"French Street Performers are like Mastercard – They’re everywhere you want to be!" by Fabiani Duarte
I once read that at the end of a street entertainer performance he explained to an onlooker, “If you give me one euro, I’ll go home very happy. If you give me 10 euros, I’ll go home very, very happy. If you give me 50 euros, I’ll go home with you!”
Street musicians, magicians performing on sidewalks, and performers entertaining passersby are no new phenomenon to the US where cities like New Orleans, New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, & Chicago feature numerous artists year-round. Nonetheless, “les musiciens des rues” are one of those integral aspects of the French experience that add the perfect musical touch or mood to walk over a Parisian bridge, stroll through a quaint alley in Aix, or dinner with someone special. From accordion players to small dance ensembles to men and women of all ages showcasing their special talent, the street performers that are speckled throughout every city we’ve visited in France are irreplaceable components of the l’ambiance française.
Avignon & Pont du Gard by Fabiani Duarte
As the last days of our 7-week program trickle away, our weekly group excursions become all the more cherished and appreciated. Every Tuesday before any excursion to Nice, Roussillon, Marseilles, or any nearby region, pairs of students organize an informational presentation on the city or area, its history, significance, and present-day attractions. Ginny, James, and Mala rounded off our last excursion talk by dressing up like a Pope and two Popettes and expounding upon the distinctiveness of Les Palais des Papes or Palace of the Popes in Avignon due to the Great Schism in the Catholic Church. Soon following their theatrical explanation of the gargantuan proportions of this papal fortress, a similar exposé was done on ancient roman aqueduct Pont du Gard that we would be visiting the next day.
Currently Avignon is hosting its world recognized Theatre Festival and therefore when we arrived, we entered a community full of street clowns, troupes of actors, comedians, dancers, singers, jongleurs, and production teams excited about sharing their thespian creations with the world. Although we exited this world of folly, excitement, and laughter as we entered the solemn Palais des Papes, the theater festival continued inside as a large courtyard of the palace grounds was constructed as a new open air theater.
After arriving at the Pont du Gard, we were able to intimately explore the remaining vestiges of this aqueduct system whose precise mathematic measurements and design allowed it to be built without any mortar whatsoever. This great Roman engineering project was composed of stones each weighing at least 6 tons, perfectly placed, and slightly tilted to allow for the water flow. With the group, we were able to walk through the ancient water passage at the top of the great structure. After enjoying the architectural magnificence of this Roman building feat, we bathed in the cool river running under the aqueduct. Could this really be our last excursion?
Our Provencal 4th of July by Fabiani Duarte
“So Fabiani, are you still thinking about having a cookout?” Eli’s comment revived the original idea of organizing a Vanderbilt Fourth of July bash. Although Lauren Fondriest had purchased a small, green grill to carry to a nearby beach, Madame Monchal dissuaded us from risking being arrested during the dangerously dry season of Provence. So when Eli compellingly persisted and volunteered to acquire all the meat, fixings, and veggies as long as we provided a venue, the “Vandy Red, White, and Blue Party” was organized and set to begin at 8:00pm at Auberge 2.
To ensure that celebration of our National Independence endured, a large group of us ventured to Toulon – a nearby coastal city. After six solid hours of beaching, relaxing, and relishing American liberty on French soil, we headed back to the bus station. Ironically, our bus ride that took one hour and a half took three due to summer forest fires caused by the extreme dryness of the summer season in Provence…Regardless, upon our return, we all scurried to get ready for the big night. After constructing the grill with handy, step-by-step German directions, I built a sturdy fire with one hand and my dad’s suggestions from my cell phone in the other. The team slowly assembled at Auberge 2 and by 9:00pm we were grilling burgers & hot dogs and were enjoying a delicious guacamole fixed by Lauren A., a salad, and chips. In total about 22 people ended up arriving to share the patriotic moment and listen to the 4th of July song list prepared by Lauren F. Falling on a Wednesday this was yet another successful installment of the student dinners that we began at the kickoff of the program. Potluck dinners or meals where everyone helps out (18 students contribute) is a terrific way to save a lots of euros and grow closer to your group. “God Bless L’Amerique.”
