France Pictures!

[Alumette]

Well, I finally got them all arranged, sorta. I am a moron at Photobucket, but after several hours of finagling finally got them uploaded; so if they're rotated funny or whatever you'll just have to deal. :)

They are also in reverse chronological order from the trip; i.e. the first pictures you'll see are of our return flight to the US. :) So if you want them in order, the link starts at page 12 (yes, 12). Start in the lower right and go backwards from there.

I put little notes on most of them telling what they are. I took a zillion pictures and most of them will probably be boring unless you're somewhat familiar with France. Since this photobucket page will also be available to my students, I put all the pictures up there so they could choose any they wanted copies of. So I apologize for the vast, repetitive numbers of many photos.

No, I am not in any of them. I was behind the camera the whole time. But now I have a digital camera, so I can post a new picture or two of me if you're curious.

Our trip was two weeks long, and included a few days in Paris, a week touring south to the region of Provence (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Provence) which is my favorite part of France and is incidentally where my character Alumette is from. :) After our week in Provence, we went back to Paris for a week, where my students stayed with French families and I had a chance to explore the city to find new classroom materials, improve my French, visit museums, etc.

I traveled with nine students, all in French III or higher. They are all really motivated students and I was so proud of how they approached this trip. It was really cool as a teacher to see them using their French in authentic environments, learning teamwork, growing as people, taking risks, and learning so many of the "intangibles" that they could never get in the classroom. As a teacher, that was absolutely exhilerating to observe and I can't describe what a meaningful, awesome thing it was. They made me so proud. :)

While in Provence, we visited

Avignon (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avignon)
An atelier de santons (http://www.santons-fouque.com/)
Cassis (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cassis)
Arles (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arles)
Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saintes_Maries_de_la_Mer)
in the Camargue (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camargue)
The Pont du Gard (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pont_du_gard)
Les Baux (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Les_baux)
Nice (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nice)
Monaco (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monaco)
Aix-en-Provence (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aix-en-Provence)
St. Paul de Vence (http://www.provenceweb.fr/e/alpmarit/stpaul/stpaul.htm), and
Eze (http://www.provenceweb.fr/e/alpmarit/eze/eze.htm) with its lovely perfume factory and an artisanal distillery which I will definitely be visiting again...

As a highlight, we also completely by accident visited the small town of Biot (http://www.provenceweb.fr/e/alpmarit/biot/biot.htm), which I had never visited before, but after some internet research when coming up with Alumette's background, chose for her birthplace. I was originally going to ask our tour guide to point it out to me if we happened to drive past it, but before I could ask her, she said to me, "We have some extra time tomorrow afternoon, and there's a delightful little town nearby called Biot. Would you like to squeeze it in to our itinerary?" It was quite serendipitous, and actually ended up being one of the highlights of the trip, for me and the kids (no, none of them know anything about my CoH life). I felt very geeky, but it was very cool. They have a significant glassblowing trade there, so I got a few photos of the glassblowers at work in their workshop.

I think that about covers it. Oh. While my kids were with their French families, I took a side trip to Giverny (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giverny) which is between Paris and Normandy, and is where Monet's home and beautiful gardens are located. I also visited quite a few cafes to watch the World Cup games and hang with the locals.

All in all, it was a good, but exhausting, trip. I'm glad to be back. :)

Enjoy! (http://s67.photobucket.com/albums/h301/Muse_of_Fire/France%202006/?start=220)

[Meltman]

Very nice! (Well, except for the 4 or 5 airport ones.) I especially liked the Roman Ampitheatre ones. What does the plaque say that's in a few of the shots?

[Alumette]

Hee! Thank you! I took the airport ones for my kids, mostly. :) Oh man I forgot to explain the Roman cemetery photos...

I took a billion pictures of this, I have no idea why. But it was soooo cool being there! One of the cooler parts of the trip. The photos don't do it justice. It's right outside of Arles, and it's called Alyscamps (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alyscamps). It's a Roman cemetery/necropolis that easily predates the 5th century AD. It was absolutely amazing.

