The South of France! This is the final arc of my France trip, the last post in which I can share the tons of photos I took and the wonderful memories I made. I have to say, being in the South and simply living life was one of the most enjoyable experiences I had in France. Being that this trip was almost 2 months ago, I don't have an amazing memory of what I did each day chronologically, but I want to share a bunch of photos I took and talk a little bit about my experience in the South and how it compares to a massive city like New York.
As I write this post, I have a tab open with all of my photos, looking through what I did each day and reliving the memories found in these 400 some odd pictures. I have a few videos that I might get around to editing one day to make a vlog of, but for now, they are more of a keepsake.
I traveled to the south on a bus that took around 13 hours. My flight to Paris took around 8 hours and somehow felt SO much longer than this bus ride. Though 13 hours sounds incredibly long to be stuck on a bus, I have to say time flew like it never had before. I slept, ate, and chatted the time away. I specifically remember that the bus had a really funny safety video that played as I got on, in English!
The bus left off in Marseille, and from there I took another bus to Aix, then another bus to Pertuis and FINALLY a final bus to La Tour D'Aigues. I rode through each place, I saw the scenery become more and more rural, and the towns seem smaller and smaller. From the bus station alone I could tell I was entering a totally different world than the one in Paris, which made me excited because I wanted to see things that were different from what regular tourists usually see!
This being said, I can't say that I did a lot of tourism in this particular area. I spent most of my time eating, walking around the local area and simply... living!
We visited an old church, a small cat cafe, went to the local library to read books in French, and sat together by a local stream, listening to the sounds of the water and enjoying the warm sun.
The hustle and bustle in Paris was an amazing experience, running around to a bunch of different places to snap photos and spend money, but the slow and simple pace of the South was welcome! As I walked around Aix, I had about 70 euros to my name, which was perfectly fine! I stayed with Guillaume and his family, which welcomed me even though we had such a large language barrier between us. I ate delicious home-cooked meals, sat by the tiny electric fireplace in the living room, and lived each day in my own world.
I really felt the cultural shift (in the best way) and enjoyed having this different kind of experience. For those who know me, you know that I'm obsessed with life in small towns, cottages, gardens, and everyone knowing their neighbors and doing things 'by hand', so this was like a breath of fresh air!
A trip that I took while in the South was to Cassis, which is right by the sea. It had amazing views of the mountains and the ocean. I would never go to the beach in February back in New York, but the weather was beautiful (though the water was ice cold!).
I also wanted to share a bit about my love life these days. Earlier this year, I left my long term relationship to focus on myself and my happiness. While I was in France, I met up with friends from all over the world and made some amazing memories. Unexpectedly, I also found amazing chemistry with a dear friend of mine. With him, I fell in love with the South of France and the French language, which is something I could have never anticipated.
Things are really new between us, as in 'a couple days ago we became official' new, but I wanted to share my photos from the memories we made together abroad because it's my truth and it displays the incredible happiness I felt and continue to feel. This blog will always be a place where I share what's on my heart. I feel vulnerable revealing this after being with someone else for so long and having so many good times with that person, but I'm blessed that we are still very much on good terms and still care deeply for each other.
Thank you for always supporting me, anyone who reads this :) I'll see you again soon.
0 Comments
Post a Comment