Calissons

Calissons are a traditional French candy consisting of a smooth, pale yellow, homogeneous paste of candied fruit (especially melons and oranges) and ground almonds topped with a thin layer of white icing (royal glaze). Calissons have a texture not unlike that of marzipan, but with a fruitier, distinctly melon-like flavor. Calissons are almond-shaped and are typically about two inches in length. Calissons are traditionally associated with the town of Aix-en-Provence, France; consequently, most of the world supply of calissons are still made in the Provence region. [source].

I had my first one today - it's supposedly famous to the city where I'm at - Aix, courtesy "Cecile" the French 'girl next door'. She's soooo "French" and anitmated!

Boissons de Français

In wine there is wisdom, in beer there is freedom, in water there is bacteria.

I always knew Evian to be a "high-class" water, that was very expensive, but it seems that it's the most popular bottled water in France, or at least in "Aix". So, i had my first Evian here :).

It should be a rule of thumb that one must always keep a bottle of wine in one's room; in the situation a friend pops in to visit, or you have guests: In case of emergency, break seal, pop cork....

Since beers are so expensive in pubs [bars/clubs], anywhere between 2.60€ to 5€! It is often cheaper to buy a giraffe! A 2 liter tube of beer, split the cost between two people and you get about 4 drinks each. Pas mal...pas mal...

Château d'If

The Château d'If is a stable (later a prison) located on the island of If, the smallest island in the Frioul Archipelago situated in the Mediterranean Sea about a mile offshore in the Bay of Marseille in southeastern France. It is famous for being one of the settings of Alexandre Dumas' adventure novel The Count of Monte Cristo.

Ok, so now you know the history, here is the imagery without comments since i am currently hanging my laptop outside my window to "steal" internet. The most i'd say is that this was the day after my birthday, we got up went to the girls' place, they made lunch :), then we headed off to the unknown.

Château d'If

























Ile de Frioul:

bye!

Les Mains

Resiste France!!


You know you're in a first-world country when - there's free Wi-Fi access everywhere!

22 Years Old

My Birthday, i think we partied for like 4 days in a row: IPN [Club] on thursday night, Room Party on Friday [the 7th - the day of my actual birthday], then Ile d'If on Saturday, and well, Marseille on Sunday.

OK so Here's our first night at IPN! Students Night every Thursday! International Girls! German Girls! These are the other "economical" ways that they sell beers in France - by Pitchers [or Pichets] - only one person is allowed to drink from one pitcher - it's a lot of beer for the price of just 2 small glasses. It's funny, that we're doing this masters in management and it really has changed our thinking, now when we look at everyday things, we automatically put a managerial perspective on it and try to analyze it as such and tie it back to stuff we did in class - it's pretty geeky, but its cool to look at the economics of situations and the financial and marketing decisions adopted by various bars!











The Room Party - at Marcos' Room, Marketa, Thu-lan, Anna - Nice.