Spring Vacation

After my voyages to Paris, Dublin, and London in March, my sejour in Toulouse calmed down quite a bit and my schedule went back to normal. I went to class, helped out with the debate club at the engineering school in Toulouse, and continued to get to know the city. In the middle of March, my grandparents Ellie and Walt came and visited. We went to several churches, took a day trip to the cathedral in Albi, and ate well. After that, my girlfriend Rachel visited from Malaga, Spain, where she is studying for a semester with Dickinson. It was fantastic to see her, as it had been by far the longest time apart for the two of us since we began dating nearly three years ago. Life in Toulouse was fairly quiet for the first half of April, as well. All three of my Dickinson classes ended on April 17, which freed up my schedule considerably. On April 19, my seventeen-day spring break began, which was an extremely eventful two weeks and which included some of my favorite moments while being abroad.

On April 19, my Dickinson group headed on a four-day group excursion to Marseille and two small villages in the surrounding area, Rousillon and Cassis. We visited several interesting sites in Marseille, including an old soap factory, the port, and Notre Dame de la Garde (a church). Marseille is the 2013 European Capital of Culture (the EU chooses one city each year) and so we went to the city’s visitor’s center and browsed an exhibit on the history of Marseille since its founding as a Roman fishing port.

Me, at the top of Notre Dame de la Garde,
overlooking Marseille and the sea

The next day, we visited perhaps one of the most beautiful natural landscapes I have ever seen in my life: les calanques. The Calanques Park is a nationally protected park about a half hour from Marseille, and it is right on the Mediterranean Ocean. The word calanques means “inlets” in the ancient regional dialect Occitan. There is a series of trails that run along the cliffs and the sea, dipping in and out of small coves and beaches, and some of them head deep into an inland pine forest. We were lead by our guide, Stefan, on a four-hour hike to a small hidden beach on the far side of the park, where we ate lunch. The bravest of our group (myself included) dove into the Mediterranean, which turned out to be quite frigid despite its tropical reputation. That day was one of my favorites since being abroad, and the hike remains one of the best I’ve done in my life!

The entrance to the Calanques park

One of the calanques

And the magnificent view of the Mediterranean from the trail 

The next day, we took another day trip to the small village of Rousillon. On the far edge of Rousillon is another protected park called the Sentier des Ocres. This park was laced with hiking trails as well, but its appearance was much more bizarre. Behind you was a small French valley village, and in front of you was a pine forest with tall columns of ochre rock and sand jutting out indiscriminately. The scene seemed fit for California or Arizona. For many years, the village of Rousillon would gather the sand from the park and sift out the grains of ochre dust, using it to color paints and dyes, which would then be sold across the south of France.

The village of Rousillon...

... and the park right behind me. Jurassic Park, more like...

After returning from Marseille, I had a few days to relax in Toulouse before I met my dad in Brussels, Belgium. I flew into Brussels and took a short train to the center of the city, and then walked a short distance to the hotel, where I met my dad. We spent one night there before hopping the train to Louven, a small city to the east of Brussels. There we checked into a fantastic hotel that used to be a monastery – and then promptly took the bus to Zythos, our beer festival destination. For those who enjoy quality beers, this was the place to be. Located in a large expo hall, Zythos is a collection of over 100 breweries and over 400 beers, all under one roof. Attendees paid for tokens (€1.40 each) and a tasting glass, and one token got you one 5 ounce serving of beer. It lasted until midnight, and then began again the next day at 10 a.m. We drank our fill, talked to the brewers, met some friends from Canada, and then headed back to the hotel. The next morning, we enjoyed a large breakfast in the hotel, and then took our time getting back to the festival. We went back for only a few hours the second day, but it was certainly worth the trip. Overall it was a great way to spend a few days, talking about and drinking beer with my dad and not having many worries.

After Brussels, I returned to Toulouse and almost immediately left for Bologna, Italy, where I went to visit some of my Dickinson friends who are studying there. My friend Joe lives in an apartment there, and so I stayed with him for a few days and saw the city. We visited a church on top of a mountain (we hiked up), we ate lots of pizza and pasta, and we spent a considerable amount of time in Bologna’s new craft beer bar. One of the most disappointing aspects of studying in France is that the country lacks a craft brewery culture. The microbrew culture has started to emerge in Italy in the past five to ten years, and so this beer bar is a big deal. If you’re ever in Bologna, visit the Green River Bar.