As to the plaque, I assume you mean this (http://s67.photobucket.com/albums/h301/Muse_of_Fire/France%202006/?action=view&current=PICT0081.jpg&refPage=120&imgAnch=imgAnch139). I took a picture of it because it's not written in French, but in Provencal (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Provencal), which is a dialect of a separate language (no, not a dialect of French, but a dialect of a distinct language). The actual name for the language is Occitan. It's not spoken much there anymore, but occasionally you will get old-timers speaking it and there has been a revival of interest in recent years. I took the picture because I want to use it in my classroom to explain to my students about the linguistic diversity of France. Also, since Provence is my favorite region we spend a lot of time studying it and reading literature from the region, which often incorporates a lot of Occitan references. So I took a picture of the plaques as examples of what those languages look like.

I'm not a Provencal scholar, but with my linguistics background I can give you a loose translation:

The Pope John XXIII, formerly(?) Monsignor Roncally, and who was named an apostle (or name for some other position in the church?), came to this sacred place the 25th of May (some year... don't know Roman numerals...but I think it's 19_8... not sure what L is...), for the 500th anniversary of the discovery of the holy relic

I'm not a church scholar either, so the exact details might be a little rusty. :) Best I can do. Hope that helps.

[Kinetix]

Was fun looking through those Al. I went to a few of those places on my trip. You don't like the Eiffel Tower I take it?

[Dr Jack Wolfe]

Well neat, and education all with the Wikepedia reference. I like the stuff you attempted with the flowers in the garden, the close ups were neat. I kids looked excited and like they had a good time, but damn they looked young.

No food pictures :( I'm would have hear where, what and how you ate.

[Alumette]

No food pictures :( I'm would have hear where, what and how you ate.

That's a whole separate thread in and of itself! I can still taste the mussels I had in Cassis... mmmm!

I'll put up a food thread tomorrow.

Sorry this got so long. I took a ton of pictures and just threw them all up there. If this were just for you guys I would have picked maybe 20 or so; but my kids are going to want to pick from these too so I just put em all up there.

[Kinetix]

You have to post pictures of yourself!

That Roman cemetary is damn cool! I love how ancient it is.

They have a million pharmacies with that same neon cross-sign don't they? What's with that?

Was that one guy out of place sometimes? :p


http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h301/Muse_of_Fire/France%202006/PICT0211.jpg
haha, look at that kid in the back. "Who is that babe?"

I'm glad you had fun and I can't wait to go back to Europe now.

[Astartus]

Great pictures, both historical and architectural (and personal :) )

But I agree with Jack, no food pictures? OR more personal pictures? There are alot of buildings etc. But I guess the more personal pictures will come from your students.

What gorgeous students you have

[Chain Lightning]

Very cool pictures Alumette. Yes, Biot is beautiful. It must have been just total mind blowing geek heaven to have gone there. So was this one Alumette's birth home? :chuckle:

Home (http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h301/Muse_of_Fire/France%202006/PICT0175.jpg)

And no pics of yourself, what was the other chaperone partying too much. Looks like she was since she's loving up on all the hot men you two found. :naughty:

Did you all go into the Louvre? If so, no pics? Are you not allowed to take pics there? Yeah and I noticed you call it the Awful tower also. Let me guess, nice enough to look at, but the most popular tourist spot so crowded, loud and surrounded by tons of overpriced tourtist trap shops and stores.

[Yin]

Very nice.

You have nice 1337 photography skillz. :P I enjoyed the landscape/scenery photos. Some of the those flowers are real pretty. It looks like it was fun.

[Alumette]

Whoa! Lots of questions. Cool! :D

You have to post pictures of yourself!

Okay. Give me a few days.

They have a million pharmacies with that same neon cross-sign don't they? What's with that?

