Blake at the Movies
“Life Down by the Sea”  When I left you last I was still in Austria, enjoying a quiet weekend in Salzburg. I’ve made it safely back to France, and I’m living it up before I return to the U-S-of-A on Saturday.  On our last night in Salzburg, we went to dinner at this Italian place. And while it was a good meal, the more exciting part of the evening was going to the Hotel Sacher to try their famous chocolate cake, the Sacher Torte. The recipe dates back to the 1800s, and there’s a reason it has lasted so long. Oh. My. Goodness. It was heaven in my mouth! To make it even better, Katie and I split a pot of their coffee, and it was, no lie, the best coffee I’ve ever had. The dairy products in Austria — and Germany for that matter — are superb. On “The Sound of Music” tour we passed a lot of dairy farms, and I imagine that most of the local dairy comes from these family-run operations. From the cream in my coffee to the whipped topping served with the chocolate cake, all of it is to DIE FOR. Alright, that’s the end of my fat kid moment.  Another cool things about the Hotel Sacher was the list of celebrities that have stayed there. Most notably, for me, was Ms. Julie Andrews — she stayed there for the entirety of her time in Salzburg while filming “TSOM.” Stopping in for dessert was the perfect ending to a wonderful weekend. Salzburg, I love you.  Getting back to Juan Les Pins took us most of Sunday, although Jordan, Katie and I had the opportunity to stop by a McDonalds for a few hours in the morning to work on our film reviews and papers for the classes we’re taking here in France.  After almost missing our train to Vienna, thanks to Austin and Hunter, we traveled the 3 hours through the GORGEOUS Austrian countryside and made our flight from Vienna to Nice, arriving back around 10:30. Let me just saw that the Vienna airport is the worst airport I’ve ever been in. The worst. I was so annoyed — and tired and frustrated — that I just wanted to fly home to Atlanta. But after having a quiet time on the plane, listening to music and reading — I’m rereading “To Kill a Mockingbird” — I was fine. It’s nice to be reunited with the big group here in France and resume my life down by the sea.  After class yesterday I went to the beach for a bit, then down the road to Antibes for dinner. Antibes is what I imagined south France to be like before I came. It’s so quaint, filled with narrow streets and cafes, cute shops and charming buildings. It was a treat to venture there. About 12 of us had a nice dinner, ate some gelato, then ventured back to JLP to hit the beach. Gathering down on the beach has become a nightly event, and it’s a great way to unwind after a long day. I thought I wouldn’t like the extra time here in JLP after the festival, but it’s been great. I was telling Katie today that I feel like when I’m in Athens I’m in a constant state of stress and motion — I never have time to just breathe and relax. These last few days, in France and Austria, have allowed me some much-needed down time to move at a leisurely pace and just enjoy life. I need to remember this time when I arrive in LA for a fast-paced internship.  As the program comes to a close, there are just a couple things that I want to do before I head home: go to Monaco one day, go back to Cannes to buy souvenirs and shop, visit Antibes again, and just enjoy the group.  By the way, today’s photo is one Katie took in Salzburg. There’s nothing too special about it except that I just think it’s cool. That’s all for now! Living my dream, Blake

“Life Down by the Sea” 

When I left you last I was still in Austria, enjoying a quiet weekend in Salzburg. I’ve made it safely back to France, and I’m living it up before I return to the U-S-of-A on Saturday. 

On our last night in Salzburg, we went to dinner at this Italian place. And while it was a good meal, the more exciting part of the evening was going to the Hotel Sacher to try their famous chocolate cake, the Sacher Torte. The recipe dates back to the 1800s, and there’s a reason it has lasted so long. Oh. My. Goodness. It was heaven in my mouth! To make it even better, Katie and I split a pot of their coffee, and it was, no lie, the best coffee I’ve ever had. The dairy products in Austria — and Germany for that matter — are superb. On “The Sound of Music” tour we passed a lot of dairy farms, and I imagine that most of the local dairy comes from these family-run operations. From the cream in my coffee to the whipped topping served with the chocolate cake, all of it is to DIE FOR. Alright, that’s the end of my fat kid moment. 

Another cool things about the Hotel Sacher was the list of celebrities that have stayed there. Most notably, for me, was Ms. Julie Andrews — she stayed there for the entirety of her time in Salzburg while filming “TSOM.” Stopping in for dessert was the perfect ending to a wonderful weekend. Salzburg, I love you. 

Getting back to Juan Les Pins took us most of Sunday, although Jordan, Katie and I had the opportunity to stop by a McDonalds for a few hours in the morning to work on our film reviews and papers for the classes we’re taking here in France. 

After almost missing our train to Vienna, thanks to Austin and Hunter, we traveled the 3 hours through the GORGEOUS Austrian countryside and made our flight from Vienna to Nice, arriving back around 10:30. Let me just saw that the Vienna airport is the worst airport I’ve ever been in. The worst. I was so annoyed — and tired and frustrated — that I just wanted to fly home to Atlanta. But after having a quiet time on the plane, listening to music and reading — I’m rereading “To Kill a Mockingbird” — I was fine. It’s nice to be reunited with the big group here in France and resume my life down by the sea. 

After class yesterday I went to the beach for a bit, then down the road to Antibes for dinner. Antibes is what I imagined south France to be like before I came. It’s so quaint, filled with narrow streets and cafes, cute shops and charming buildings. It was a treat to venture there. About 12 of us had a nice dinner, ate some gelato, then ventured back to JLP to hit the beach. Gathering down on the beach has become a nightly event, and it’s a great way to unwind after a long day.

I thought I wouldn’t like the extra time here in JLP after the festival, but it’s been great. I was telling Katie today that I feel like when I’m in Athens I’m in a constant state of stress and motion — I never have time to just breathe and relax. These last few days, in France and Austria, have allowed me some much-needed down time to move at a leisurely pace and just enjoy life. I need to remember this time when I arrive in LA for a fast-paced internship. 

As the program comes to a close, there are just a couple things that I want to do before I head home: go to Monaco one day, go back to Cannes to buy souvenirs and shop, visit Antibes again, and just enjoy the group. 

By the way, today’s photo is one Katie took in Salzburg. There’s nothing too special about it except that I just think it’s cool.

That’s all for now!

Living my dream,

Blake

Posted 1 year ago