To finish out my vacation, my mom came and visited me in Toulouse, which was a really nice time. We saw a few of the churches in the city, but mostly just walked or biked around, or ate many a fine meal. My mom rented an apartment in the city that overlooked a plaza, and we decided that was a much better option than a hotel. The next day we took a day trip to Carcassonne, which is a small town to the north west of Toulouse. A castle still stands there -- moat, wall, and all -- from the 13th or 14th century. It's really something to see. One evening, my host family invited my mom to come to an aperitif, which is a small get together before dinner time that includes salty snacks and wine or champagne. We had an interesting conversation about cultural differences and the perception of America oversees. It’s always nice to have family members come and see where you study and to meet your host family.

Since the first week of May I have finished my final exams at Sciences-Po and visited Rachel in Malaga. However, that is for another blog post.

Part 3: Paris

Slowly but surely, I will finish blogging about my March vacation. So I told you about Dublin first, then London, and now we'll talk about Paris. From London we flew back to Toulouse, and were there for one night. The next morning, we met the rest of the Dickinson group at the train station and took the TGV (le train à grande vitesse) six or so hours north to Paris. The Dickinson group trips are great because they are paid for by the program and we have a schedule all set up for us when we arrive. There is plenty of free time built into the schedule, and our program leaders (Madame Raynaud and Anna) acted as our own private tour guides throughout the weekend.

After settling into the hotel, we took a visit to the Pompidou Centre, which houses the largest collection of modern art in Europe. We got a private tour and also had the chance to saunter around the museum on our own. I don't think I'll ever understand modern art, or really enjoy it necessarily -- for example, one of the pieces of "art" was a men's urinal laying sideways on a pedestal, with the artist's signature on the side. If a broken urinal is art then I guess there's an abandoned truck stop in Nebraska somewhere that is sitting on thousands of dollars worth of modern art. Nonetheless, the museum was impressive and I'm glad I got to go. It's not a visit to Paris without seeing the Pompidou Centre.

The view from the top of the Arc de Triomphe at night

I won't go day by day with what we did, but instead just tell you about some highlights. We took a boat tour down the Seine, which brought us past many of the major attractions in Paris -- the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, the Musée d'Orsay, and many others. The same night we went to an old mosque that was renovated into a restaurant and had a traditional Moroccan meal. I made the mistake of ordering a beer, and was quickly reminded that we were in a mosque at an Islam-inspired restaurant, and of course there was no alcohol on the menu. Embarrassing.

The rest of the trip was excellent as well -- we went to the Louvre and saw the Mona Lisa, which was much smaller than a expected. The amount of people circling the painting was incredible, and it made me wonder why the painting was so popular. It's not especially beautiful and doesn't seem to be done with an amazing amount of talent, and by that I mean it's not very colorful or detailed. And yet, it remains one of the most recognizable pieces of art in history. It just makes you wonder what can make art famous or otherwise render it obscure. As far as museums go, we also went to the Musée d'Orsay, l'Orangerie (which houses the very impressive Water Lilies murals by Claude Monet), and the National Site of the History of Immigration.

Me at the Louvre Museum

Of course, we went to Notre Dame, climbed the Arc de Triomphe, ascended Montmartre and went to the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, walked through the Jewish quarter, ogled at the sex shops in the Moulin Rouge neighborhood, and of course ate at numerous cafés and restaurants.

I think one of my favorite parts of the trip was taking a day trip to Versailles. That place is utterly unbelievable. The sheer size of the palace and its grounds are mind-boggling. It is no wonder that the French lower class revolted when they did. While millions barely survived in terrible living conditions, a select few royals and other nobles lived and dined and slept in pure wealth and lavishness. The most impressive part of Versailles is probably its gardens and the other properties. On the grounds alone sit the Palace of Versailles, two summer homes for the royal family, a working farm and private hamlet for Marie Antoinette, and various other cottages and small buildings. In addition, there are miles of footpaths and acres of gardens, fountains, and forest. The entire property is really unbelievable.