Because France is a nation of hypochondriacs. :) Okay that's only partially true. But yes they do have millions of them in every town. Mostly the pharmacies sell anti-cellulite treatments and self-tanners, or at least that's what it looks like on the surface. You can't get meds just off the shelf at a pharmacy there. You actually have to ask the pharmacist and he/she will go behind the counter and get the medicine for you (even for non-prescription meds). I think it's a throwback to how pharmacies were set up in medieval an Renaissance times, with all the big apothecary jars lined up, filled with herbs. Of course they will also fill your prescriptions from a doctor like they do here.

The cool thing about French pharmacies is they can diagnose minor ailments there and give medical advice, whereas here they're more hesitant (and in some instances it's illegal) because they don't want to get sued, probably. :) My colleague had a sore throat the first few days. I took her to a pharmacy, described the symptoms, and the pharmacist hooked us up with a bunch of drugs and in a few days she was much better.

Also, fun fact! French people love food so much they often forage for their own wild mushrooms. Any French pharmacist will identify your mushrooms for you after foraging, to ensure you don't eat any poisonous ones. :)

Was that one guy out of place sometimes? :p

I had two guys on the trip from my group (we also grouped with two other schools for part of it). One guy was there with his girlfriend, and the other guy, surprisingly, had a phenomenal amount of luck with the ladies on the trip. Normally he's a quiet kind of guy, but on this trip, pretty much ALL the girls from the other schools were all over him. It was a little unsettling.

So no, I don't think he was out of place. :)

Great pictures, both historical and architectural (and personal :) )

But I agree with Jack, no food pictures? OR more personal pictures? There are alot of buildings etc. But I guess the more personal pictures will come from your students.

Thank you. There are a lot of buildings, etc. because I was taking pictures mostly for my classroom, when I teach about the different important buildings and such. I also enjoy photographing architecture. I do wish I had taken more personal pictures. I met a lot of really cool people on this trip and wish I'd taken their pictures. I do hope some of my students got pictures of our guide and some of the other teachers in our group from the other schools. Wished I'd gotten more of those.

What gorgeous students you have

Sneaky. :P I think so too. Thank you! *beams*

Very cool pictures Alumette. Yes, Biot is beautiful. It must have been just total mind blowing geek heaven to have gone there. So was this one Alumette's birth home? :chuckle: Home (http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h301/Muse_of_Fire/France%202006/PICT0175.jpg)

Yes, it was geek heaven. But that aside, it's a beautiful, charming little town that's what I consider "real France" to a certain extent, And no, that wasn't Alumette's birth home. Alumette was born in a cave on the outskirts of town, in secret. Do your homework. ;) :P

And no pics of yourself, what was the other chaperone partying too much. Looks like she was since she's loving up on all the hot men you two found. :naughty:

Well, she's single. :) No pics of myself simply because I'm not a fan of pictures where someone is just standing in front of a monument waving; and I was behind the camera the whole time.

Did you all go into the Louvre? If so, no pics? Are you not allowed to take pics there? Yeah and I noticed you call it the Awful tower also. Let me guess, nice enough to look at, but the most popular tourist spot so crowded, loud and surrounded by tons of overpriced tourtist trap shops and stores.

Yes we did, but I didn't take any pictures. It was my 3rd time to the Louvre, so I didn't feel the need to take any. Plus, the pictures never do the art justice (especially since flash is prohibited).

Re: the tower--Eh, been there, done that. So yeah, that's pretty much how I feel about it. :)

Very nice.

You have nice 1337 photography skillz. :P I enjoyed the landscape/scenery photos. Some of the those flowers are real pretty. It looks like it was fun.

Thank you! I was pleased with how a few of them came out. I think '1337' is a little more than I deserve, but I appreciate it. :)

Thanks again, guys. Glad you enjoyed them.

