Back in Utah

Dear family and friends who have been reading this blog,

So I returned to the United States and am now safely in Provo, Utah--right back into the thick of things at work and getting to know people in my ward.

Thanks for everyone who has been reading my blog. I hope you liked it. I'm going to keep writing on here every once and a while--mes aventures à Provo. I'm going to take off the email alert after this post, just fyi.

-Beth

p.s. I'm a little more of a food snob and white plate snob now that I've spent 6 weeks in France. Today as I was walking back from campus I made a pit stop at a little grocery store, looked for some French bread or a baguette or something (because hey, you never know!) and surprise surprise, they didn't have any. So instead I bought some bread from the Provo bakery instead of the Home Pride or whole wheat grain bread that I used to buy...

Day 41 & 43: Sites & "Getting Lost" in Monaco

On Monday I went with a group of people to several different areas/sites in Nice as a class assignment--Old Nice, chateau (really, they're chateau ruins) and a Russian orthodox church. I love the bright colors of the buildings around Nice. I wish I could have had more background information about the chateau/ruins before we went to find it. The church was really neat though! The iconography is interesting. I told Rachel that it is fun to compare the art of the Byzantine era with the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church. The changes that came about with the Renaissance with the Roman Catholic church and the continuity and consistency of Eastern Orthodox to Byzantine styles is pretty interesting. After so much time has passed, it has remained virtually the same.

Russian Orthodox Church in Nice

Old Nice

Today Grace, Judy and I went to Monaco. We didn't actually get lost, but we were flaneuses--we didn't have a specific walk we needed to do, we just needed to get a feel for the environment and notice what was around us. It started as an adventure getting to the right bus station and going around Nice with a cranky bus driver. But we did make it to Monaco, standing all the way. Grace and Judy got off and then the doors shut so I got off at the next stop. :) We met up about 5 minutes later. We walked through Old Monaco, through the cathedral where Grace Kelly is buried (they have signs everywhere with her picture and captions in several different languages telling what she did at that place), and then we walked around some more. Monaco was cool, it wasn't entirely what I was expecting after hearing that it is such a rich place to live. It seemed pretty dirty and cramped to me. I wouldn't really want to live there, sandy beaches and all. But whatever, to each his own.

I just thought this sign was funny :)

Grace Kelly is buried here

Day 40: Matisse & Chagall

After church we went to the Musee Matisse and the Musee Chagall (because they are free on the first Sunday of each month...maybe every Sunday but definitely the first Sunday). The Musee Matisse was interesting; there were a couple of paintings that I particularly liked his brushstrokes and/or use of color that I took a picture of (before I realized that taking pictures was interdit (forbidden)). His work reminded me a lot of the way that kids look at art and the world. I think that using Matisse's work as an example of line, color and shape would be really important to help kids understand those elements but also to help motivate older grades to actually try to be artistic.

The Musee Chagall was fantastic! I didn't know what to expect and as such I was thoroughly wowed by what I saw. He depicts a lot of Bible scenes and his layout and plot narrative and symbolism are very interesting. His use of color is phenomenal! I don't even know how he creates and uses color in the way that he does. I really like his work. He may actually have become my favorite artist--even more than Vermeer. I bought a book with his Bible paintings because I liked those so much.

I can't believe that I go back to Provo in six days. It has gone by so very very quickly. Ending the program in Nice has been a wonderful blessing though. The weather is so so wonderful. I swam in the Mediterranean yesterday. The water was the perfect temperature. And the beach is rocky so we didn't get sand everywhere. These next five days are going to fly by but I hope to enjoy every minute of it.

Day 38: Blois et Chambord

Here is another post from my journal:

Friday, 4 juin 2010
We toured Blois and Chambord. Francois I lived in both places and made his mark on both of those with architecture, an F or the salamander everywhere. Blois is a conglomeration of four different styles of buildings and architecture.

Chambord is a hunting lodge that Francois I only went to 27 times; his son Henri II used it a lot more than him. Chambord was interesting because of the lack of furniture. It helped to give more of a feel for what the castle would have been like most of the time. Yet juxtaposed with the empty room and ash-stained fireplaces there were a few decorated and furnished rooms that were definitely rooms for royalty.

Double spiral staircase designed by Leonardo da Vinci

After wandering through Chambord, Grace, Judy, Ryan and I had lunch at a cafe. I got a galette with ham, egg and cheese, and then Ryan and I split a peach melba. It was sooo good! For dinner in Paris us three plus Mathilde went to a Senegalese restaurant. I got crabe farcie again and for dessert I got an ananas (pineapple) melba. It was so yummy! I think melbas are my favorite now.

Day 37: Azay, Chenonceau & Amboise

This is from my journal entry on Thursday:

Thursday, 3 juin 2010
Today we went to Azay-le-Rideau, Chenonceau, and Amboise. I really liked all of them, though for different reasons. Azay was in a little city/town, set on the side with lots of land and kind of built in the water. A queen or king never lived there; it was for a financier. It was more down-to-earth and liveable. Also I loved the path and trees around it.