In front of the front courtyard of the Palace

Panorama of the Queen's Hamlet at Versailles

On our last night in Paris, we grabbed bottles of wine and went and sat underneath the Eiffel Tower. It was directly above is, all lit up and towering over the city. We just sat and talked, and every hour on the hour between 11 p.m. and 1 a.m. the tower would begin to scintillate, hundreds of strobe lights pulsating to make the tower look like a disco ball. That night was particularly special because none of us could believe we were sitting where we were sitting -- under the Eiffel Tower in France on a warm spring night, bottles of red wine in hand (2 euros in France, probably 20 dollars in the U.S.) and almost not a care in the world. Because we missed the last metro and last bus back to our hotel, we walked along the Seine all the way back -- a 4.5 mile trek that took us just about 2 hours. It was one of the most fun nights I've had in France.

Dusk view down the Champs-Elysées

Since going to Paris, things have been going well in Toulouse. I finished up my classes and am now on my spring vacation. We took a group Dickinson trip to Marseille last weekend (blog post coming soon) and I am heading to Belgium today to meet my dad for a beer festival. After that, I plan on going to Bologna, Italy, hosting my mom in Toulouse, taking my final exams at the university, going to see my beautiful Rachel in Spain, visiting a relative in Montpelier, and then heading back to the U.S. on June 2! Life could be worse.

To bring you out, a short video of a classic French sidewalk jazz group, on a bridge over the Seine. Enjoy!

Part 2: London

My blogging performance has been weak as of late, and I apologize for that. I need to make sure I keep the posting up, as I expect I'll be looking back on this blog in the years to come. Where did I leave off? I think it's time to tell you all a bit about my trip to London. When we left our hero, he was departing Dublin en route to London for three days of sightseeing and shenanigans.

Our London hostel was conveniently located right on the edge of Hyde Park. On our first full day there, we walked through the park and headed to Buckingham Palace to see the changing of the guard. If you haven't seen the changing of the guard, there's no rush. It typically happens at around 11:30 a.m., but if you don't get there at at least 10:45, there is no way you'll be able to see. It's unbelievable how many people come out to see the change. I felt like I was at a concert or something, except I could neither hear nor see the main act. So we left and instead made our way to the Picadilly Circus area and walked around, ducking into shops and cafés and getting a sense for the city. It was mostly nice just to wander around and immerse ourselves in the culture.

Yours truly in front of Buckingham Palace

The highlight of the London trip was the second full day, during which we bought a London City Pass and went to what seemed like every tourist attraction in the city. My feet, legs, knees, and lower back have never been in so much pain from walking. The London City Pass was 47 pounds, and granted us entry to almost all the major attractions. We were even able to skip the long lines and walk right into the building! That day alone we went to Westminster Abbey, Saint Paul's Cathedral, the Tower of London, London Bridge, Tower Bridge, Shakespeare's Globe Theater, Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament, the Tate Modern Art Museum and the Churchill War Rooms. These were all truly amazing.

Something funny to add about the Tower of London. We got a tour from a classic Beefeater, who was very funny. We then walked around the castle grounds ourself, and at one point came across a throng of people in neon vests and walkie talkies. As we got closer we could see what looked like a film crew. Turns out they were filming the sequel to last year's Muppets movie -- at the Tower of London. As I looked closer I could see there, getting her dress fixed, behind a curtain: Miss Piggy! Yes, the one and only. And I saw her, in the flesh. Well I guess really in the foam. But you know what I mean. Yes, my only celebrity sighting in London was a puppet.

Saint Paul's Cathedral

Westminster Abbey was incredible -- think about the history behind that building. All the coronations, the funerals, plus the famous thinks and writers and politicians who are buried there. Really an unbelievable place. But, I liked the aesthetics of St. Paul's Cathedral more. It's domed ceiling reminded me of the U.S. Capitol building, and the frescoes on the interior are very ornate. I think my favorite site of that day was the Imperial War Museum, which houses the Churchill War Rooms. The War Rooms are the underground bunker that housed the UK military headquarters during World War Two. Churchill basically ran the British offensive from an office under London. The War Rooms are perfectly preserved as they were when the war ended, and you can walk through and see the bunker as if the soldiers had just left yesterday.

A wax Winston Churchill in his private
 phone room, calling President Roosevelt.