[Chain Lightning]

Yes, it was geek heaven. But that aside, it's a beautiful, charming little town that's what I consider "real France" to a certain extent, And no, that wasn't Alumette's birth home. Alumette was born in a cave on the outskirts of town, in secret. Do your homework. ;) :P


*hangs head in shame* Yes madam. *Goes off to reread Alumette's origin. Pulls up chair and footrest, opens book*

[ThunderMace]

Those were great Al! What a nice looking bunch of kids.
Great photos all around.

[The Widowed]

The "Arc du Carrousel" looks like the Arc de Triumphe to me. :p

I think I remember that "other pyramid in the Louvre" from The Messenger, a cheap $10 adventure game from Wal-Mart where your crossbow-wielding cat burglar started her career in the game by breaking into the Louvre, evading security and stealing a terra cotta statuette of a bull of some sort. The computer-rendered interior of the Louvre looked pretty, and I hope it was pretty faithful to the real thing. Unfortunately, the gameplay kind of sucked. :think:

The Roman cemetary is pretty nifty, though definitely showing its age. It's like you can almost see the human remains through the broken corner of that one sarcophagus.... :look:

I have no idea where you snapped this fountain (http://s67.photobucket.com/albums/h301/Muse_of_Fire/France%202006/?action=view&current=PICT0232.jpg&refPage=20&imgAnch=imgAnch23), but it kind of looks like the one fountain in Castlevania Bloodlines, where you go to Versailles, France and you walk past a fountain with statues of horses and maidens like this one, only the water turns to blood as you walk past...where did you say this was again?

And you mean to tell me that you soaked in all of this French history and you never once visited Joan of Arc's execution site in Rouen? For shame, Lummy, for shame! :p

So what was that one student of yours trying to make from the sand, anyway? :)

[Alumette]

There are 2 arches like that in Paris. The Arc du Triomphe is at the top of the Champs-Elysees, located on the Etoile (12 avenues radiating out from the Arc de Triomphe, of which the Champs-Elysees is one). The Arc du Carrousel is at the opposite end of the Triumphal Way (aka the Axe Historique, basically everything between the Arc du Triomphe and the Louvre); leading in to the Louvre. It's different because it has three small arches instead of just one big one. And it's much, much smaller than the Arc du Triomphe.

Carrousel (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arc_de_Triomphe_du_Carrousel)
Triomphe (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arc_de_Triomphe)

That fountain is in the Jardin de Luxembourg, right outside the old Palais de Luxembourg, where the French Senate now meets. It is nowhere near Versailles; although Versailles has similar-looking fountains.

I was on a set itinerary, Wids. I go where the tour says I have to go, since I was traveling with students we did a package deal designed for students. When I go to France on my own there are lots of places I want to go. I have been to Rouen previously but was not aware that there is an actual execution site that tourists can visit.

My student was just messing around in the sand. She's actually a really talented artist and does mostly abstract stuff, so that was her "Three Circles in the Sand" or something like that. :)

[The Widowed]

I was on a set itinerary, Wids. I go where the tour says I have to go, since I was traveling with students we did a package deal designed for students. When I go to France on my own there are lots of places I want to go. I have been to Rouen previously but was not aware that there is an actual execution site that tourists can visit.
There is. (http://www.thecemeteryproject.com/Graves/arc-joan-of.htm) I went to a Catholic grade school and I got to do a lot of reading on her history, and I used to think there was just a statue near the actual spot where Joan of Arc burned, but it looks like they have a charming flower garden and a plaque there as well. The memorial site's just a cenotaph, of course, since her body was reduced to ashes and dumped into the Seine...a pretty terrible way for such an iconic young lady (or anyone else, for that matter) to die.

Apparently--and I didn't know this before I did a Wiki on it--the tower in Rouen where she was imprisoned by the English (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Tour_Jeanne_D%27Arc10.jpg) during that farce of a trial is a museum and a tourist attraction too, as is the peasant cottage in Domrémy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:180px-Maison_J_d_Arc.jpg) where she was born in 1412. Thank you for the photos, Wiki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joan_of_Arc). :D

[Greblaja]

Awesome pictures! Looks like you had fun. :)