A Visit to Rochefort, France

I went to the town of Rochefort the other day.

It seems that during the time of Louis XVI, Rochefort was a very important ship building town. You can still see the dry docks where ships where made, and where one is currently being made once again.
They are building a reproduction of the ship the Marquis de LaFayette sailed on when he went to help the Americans during the American revolution. Her name is the Hermione.
The original ship Hermione sank because of poor maneuvers on the part of her crew, but the plans for the ship are still around, so it is not too hard to rebuild her. She is being built using the original techniques used to build the first, 17th century vessel as much as possible.
You can go and visit her, the site is also a museum. You can see the foundry where the metal fittings are forged, and the work areas where the sails are sewn together, where the wood is carved and shaped, and where the rope is made, fitted, and covered in tar to prevent it from rotting. You can also take a tour of the ship.
Unlike in the movies, the Herminone's wheel couldn't be turned by just one man. It took anywhere from two or three in good weather, to 5 or 6 in stormy weather to turn the rudder.

The big red thing in the center of the picture is the winch used to raise anchor. It took most of the crew- some 140 men- to raise anchor. There are two of these winches, one fore, and one aft, 70 men were needed to turn each one. It took about an hour to raise the anchor, and there is a stop to lock the winch if the men needed to stop and take a break. Raising the anchor was the only time the men were allowed to insult the officers!

The Herminone's masts aren't made out of one whole, really tall tree. Instead they are telescoping, made of several separate lengths attached together. This makes possible to have taller masts-trees that tall and straight just aren't all that thick on the ground- as well as making it easier to repaire should the mast become damaged.

Next to the ship yards at Rochefort is the Corderie Royal, where rope was made for the ships. It is one of the longest buildings in Europe, because it needs to be long enough to accommodate the longest length of rope made there!

Oh, and I found a four leaf clover! I'll be glad to take it along on my return trip home. Bon Voyage!



**Check back for the photos. Google has some issues :(

Son et Lumiere

Well, things are winding down here.
We don't have much class time left. It's been a great experience to spend a good chunk of time here in one place at Avignon; I enjoyed my time and I've learned a lot. My French has improved so much!

The Son et Lumiere show at Avignon

We take the DELF exam in a few days and I'll be visiting with some new friends I've made. I can recommend this program to other students and especially my Foyer. It has been wonderful. The Directrice is the best and the other French students in the dorm have helped me by just being themselves. They do normal, student things and I know a lot more about French culture, customs and politics by being around them.


Son et Lumiere

Last weekend with the tourists now regularly calling in the city, they're staging "Son et Lumiere" light shows regularly at the Palais des Papes. These events are quite popular in France at significant tourist destinations, usually ones which include castles. They are held evenings and are often accompanied by music and narration.
I attended and took some photos to share:

The Son et Lumiere show at Avignon

                          

                     Two additional views of Son et Lumiere show.

Tarascon Ancient Castle and Town

The Eglise Sainte Marthe, an important
historical, religious figure in the region.

My trip to Tarascon went very well. The city is very nice, and the weather was beautiful today. There was a market today so the first thing we did (I went with one of the girls I met on the Student Exchange Association trip) was go to the market.
After the market, we wandered around town a bit, it was very pretty. I saw the Church of Ste. Marthe, which is built over her tomb.

A view of the mythic Tarascon creature.

The main attraction was of course the castle, the seat of the kings of Provence. Outside is a statue of the Tarsque, the mythical river monster Ste. Marthe defeated. She showed it a crucifix, then wrapped her griddle around it and it became tame, allowing the villagers to kill it.

A view of the Tarascon castle

The castle is very impressive; in quite good condition and as 'castley' of a castle as one could want. It's not too expensive generally, and it's free to enter for students of art, art history, and architecture! That's me!

Inside the castle walls.

After Tarascon became part of modern France, the castle was used for various things, including (as with many of these ancient structures) a prison. You can still see things the prisoners carved in the walls. It seems that it was used mainly( or at least these were the ones the carved the most) for English prisoners. One group was apparently sailors on the Constantine, which was captured Feburary 1757 on the island Maninca (I think that was the name) The other group was mainly around 1797, many from Hull, England.

