la vie en rose

friday was obviously an important day.
1. it was my sister's 13th birthday and my dad's (insert number) birthday!!! also my late grandpa, bumpa! special special special! I CANNOT BELIEVE my sister is a teenager. time flies.
2. fridays are always special
3. we got to do a free wine tasting at a chateau vineyard out in the french countryside. emphasis on freeeeee. chateau vineyard and winnnnnnnnnnneeeeee.
4. royal wedding day. DUH.

easily the best photo of the day

so obviously everyone was super duper excited and its all the media was taking about. then of course were the haters who didnt understand all the fuss and buzz over a royal family who has no role really. heres my thoughts: there is SO much bad stuff going on in the world (i.e Syria, Libya, Côte d'Ivoire, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Zimbabwe, Bahrain, tornados... there's no shortage of items here) .. that the world neeeeeded something to focus on that wouldnt inspire depression or sadness. and a wedding fit for a king. literally. was exactly what the doctor ordered. obsessing about a dress, the cake, the guest list, all the ins and outs that make celebrity weddings exciting was the perfect distraction from the utter demise of the civilized world. i for one, LOVED all the hype. i can imagine what it was like in the States, we go gaga for stuff like this, but it was so interesting to see the same effect here in France. i knew without a doubt that my mom would be awake to watch the coverage. which was a mere 4 am while here coverage began at a more comfortable 9am. it was hilarious. my host family were the first ones awake. they let alex and i eat breakfast by the tv pour le premiere fois  and i think my host mom bought EVERY. SINGLE. TABLOID. so in many many ways.. my host mom is just like my real mom. unfortunately for me my french oral class started at 10:30 and went til 12 .. precisely 9 minutes after kate was due to leave the hotel. NOT OKAY WITH ME. i impatiently sat through class, battling my way through and counting down the minutes. my professor knew it. she got a good giggle out of my anxiousness as she could care less. c'etait fini finalement. and I RACED down the stairs and burst into the library, threw open my computer and immediately started the live streaming. none of my classmates cared either. but my eagerness was infectious and soon we had 20 students gathered around my laptop oo-ing and ahh-ing at the stunning princess. conclusions? well everyone has their own, but i personally loved it all. and cannot get enough royal family lovin. so far ive rewatched Diana and Charles' ceremony, interviews during her life, her death, funeral, interviews with Charles, Harry and William as well as listened to Elton John's Candle in the Wind and i have read every story Yahoo and BBC newsfeed have provided for me.  my roommate and I are slightly less than obsessed!

on to the next reason why my life is fantastic! friday-admist the excitement of the wedding was a planned winetasting organized through school with the people who organized the wine lesson i went to back in February. we had no idea what to expect for this one. all i knew was that it was free and we needed a bus to get there. 20 minutes outside of the city limits is this beautiful chateau and vineyard called Chateau Val Joanis. (you can change the site to English) family owned and operated - it is EXACTLY what you would expect a french family winery to be. fun facts: the film French Kiss with Meg Ryan was filmed there and a few years ago, Brangelina landed their airplane on the properties when they were in France looking for a place for Angelina to have their twins. They ended up buying a chateau not too far down the road. It is stunning, secluded and equipped with 186 hectacres of vines and beautiful gardens and a landscape panorama that took my breath away. to check out all my pictures, click here . we got to sample their white, red and rosé and they gave us a grand tour of the gardens. i dont think perfection even comes close to describing it. the woman who hosts the winetastings is an American from California who has made her life the study of wine-- she met her husband in Aix and she was actually the first person Chateau Val Joanis permitted to get married on their grounds.  Now weddings are a big part of their business.

it was a most delightful way to spend a friday evening.

Saturday was a gem in and of itself. My roommate Alex and I elected to get up early, have breakfast with the fam and walk into town to check out the weekly market on the Cours Mirabeau. it was a BEAUTIFUL morning/afternoon and all the town was a buzz. sadly we were mistaken in our information and the market was elsewhere. but we enjoyed the afternoon in town and did a little shopping. loving the Aixois lifestyle. afterwards we met up with some friends in our favorite park for an afternoon of.. you guessed it .. wine, baguettes and cheese. la vie en rose. we laughed the afternoon away and soaked up the feel good sunshine before killing the afternoon at our favorite bookstore-- Book in Bar -- its an English book store so most if not all the books are in English. phewf. it was so delightful. relaxing. perfection. came home to a great dinner with the family-- homemade macaroni and cheese. delicious.