le luberon

we took our first excursion today to la luberon which is a mountain region in provence. we visited three villages: lourmarin, roussillon, and gordes. our tour guide told us that the french government has strict rules for french villages. 1) they must have less than 2,000 inhabitants 2) they must have some sort of monument (statue, chateau, etc.) 3) they must be well-maintained for tourist attraction...there are a few more but unfortunately i failed to write them all down. lourmarin was my favorite by far. they have a huge farmers market that we walked around and i bought some souvenirs and ate a fougasse  with goat cheese and tomatoes, delic! the french desserts havent been a problem for me yet...its the cheese that gets me! i figured with all the walking that i do and eating like the french, im bound to start looking like one. a few other girls and myself are going to marseille tomorrow to lay out on the beach, shop, and hopefully visit chateau d'if. i kinda forgot that i'm here as a student, not a tourist! i failed to  mention earlier that my host dad has another oddity...he makes me blow dry my hair after every shower. im still not quite sure why...something about my hair being wet, either way, i know my mom is happy that someone is making me try to look good. if it wasn't for him, my blow dryer would still be packed away in my suitcase. they weren't here tonight when i took a shower so i got away with it this time!