spending it with friends and family, eating all of your traditional foods, partaking in your Christmas traditions, and even though Christmas looks different for me this year, I’ll be doing the same. Merry Christmas.
TL:DR
High: Feeling rejuvenated from the sun and warm weather in the south of France!
High #2: Doing a lot of reflecting on my goals.
Low: Still missing home and my loved ones during this season.
Low #2: Getting dropped off in the middle of nowhere with an almost-dead phone.
New French Word:
louchissement – the phenomenon that describes the color change when water is added to pastis or absinthe. (only applicable to color change with liquor)
Lesson(s) Learned:
1. Tourism offices are actually amazing, and so welcoming. Make sure to ask for their favorite restaurant, and insist that it’s theirs and not just what they’re supposed to say.
2. Pay attention to your surroundings, especially bus stops and metro stations.
3. It’s okay to take a nap, even if you’re on vacation or you have limited time.
4. I should have lived in the south of France.
I’ll be working on updating all of my trip/destination guides HERE this week, so please give them a click to view a more in depth guide to the towns I’ve visited so far.
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Until next week, I wish you all well. I miss you all incredibly much. Please send me a message, an email, some snail mail, whatever suits you best.
All the love,
Abigail
Below: a sculpture I saw in Marseille. The inscription reads:
"This sculpture pays hommage to all the travelers from the port of Marseille, so they all could restart their lives on these docks."
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