The summer after my first year of college I studied abroad in Vichy, France. I was lucky enough to be able to travel to Marseille-on the French Riviera-and Paris, as well. Marseille was most definitely my favorite city.
After some rather horrible travel/communication difficulties upon my arrival in France, I eventually made it to my apartment. Below is a picture of the outside of the building. The efficiency apartment was tiny, even by efficiency standards! But it was cheap-a nice relief from the other costs of living in France! It was also just a few blocks from my school, and close to several of my future-friends apartments'. There was this little cafe nearby that served gyros; I'd never had one before my stay in Vichy. They were SO good. I ate there nearly every day for lunch or dinner. Sometimes both.
(image information: personal photo taken in Vichy, France; photo from June 2013)
These are just the set of keys I used to enter my apartment building, and my apartment. I think they are so cool looking.
(image information: personal photo taken in Vichy, France; photo from June 2013)
While in France, I was pretty much forced to come out of my shell-despite the language barrier and my generally anti-social personality-because I didn't know anyone else and I didn't want to be a complete loner for a month, haha. Pictured below are two girls that I became very close with while in Vichy. I'm hoping to one day be able to visit them! Han is on the left, Yang is in the middle, and I am on the right.
(image information: personal photo of Han, Yang, and myself in Vichy, France; photo taken June 2013)
I went to Marseille for a weekend during my stay. Marseille was an absolutely gorgeous city. Forever a beach bum, I spent a huge portion of my weekend in the water.
(image information: personal photo of myself at a beach in Marseille; photo taken June 2013)
I took this photo at the top of an old fort that is right in the middle of Marseille, and overlooks the harbor. I still can't get over how pretty this place is.
(image information: personal photo take of the harbor in Marseille, France; photo taken June 2013)
Another weekend, I went to Paris, France for "La Fette de Musique", which just means "The Music Festival". The festival was amazing. It takes place annually all over France, but the the best place to be during it is Paris! There were huge concerts taking place in the middle of major intersections, completely shutting down traffic. They also had countless little acts outside coffee shops and other small businesses. It was amazing. However, I couldn't find any pictures from the concerts!
I did take pictures during my visit to the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. This was my very favorite part of the trip. I am a Religious Studies Major, so places like this always interest me. Once again though, the beauty of the place was astounding. Below is a picture of the outside of the cathedral. It was a cloudy day, and it made for a perfect backdrop to my photo.
(image information: photo of the Notre Dame Cathedral
in Paris, France; personal photo from June 2013)
Inside the cathedral, it was even more beautiful and extravagant.
(image information: photo of the inside of the Notre Dame
Cathedral; personal photo take June 2013)
Overall, my trip to France was amazing. My French improved by leaps and bounds. I got to see some amazing sights. And I made some fantastic new friends!
Oh, what fantastic pictures, Valerie! I especially like the one of the keys: how cool!!! And Marseille is a place I would love to visit: talk about a city with a famous history and personality of its own; I have read about it in so many books, seen it in movies, but I have never been there. I have been to Paris, though, and Notre Dame really is a miraculous place! And if you are a religious studies major, oh, I hope this will be a good class for you. The religions of India (more than just Hinduism) are fascinating, and the epics really are a kind of cultural key to India and also to other places in South Asia. I will be curious to learn what you think about the epic stories!
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