Chenonceau was just simply gorgeous. And when I use "simply" I mean it had a simple kind of beauty. It wasn't terribly ornate or extravagant. I felt that I could comfortably live there. There were also pretty French gardens surrounded by wilderness. The novelty of being built on water also appeals greatly to me. The history and stories of Chenonceau also fascinate me. Maybe one day I'll write children's or young adult books about Charters and these castles and their history. That really appeals to me. :)

Amboise was the castle of Francois I and it is where Leonardo da Vinci spent three years and has been buried. The history there and the tie to Ever After and Cinderella is appealing (I guess that's my word of the day) too. I watched that movie tonight with Paris and Rachel. Unfortunately they didn't even try to make the Amboise castle in the movie look like the real Amboise castle.

Days 34-36: Normandy & Brittany & Loire Valley

Bayeux, Omaha Beach, St-Lo

31 mai 2010
We went to Bayeux, Omaha Beach and St-Lo Monday. The tapestry at Bayeux was rather amazing. I couldn’t believe that it had been made so quickly and that it was so detailed. I have had periods in my life where I have been really into cross-stitching and embroidering so it was a treat to see the technique and to see how it has been preserved throughout the centuries.

As for Omaha Beach, the German Bunker and St-Lo, it was a wonderful day to go those places because of the fact that it was Memorial Day. Being at Omaha Beach was a really special experience for me. I kept trying to envision the beach and trees being filled with soldiers, tanks, bombs dropping and boats out on the sea with paratroopers falling from the sky on to the beach. Even with an active imagination, it was hard for me to imagine that kind of a scenery because of the peace and calm that I felt on that beach. It was incredibly peaceful. I had the thought that maybe some of those soldiers thought “Hey I get to go to France” even under horrible circumstances such as war, they may have been excited to go there (because France is so famous), and yet so many—thousands—of those men lost their lives and are now buried in France.

Walking through the cemetery and reading the names of the soldiers was also a special experience. I think that there is something, I’m not sure what but something, that happens when you say someone’s name and recognize their existence as a human being, which is one of the reasons why I love going to cemeteries and reading the names on the tombstones and honoring their lives—whatever kind of lives were lived, they were human and they are my brothers and sisters. I’m really grateful I was able to go there to see the beach and cemetery and honor those who gave their lives to protect the entire free world.

Mont St-Michel, St-Malo
1 juin 2010
The rain definitely made today a different trip than it may have been with sunshine. From a distance I was impressed with the majesty of Mont St. Michel. It reminded me of a mix between the castle from Beauty and the Beast and the Hogwart’s castle from Harry Potter. We were able to have a look closer-up as we walked through the cramped “streets” leading up to the part of the abbey where our tour was going to start. I liked the juxtaposition between the Romanesque and Gothic architecture that was so visible in the different parts of the abbey. I absolutely loved the view from the abbey down onto Brittany. Even in the fog it was a beautiful sight.

St-Malo would have to be my favorite visit so far on this whole trip to France. It was so peaceful and beautiful. I’m sure it would have been a different kind of beautiful with the sun out, but it had a special kind of a feel when it was overcast. It was neat to walk on the wall around the perimeter of the city and look out over the beach.

In addition to these set destinations that we went to yesterday, I love looking out the window at the scenery. It is so green and lush here. The houses are picturesque and set off from the road with a wide variety of colors for the doors and shutters and gates—details which I absolutely love about being here in France.

The dinner was a treat. I loved the feel of the restaurant and the colors—deep red and white and silver. So beautiful! And the food was fantastic!

Angers, Langeais, Tours
2 juin 2010
The Angers Château was really a fortress, which you can tell on the outside but once inside you may doubt that a little bit because of the gardens and the peaceful environment that reigns there. We walked around the wall and were able to look out onto the city of Angers. While the view was stunning and the fortress itself was pretty neat, it was the flowers and plants that caught my attention. I definitely want to learn how to garden and not kill plants when I get back to Provo and/or have a yard.

I absolutely loved the tapestries at Angers ! Now I really want to read the Book of Revelations because the tapestries are called the Apocalyptic Tapestries and were commissioned to be made in 1375 by Louis I, Duke of Anjou and brother of King Charles V and was probably completed in 1382. While the tapestries can be considered in one sense a depiction of the events in Revelation, they are also a version of a certain kind of interpretation of the Book of Revelation which I thought was really interesting. That’s a lot of the reason why I want to reread the Book of Revelation…

After Angers we drove to Langeais. The castle was cool—the first castle that we’ve seen in the Loire Valley. I loved the beds! I thought they were so neat! I kind of want a bed like that…Also the chests were really neat. Very intricate and detailed. Some of them reminded me of Mom’s cedar chest where all the old blankets are.

Then for dinner here in Tours we ate at this fantastic restaurant. Very classy and very delicious.