Has it really been an entire week since I last posted? Sorry to leave you out of the loop for so long. It's been very busy here this last week, but I finally found some time to sit down and catch you up.
In summary, here's what you can look forward to reading about:
-taking 30 American teenagers to a gay bar in Nice (oops) for techno night and dancing
-excursions to Eze, Monaco, and St. Tropez
-the gardens and view in Eze
-cars, aquarium, and a palace visit in Monaco
-modern and contemporary art museum visits
-my day off in Italy
-para-sailing
-making cologne in Grasse...
...and...
-blues night!!!
Les deux frères
So you might be wondering why anyone in his right mind would willfully escort a group of 30 underaged Americans to a gay bar in Nice... I don't know that there's a good answer to that. It all started when Marion, our Activities Director on the program, told us about a techno night a local pub was hosting. There was going to be a guest DJ playing his own stuff, and it sounded like an enjoyable evening activity and a good chance for the American participants to hear some good European dance music. A great cultural experience, right?
When Marion told me the name of the club was "Les deux frères (The Two Brothers)," I didn't think anything of it. I just had it in my brain that that was the name of the club we were looking for in town. And even after getting there it wasn't immediately obvious that anything out of the ordinary was taking place. As we were among the first to arrive at the club that night, we didn't start noticing anything until some more of the club's patrons began to enter. It seemed like guys were coming with guys and girls with girls...and then it dawned on me.... As the guys started dancing with the guys and the girls with girls, and we started noticing their fashion and behavior, it became all too apparent.
Being in a gay bar does have its advantages, however. (I didn't think I'd ever hear myself say that.) One of the biggest things I worry about in France as someone responsible for the safety of 25 American high school girls, especially at night, is unwanted attention from the ubiquitous sketchy French male. Some of them are so inappropriate it's enough to make you sick. But at a gay bar, I didn't worry at all when some of the girls started dancing with a couple of guys (who were already dancing together). They all had a good time dancing together, and everyone in the bar was extremely considerate and polite. It was honestly one of the safest clubs to which we could have taken those girls. What a Friday night!
Eze
The morning of Saturday, July 14th was a festive one as our Peirani tour bus pulled into Eze, a medieval city on the top of one of the tallest and steepest hills on the French Riviera. The 14th is Bastille Day, France's Independence Day. A band played in the small town tunes of French patriotism including their national anthem, la Marseillaise.
It had been a very pretty bus ride to Eze. The views are amazing as you get out of Nice and begin to climb the hills as the coast gets steeper and steeper.
We arrived at the top of the hill after a short walk and entered the gardens arranged by the former princess of Monaco, Grace Kelly, an American movie star. Princess Grace imported many varieties of American cacti which look slightly out of place.
The view from Eze is one of the most spectacular I've ever seen. It's probably second only to the view of the Bay of Fundy from the Fundy National Park where you can see Nova Scotia on the horizon. I don't know I'll ever see anything quite like it.
We grabbed a bite to eat and boarded the bus for Monaco.
Monaco
As we crossed the border into Monaco, I realized I have now visited three of Europe's five microstates. Fun! Monaco, The Vatican, and Lichtenstein. Just Andorra and San Marino to complete the circuit, I guess.
Almost all of the parking is underground in Monaco. The prince's palace is on a large hill, and our buses parked in the hill. We took the elevator the surface and came out right in front of the aquarium, which was the first place I visited. It turned out to be more than an aquarium. It was a nautical museum also and contained skeletons of whales, an original American Revolution submarine, and a life-sized polar bear, among other things. They had a great selection of sharks and Nemo-fish.
After I finished up at the aquarium, I made my way to the Prince Rainer III's famous car collection. Some rare gems and some WWII and Vietnam American Army vehicles were most prevalent. For a few photos, be sure to check out my Facebook photo album Pirates of the Mediterranean: Shiver Ye Timbers.
I also took advantage of the sales going on in pretty much every store in Europe and updated my wardrobe with a few strategic purchases. Much of what is on sale now will be better worn in the fall and winter, but I must admit I'm excited to wear some of these articles.
I concluded my stay in Monaco with an audio guided tour of the Prince's palace. Not a bad place to live if you don't have anywhere else to stay. But the 20-foot ceilings, gold leaf, art masterpieces, and private footguard might get old after a while.
St. Tropez
It's hard to come into St. Tropez on a boat, as we did, without noticing the big mansions just outside the downtown area and the ridiculously large yachts in the harbor. One of them even had a helicopter on the helo pad on the back.
Sunday was a slower day. I had really hoped to be able to attend church again this week, but I had no such luck. Instead, another one of the RAs and I had a great discussion about our common values and compared religious views for about an hour. I felt it was a good discussion and was worth the time. In lieu of attending church, I figured it was the best I could do.
We proceeded to the castle on the top of the hill for our modern art museum and 360-degree view of the city and its environs. My favorite display in the museum/castle had to be the 22-minute film about a family of ostriches played by humans. They work pink tights and ostrich costumes and walked backwards. It's amazing how much a human walking backwards looks like an ostrich walking forwards.
But the best part about St. Tropez was its amazing collection of Picasso at the Anociade museum. I had only seen a Picasso or two in real life before coming to this museum, but there must have been at least 30 of his pieces there. I couldn't believe how many there were. There was also a great collection of post-Impressionism and Fauvist art there too. It's wonderful to see the art I remember talking about in class and remember what defines each genre, then see how each painting fits the description or not. It was also fascinating to trace the development of an artist's style across his life and compare the early works with the later.
