Summer 2018, I spent a semester in Lacoste, an endearing little cobbled town in the south of France, perched on a hillside, which wound into the steep valley below. Perched at its peak sat the Château de Lacoste, the former home of Marquis de Sade, writer, philosopher, and whom coined the term, "Sadist,"; the castle cast a shadow which loomed over this unassuming town. Like a family secret, or a picture frame that covers a crack in the wall. The neighbouring towns all bore their own unique magnificence, a deep and sensuous flavour only time and history could simmer into its land and its people. Lacoste was a perfect blend of beauty and melancholy, and left me in a sobering state of wonder and introspection.