Trip to Paris PART 2 by Fabiani Duarte (See "Summer ’07 Week in Paris Album")
Imagine the day after Thanksgiving in French! Everyone is scurrying to the shopping malls and stores, making long lines, perhaps even fighting over certain items. En France this frenzy called “Les Soldes” lasts the whole month of July!!! Nonetheless, this sales period designated by the French was just as appetizing to our American eyes who welcomed this awaited season by acquiring new accessories, trendy skirts and tops, sweaters all at “fabulous” prices. The beginning of Les Soldes luckily came on the Wednesday labeled “journée libre” which allowed us to go unfettered to Printemps, Galleries Lafayette, ZARA, or Chanel and help spark the French economy.
On Wednesday different groups also sectioned off and either visited the palace and gardens of Versailles, Père Lachaise Cemetery (resting place of Oscar Wilde, Edith Piaf, Appolinaire, Moliere, & Jim Morrisson), a photography museum across the street from our hostel, or the Musée Quai Branly – a relatively new museum just a few blocks east of the Eiffel Tower. I teamed up with the Quai Branly team and spent about four hours learning about the primitive arts and cultures of every continent.
Every morning and evening the MIJE Hostel would host a breakfast and dinner for all its guests. This was always and ideal opportunity to meet students, families, or lone-travelers passing through and exchanging stories of their Parisian experiences. One evening I overheard some Castilian Spanish and ended up speaking with recent high school graduates from Madrid celebrating in Paris.
The next morning I again followed my instinct to meet and greet and sat with a future Sorbonne student searching for an apartment. When we finally exchanged information he said his name was “Fabien”. Thursday, June 28, was also our visit en masse to Notre Dame and the Sainte Chappelle. Another dynamic guide, Madame Henri, conducted our informative promenade through the newly refurbished and restored Notre Dame whose front statues had mostly all been decapitated during the 1789 Revolution. Our next stop was the king’s private place of worship, La Sainte Chappelle – a small, but intricately designed, colorful chapel that depicts all the books of the Bible in its stained glass windows.
When our last full day came around shaking off the weariness of visiting so much was tough, especially when we had to go to Montmartre on windy and rainy day. Regardless, Madame Henri’s extensive tour of the neighborhood and conclusion at Sacré Coeur was just enough to inspire us to squeeze the life out of our last moments in the French capital. Inspired by earlier concert and show outings, six of us decided to get tickets for that evening’s National Ballet performance at the Opéra National. For 2½ hours, we enjoyed La Fille Mal Gardée, from my understanding the first ballet ever choreographed. Energetic, hilarious, graceful, and musically beautiful, the ballet rendered this last night in Paris magnificent.
Going out and enjoying the night life that Paris had to offer was also on our group’s cultural menu. From visiting Club O’Sullivans that shares a wall with the celebrated Moulin Rouge to stopping a discothèques in the Latin Quarter to even rendezvousing with another Vandy student visiting the city with his family, our evening’s were full of fun, dancing, and celebrating our week of relaxation.
The return to Aix the afternoon of Saturday, June 30, allowed us to wrap up the shopping craze, pack, and say goodbye to rainy, cloudy, yet amazing and exciting Paris.
PARIS PART 1 by Fabiani Duarte (See "Summer ‘O7 Week in Paris" Album)
When I finally got comfy in seat 72 of the Aix-Paris TGV, our imminent week-long, Parisian excursion seemed the perfect “cerise sur le gateau” or “cherry-on-top” of our demanding first half abroad. After a three hour train ride and tackling of the Paris metro, we arrived at the MIJE Hostel on yellow line stop St. Paul. Settling in and getting acquainted with Paris for a few hours was coupled with a delicious culinary welcome in the Quartier Latin that included exquisite cheese and meat fondues, “moules frites” (famous mussel dish) and even oysters, frog legs, and escargot.
Each day of the trip included either a morning or an afternoon reserved for group visits of Parisian museums or sites. For the other halves of the day our travel itineraries read “consacrée à la découverte individuelle des monuments et musées dans la cadre de cours FR 216” which, in other words, meant free-time to discover the rich culture of the City of Lights and Love.
Sunday’s planned group activity was to experience the sights and sounds of Paris while sailing around the Seine on a Bateau Mouche. To sandwich our boating trip under the bridges and by the great monuments of Paris, a group of us visited the Centre Pomidou modern art museum. Famous for exposing its water piping, air conduits, and electric wiring on its façade, the Musée Pompidou is surrounded with plazas hopping with street performers, artists, crepe stands, and fountains. With this lively precursor, the Museum is a five-story showcase of modern art with a city-wide view and houses works by Picasso, Pollock, and Kandinsky to name a few. From contortioned sculptures to Parisian cityscapes to even a temporary site on the life of playwright Samuel Beckett, the Musée Pompidou mixed the bizarre and beautiful, and the disturbing and delightful.
