So, last week was our last week of school. Exams are over, classes are over, everything is done! Well, except theatre. So, Thursday and Friday I had theatre all day (9:30am until 6:30pm). After rehearsal on Thursday we also all had dinner together so that Yael could interview us all for her research. After dinner, I went to a sort of school party with Sonia (one of the professors), Yael (our director), and a couple of kids from the show. I drank a glass of beer and stood around awkwardly--none of us were really dressed for the party (like homecoming, but tiny and for no apparent reason), and it was WAY too loud to talk. Needless to say, the tram doesn't run very often late at night, so I sat around waiting for it for about 20 minutes and didn't get home until 11:30. Wake up, rinse, repeat (minus dinner and the party).
During theatre on Friday, I found out that our plans to Guédelon fell through because of scheduling conflicts. In the end it worked out okay since Saturday was raining and crappy anyway, but it still left me wondering whether I'm the only one who knows how to use a calendar. But oh well, maybe it just meant more to me than the others. I'll get back there eventually. To add to the let-down on Friday, some lady commented on my acne in the tram on the way home. I'm sure it was well meaning, but it kind of made me want to cry. (What happened to the French being polite?!) However, I got home and snagged some tickets to see a taping of The Colbert Report while I'm in New York this summer, so that made things better.
Saturday I was going to clean my room, pack for Bordeaux, get a head start on my packing for London/Paris, organize everything and be super-duper productive! I ended up playing a French game similar to Pay Day with one of my host sisters for about 2 hours. Then she helped me clean a bit. I ended up not being very productive at all (though I did get my room fairly organized), but I really enjoyed playing games with my host sister, so I don't think it was a waste of time at all.
I had to wake up bright and early Sunday morning to catch a train to (*drumroll*) Bordeaux! I went with Maddie, Angela, and Kako. We took the TGV (bullet train!), and though I'm pretty sure we annoyed the crap out of the people next to us, it was a blast. Then again, maybe Kako thinks we're crazy. Not sure.
When we got to Bordeaux, we had a little time to get ourselves situated before we headed out on our vineyard tour. We went to Saint-Emilion and got a tour of the medieval town as well as the monolithic church. The cave where Saint Emilion (the saint after whom the town was named) lived for about 7 years was amazing. He had carved out a bed and a meditation chair, as well as a shelf for food offerings. Then we headed into the catacombs and the monolithic church itself. We weren't allowed to take pictures to help preserve the art and structures (not sure if light destroys rock, but I complied with their wishes anyway).
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| View from the terrace near the tourism office. |
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| SPOT THE KAKO! I loved the architecture in this town. |
Honestly, walking into the church was incredible. My mouth hung open for a good ten minutes. In case you've never heard of this church, it was carved, by hand, into rock (18 meters underground) with absolutely no modern technology. I believe it was built in something like the 12th century. To be honest (and a bit of a dork), I felt like I had fallen right into the mines of Moria in Tolkein's Middle Earth. I was completely bulldozed. (I looked for pictures online to no particular avail--guess you'll all just have to fly to Bordeaux and check it out for yourselves!)
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| The bell tower on top of the underground cathedral |
After that part of the tour came the most exciting, most anticipated part of the excursion--the visit to the wine chateau and the wine tasting. We visited Chateau Champion (please read that with a French accent and not an American one, lol) which is a small family owned winery. The wife showed us around and explained the detailed process which is wine making, which was super interesting. (Guess the secret ingredients, guys!) Then we got to sit down and taste two different wines. It was my first wine tasting ever, and it was a wonderful experience. (Then I bought a bunch of wine....)
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| It's still a little early in the season |
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| ALL THE AWKWARD PHOTOS OF ME |
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| Barrels of wine. |
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| Our first wine from 2009 (complete with plant tentacles) |
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| Me with our second wine--a 2008 |
I have decided to become a wine connoisseur. :)
The coolest part about the tour was that it was a dual-language tour. The guide spoke both French and English. It was awesome to know that I understood about 99.9% of what she said (the other .01% were technical wine making terms that I wouldn't have even understood in English). Plus I just found it really fascinating to hear her translate her own sentences from French into English. A couple times, she'd say something in French and then start translating it in English and I'd be like, "Wait, she's already explained this..." and then it would dawn on me that she HAD already explained it.... in French.
After the tour, we ate Italian (we just can't keep our foods and countries straight). Then we headed to this weird sort of interactive fountain thing. You can walk on/in it. Half the time it looks like a mirror (with just a thin layer of water on the ground) and the other half of the time it sprays a really fine, light mist.
Naturally, Kako and I went running in like kids in a candy store. This image was only enhanced by my super cheap backpack bouncing up and down as I ran, skipped, and jumped around. I felt like I was 5, and it. was. awesome.
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| The mist! |
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| Mist going away--in front of some big important building I can't remember the name of. |
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| Mist gone. :( (said the worst tourist ever, after forgetting the name of the big important building she stood in front of) |
We turned in pretty early and just kind of hung out in the hotel watching some strange French documentary about people who... well... were strange. Monday morning it was super rainy, so we took a bus tour of the city. I listed to the audio commentary in French (score!) and took in the sights. (When I say "took in the sights", I mean "was too busy ogling architecture to remember to take photos".) All in all, it was really nice.
Bordeaux is actually a really fantastic city and I was sad to have to leave after just one day, but I took the train home by myself (1st class because it was cheaper!) and took some time to seriously start reflecting on the months that I've spent here.
I have come to two big conclusions:
1. I think I grew up at some point, and am not exactly sure when/how/why this happened, but I suppose it's probably a good thing
and
2. I really can't picture not spending the rest of my life in this beautiful, rich country.
After all my [serious voice] DEEP PONDERINGS [/serious voice] on the TGV I encountered my first French rail strike (yippee!!! it's not France without a strike!) while changing trains near Tours. Luckily, my second train was only 15 minutes late, so I still got home fairly early. Just in time to pack for...
LONDON
Yep, that's right. I'm going back to London tomorrow (the bubbles and squeak call me home...). It'll be a short trip, mostly just going to finish up some things I didn't get to see when we went in February and to go to the Harry Potter Studio Tour. I'm not sure you can even imagine my excite. It's pretty monumental. I return from London Thursday, but will stay in Paris for a few days to visit Versailles and possibly Fontainebleu.
Until next time... NOX.
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