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Lacoste is, to say the least, exquisite. I arrived yesterday in time to get settled in my room, which is in a building called Olivier Baisse, meaning Lower Olivier. There are 8 girls in this apartment of sorts, in four rooms. There are two double rooms, and one room of four girls at the end. I’m in the second double room. The rooms are quite literally caves. Three of the four walls in my room are exposed stone, and we have a little window that peeks out over the village. The area has a common room divided into a little room with a round table and another room that serves as a small area. The whole area is stepped down from the bedrooms, and a large arch hangs over those steps. The downside is eight girls sharing a bathroom with two sinks, two toilets, and two showers. It gets a little crowded when we all get up at the same time, like we did today. The “apartment” opens onto a gated courtyard, with steps up to Upper Olivier. We’re situated about half way up the hill (they didn’t lie -- it’s very steep), with more dorms and classrooms above us and the dining hall and other parts of the village below.
The library might be the most beautiful and intriguing building I’ve ever been in. Formerly the boulangerie (bakery), it’s a three-story building divided into little rooms connected with winding and spiraling staircases. Each room is a bright contrast to the old stone walls, with modern furniture and splashes of fresh color. The main room in the library ends with what looks like a stone igloo -- what was once the oven. A tiny door opens to the space where four cozy reading chairs are nestled.
Looming above the village is the Chateau de Sade, once home to the Marquis de Sade. It is now owned by Pierre Cardin, who is known to make appearances around the village. A few of us explored our way up to the top last night, climbing the precarious stone path up to the field behind the chateau. From there it was as if you could see for miles in every direction -- Bonnieux across the valley, lighting up the night, and Apt to the north -- and stars that never seemed to end.
Today we took a walking tour of the village, despite the rain, as told by our resident gardener and poet. The village is full of history, including battles with the village across the valley (Bonnieux) in which “those bastards stole our bell!” Finn’s words, not mine. Apparently, a few hundred years ago, they came over in the night and stole the village’s bell from the bell tower, and it now rings daily from their tower. People seem to be very bitter about that still. Sir Tom Stoppard was a resident of the village until recently, and we might get to tour his house and gardens. John Malkovich lives in the valley below.
Tonight was the welcome dinner at the Café de Sade, one of the two cafés in town. The café is owned by Pierre Cardin, as are several of the other buildings in the village. The dinner was wonderful, and everyone seems to be settling in nicely. Tomorrow should be relaxed, and hopefully I can get internet access to update this. The internet here is very spotty, and the rain doesn’t seem to help. If the weather clears tomorrow, we should be doing a walking tour of the Luberon valley, which Lacoste overlooks.
Missing you all! Please email me and keep in touch :) My email is posted on the main page, but here as well: ariellerassel@gmail.com