Churchill's wife, Clementine's, room.

I think one of the most amazing parts of both London and Dublin was the intricacy of the architecture. You can see this more in London than Dublin. The churches, castles, towers, and other historic buildings are incredibly adorned with decorative walls, corners, columns, overhangs, and whatever else I don't know the name of. Every single square inch seems to have taken hours to complete. And this isn't only on the front of the building, or around the door or something -- no, this is all around, even in the back alleys behind the buildings where the peasants undoubtedly did their business. I just kept thinking that if I was an 11th or 12th century architect, I would probably just say "Oh screw it, no one is going to look back there anyway" and just leave the back walls as blank stone. I guess that's why I'm a political science major, we're good at putting on a facade.

Me, sleeping, in front of Big Ben

On our third and fourth days in London, we basically wrapped up our visit and saw anything we hadn't seen already. We went on the London Eye (overpriced and overrated, but I suppose worth it) and met up with one of my friends from Dickinson who lives in London. He showed me a couple cool pubs and we caught up on the old times. Day four we left London, and had an easy commute back to Toulouse. It's a direct flight from Gatwick to Toulouse, thankfully.

Wrong Queen's Guardsman?

Overall my whirlwind tour through Dublin and London was really fun. I liked Dublin because of the people, and I liked London because of the history. I think if I had to go back to one, I'd choose Dublin. Maybe it's the family roots there? Who knows. Remember to check out my Flickr account, it has all of the pictures from my trip on there! There are many more where these came from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ajtoole/

London, from the London Eye

There's A Lot to Read

I know it's been a long time since I last posted -- almost two weeks ago!  But that's for a good reason: I've been doing a lot lately.  I'm going to do this in three installments because it's a lot and I want to go to bed soon. Chapter 1: Dublin.

On February 28 my friends Sarah, Amy, Lindsey and I left Toulouse and flew to London, where we immediately connected on a flight to Dublin.  We got into Dublin fairly late, and thus checked into our hostel and called it a night.  Hostels are not at all what I expected them to be.  My only expectation of a hostel comes from the absolutely horrible horror movie "Hostel" (and its many sequels) and so my hopes were not high.  But it proved to be really nice -- clean, comfortable beds; breakfast provided; a lounge with a TV; free wi-fi; washers and dryers.  All for only 20 or so euros a night per person.  Not as cushy as a hotel, but for your money you really can't beat it.

Our first full day in Dublin began with a continental breakfast at the hostel, followed by a trip to both Saint Patrick's Cathedral and Christ Church Cathedral.  Both are really amazing examples of architecture (but truly nothing compared to Westminster Abbey and Saint Paul's Cathedral, which come  later).  Saint Patrick's has a beautiful garden and park adjacent to the cathedral, where I made friends with several Irish dogs.

The interior of Saint Patrick's Cathedral

After going to Saint Patrick's and Christ Church, we sauntered down to the old Jameson Whiskey Distillery (ironic, I know).  The distillery is no longer the main factory for Jameson, but it functions as both a museum and storehouse.  When we walked in an employee immediately asked if we wanted to sign up for one of the tours that was set to leave at the top of the hour.  We declined, and instead made our way to the in-house bar, where I enjoyed an Irish coffee with Jameson whiskey.  It was only 10 am, but the bar had been open for a few hours already...

Will this Guinness barley fit in my carry-on?

That afternoon we made our way to the Guinness factory.  The factory only offers self-guided tours, but it is very comprehensive and extremely interesting.  The tour guides you through the entire history of Guinness and the brewing process -- did you know that when Arthur Guinness first began renting the original Guinness brewery space at St. James's Gate in 1759, he signed a 9000 year lease?  Also, I'm writing this blog while wearing my "Support your local microbrew" t-shirt.  Anyway, in the middle of the tour you arrive at the Guinness Academy, a room with four or five pouring stations at which patrons learn how to correctly pour a pint of Guinness.  Once you've learned, you can pour your own pint and drink it!  I got a special certificate that confirms that I am a certified Guinness pourer.  It's the little things, folks.  After the factory we found a café and settled for a while before heading to dinner.  We eventually made our way to the Temple Bar area, a central location for many of the bars in Dublin.  I won't go too much into detail, but it suffices to say I made good friends with some Australian rugby players while singing a certain hit by Bad Company.

