It's May 1st and everything is closed, except the fruit and vegetable markets and the boulangeries. Even super markets are closed as it is required by law. Today is Labor Day, so everyone has off. While I wish I could say I wouldn't be working today but with the end of the semester quickly approaching, I have plenty of work to do on my day off. Which reminds me, in less than a month, I will be back in the US. Its a bit sad and exciting at the same time. While I have loved my experience here, I can't wait to be back at home and Penn State with all my friends and family. Spring here in Aix is gorgeous and I wish it could have been like this the whole semester. We left for spring break with bare trees and when we returned, they were all sprouting leaves. Now everything is green and it reminds me how much I love being outside surrounded by green.
This past weekend, we took a trip with the whole school to the Vaucluse. Its the neighboring department to us. First we saw a quarry that has been turned into a work of art. It was a massive limestone quarry and now, they project art work on the floors and the walls. It was like a dream world and all of the little kids that were there were thrilled. We even started dancing inside. It was magical. I would highly recommend the Carriere des Lumieres for anyone that will be in the area. After that we went to the medieval town Les Baux, and we explored the castle. We even got to see a duel being reenacted. If the weather would have been slightly less miserable, I would have loved to spend more time exploring the town and castle. We finished off the day by visiting Fontaine de Vaucluse. It litterally means Fountain or Spring of Vaucluse and it was so named because in the town, is the source of the Sorgue river. Its an underground river that springs up out of the ground to make the Sorgue. It is one of the strongest springs in the world as it comes out of the ground at a ridiculous rate. (I can't find the exact number now, but I think they said 33,000 gallons per minute or maybe per second) It was incredible.Its a bit mystical since they don't know where all the water comes from and they haven't found the exact depth of the pool. It could be more than 300 metres deep.
This has just been an amazing week all together. It started with the excursion to the Vaucluse, then two days of class before a day off and I leave tomorrow afternoon for Ireland! I can't wait, I have always wanted to see Ireland and now it is actually happening! So you can all guess what the next post will be about.
This past weekend, we took a trip with the whole school to the Vaucluse. Its the neighboring department to us. First we saw a quarry that has been turned into a work of art. It was a massive limestone quarry and now, they project art work on the floors and the walls. It was like a dream world and all of the little kids that were there were thrilled. We even started dancing inside. It was magical. I would highly recommend the Carriere des Lumieres for anyone that will be in the area. After that we went to the medieval town Les Baux, and we explored the castle. We even got to see a duel being reenacted. If the weather would have been slightly less miserable, I would have loved to spend more time exploring the town and castle. We finished off the day by visiting Fontaine de Vaucluse. It litterally means Fountain or Spring of Vaucluse and it was so named because in the town, is the source of the Sorgue river. Its an underground river that springs up out of the ground to make the Sorgue. It is one of the strongest springs in the world as it comes out of the ground at a ridiculous rate. (I can't find the exact number now, but I think they said 33,000 gallons per minute or maybe per second) It was incredible.Its a bit mystical since they don't know where all the water comes from and they haven't found the exact depth of the pool. It could be more than 300 metres deep.
This has just been an amazing week all together. It started with the excursion to the Vaucluse, then two days of class before a day off and I leave tomorrow afternoon for Ireland! I can't wait, I have always wanted to see Ireland and now it is actually happening! So you can all guess what the next post will be about.