France, tu me manqueras!

I can't believe a goodbye France post is here already, but here goes...

I named this blog post "Au revoir" before taking a look back at my very first blog post to discover that was also called au revoir (original I know) so I'm renaming it France, tu me manqueras!  Its been 2 weeks since I left Aix, the place I've called home since September and I've been so busy laying on a beach in Spain (see next post) that I've not really had time to miss it yet, however I know as soon as I land back in cold rainy England it will hit me like a tonne of bricks. I shed a few tears on the bus when I realised I was leaving Aix, all those months planning and talking about MY YEAR ABROAD I can't believe its now come to an end, it doesn't seem real. 

It doesn't seem two minutes since I was packing my extremly overweight suitcase (which has now doubled in size to two suitcases) and saying goodbye to my family at the airport but in 2 days time I will be at the airport saying hello instead. Cliche, but to all the people I met in Aix, thankyou for the amazing memories that I will keep with me for a lifetime. 

What better way to say goodbye to France than with a few pics of the last big night out and to say anyone reading this thinking about doing a year abroad, don't think just GO! Best time of your life.

 

Meal for Holly's last night

Recreating our cow picture

Festival de Cannes

Among the goodbyes and packing of my last few days in Aix I certainly took advantage of the famous Festival de Cannes. Living on the Côte-d'Azur certainly has its advantages, and at 2 hours away Cannes certainly felt as close as on my doorstep that I'm ever going to get. Unfortunately Leonardo Dicaprio didn't appear to sweep me off my feet but it was an amazing place. What you wouldn't give to own a yacht or drive a matte black lamborghini for a day :P 

If i ever get the opportunity to go again I would certainly stay overnight and join the other fans begging for tickets to the premieres and the chance to walk on the red carpet with the stars. Talking to some people during the day we discovered that the press especially recieve more tickets than they need and get fined if they don't use them, therefore if you're in the right place at the right time they give them away to fans waiting outside the palais. Definitley one for the bucket list I think. Highlights of this day certainly include spotting Nicole Kidman, Steven Spielberg and Audrey Tatou on the red carpet for the Only Lovers Left Alive premiere. Highly recommended and some friends even camped there to do it on a budget. 

                 Look Closely below and you should spot Nicole Kidman :)

St Tropez & Cap Taillat

Standard day in the life of an Erasmus student in the South of France, a trip to St Tropez... why the hell not?!

So instead of a boring day revising I spent a lovely day exploring another new place and sitting on a beach. Can't complain really. 

Examens en France

Its now a week since I left France, and 3 whole weeks since I finished my exams and I've only just remembered to blog about the lovely experience of exams in France. For starters I found the whole idea of exams a complete waste of time because I'm not required to pass, (which is the worst motivation ever.) that coupled with the laid-back, disorganised French system the whole thing was utterly pointless. There is no exam invigilators that you'd expect in England and in some cases not even enough exam papers. (In one exam half the class sat without a question paper for the first half an hour) Its perfectly acceptable for your phone to ring midway, or for you to leave the room unsupervised for a toilet break. In England if you have an exam clash it will 100% be sorted out for you, but not here. It is deemed to be your fault for daring to have an exam clash and if you can't get hold of one woman in the entire uni then you just have to pick which one you think is more important. Meh... C'est la vie! I have one result so far, 7/20 not bad to say I knew NOTHING! 

Some procrastination activites to avoid revision I did include

Sunbathing in the park
Visiting St. Tropez
Climbing Mont St Victoire
Trips to the beach

Overall not a bad life in the south of France :D

Were off to Climb a Mountainn!!!!

For many excuses (mainly valid and not due to my laziness) I didn't manage to climb Mont Sainte-Victoire last semester when the majority of people did, but it was certainly on my list of things to do before I leave.(Which is in a month #sob.) Picking a 20odd degree day might not have been ideal when it was super steep at the beginning but it did lead to some lovely views at the top whilst eating our picnic and eating all the grapes Luke brought along. All I really know about the mountain is that its very famous because Cezanne used to paint it and there is a church at the top available for campers. Taking a different route on the way back down led us to walk past possibly the most stunning turquoise lake I've ever seen. Finishing off the day with a few failed jump photos before catching the bus back home. Great day with even better company Its days like this when i still can't believe I have lived in such an amazing place for the past 9 months and that I really am going to miss it and all the people I've met when I have to leave.

 

In other news I have been playing beer-pong (and winning!) girly nights in watching mean girls, visiting Marseille for la fete  des flammes et flots ( a random night with sculptures of fire everywhere) and my next trip is to St Tropez tomorrow!!! Standard day in the life of an erasmus student in the South of France :D

Just a Few Snaps From Spain

Granada

Soo after my little jaunt down to Tarragona my next stop was Granada. Here I was visiting Rosanna, the first friend I ever made on erasmus! (Who knew you could meet such a good friend at the airport?! First day buddies!!!) Now I know I say it alot but I really do love Spain, endless days of drinking cheap beer and eating free tapas. What could be more perfect?! After a quick trip to the bull fighting ring, the main highlight of this trip was visiting the Alhambra Palace (which narrowly missed out on being one of the 7 modern wonders) We had night time tickets to the Palace so had the chance to see the sunset before hand. Really is one of the most beautiful places ever. The following night we went up to the albayzin, the old gypsie district of granada with stunning views of the whole city & the Alhambra on the opposite hill. Plus its always amusing to see the illegal street sellers scarper when they think the police are coming. And after another epic 24 hour journey I arrived back in Aix ready for my last month here! I actually love Spain and can't wait to explore it some more in the summer, because NEWS FLASH, i have Benicassim tickets :D