Work Overload

Day 22, 23, 24  Over the weekend our whole class prepared for our first pin-up for studio which would take place on Monday.  Once the pin-up was over we new we were home free and would be on our way to Barcelona in a few short days.

Day 25, 26 We were given the assignment to take videos of the way French people interact in public spaces, specifically how different generations cross paths.  It was interesting to try and shot people with a camera and try and not have them noticed.  But there were those times when people would look at us and know exactly what we were doing and we would have to walk away to a different area.

The Coast

 Day 21 We had our weekly trip on Friday to Sete and Le Grande Motte which are two cities right on the coast.  Both cities are known for fishing, producing salt, and canals oh and of course their beauty.  Sete was the older town and was established by the central royalty in the 1600s.  It was meant to extend into the Mediterranean Sea with canals going throughout the city, mostly meant for trading purposes of wine textiles and cheese and the production of salt.  We were able to view Sete from many perspectives including the on a boat in the sea, on top of a mountain, near a canal and in the narrow streets.

walking down the hill towards the water 

Cemetery by the Sea

Dad this is for you

Fishing Boat Area

After we explored the city at all different heights we went to a market where all fresh goods were sold.  I Sete the richer class are the people who own many businesses dealing with the same good or task.  For example the people that were selling us the oysters own boats and oyster beds where they grow and take the oysters from, they also sell the fresh product in the market and own restaurants around town where they cook the food.  We were able to taste some live oysters, sea urchins, octopus pie, muscles, and stuffed oysters, all of which I had never tried before.  I decided to go for it and I tried them all and was pleasantly surprised.

Live Oysters and Muscles

Sea Urchins

Octopus Pie Specialty in Sete

Stuffed Oysters

After we tasted the oysters and other sea food we had the opportunity to go out on a boat and see where the oysters grew and also see the city from a new viewpoint.  We saw an old fishing area with broken down shacks and old boats and then traveled through the oyster beds, it seemed like the beds were never ending.

Oyster Beds

Stained glass window inside the church in Le Grand Motte

The end of the boat ride brought us to the other side of the city where our bus was waiting for us and we all hopped abroad and went to our next destination....Le Grande Motte.  Le Grande Motte was a city also on the coast but it was built in the 1960s and 1970s.  It was built as a place for tourist to boost the economy and also a place for new jobs.  Many of the building are not my taste but the place was beautiful none the less.  the buildings are mostly all shaped like pyramids imitating the mountains in the background and allowing for the most views and sunlight through windows.

The church

   

A Series of Unfortunate Events

Day 13 - We had the opportunity to take a photography class with a real photographer, and we got to go to a part of the city and practice taking balanced pictures.  The French photographer taught us how to make more interesting and intriguing photos and also how to balance a picture so that the viewer can have the most appeasing view of a space, living being or object.  We learned many techniques that were new to all of us, including the 1/3rd rule which says that you should divide your picture into thirds and 2/3rds should be similar and the other third be different, this creates a balanced picture. (Tip- you never want to put the object your focusing on in the center of the frame.)

My documentation of the stair in the square...she said it was tres bien!

We had to take a picture of the ground and its relationship to the city below.

Day 14
Trip 1 - What was supposed to be a very exciting and important trip to the city of Marseilles( the 2nd biggest city in France and in my opinion the most interesting) turned out to be a fail when the building we were supposed to visit burnt down Thursday night.  So Friday morning our professor had to have a plan B.  Plan B was to visit three urban nuclease(a building or group of buildings that aided in the growth and decisions of the urban city)  in France.  The first stop was a medieval city that is completely surrounded and enclosed by stone walls.  We were able to walk inside the city get breakfast and hot chocolate or as I have come to know it as "Chocolat Chaud"(french hot chocolate).  Once we went into the city and explored we got to see the city from a different perspective.... the top of the wall.  Anyone can walk in top of the wall and go to the towers and see the city.  The wall is continuous and we got to walk all the way around the entire wall and city.

View down a main street inside the village.

Map of the whole wall and village.

Main Entrance to the village through the surrounding wall.

At the top of the wall there was skinny vertical holes where soldiers would shoot guns.

Pathway on top of the walls surrounding the medieval village.

View from the top of the main tower of the wall.

A moat separating the main tower from the wall.

Myself on top of the wall.

Trip 2 - We went to a city called Arles next where we got to see a Colosseum.  It was amazing to see that a structure made of mostly stone can survive for so many years, they still hold bull fighting in the stadium.

View of the Colosseum from the outside.

View inside the first layer of the Colosseum.

Finally reaching the arena.

Trip 3 - Our last place of the day was supposed to be a monastery but when we got there it was closed, so we drove another hour out of the way to an abbey.  The abbey consisted of very clean lines and materials.  The sounds within the abbey were fascinating and the abbey itself is a very serene place.  It is meant to be a very quiet place so when noise is made it echoes for a good amount of time, because of the arched ceilings, and smooth walls of stone.

Main Entrance

Vaulted ceilings in one of the rooms.

View from outside of the abbey.

Day 15, 16, 17 & 18 Are the reasons why I haven't updated my blog until now.  Saturday and Sunday were spent solely in studio making models and researching many projects.  Monday was a full day of classes and Tuesday was another day spent in studio finishing up 3 projects that were due Wednesday, Today.

Day 19 All of us cannot believe how fast the trip is passing by.  I booked a trip to Venice, Italy during our spring break for 5 days with a few of my friends and next week on Thursday we will be heading to Barcelona, Spain for 4 days.  In about 2 and a half weeks I will be going to Paris to meet Brian and spend the weekend there.  Trying to soak it all in and enjoy it all because before I know it, it will be over.

Jusqu'a la prochaine fois,

Au Revoir

Carbs Galore

Day 9 & 10 This Sunday was spent doing massive amounts of work for our classes because right now we have about 10 group projects going on at one time. All i saw on Sunday and Monday was the view from our studio window, which in comparison to Wentworth's view from studio is a major upgrade....so I'll take it!  Monday I also went for my first run in France and I must say that it is extremely hard to run or even walk around outside the squares and roads without breathing in cigarette smoke...not my favorite thing.  Monday night we went to the Australian bar to celebrate Lauren's 22nd birthday and we met some nice Canadian girls who are studying here as well.  One of them told us all of the cool English speaking spots for the weekends, more on that later in the week.

View at sunset from our window.

Day 11 Another day spent in studio building our huge site model and doing research for our many projects.

Day 12 Wednesday was a long day of classes and field trips.  We got to go to the new city hall building, which is much more modern then most buildings in Montpellier and kind of stuck out a little.  The landscape of the building is still under construction but we got to go inside to many of the floors.  We got to go to one of the elevated courtyard patios and we also got to go to a special room that was sound proof and was used for important conferences in politics.  One of the other rooms we got to see was a room that is used for weddings but the walls are covered with silver shiny pieces and it looks like a club, we thought that was kind of odd.  The facade of the building was also a shiny silver material that you get different reflections and light from during different times in the day depending on the sun.  The most interesting part of this building for me was the way the modern building interacted with the landscape.  The water near the building hits the building and part of city hall in sunken into the water.  There is also stone walls that continue to the edge of the modern silver facade of city hall.  See pictures.

Connection between the building, water and landscape.

Top Secret Conference Room.

Did I mention they have the most amazing bread and pastries which is problem for me because I'd take dessert over dinner any day.

Bread!

Pastries! 

Jusqu'a la prochaine fois,

Au Revoir