I'm happy with the pint I poured

The next morning we went and toured the campus of Trinity College, as well as its famous old library.  The campus has some really amazing history, like the story about the drunk students in the 1800s who started a gun fight with a professor in the middle of the night, which resulted in a dead professor and three jailed students.  Lastly, we headed to Phoenix Park, a massive park and garden on the edge of Dublin.  After the park we took the bus to the Dublin airport.  After skipping baggage check and going through security, we had a light dinner and proceeded to our gate to fly to London.  The flight began to board, and when I reached the ticket counter, the steward asked for my "stamp." "Stamp?" I asked, bewildered.  "Yes, your stamp, on your boarding pass," he said.  Well I had no idea what he meant by that.  Turns out that if you fly on Ryanair, it's necessary to have your boarding pass stamped... BEFORE going through security.  But we had missed that because we didn't check our bags, the usual place for getting the stamp.

"But this flight leaves in 20 minutes," I said.  Nevertheless, the steward would not let us on the plane unless we had stamp.  "I'll give you ten minutes, you need to go back and get the stamp."  We dropped all our belongings and began to run through the airport, back through security, to the baggage check desk, and back.  This was no easy run -- I'd guess, in all seriousness, that we probably ran almost 3/4 mile round trip.  I was panting and sweating like no other, while my female counterparts cried and gasped, claiming we weren't going to make it.  We got to the baggage check desk and breathlessly asked them to stamp the boarding pass.  They declined, saying our gate was already closed.  I told them that I was given ten minutes and it had only been seven, so give me the God damned stamp.  She did, and we ran back, making it just in time to run across the tarmac barefoot (the shoes had come off at security).  We were the last passengers on the plane, sweaty and breathless, but we made it, barely.  Next stop, London.

A view down the River Liffey, at the center of Dublin

Dublin, London, Paris

Over the next eleven days, starting today, I'll be traveling to Dublin, London and Paris.  Today I fly to Dublin, where I stay for two nights, and then the London for three nights.  After that, I'll be joining the Dickinson group in Paris for four nights, a trip that is completely paid for by Dickinson (nice, right?)  Some of the attractions I plan on hitting:

Churchill War Rooms
London Eye
Shakespeare's Globe Theater
London Zoo
Tower of London
HMS Belfast
St. Paul's Cathedral
Buckingham Palace
Guinness Factory
Trinity College Library

And then a bunch of stuff in Paris.  If anyone has any suggestions for me, send me an email -- I should have internet access on my iPad to check that out.  Pictures and stories to come after my trip!

Comparing Academic Styles

I've been asked by The Dickinsonian, Dickinson College's student newspaper, to write a biweekly column about being abroad.  Sometimes, in lieu of writing a blog post, I'll just post the column here.  Thus, here is my third column for The Dickinsonian:

It’s pretty cliché to write about the differences between your host country and the United States, but that’s pretty much the point of going abroad – to be somewhere different. So, despite your protests, I’m going to write some more about cultural differences. I’m going to compare the college experience of a Dickinson student and a French student. Obviously I am not trying to speak for all Dickinson students or all French students, as my current expertise is rooted only in a month and a half of studies. But, it’ll give you a rough estimate.

First of all, I study at l’Institut d’Etudes Politiques (IEP), which is the political science college here in Toulouse. I take three classes – two of them have about 150 students, and the third has 30. The professor walks into the amphitheater, turns on the microphone, and proceeds to lecture nonstop for two and a half hours. She doesn’t pause, doesn’t ask for questions, doesn’t ask if what she’s saying is clear – she just goes, and when the clock runs out she walks back out of the class and we all leave. As you can see, this is not Dickinson College.

Also on the academic side – I barely have any homework. I have to keep up with current events, and read a pertinent document every now and then, but other than that I have no homework. There is one final exam at the end of the semester, and that is my only grade. Unlike Dickinson, I don’t have to read chapters of a textbook (oh and no textbooks) and there are no projects or biweekly essays. This is a perk if you ask me, but it is important to remember that my grade is based on one exam and one exam only.

