Aix is getting to be pretty beautiful. My roommate and I have been busy decorating our apartment whilst listening to our favorite Christmas songs. After a day-long field trip to our local IKEA and Carrefour (France's Walmart), we found a small fiber-optic Christmas tree and a strand of lights. We set that up in our apartment, and after adding some red and gold ornaments to the tree, our apartment is feeling pretty Christmasey.
To get to the stores, we have to take a half-hour bus trip to small town outside of Aix called Vitrolles. The bus to and from Vitrolles only runs every so often, so as I was getting off of the bus, I asked our bus driver if he had a copy of the schedule so we would know when we could get back to Aix after going to IKEA. After getting off the bus, the driver immediately called me back and told me to call my friends back as well. He told us he had a 20-minute break between dropping us off and needing to leave again, so he decided to take us to IKEA--for free! We chatted with him on the way there, and he joked and told us how he loves to laugh, unlike those Parisians. They're much too serious.
Anyway! I'm also getting ready to head home in two days. Actually, my flight is leaving in exactly 48 hours. I can't wait! In between now and then, I have one class this morning and a final exam tomorrow morning, so I'll be keeping busy trying to get all of my packing and Christmas shopping finished by then.
This past Saturday, I was actually able to take a last-minute field trip to Les Baux-de-Provence, which is this beautiful little castle village that sits in the Alpilles (the little Alps). The castle is now only ruins, but the village has a really rich history, and it's got some great views. While there, we were able to visit this amazing photo gallery that's not exactly a photo gallery. It's called La Cathédrale d'Images, and it's basically this huge underground cavern that has images and videos projected on to all of its walls. But there are more than four walls--it's enormous, and I don't think you could really understand until you see the videos.
Actually, I had been looking for this place for a long time. I had seen pictures of it, and I knew it was in Provence somewhere, but I had no idea where, and I didn't know what it was called, so I didn't really have a way of finding out. Luckily for me, I happened to be dragged to it by the people who drove us! It was everything I had hoped it would be. I'm uploading the pictures I took right now, so I'll get the link posted on the right as soon as I can. I'm also working on a video compilation of the streets of Aix, but I'm having issues with that, so that might not be posted until I get home. I may spend my time flying home working on that project. I'm flying Marseille > Paris > Atlanta > home!
Well, to everyone at home, à bientôt!
Edit: The pictures are now available!
Showing posts with label shopping. Show all posts
Showing posts with label shopping. Show all posts
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
French Theatre
Last night, I saw my first-ever French play in a real French theater. The play was fantastic and the theater was gorgeous! Unfortunately, I did not have the foresight to bring my camera, so I didn't get any pictures, but a couple of my classmates did, so I'll have to steal pictures from them. It was really neat; the theater was really old--like older-than-the-United States old. It wasn't huge, but it was gorgeous. (I know I keep saying gorgeous, but the only other word I can think of to describe it is "lovely", and that's a little too demure for this theater. So gorgeous it is.) It had the old-fashioned painted ceiling with cherubs and angels, and in the middle of the ceiling was a humongous chandelier.
The actual theater was pretty small. I think there were probably about 400 seats in total, but I couldn't really see the lower level from where I was sitting. There were four levels of balconies. The first balcony was pretty much how you would expect it, with about a third of the seats of the lower level. The other three balconies were box-seats only, and it looked like it would have been pretty fun to watch from up there.
The play was great! It was called La Serva Amorosa, and I was surprised by how much of it I was able to understand. It was written in the 1700s and it was originally a Venetian play. I think the fact that it's a translation helped my comprehension a lot because it put the dialogue in more modern-day terms instead of the more archaic (but lovely) and fast-paced verse. I laughed the entire time during the play, save the first ten minutes, so I definitely enjoyed it. Every character had funny lines, and the best part was that I was able to understand them!
But in other news, tomorrow is the anniversary of the Armistice of World War I. When I was walking to school today, I was a little surprised to see tanks and helicopters parked in Parc Jourdan, but then I realized what tomorrow is. Since it's a national holiday, we're supposed to have the day off. For me, however, my day is even busier than it usually would be. I have a program class in the afternoon, and then I'm having dinner with my French family right after that.
I also met a French-American girl in one of my classes today. She was born in the US, but moved to France about nine years ago, so she speaks perfect French and English. Not fair. But she's really nice, and she told me where I can find canned pumpkin here!!! So that's going on the agenda for this weekend.
The actual theater was pretty small. I think there were probably about 400 seats in total, but I couldn't really see the lower level from where I was sitting. There were four levels of balconies. The first balcony was pretty much how you would expect it, with about a third of the seats of the lower level. The other three balconies were box-seats only, and it looked like it would have been pretty fun to watch from up there.