A view overlooking Tarascon from the castle parapets.

Across the river is the town of Beauclaire, which is also quite nice. Apparently Beauclaire was not part of the Kingdom of Provence. It had its own castle, which is not in nearly as good of condition now.





A side note: I notice my French is getting better. I've been catching myself writing French words when I'm thinking of English ones! It's strange-- I think in English, but French now comes out sometimes and I don't notice at first. I guess that's the best recommendation for studying abroad for more than a few weeks-- the place really gets into you.
I registered for my DELF exams, by the way. Wish me luck!

Nimes: Easter Time In France

Cathedrale of Nimes.

While France is historically called the "cradle of Christianity" owing to the ancient Gauls who first accepted the new religion during the Roman occupation, to Charlemagne fame, today not many attend regularly and some laws are now in force to prevent public expression of religion. Still, they are very interested and even adamant about their Easter holiday weekend. In fact the Monday after Easter is a national holiday to allow people to travel back home from their Easter celebrations. Strange.

Easter is (still) an important holiday in France. Everyone goes traveling to see their family, so the trains where quite crowded. It seems that Easter in France still has more traces of the ancient spring celebrations that existed before Christianity. Along with the usual chocolate rabbits and eggs, they have chocolate fish and chickens. They have chocolate euros too, but I think maybe they are more of a Christmas thing that ended up in my Easter basket because they were left over :) I do like chocolate!

'CocoEuros' for holidays.

Roman arena of Nimes.

Chocolate novelties for Easter.

On my return I had a long stop in Nimes, which is the principal city of the Gard region. Nimes is an ancient and very interesting city. I didn't  have time to see too much, but the train station lets you off right down town so I was able to see some of its pretty shopping area, the large cathedral and a very impressive fountain. I also saw the famous Roman arena, which is still used today. They have bullfights in the style of the Camargue (the swampy areas near the Mediterranean)  which doesn't  involve injuring or killing the bull.


 

The SNCF train station at Nimes.

A rainy, cool day at Royan.

April is the very beginning of the tourist season here. The beach at Royan was just warm enough to be pleasant, and the attractions for the tourists have returned for the season.  I did go walking in the surf but the water is still too cold for swimming. It was still early and cold enough in the season that the beaches weren't  crowded.

Le Printemps et Avignon

Its beginning to feel a lot like spring time!

Dining on the cheap--as the locals do
from the supermarche!

Now that it is getting warm and the tourists are just starting to arrive, the city seems to be giving itself a bit of a face lift. Buildings are getting new roofs and shops are being renovated and painted.  They like to re-use even very old buildings here.The cafes have all set up huge umbrellas in preparation for the hot summer, and they have set up barrier walls to mark out which seats belong to which restaurant.

Renovation and construction of buildings
is now in full swing at Avignon.

Restaurants, even fast food, is expensive in France! However, I've  discovered that a good way to get around this is to buy already prepared food at the grocery store and take it somewhere to eat. The food is quite good and much less expensive. Especially when I stick to French favorites like jambon, ham or le thon, tuna; or regional favorites like cassoulet, bean stew. It seems to be what the locals do too. I see lots of them buying the same kinds of things around lunch time along with bread, fruit, vegetables and cheeses.

 

I saw quite an antiques market setup in the square, la Place d'Horlogue today! They had all kinds of things-- jewelry, silverware,  porcelain, linens, decorative objects, old farming equipment, war memorabilia; it was

La Place d'Horlogue
Tourism is starting to bloom as well here!

quite an eclectic collection. I saw a few things I liked, but nothing that would fit well in a suitcase.

The roof tops and tower of Avignon Palais.

 The street vendors at the place de Horlogue are mostly selling jewelry and painting. I wasn't  particularly impressed or unimpressed, though there was one rather good water-colorist. There is also a tram that you can ride around the city. It's apart from the city buses which operate year round. The tram starts out front of the Palais des Papes and goes around most of the historic sites. Its about 7€ a person I think, which was a bit much for me, but it does look like a good way to see the city without getting lost- which is something to consider given the maze of streets that is Avignon!