San Remo and my day off
So after a long weekend, it was nice to have my one day off fall on a Monday. I had been debating for quite some time what I wanted to do with the little time I really had to myself, and I finally came to the conclusion that since I didn't know the next time I'd be back in Italy, I should probably take advantage of my proximity to the country. So I hopped on a train, which was 10 € round trip, and went to Italy for the day.
I had been debating about how to spend the day, and I almost opted to stay in Nice and call my friend Kyle who's serving a mission here and in whose area I now live at the lycée. I love doing missionary work and thought it would be a nice change of pace from what I'm doing 24/7. But I couldn't turn down the trip to Italy, and so I left a little reluctant.
When I arrived in San Remo, I really had no idea where I was going or what I wanted to do for the day. So I started walking down the street from the train station, hoping I would make it to the old part of town or the beach or something. Having left the train station literally no more than 5 minutes previously, I ran into to the missionaries, Elder Olsen and Elder Pappas. I said hello, introduced myself, and made a u-turn to head back to the chapel with them. The chapel was right next to the train station, but I never would have known if I hadn't been with the missionaries.
After a brief district meeting (they were the only 2 in their district), we went out to lunch. We had real Italian pizza, cooked by a real Italian, in a real Italian pizzeria in Italy, with real Italian cheese (I think you get the point)! It was delicious.
Next it was onto some fresh fruit for dessert, and then we parted ways. It was great to see, as we rode the bus on the way to lunch, Elder Pappas finding wherever he went. Everywhere we went he was talking to people. (I could understand almost every word! I need to move to Italy for a few months and just pick up the language.) Elder Olsen is still pretty new and struggles with his Italian, but he was willing to make phone calls and do all he could.
As I thought about the work that was going on in this small city with a small branch and two missionaries, and as I heard the success stories in sharing the Gospel, working with the members, finding through their own efforts, and baptizing worthy converts, it re-confirmed to me what Elder Ballard said in an all MTC teacher meeting last fall: missionary work really is moving forward around the world, and there's no need for missionaries to think that just because they're called to France, or Italy, or Germany, or Spain, or Russia, or Canada, or Africa for that matter, that they aren't going to find people ready for the message. They will, they just need to have faith and work hard, and whatever happens will be as the Lord wants it to happen.
After leaving the missionaries to some of their afternoon and evening appointments, I went to the beach and did a little shopping before getting on the train back to France. I didn't actually buy anything, I just window shopped a little for some things I was unable to find.
In all, the day was very relaxing, and I came back recharged and ready for the last week or two of the program.
The last couple of days
Tuesday was fairly uneventful with the exception of going parasailing! I'd never been before, and it was a lot of fun. I'd recommend it to anyone who hasn't been. It's so peaceful and quiet once you get a few feet over the water. I was probably 50 to 100 feet above the water, and I was only out for a few minutes, but the experience was well worth walking to the beach and letting my company pay for me to go.
Wednesday (yesterday), in contrast to Tuesday, was very busy. I didn't know I could have so much fun at work, though. I had a pretty typical morning with the running and the breakfast and the staff meeting, and then I went to Grasse in the afternoon to make perfume. Grasse is basically the perfume capital of France, the perfume capital of the world. There's a workshop where they let you mix your own scents to make your own perfume or cologne, and I made a creation I called "Mike pour homme" (I didn't have much time to think of a name). All I know is that it smells good and the perfume guy liked it.
The bus rides out there and back were long but very inexpensive. You can really get around on just a few Euros.
And then in the evening I went on what was without a doubt my favorite activity of the summer. About a 5-minute walk from the lycée is a club where we went for the "Blues Jam Session." It was so much fun, and they do it every Wednesday. I'm thinking of applying for this job again next year just so I can go play again. If I had known the first Wednesday, I would have been there every Wednesday of the summer.
So you know how excited I am about this, but let me tell you about what it was. Basically, anyone who wants to can come to this club called "Le Volume" in Nice, bring instruments and friends, and get up on the stage and play. Nothing but blues improv for several hours, with me rocking out on the stage and singing, made me so happy. Not only has it been so long since I've played with a group, but blues improv is my favorite thing in the world to play on the guitar. The other musicians were also really into it, and we all took turns soloing and jamming. In the group: two drum sets, two guitars, a bass guitar, a singer or two, and two saxophones. We just improvised our way through the evening, taking turns playing rhythm, leading, soloing, and singing, and we just had an awesome time. I haven't had that much fun in a long time.
I made up words in English and in French, and people seemed to like that I sang in French. Who says the blues can't be in French? I'd love to go back next Wednesday, but it's the last night of the program and I might not be allowed out of the lycée.
I posted a bunch of pictures from the show on Facebook, so you'll have to check those out to get an idea of what we were doing there.
Which finally brings us to today. I was very grateful to have a slower day today. I went on a guided tour of the MAMAC (Modern and Contemporary Art Museum) in Nice and learned a lot about surrealism in art and the "new realists" of our time. Fascinating work, with some very interesting interpretations, representations, and themes for the art.
Aside from the museum visit, I sat down and read half a chapter of Harry Potter. I haven't made anywhere near as much progress on that book as I would have liked to. I have also spent a lot of time getting pictures up on Facebook and updating this blog, so I do hope you'll enjoy. Cheers!
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