French theater, OMG!

OK, so I am not even comfortable telling you about the play I saw 2 nights ago based (loosely) on Hamlet. Suffice it to say it hadlots of nudity, simulated sex with naked people on the stage and in a mud puddle, LOTS of fake blood, and fake poop. Enough said, I don't want to write anything else on the web that will be here forever. The ironic thing is that it was put on in a CLOISTER with a real church next door!!!!! Here are a few pictures of the staging. Between the audience and the white sheet is the mud bath where the naked actors ended up for their scene. Needless to say, I left after 2 hours at the intermission....I decided to spare my sensibilities from the next 2 hours of the show,

 

Here is the courtyard of one of the theaters I have been to. I was in another one today in an abandoned church from the 1500s.

Here is Peter. He reminds me so much of Bart. Even his mannerisms. What do you think?

Here is Mary Ann, our professor who is dancing with her 80'ish husband Ron who is is better shape than most 20 year olds. He works out in the gym every day.

This is the crowd at the official Fete Nationale ball at the main square.

Tomorrow, health holding, I will be canoing under the Pont du Gard. I'll let you know how that goes. Got my big paper done, so my last week here will be stress free!

My experience with French medicine

OK, so I have been sick off and on since I got here (stomach issues) so I went to see the doctor today. I set the appointment up yesterday. When I got there, I rang a bell, and the doctor came out to greet me when he let his other patient go....no secretary or anything. I step into the examining room, which is also his office with his big desk and all his books and things. After examining me and listening to my symptoms he said I had a slight fever (99.1) and it looked like I had a slight issue with my throat. He gave me an antibiotic, and anti nausea and prilosec prescription and sent me on my way. Total cost for my visit:  23 euro (about $35). I headed to the pharmacy to get my prescriptions filled, and they, ironically, also cost me 23 euro. So, here's hoping that my $70 investment will make me well so I don't have to miss out on any more plays and I can head somewhere for the day this weekend. I am half-way through with my "essay" of 5 pages, so I hope to have no worries for the rest of the trip. Say a prayer for me that all my sickness will be gone. I miss you all!  xoxoxoxoxo  

Gordes, Rousillon, Villeneuve-lez-Avignon, Usez

Did a lot of sightseeing these last few days (and saw 2 plays and 1 flamenco show, with another play tonight and at least 4 more this coming week). Here are a few pictures of what we did:
The village of Gordes:

Me in front of Gordes:

The lavender fields at the Abbaye de Senanques:

Back in the day the monks slept on hay on the floor, each had his own square as seen below. Today there are 6 Cistercian monks living there (in real beds) with 6 more coming.

The ocre (sp?) in the hills of Rousillon used in artists' paint:

 More ocre (this pic is sideways)

Wine tasting at the Cave Bonnely - the author Samuel Beckett lived with them during WWII.

My nice glass of rose. The rose here is wonderful, not like the yucky stuff in the U.S.

In a bakery in Villeneuve-lez-Avignon: (little mice)

A rather amusing translation of a French menu, and the actual dish (as in the multicolored balls):

Me in Sommieres where I bought my beautiful sundress

 The building in Uzes that I want to buy and do something with:

Off to a play now!  xoxoxoxoxcxooxxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

The Off Parade

The On festival started yesterday, and the Off festival starts tomorrow. Today there were people all over the place doing small vignettes or handing out flyers for their shows.

Here are a few pictures from the parade:

Tomorrow we are off to Rousillon, Gordes and the Abbey de Senanque!

Palais des Papes, part deux

Last night we went out for a drink (I had mint tea at a Moroccan restaurant instead of a drink) and this is what we saw on our way. All of the various OFF theater companies putting up their posters. There are over 1,000 performances a day during the off festival!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today we had a 2.5 hour guided visit of the Palais des Papes and the oldest part of the city during 90 degree heat and sun...

Here is a scale model of the Palais....you can visit about 1/2 of it, the other have is administrative and houses the Congres de something (I forgot)

This is across one of the courtyards: (sorry I forgot to rotate before I uploaded)

this is looking up the chimney/ceiling of the kitchen. It was hot in there without a fire, I can only imagine what it was like when they were actually cooking.

This is the ceiling of the Gothic chapel. The Gothic style in Provence is different than the north...no transept.

After saying mass, the pope would come to this window to greet the worshippers out in the courtyard:



Here is a self-portrait  :-)

This is the altar of the flamboyant Gothic church Eglise Saint Pierre in the oldest part of the city:

 Tomorrow I attend my first play of the festival, so I'll have to let you know how it goes......



Arles and the Pont D'Avignon

So I was pretty sick on Saturday morning so I stayed in my room....I went out to the pharmacy to buy some meds, then went for a little walk. I was feeling a little better in the PM, so Maureen, Renee, Genevieve and I hopped on a train to Arles. Here are a few pictures:

the Arenes

The cafe Van Gogh made famous in one of his paintings:

The garden of his asylum when he went crazy:

A wedding we ran across:

Since I wasn't sure how I would feel today, I decided not to accompany a couple of people to L'Ile sur Sorgue which is about 20 mins away by train because they planned to bike 20 miles and I wasn't sure I'd feel up to it in the heat, so I opted to stay home :-(   I slept in until 9:00 then took a walk to Les Halles to see the daily indoor market, then walked all the way up to the Palais des Papes. I stopped in the Romanesque Cathedrale de Notre Dame de Doms......more of a small Romanesque church, not all all what you think of for a European cathedral: Here is the altar:

And here you can see some of the original painting on the walls. The church was started in the early 1100's



I then went to the park nearby to read for awhile because I am behind on my reading, When nature called, this is what I found:

Good thing I had kleenex in my purse.

Next I went to visit the Pont d'Avignon. Here is a better picture of the bridge: I must make a correction, the bridge was partially destroyed and rebuilt several times, with the final tragedy happening in the late 1600's

And while walking there I nearly stepped on this little guy:

As I headed home, there were preparations going on for the festival which starts in 3 days (The ON festival starts on the 6th, and the OFF festival starts on the 8th):

Back to my readings now.....

Pot luck dinner

Most of us went our own ways after class. I went out to lunch with a few friends, and while we were eating, these two happened along:

After lunch we went our own separate ways to study, rehearse a scene or read. I headed to the grocery store to get my share of the pot luck dinner we put together. Here are a few pics of that, too. Tomorrow a few of us plan to rent some bikes for the afternoon, and on Sunday we'd like to do a side trip. My trip to the country got postponed until next Sunday. Those hedges in the first picture below are actually rosemary bushes!