This is a story of my 5-day group excursion (All 20 of us) to the region of Provence in the South of France. Traveled by train, bus and plane!! Marseilles, Giens, Hyères, St. Tropez, Nice and Antibes! The climate and landscape were absolutely lovely; we spent most of our traveling time looking along the coastline gazing out to the Mediterranean. I LOVED all the colors there. Our trips are so informative because they tie into my class about the inter-war period. The years between 1914 and 1945 were a fascinating time of progress. During the 1920s, a time of prosperity and status, there was a strong influence of the ideals of the glitzy, sunny south of France. We saw some lavish examples of Art Deco design at the Villa Noailles (with a contrasting example of the previous 'Belle Epoque' style of the Ephrussi de Rothschild Villa) and we got to hear some very interesting stories about the extravagance of people like Fauvist painter Fernand Lèger (see photo... this museum was probably my favorite part)
and writer F. Scott Fitzgerald. What I was most intrigued by from hearing these stories was that a majority of these rich and successful people who were constantly surrounded by this so-often-idolized luxury were unhappy, miserable and depressed despite their glamorous possessions and fame. This wealth and extravagance that most people in the world strive for is never fulfilling. These places we visited were beautiful (fanciful in a way) but the isolation and superiority associated with it all made it so unappealing to me. I definitely enjoyed everything that we saw but I was in a funny mood the whole trip. There's so much to take in after traveling and being exposed to new things, I think I'm still processing.
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