Interestingly, French students traditionally go to school in their hometown or close to it; it is rare to travel great distances to go to college, as we do in the United States. Thus, none of the students live on campus. In fact, there is no “campus” per se. No academic quad, no Morgan Field. Just the building, the parking lot, and the sidewalk. And this isn’t just at IEP; this is most of the schools in the area.

Sciences-Po, as the school is nicknamed, is a single building on an unassuming street. It shares a library and a cafeteria with a neighboring university – there is no gym, no bookstore, no social hall, and no varsity sports teams. They don’t even have a Club 40. And this is what seems to be the defining feature of the universities in Toulouse: they are very barebones. You go to college to get an education, and that’s it. You can play casually for a club sports team, or use a community-based gym, but other than that the school doesn’t have much to offer.  Some student associations will put on events from time to time, but it pales in comparison to the offerings from MOB or the Event Advisory Board, for example.

Of course, we all know that Dickinson is recognized for its small class sizes, its plethora of student groups and organizations, and the beautiful school grounds. It’s almost the exact opposite of Sciences-Po. But that doesn’t mean I dislike my French school – on the contrary, I feel lucky to be going here because it has shown me a different system against which I can compare my own academic experiences. Yes, it’s been very different than Dickinson, but it has provided me with a new perspective on education on general, and being here has forced me to develop skills I haven’t exercised before – like sitting through a 150-minute lecture.

One Month

It's already been more than a month since I've arrived in France -- one month and three days, to be precise.  It doesn't seem like that, really.  Sometimes I feel like I've been here for three months, sometimes it feels like just a week.  I am continuing to make the adjustment to European life, but it comes to me easier every day.  The French language is also becoming easier every day.  I don't have to hear a question twice in order to answer it anymore, and my comprehension in my French classes has been improving as well.  What continues to be the most difficult cultural hurdle for me is social -- I have not yet found the French to be overwhelming friendly, so it is up to me to reach out to them when I want to make a social connection.  This is difficult sometimes, especially in a different language.

There are some other things I wanted to mention about Toulouse in general.  The first thing is how much I love the city's bike program.  It's called VéloToulouse (translation: BikeToulouse) and this is how it works: there are 253 bike stations all around the city, each with 20 or 25 bikes.  The bikes are locked to automatic bike racks, and for 20 euros a year you can have unlimited, 24/7 access to the bikes.  You walk up to the automated kiosk, swipe your membership card, choose a bike number, and the lock pops open.  You then have 30 minutes to make it to another station somewhere in the city, where you simply pop the bike into an available slot and are on your way.  The service is really awesome, especially when you stay out too late to make the last metro (midnight) or bus (1 a.m.).  There are two stations within five minutes of my host house, and I use it all the time.

One of the VéloToulouse bike stations

One of the amazing things about Europe is that if you go to an old enough city or village, some piece of history is around you at all times.  For example, there is a lot of history behind the street signs in Toulouse.  Yes, even European street signs have a story.  Here is one:

You'll notice that there are two there -- one looking slightly different than the other.  That is because the top one is in traditional French, and the bottom one is in the language Occitan.  Occitan is one of France's more than thirty regional languages, and is, obviously, the regional language of the Toulouse area.  The city of Toulouse, in an effort to preserve the endangered language, posts its street signs and its metro stops in both French and Occitan.

Another historical aspect of the street signs is their color.  The Garonne River, which splits Toulouse, runs from north to south.  All the streets in Toulouse that run along the north-south line have yellow signs.  All the streets that run along the east-west line have white signs.  The reason?  Because the Garonne runs north-south, the streets that also run north-south are considered to be going along with the river, and thus they keep it tranquil and undisturbed; the yellow represents the natural, undisturbed color of the river.  The streets that run east-west metaphorically cut across the Garonne, disturbing its flow; thus, the white color represents the white, frothy water created when the flow of the river is disturbed.  So, the Rue des Couteliers, pictured above, runs from east to west.  Interesting, right?

Another side note: the other night I went to a real rugby match, Toulouse vs. Biarritz.  I don't know much about rugby, but it was a good time and I imagine that's how an American football game would be.  The fans were blowing horns, drinking, and yelling.  I was smart and booed when those around me booed, and cheered when those around me cheered.  Like they say, when in a rugby stadium, do as the rugby fans do.