The road to the Barthalese area at Avignon

At the Isle Barthalese, camping and lodg-
ings for the budget minded in Avignon.

The place to board the river ferry at Avignon.

Finally, I visited the Isle Barthalese today, which is the largest river island in Europe. It is accessible by bridge for cars, bicycles and pedestrians, and by ferry for bikes and pedestrians.

The ferry is free, but unfortunately, while it runs every day in the summer, it only runs Wednesdays and weekends in the spring months. 

The isle has a large camping area, as well as sports facilities and an organic farm where you can buy fresh fruits and vegetables.

A view of the adjacent  Villeneuve les Avignon
from the walkway.

 There is also a very pleasant walkway along the river. While the river is nice for walking, the rest of the isle is better suited for car travel, unlike Avignon within the walls where walking or biking is the best way to get around.

A Marseille!

The central port with boats moored.

Marseille is quite lovely. It is a beautiful old port town surrounded by mountains and the Mediterranean sea. The feel of the city reminds me a bit of New Orleans, both are warm French port cities, but Marseille is much larger than New Orleans.This was my first time seeing the Mediterranean; it really is as blue and clear as you see in photos!

A view of some calanques.

 I want to come back when it is warm enough to swim, because while the weather was nice and warm, the water was still very cold. The mountains are beautiful as well, they are good for hiking and rock climbing. You can see beautiful views of the sea and the city from them. Unfortunately, Marseille does not have many proper beaches, instead the coast is rocky. They have many calanques, which are long thin coves made by fingers of the sea reaching into the mountainous coast. The calanques often have small beaches in them, and are perfect harbors for boating or scuba diving.

The city is also quite interesting. Marseille is quite old, it was originally a Phoenician city, though most of the buildings are more modern than that, most seem to date from around the 18th century.

The Cathedrale of Marseilles.

A view from the cliffs, hiking above
the city is a great view!

The cathedral in Marseille is beautiful, and unlike some of the churches I have seen here in France, still in very good repair. Up high on the mountains over looking the port in Notre Dame du Garde. This church is also beautiful, and has a splendid view of the city and the sea. It is dedicated to the protection of sailors. The port is guarded by two massive and impressive fortresses.

I went hiking in the mountains with some others this past week.  It is beautiful though, the mountains over look the Mediterranean. It was crazy windy though.

I think I like the Mediterranean coast, I want to come back and go to the beach when it is warmer, it was pretty warm today and yesterday, but not beach going warm. Today I explored the city with wonderful guide. We went to an art museum and saw a couple churches. Everyone has been very nice here; they've kept me quite busy. Unfortunately the week end is over so soon!

A view of the Mediteranean shoreline.

A Harry Potter Kind of Day

A modern French classroom.

The usual desks and chairs arrangement

Well, another day done. My classes are all about French. I have a couple of instructors and a small class size. We're from all over the globe! French it seems, is still an important language. My class work is split into long days and short days. A couple days we go morning and afternoon with a long break at lunch time; other days we're done at lunch time with the afternoons off. It seems lots of places shut down for lunch still, even in a city like Avignon, and the University follows the pattern too.

The stone walls are amazingly thick!

An elegant central stairway, dating
from the 18th century.

My classes are mostly review for me right now, but I'm sure that will change. In the meantime some of my real world experiences have been the most challenging, like yesterday when I went to the bank to purchase a money order to pay the rent at the Foyer! I made it through that with the help of the kind Guichet (clerk) there. So after that, it's a bit less stressful because I don't have to figure out how to get another mandat postal!

A French money order

Most of the people in my class seem to speak a combination of French and English, and between the two, they are pretty comprehensible. In my class there are 10 people, one from Spain, also from Mexico, Cuba, Bulgaria  and four from China. The one thing that may make it tough going is that a couple of the Chinese students don't speak very clear French and no English. It can be quite a game of pictionary to understand each other!

