Jan 14-17!!

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Jan 14, Wed  The busses were on strike today so Krystal, David, Allie and myself decided to do the 10 mile round trip walk down town!  It was really nice because we were able to see downtown without being on a bus.  Though like half way we were starting to realize that we were going to have to make the trip back!  We made it home, but we were so tired and our legs were like jell-o! That night we went to Mystiq to go dancing.  It was really fun, even though it was nearly impossible to dance!  Since the theme was to represent each country, they had some dancers that came out in very elaborate costumes that had feathers and big ruffly skirts.  It was fun but I was more interested in resting my poor little puppies!

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Jan 16, Fri Today we went around Marseille with Lander, a guy from Belgium that has been here for a semester already. He took us to the Palais Longchamp, which was the site that water first arrived in Marseille. It was really beautiful with statues and fountains that covered the front landscape.  We then walked over to Eglise des Chartreux, a very beautiful church that is in town. Before becoming a parish church, this church was the chapel of a monastery of monks of the Carthusian order (l’ordre des Chartreux), which gave their name to the district. The churches here in Europe make the churches in the States seem like nothing.  Our next stop of the day was Prado Beach.  It was not like the typical beach that I am used to with the soft sand, it was more rock and pebbles that was not the greatest to walk on.  We walked over to the dock and Lander and Sylwia decided to get in the water because it didn’t look that deep, ya they were surprised.  Also there is a statue of David near the beach.

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Jan 17, Sat Our trip to Cassis was really beautiful.  We took a 15 minute bus ride from the stop by Alotra.  We were able to see part of the city of Marseille, it was really pretty.  The bus ride was kinda freaky because it was going up a mountain and lets just say that the bus driver really did not observe the rules of the road…but thank God I made it there alive.  When we first arrived we walked through the town and saw the little shops and bakeries that lined the main street to the docks.  We took the boat tour of the first three calanques out of Cassis.  It was one of the most beautiful sights that I have ever seen.  Each calanque is different, different rocks, different plants growing in them.  There was one that had pine trees growing on the rocks.  The guide said, (so wonderfully translated by Chris Debano, an Interact member who speaks French and English) that this is the only place that these trees grow on these rocks.  The water in each of the calanques is so clear and like a turquoise color that is absolutely amazing.  I took some really amazing pictures that look like professional shots, but it is not really hard to get a good shot in this place.  On the way back we were told that the mountainside that we saw was the highest peak in all of France.  We took a walk around the town, in and out of the tiny streets.  There was a super small door, actually almost perfect for me hehe, that wa the entrance to some one’s home, quite different than anything that I had ever seen.  It is almost like a forced diet because the door was so small that you could never gain too much weight becaue you would not be able to either leave or enter your home!  The church that they had there was very beautiful.  The architecture and design of the churches here in Europe is so amazing and different that in the States.  It was definitely a great day and a fun adventure.

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