As my time in Aix-en-Provence draws to a close, I find myself taking longer walks, staring at anything and everything, in an attempt to capture every nook and cranny of the city in my mind. I inhale deeper each morning when I leave the house, trying to imprint the smell of lemon and olive trees […]
Category: Miranda
Week 6: Cézanne
The memory of Paul Cézanne looms omnipresent in Aix-en-Provence. The impressionist and cubist painter was born and raised in Aix and died in his studio here. The city is infinitely proud to have been the lifelong-home of this much celebrated painter, and they continue to admire him. He represented the landscape, the light, and the […]
Week 5: From Private Garden to Public Park
My sit-spot is called the Pavillon Vendôme, an historic aristocratic residence surrounded by a classic formal French garden. It was built by the architect Pierre Pavillon between 1665 and 1667 for the Duke of Vendôme to use as his country house. Since the early 1900s, it has been owned by the city of Aix-en-Provence. The […]
Week 4: Carbon Footprint
When I flew to France in August, I noted in my Paulson journal about the irony of participating in an environmentally-focused fellowship while traveling by plane. Using a carbon footprint calculator, I found that my flight here generated 0.79 metric tons of carbon. To offset the emissions produced by my travel, there are a few […]
Week 3: Roman Roots
Thinking about the subject of water in Aix-en-Provence is especially pertinent to the city’s history and the general history of modern civilization. In the first century BCE, modern-day Aix was under the control of the Roman Empire. They founded a city here named Aquae Sextiae, which is where the word “Aix” comes from in the […]
Week 2: The beginning of Fall-en-Provence, where 80°F is brisk
Fall has officially arrived in Aix-en-Provence, though it is nothing like fall at Wellesley! As I mentioned in my last blog post, the weather here is consistently warm and sunny with highs of 80°F during the day and lows of 60°F at night. As much as I’m missing wearing sweaters and partaking in stereotypical New […]
Week 1: Bonjour from the South of France!
Greetings from the sunny, somewhat sweltering south of France! I’ve found myself getting used to not checking the weather forecast before getting dressed and leaving the house each morning. Practically every day in Aix-en-Provence has been 80 degrees Fahrenheit with a cloudless blue sky. On the one day this week it was supposed to rain, […]