The university building where our classes are held is interesting. Some parts of it are very old; I feel like I should be wearing Harry Potter's wizard style robes! Other parts, most of it really, are quite modern. It looks like the building has been heavily renovated, so the inside of the class rooms look like any other university. This is a really old University. It was formed in 1303 and was a Royal institute until the French Revolution of 1792. It makes EIU seem like a wink in someone's eye!

Impressions, My First Week

 Getting Around in Avignon

Yesterday I went walking around the main shopping district. The city here is the old city. It's almost completely surrounded by fortress like walls. I read that it's one of the best examples of  the fortified old cities remaining in France. There sure are a lot of different kinds of stores; some are big global chains that we have at home as well, but others are little, unique small businesses, and some are national French brands. It seems like everyone goes shopping on Saturday afternoons here. I went walking down along Le Place d' Horlogue and Rue de La Républic. It was quite busy.

La Place d'Horlogue, Avignon

The view overlooking the city

I also went to the public gardens behind the Palais des Papes. It is quite lovely, and has a wonderful view of the surrounding area because it is quite high up,  higher even than the Palais, which is built on a cliff overlooking the Rhone river.

Another surprising sculpture in the park.

The very attractive park near the
Palais Des Papes

I can't  believe I have only been here a week! I have set up a bank account, registered, paid my tuition, settled into the Foyer, learned my way around somewhat and discovered that I will learn more French here!

New Student Week!

Today starts new student week-- for international students. Sounds funny when I say that-- I guess that means me!  There will be a movie later tonight. There are a pretty lot of other students; some are here for the whole year, some are studying a semester.  I met a couple nice girls- there seems to be distinctly more women than men here-- today I've made the acquaintance of a Briton, a Chinese, an Australian and a Romanian who are like me, all here to study French.

The very functional University buildings

The elegant University of Avignon

Oh and also, I 'm getting more used to these French keyboards, though I still cannot find the apostrophe key!

Au Marché

 Le Marché

The ancient Roman Ampitheatre ruins
at Saintes.

The amazing Cathedale de Saintes, dating
from the 12th century; restored in the 15th
century!

We went to the market town of Saintes, which is very old. There is a Roman amphitheater there, as well as the significant but less known Cathedrale de Saintes, an ancient and impressive structure! In the Cathedral I made the 'acquaintance' of my first saint! I guess I'll encounter more while I'm here. Seems there's a crypt under the Cathedrale floor where Saint Eutrope is buried. Saint Eutrope was Greek, sent by the Apostle Peter to evangelize the ancient Gauls in the new religion, about 250 A.D. He is also known as Saint Eutropius.

A beautiful variety of fishes at
the Sunday market in Royan.

The large selection of fowl--note the bird feet,
still attached, lower R. of center, at the
Sunday market in Royan.

Another day I went to the Sunday market in Royan. Open air markets like these are very common in France, and often have been held in the same place for centuries. These markets are a good place to do your shopping, as they often have the freshest produce and better prices than most stores. I was surprised it was so big. Not surprising is they have  lot of sea food here, plucked right from the Atlantic ocean. They also eat lot of different types of birds here in Aquitaine, not just chickens. Many enjoy guinea fowl, ducks, geese, and pigeons also.

Fruits de mer, seafood at the Sunday
market in Royan.

Buying clothing, bric a brac and house-
hold items at the Sunday market
in Royan.

It seems that fountain pens are rather common in France, they call them stylo plumme,"feather pens." I liked them, so I bought a "feather pen" at the market too!

 
 

The very modern Cathedrale
at Royan, built of cement,
simple lines, very little
ornamentation.

On the Way home From the Market: The town of Royan was bombed during World War II, so many of the buildings are newer, including its cathedral.

 

Le phare now a mile or so from the coast.

We went  also to the Phare de la Coubre; after many storms the phare, or lighthouse is in the middle of sand dunes.

 A Visit to Brouage:  Brouage is a fortified town in existence since the mid 1500's when it was an important salt market; later in the 1800's it was fortified with two sets of walls; gun powder was stored there.

An overview, explains the Brouage site.

The romantic story of Marie Mancini.

Examining the old fortified walls.