It's moot.

I don't even know what Moot Court is ...

... But I still think it sounds funny.

Saint-Rémy-de-Provence

Before I left France on the 14th, I went with Johan to Saint-Rémy-de-Provence. Seems like a pretty touristy place, but it actually looked and felt like summer (AT LAST), so I'm OK with it. I actually think I came here in 2010 with Charlotte and Gabrielle, but I don't quite remember (Charlotte took us all over the place, after all ... I would link to the old blog post, but I can't seem to find one, oops).

Anyway, while walking into town, I saw this. I think I like graffiti a lot. Or 'street art,' I suppose.

I always like when things happen to look like smiley faces, but this piece of tape stuck to the side of my picnic table at dinner one night made me think especially of my friend Dallan :)

We went to St-Rémy because Johan always takes part in a sort of summer arts camp-thing for Europeans -- it's called Euroculture, and it's run [it's probably safe to say in large part] by our friend Laurent. They brought in teens/adults/whatevers from eight countries this year, and they worked on arts installations in a garden, choral concerts, dances, and a whole host of other things I'm probably forgetting about. It kind of reminded me of a Bristol Hills for older "kids." 

This is the outside of the music building where all the rehearsals were held (some of the big group dinners were held on picnic tables just outside, which is when I took this picture).

We were staying in the house of some of the local collaborators, which was very funky - lots of mix and match levels, a very hippie laid-back feel. It was neat, but my main focus was their natural pool, shown here. I've never heard of this before, but apparently a natural pool uses some sort of algae or plant filter system so there are no chemicals in the water. I'm not totally convinced, but whatever. I swim in lakes, so how bad can this be?

I went walking with our friend Geneviève one day, and we passed this store. There are FIFTY states, and out of all of those options, you named your store Arkansas? Seriously?!

Towards the end of our walk, we passed a shop window. See below. If only I could make this into a GIF, you would see that all of these little Queens are waving their hands (some of them are kind of blurry as a result). No idea what this is about, but I find it hilarious.

Just a glimpse down one of the narrow old streets. It was a really cute town.

Freedom.

Noticed this when I passed on my bike : Liberté!

Canal Saint Martin.

Library Update.

By special request: Lin wanted to know what the plastic messenger bags you're required to use look like. Here it is ... I've got packing my whole life in (including the laptop) down to an art.

This is the outside. There are four of the tower things, and in the middle of them is a big elevated platform area (in the middle of that is the huge courtyard that you can stare at longingly while you're in the research library).

Here's a small part of the platform at the top of the stairs ...

There's an east and a west entrance ... For the rooms I frequent, the east entrance is better.

I'm starting to get library fever from all of these hours shut away ... I hope I recover before heading back to classes.

Autumn Leaves?

Nothing says summer like ... DEAD ORANGE LEAVES?

I guess I don't need to tell you what summer has been like over here.

Bonding with the Library. A lot.

For the purposes of my summer research projects, I managed to acquire a membership to the Research Library at the Bibliothèque Nationale de France (BNF). I have to admit, I feel pretty snazzy, even if it's no great feat in the grander scheme of things.

Oops, well, this will be an interior tour only, I forgot to take a picture from the outside. My bad.

The only way to describe the entry into the research library is by imagining the entry to the headquarters of MIB. I know it sounds crazy, but I swear, that's what it looks like. Mega escalators like these, huge, empty hallways of concrete and steel. It makes it seem like you're going somewhere FAR cooler than you, in fact, are.

From underneath the escalator ...

The research library rooms form a rectangle around a huge courtyard. I don't know if they did it on purpose, but looking down the long sides could practically give you vertigo. I hang out in rooms L, M, and N the most often (they're closest to the books I need on Africa).

This is what the inside of the rooms looks like. Lots and lots of tables. You aren't even allowed into the research part of the library if you haven't reserved a workspace previously. Pretty intense. Oh and I forgot to mention, you're required to give up all of your backpacks and purses at the entrance. They give you a clear plastic briefcase-thing that you put all of your stuff into. I suppose it's to prevent theft?

Anyway, I'm glad to have gotten the experience of working here -- plus my card is valid for a year, so if my MA essay needs some supplemental research ...

Strasbourg (not the métro station, either).

Johan was playing at Geneviève's festival in Obernai, but I had a few hours in between the train to Strasbourg and the train to Obernai ... Time to go exploring! The nice lady at the tourism desk sent me to the "Vieille France" quarter, which she said was very typical of the region. Typical or not, it was adorable.

Lots of canals ...

And pretty buildings!

Oh, hey fairy tale illustration. Wasn't expecting to see you here.

What good is a fairy tale illustration without the, *ahem,* Princess?

The one blight on the landscape is this bubble. This bubble contains the train station. Weirder still, this bubble contains a typical old French, BEAUTIFUL, stone station. WHAT IS UP WITH THE BUBBLE?

Architectural fail.

This is the poolside view from the house we stayed in during our time in Obernai. No big deal.

The family we stayed with was super nice, and I was totally content to spend all day soaking up some sun for  basically the first time this summer.

I still don't have a tan though. Womp womp.