ma vie en France est hors de commande

don't know if that translates - but what i was trying to say is that "my life in france is out of control!" -- but so fun!

Let's see, the second week of March we had our friends Hannah and Hunt visit from Oxford which was SO fun! We got to show them around Aix and Marseilles and they got to see our lives here!

Movie night with the gang at Will's apartment! Love Actually was playing with a bottle of wine to go around :)

The one and only Château D'if (Count of Monte Cristo of course) this is just off the shore of Marseilles!

We hiked Sainte Victoire together which was (really hard) and so fun! We had a great picnic at the top and because it was such GREAT weather we were joined by other interesting folks - including the man in this picture :/

This is in the courtyard of our university. Of course we weren't on spring break so we were taking shifts keeping hannah and hunt company.

These next pictures are from CEA's excursion to Camargue and Saintes Maries de la Mer (how exotic right??) It consisted of horseback riding, flamingos, the mediterranean, food, lots of bulls, and friends!

This is from our excursion on horseback - yikes! All I know is that I had zero control over that horse and, Minuit, did whatever the heck he pleased! And for the most part it was a little dreary and muddy and totally fun for those who didn't get thrown off (there were 3 incidents for our group!)

Everyone ready helmets and all to brave the white ponies!

This is my new french boyfriend also our cowboy/'gardien' - but don't worry mom, i'm still coming home!

This is the church in the center of Saintes Maries de la Mer. It dates back to the 11th century!

Some of Vivienne's friends run a bull-breeding farm in Camargue and we got a nice tour from the back of a tractor where we were nice and safe! They showed us the different techniques to round up the torros one by one starting with the leader in order to move them to a different part of the farm!

This is my friend Brittany, and i just love this picture! Camargue is known for it's flamingos all year long!

We also had the opportunity to attend a bull-fighting/local "course de camarguaise"...this is the commencement ceremony.

The participants wore all white and the contestants with black name lettering were competing and the ones with red (one in the upper right corner) were experienced fighters who were there to attract attention and basically get the bulls fired up a little bit.

These bulls were annnnggggrrrryyyyy; and each contestant was aiming to rip off as many ribbons as possible tied to the horns of the bull.

They were incredible and clearing that wall just in the nick of time!

So! That's a little update for you. Will and I leave next week for Budapest and Matt, Elea, Sher and some others are camping in Corsica! We'll be bringing plenty of stories for the next time! That's all for now!

Update through pictures.

Hey all! Hope spring is finding its way into the weather reports for everyone...oh wait you guys are still getting SNOW! At first everyone was rubbing it in my face that I was missing the winter of the decade, but who's laughing now? I am sunbathing at 2pm (sure trying to avoid a little rain here and there) but overall, it's gorgeous. And you have snow!

Now that I've got that bitterness out of the way, let's get a little update via pictures:

Here's the gang: four corners - Me, Elea, Matt, Will middle - Sheralynn. We were celebrating Elea's big 21!

That is mac and cheese (harder than you would think; Elea and Sheralynn were in charge of this); les haricots verts (green beans which Matt did a fantastic job on); and my very own pounded chicken (chicken + cream cheese + bacon - thanks mom!). And of course a bottle of wine to celebrate the occasion!

Aix is known for its drinking waters/fountains (some people even drink from the fountains - but I'm not convinced yet) This is where most of our water comes from; which in turn, comes from the Alps! This is at the base of Sainte Victoire (Aix's only claim to a mountain).

The view from the top! I believe that is the Mediterranean off in the distance.

This is about halfway. We hiked that whole ridge and made it to the itty-bitty cross you can see on the top. You can hang-glide here when the weather gets nice :)

Did I mention I went to a chocolate festival in Marseille? We got to ride in classic cars and parade to the festival. Anyone wondering if I go to school ever, I don't; I dropped out and now all I do is drink wine and eat chocolate.

This is a group of CEA kids that hiked Saint Victoire last Saturday. This Mistral Wind was in full action so we didn't stay at the top long, but it was fun!

This was in Oxford the night that Will, Elea and Matt went to the concert and Hannah, Laura and Kate came over to visit me! We put the camera on self-timer and Ken (one of our gracious hosts) walked in at the perfect time!

Anyway, that's it for now. Other updates include: Will and I's excursion to Budapest in April; we'll be visiting one of my Mom's best friends and her family there! I believe Matt will be heading to Italy or some other exotic country!

I woke up with an ear infection this morning (I know, how old am I again?) and tested out the health system here in France - not too shabby! Got me some meds which was hilarious to try and read and take them correctly. I put some pills in my mouth to find out there were effervescent and wasn't sure whether to spit them into my water and let them fizzle out or chew or let them sit in my mouth...it was quite an experience (I ended up letting them sit and chewing - any recommendations?)

In other news, Hunt and Hannah are coming out to visit us a week from tomorrow - which I am thrilled about! They are two of the kids we went out to see at Oxford, so they're returning the treat! After that it's just a few weeks until Spring Break, and after that just a few weeks 'til we come home! Time is flying! Anyway, more to come sooner than last time. Thanks for reading!