The play was great! It was called La Serva Amorosa, and I was surprised by how much of it I was able to understand. It was written in the 1700s and it was originally a Venetian play. I think the fact that it's a translation helped my comprehension a lot because it put the dialogue in more modern-day terms instead of the more archaic (but lovely) and fast-paced verse. I laughed the entire time during the play, save the first ten minutes, so I definitely enjoyed it. Every character had funny lines, and the best part was that I was able to understand them!
But in other news, tomorrow is the anniversary of the Armistice of World War I. When I was walking to school today, I was a little surprised to see tanks and helicopters parked in Parc Jourdan, but then I realized what tomorrow is. Since it's a national holiday, we're supposed to have the day off. For me, however, my day is even busier than it usually would be. I have a program class in the afternoon, and then I'm having dinner with my French family right after that.
I also met a French-American girl in one of my classes today. She was born in the US, but moved to France about nine years ago, so she speaks perfect French and English. Not fair. But she's really nice, and she told me where I can find canned pumpkin here!!! So that's going on the agenda for this weekend.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
The French Lifestyle: Buying Groceries
I've made a lot of adjustments to my life since moving here. And because I like cooking, one of the biggest changes for me has been buying groceries. I've never really explained how that works here. At home, I would always go to one of the supermarkets near my house. There were two that were within three minutes' driving distance, and I almost never went anywhere else.
Here, shopping is a little different. The big department store here, Monoprix, also has a supermarket in its basement. But usually, I just do my shopping at our local little Vival, a marché. A marché is basically a mini-supermarket. It has all the necessities like bread, milk, eggs, cheese, and (for the French) wine, with a few extras thrown in. Basically, it's like shopping the food section at Walgreens, but with fruits and some vegetables thrown in too.
However, the cheapest option is to go to a real supermarket. Everything is usually at least 50 cents--or centimes--cheaper. But the closest supermarket is at least a 10-minute walk away through winding little French streets. It may not sound like much, but it makes loading up on groceries a little more difficult when you have to carry them all home, usually with the bags cutting off the circulation to one of your limbs. However, the absolute cheapest option is to go to a hypermarché (of which there is only one in Aix), which is an even bigger store than a supermarché. The French version of Kroger is called Casino (not the best choice of names, in my opinion. I like to feel like I'm not gambling everytime I give them my credit card.) and it has three different store sizes:
Petit Casino
Casino supermarché
Casino hypermarché
Another option is the outdoor markets. You can find an amazing array of local food there: fruits, vegetables, honey, homemade sausages, breads, and the biggest variety of mushrooms I have ever seen in my life. Some of these markets also include locally-made clothing and locally-grown flowers. I'll have to remember to take pictures the next time I go.
As far as the availability of wine goes, you might find it interesting to note that it is easy to find a bottle of wine for about a euro. When it goes on sale, you can get it for even cheaper. The cheapest I have ever seen it is about 87 centimes. A bottle of water here costs just under 2 euro. So literally, wine is cheaper than water.
Who wants to come visit?
Here, shopping is a little different. The big department store here, Monoprix, also has a supermarket in its basement. But usually, I just do my shopping at our local little Vival, a marché. A marché is basically a mini-supermarket. It has all the necessities like bread, milk, eggs, cheese, and (for the French) wine, with a few extras thrown in. Basically, it's like shopping the food section at Walgreens, but with fruits and some vegetables thrown in too.
However, the cheapest option is to go to a real supermarket. Everything is usually at least 50 cents--or centimes--cheaper. But the closest supermarket is at least a 10-minute walk away through winding little French streets. It may not sound like much, but it makes loading up on groceries a little more difficult when you have to carry them all home, usually with the bags cutting off the circulation to one of your limbs. However, the absolute cheapest option is to go to a hypermarché (of which there is only one in Aix), which is an even bigger store than a supermarché. The French version of Kroger is called Casino (not the best choice of names, in my opinion. I like to feel like I'm not gambling everytime I give them my credit card.) and it has three different store sizes:
Petit Casino
Casino supermarché
Casino hypermarché
Another option is the outdoor markets. You can find an amazing array of local food there: fruits, vegetables, honey, homemade sausages, breads, and the biggest variety of mushrooms I have ever seen in my life. Some of these markets also include locally-made clothing and locally-grown flowers. I'll have to remember to take pictures the next time I go.
As far as the availability of wine goes, you might find it interesting to note that it is easy to find a bottle of wine for about a euro. When it goes on sale, you can get it for even cheaper. The cheapest I have ever seen it is about 87 centimes. A bottle of water here costs just under 2 euro. So literally, wine is cheaper than water.
Who wants to come visit?
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