Monday and Tuesday were reserved for intensive tours of the Musée du Louvre and Musée D’Orsay led by Madame Gailliegue, an expert on art history who’d been training us on the facets of neo-classicism, romanticism, l’ecole de Barbizon, realism and impressionism for a few weeks. By concentrating on these artistic realms at each museum, many of us who had previously visited these prestigious centers had the opportunity to discover celebrated masterpieces and lesser works with a wealth of knowledge at our side. In the end the groups that followed her complete presentations spent 5 hours at the Louvre (with a lunch break) and almost 3 at Orsay.
Our numerous free afternoons or mornings leant themselves to exploration La Sorbonne, the Abby of Cluny, the famed Père Lachaise Cemetery, and Parisian neighborhoods where a few of formerly lived. Although a lot of the group took advantage of seeing chamber music and vocal concerts and even the musical Cabaret in French, by Tuesday evening exhaustion of pleasure vacationing was replacing our academic fatigue. But who cares…it’s PARIS!!!
On the summer solstice of each year, all of France and most of Europe unites in celebrating a language that transcends all borders – MUSIC!!! Thursday, June 21 was the date forecasted to be 2007’s longest day and in turn the much anticipated “Fête de la Musique”! Starting in the early afternoon, international bands, regional performers, and even local artists began assembling in every street corner, sidewalk, or plaza. Although this symphonic celebration happened to fall in the middle of our busy, mid-term week, it’s amazing how much a city-wide party can motivate students to get the job done early.
At 7 pm, the streets began to fill with thousands of music-lovers, tourists, and a unique mélange of melodies produced by the proximity of each performer to another.
Along the 440 meters of Cours Mirabeau, the long main street of Aix, about two dozen bands and singers lined up practically on top of each other. Numerous music festivals mark the American cultural landscape every season, but the unique element of this panoply of art was the manner in which every quartier, neighborhood, winding street, or sidewalk contributed to this city-wide symphony. From French hard-rock to African drummers to folksingers to Moroccan performers to a Brazilian Samba band that marched through the streets, the entire population engaged in this musical jubilee until 3 o’clock in the morning!
Overcome by the plethora of options, the groups split up and traversing the waves of people and sound at their own discretion. The group of four I wandered with participated by jumping into the yellow-shirted Brazilian army of performers that snaked through every small rue and boulevard to share their thunderous music with the people of Aix. By the time we had reached Cours Mirabeau, behind us we had formed a gargantuan cha-cha line of followers seduced by the exciting energy and fun of the group. Quel nuit de musique!
“Boulot, maison, dodo…” is the French expression that most of us adopted the week of June 18-22. This catch phrase represents for the French the exhaustive repetition of “going to work, going home, and going to bed.” Although midterm exams and a week full of French essay writing didn’t actually mirror this tireless, mundane cycle, it was most definitely a packed week of hard study, “beaucoup de travail,” and a pinch of stress. From intense reviews of the Advanced Grammar Class to the analytical or creative writing compositions required of Professor Barsky’s literature courses, all of 18 students were consumed by intense preparation. Our “light-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel” rested on Friday – the due date for all work and the day before our week-long excursion to beautiful, work-free, city of lights and love PARIS!!! Another incentive to work quickly, early, and efficiently was Thursday’s city wide “Fete de la Musique” or Celebration of Music.
Although task of writing 6 to 10 page literary essays in French, reviewing intricate grammar more complex than any previously studied, or quickly finishing the French novels we were assigned, may have seemed a daunting task, this “super week” of intensity dedication paid off. At our return from seven days of Parisian culture and escape, Professor Barsky announced, “Never have I seen such accomplished French writers come out of the Vanderbilt Foreign Language Department.” Even one of my fellow students who had previously been industriously tackling the program’s rigorous grammar course was greeted by a wonderful A. To think that we must do it all over in less than 3 weeks……Mon Dieu!!!
As a student quickly finds, living on the Euro is almost as easy as – well, you don’t know how long I thought of a metaphor to describe the possible headache, moments of tight spending, financial fun that these shiny blue, red, and light green bills can offer to a university student. Therefore, when it comes to meals 4 or 5 euro meals may seem great but just keep in mind that each one of those euros is equal to about $1.35 and so your 4 or 5 euros will soon add up to lots and lots funds that you might like to invest in excursions throughout the region on weekends with friends or those high-fashion French accessories you’ve always wanted.
