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The History of Geneva, as told by a Church
When I told my dad I was going to Geneva for the weekend, his reply was, “I’ve always wanted to go to Switzerland, and now you’re going there…in a way.” F for geography skills, Dad, because Geneva is in Switzerland. But, also, I know exactly what he means. It sure doesn’t feel like Switzerland. It just feels like a big city…where they happen to still speak French. Nonetheless, I had a good time exploring the city. We saw the infamous Jet d’Eau. This is the tallest fountain in the world at 140 meters. Originally, Geneva had a 30 meter fountain intended to release the pressure from a hydraulic plant. It…
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A+ for Annecy and the Alps
I took a whirlwind day trip to Annecy today, beginning at 5 am. It’s a process to get out of Aix; it’s a 35 minute walk to the bus station, and then a 20 minute ride to the train station…and then, finally, the real journey can begin. And begin it did. We had delays on our ride to Lyon, only to arrive and find that our next train had been canceled. You aren’t truly in France if your transportation isn’t interrupted by a strike at least once! But we did eventually reach Annecy, a charming little town known as “the Venice of the Alps.” I was glad to see snow…
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A Chateau and a Vineyard…I Must Be in France
IAU, as part of the Early Start Program, planned out a few French activities to introduce us to region of Provence. We began with a trip to petit village of Vauvenargues. Picasso bought a castle in this town at the base of the Montagne Sainte-Victoire in the 1950s. His family still owns the castle and he is buried on the grounds. On another day, we visited a local vineyard and winery, Château du Seuil. The speciality of the Provence region is rosé. The winery owners led us on a tour and gave us samples of their red, white, and rosé. All three wines were very fruity, which the owners explained…
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Day One: My Home Away from Home and a Hike with Aix’s Famous
My first full day in Aix-en-Provence, France. It was chilly today, a humid kind of chilly like January in Maryland. School activities and university orientation start tomorrow, so after wandering around Aix for an hour this morning, I returned to my host family’s house to unpack and get settled in my new room. When the first bit of homesickness (mostly uncertainty) began to nip at my heels, I went downstairs to go for another walk through town. But I ran into Fred putting on his shoes. He invited me to go hiking with him, his daughter, and her boyfriend. It was perfect as I had been wanting to get up…
