Chateau Laval Greoux les Bains

Another month along from my last entry, I'm half way through my first semester now, and yet again my lack of dedication to this blog means I’ve got plenty to write about, so I hope you’re sitting comfortably...

First and all and most excitingly (for me anyway) was our trip to Toulon to watch the rugby. All was decided relatively last minute, the tickets only going on sale a week before anyway, but we got there and we saw Jonny! It was so much easier to ...

... campervans. One of which had the biggest dog we have every seen. It was a Newfoundland, which looked a little like a small bear but was as tame as a kitten. As the sun was about to set we took some photos and then had a wander through the village - everything was closed - end of season.

... in devil ears, 1 batman, 1 Spiderman, a copule dudes in masks, 2 girls with just some random fake blood on their face, 3 poorly represented Village people, and a guy who we think was Peter Pan, but he had cardboard fairy wings so we're not sure. All in all, Halloween ended up being a pretty fun night, but we certainly missed being home for this day! Now we are off to the Rhone Valley for some great wine... in a CAR! Stay tuned.

... in a bit of culture. Before it closed, we made sure we went along to the Cezanne/Picasso exhibition, originals and all. The pieces were amazing up close, and we were able to recall some French cultural studies lectures...even though, of course, Picasso wasn't actually French, but we could recognise his influences! Definitely worth noting that the only reason we knew where the exhibition was taking place, was because we'd previously been on the little tourist train ...

Bonjour avec Aix-en-Provence Cherie
Since the last news we have visited the Cote D'Azur spending time at Monte Carlo and Antibes. We stayed near Antibes at a place called Biot and at night you could hear the seals at nearby Marineland - very strange. It was still quite hot and stickey with more mozzies. Monte Carlo was wall to wall money with billions of dollars in boats and cars. Antibes was similar but it had a lovely old town as well.
We arrived ...

... of white limestone blocks. Clear glass in the few windows. I challenged myself to try and come up with interesting photos to pass the time. The central cloister did have a little garden, so that made up for missing the one yesterday in Aix.

If you wish to visit the Abbey yourself during the high season, visit the web site to purchase tickets in 48 hours in advance. The tours are very limited and are only in French ...

... br>The Saint-Sauveur Cathedral. It was a slightly bizarre mix of the very old and the very new and everything in between. Very old frescoes are visible in one part of the baptismal area, but other parts have been covered with paintings that are only a couple hundred years old. On the altar, the bishop's chair looks like a gilded piece of modern art modified to be a bidet. Also there is a statue of a saint emerging from the back of a dragon who, according to the ...

... Ferrassieres) was having a fete nearby and that it would be a great experience to go. She then suggested a beautiful drive from that town and basically helped us to plan the rest of our afternoon! So off we went to Ferrassieres, driving past families having picnics in the fields. Now we knew what we were going to do for lunch! We parked the car and walked into the little village. They had lots of market stalls set up selling lavender, soaps, oil, honey, meats, breads ...

... instead. I guess I understand, but I feel a little disillusioned--I thought that as a native English speaker, I would be sought after by every TEFL employer in the world. This is untrue and I feel forced to rethink career options; it's not as if I had my foot firmly in this door or anything, but it would be almost impossible for me to work legally in Europe because I don't have E.U. citizenship. The assistantship program is an exceptional ...

... a one-night stop in Aix-en-Provence (and the least said about that charming little town the better!) only to be once again pleasantly surprised: Montpelier rocks. It's quite a large town, and the centre is both vibrant and grand, full of tourists and locals alike. In Montpelier we had a wicked night out in which I managed to enrage a French girl in a small student bar by telling her my ...