Don’t fear, though, because food is trait the French have mastered and you can too – economically!
Vandy-in-France organizes meals with selected families three days a week in the summer session. With these families, not only do you receive a large meal à la française but you have the opportunity to speak and directly put into practice all the tools you’ve been empowered in your classes. This summer I have been blessed to have an adorable, kind, generous, and hilarious couple – the Bachs. Our dinner dates are every Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday and involve elaborate five-course meals that are not only filling but delectable. We begin each evening with the entrée (usually a casserole or vegetable) and follow it with the main course (so far we’ve had spaghetti, pork loin, fish and a French pasta dish called “canel” which resembles a giant italian gnocchi). After the big section of dinner, a green salad is presented and trailing it comes the after-dinner cheese tasting session with wine. BUT WAIT, we’re not done yet. For dessert, Madame Bach brings out a lovely bouquet of fruit including kiwis, peaches from provence, golden apples, nectarines, and bananas. By the time we say our “au revoirs” and “merci beacoups” our satisfied tummies and sleepy bodies can’t seem to find the words to express our tremendous gratitude for such a grandiose meal. Beyond the meal, the conversation, the jokes, the cultural lessons, and learning about the lives and family of the Bachs are perhaps the greatest elements of our family dinners. Last Tuesday – our first night to dine with the Bachs – Manuelle (Madame Bach) brought out her collection of photos and correspondence with 15-years-worth of hosting Vanderbilt students.
By implementing these fixed meals three days out of the week and providing funds for the weekly group excursion day (every Wednesday), we only have to worry about breakfasts, lunches, and weekend meals.
As we have quickly found, cooking your own food is a great and financially saavy lifestyle. To take full advantage of saving money on food, Vandy-in-France pointed us in the direction of low-cost, high-quality food sources. In France you’ll enjoy getting lost among the distinct boulangeries (bread shops), boucheries (meat shops), and epiceries (small, private grocers), but the cheap route in Aix leads to the glorious ED grocery store. Although Monoprix, Carrefour, and Casino are good and reliable stores for any food or home supply, ED contains the lowest prices in all of Aix. Granted, the brand options are fewer, but you’ll find the same items as everywhere else and can count on the produce to be of good and fresh quality.
The idea of Sunday being “a day of rest” is taken extremely literally in Aix which I quickly discovered when I tried to make a quick run for Sunday lunch and dinner and found myself walking through quiet streets of closed shops and stores.
Excursions away from Aix or moments where our taste buds have craved “something more” have been the occasions where most of the delicious French pastries, ice-cream, sandwiches (with fries inside of them), moules frites (sea mussels famous of the region of Provence), and provincial pizzas have been stumbled upon. Mmmmmm. Today, my roommate Suzanne mentioned that she came across a number of French candy shops. She explained that the blessing of free samples has inspired her to return and re-experience the sugar delicacies of the French.
Finally, one of the advantages of having female apartment-mates is that they come up with brilliant ideas when they talk with their female counterparts. Therefore, thanks to their impetus, last Wednesday the 18 students in our group began a weekly dinner by students for students. These weekly dinners involve one of the five different apartments hosting all members of the program, preparing a main course, and then having a potluck event where each of the other living arrangements brings a salad, dessert, entrée, bread, drinks, etc. The first dinner which featured spaghetti with chicken and all the aforementioned elements was hosted in my apartment with Suzanne and Ginny. Today, Wednesday, June 4, Auberge 1 (the apartment of seven) hosted the potluck meal. It included sautéed chicken breast, a type of French shrimp scampi, a huge salad, warm and fresh bread, wine from the region, and seven guests which brought us to a grand total of 25 students around one dinner table! This incredible and truly wonderful tradition is one we will definitely keep alive for the remaining weeks of our summer in Aix-en-Provence.
I feel that this culture of bringing people who care about each other around one table and the collective appreciation of the preparation, aromas, flavors, and conversation of each meal is what make French cuisine unforgettable. It’s not so much the amount of food or the location of the meal that defines a meals success. Good food is based on eating it with good people who you trust, can laugh with, rely on, and are willing to discover the next culinary horizon with you. I feel like Julia Child! Undoubtedly you will too when you come and visit and EAT!!! Au repas prochain!!!!!
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