Our first stop was Avignon, where we checked into our hotel, which was literally next door to the Palais des Papes (Palace of the Popes). We could see the castle out our window! We headed to the plaza in front of it for lunch, where we sat outside. It was lovely, but our lunch ended up being less than okay. It took over an hour for us to get our entrees, and then only four of us were served. It was about an hour and a half before everyone got food. I didn’t enjoy my meal, although other people did. We were all so hungry and annoyed by the time we got to eat! My dessert, however, almost made up for the rest of it. I had chocolate ganache with raspberries, raspberry sorbet and rose sauce, and it was probably one of the top three desserts I have had yet!
It was literally sweltering out by this point, probably the hottest weather I have experienced in Europe so far. We had a tour of the palace after lunch with a really nice and informative guide. The palace was constructed in 1355 when the area was part of the Roman Empire. It took eleven years to build in total, and it was in use for one hundred years, until the last pope decided to move to Rome, where the Italians rejected him and chose an Italian pope. He returned to France and the French continued to choose their own pope for a while, but it wasn’t the official pope. The palace was really pretty, lots of stone and tiles, as well as some great frescos. My favorite room was the dining room, which was humongous. It is barren today due to decay and reconstruction, but when it was in use, the ceiling was covered with midnight blue fabric shot through with gold thread made to resemble the night sky (Hogwarts, anyone?) and the floor was made of colored ceramic tiles, each with a different pattern or picture on them. When they ate, the Pope was the only one allowed to use a knife in case one of the guests decided to assassinate him with a butter knife. The people nearest to the Pope got to eat lots of food, and the portions got progressively smaller the further down the table you were. It was okay even for the people at the opposite end, though, because these meals lasted five to six hours and included about twenty-four dishes, most of them meat! I am not sure how that is possible. No wonder most of the Popes died of gout! We also got to see the kitchen, which boasts the largest chimney in the world! The popes favored barbecue, and on normal days without guests, at least three cows were roasted.
After our tour, we went back out into the blazing sun to walk up the hill to the gardens. They were quite large and so pretty! There was even a cave-y area with a fountain and mist, and there was an amazing view of the river with another castle in the distance. It was breathtaking and the gardens were beautiful with all their flowers. I would have loved to stay there for a while, but since it was closing soon, it was a million degrees outside and we all desperately needed a toilet and the service provided there consisted of a foul-smelling hole in the ground, we concluded that it might be a good idea to go back to the hotel.
the amazing view on the climb up to the garden
We had free time until dinner, so what else did we do but find the H&M? Of course! I had forgotten to bring any shorts with me, so I somewhat guiltily bought a pair, but they ended up being perfect so I was really glad I got them, especially since most of my pairs at home are quite old. We went back to the room to shower and freshen up before dinner and then we met downstairs to walk through the cobblestone streets to our restaurant.
It was a really cute place affiliated with the independent cinema housed next door and it had a lovely ambiance—as well as a good menu. I had a stew of artichoke and other vegetables that was similar to minestrone for my entrée and pasta with artichoke, sun-dried tomatoes and parmesan for my main dish, which actually resembled macaroni and cheese quite a bit! Dessert came in the form of an apple crumble, which is always delicious.
Dinner was so much fun. We hardly stopped laughing the entire time and we definitely didn’t let up talking. We talked about our stay here and how insane it is that it is almost over, and we just had fun. Our group is amazingly close and I feel so lucky to have come here with such a cohesive group of people. Nathalie is so great and we all get along so well. I felt like this dinner exemplified all the great things about this semester and we talked about how we’d grown and all become friends. It was so much fun, and we had a few laughing fits in the street on the way back. As Kathryn said, Michel is going to be surprised when he sees us and finds out what he created putting us together as a group!
The next morning we skipped town at nine o’clock, trading Avignon for Arles, which is also a former city of the Roman Empire and is, of course, where Van Gogh lived and painted. We had a guided tour of the city and got to go inside the coliseum, where we learned about gladiators. It was really interesting! We had free time after the tour, so we wandered around the huge market that was conveniently going on. I bought some delicious lavender soap and we had fun perusing all the wares as well as the tempting fresh produce and desserts.
We took the bus to Saint Marie de la Mer for lunch, which we ate right on the beach! Our restaurant was called La Playa del Sol, and it was literally on the Mediterranean. It even had little cabanas with thatched roofs. We all had salads, which was perfect for the weather and setting. I got a goat cheese salad, which had some delicious veggies on it and was pretty much perfect. We had crepes for dessert—mine was covered in house-made chocolate and raspberry jam. So good.
Then we went swimming! It had been cloudy off and on, but the sun obligingly came out as we splashed into the ocean. The water was surprisingly warm and we swam out pretty far. It was so much fun! I haven’t had a lot of experience with oceans in which you can actually swim and I enjoyed it so much. We were tanning and lamenting our short amount of time on the beach when it started raining! We made a run for the bus, and it was a good thing we didn’t decide to spend more time there because our hotel was incredible.
We drove to Aigues-Mortes, a tiny walled village where cars weren’t allowed! It was so cool. But our hotel was cooler. This was by far the best place we have ever stayed. The rooms were for four each, so Helen, Kathryn, Caroline and I shared, and it was amazing. The room was huge and the beds were more than luxurious, with down covers and pillows. There were two showers and fluffy bathrobes and slippers were provided. The dining room downstairs was beautiful and it led onto the breakfast terrace, which was equally lovely (I’ll let the photos speak for themselves!). The pool and Jacuzzi, however, were the best. It felt like we were in a resort!
Before jumping in, however, some of us decided to go into town to do a little souvenir shopping before the shops closed. I finally succeeded in finding presents for my friends back home after a semester-long search so I felt quite accomplished. ;) We hurried back to the hotel in order to have time for the pool, and spent the rest of the afternoon in the hot tub.
At dinner that night, we all tried to forget that it was the last dinner of our last excursion. The food is not worth mentioning as it was another one of those ambiguous vegetarian plates and our dessert of chocolate mousse even failed-- unbeknownst to us, it had orange flavoring in it and it tasted like soap. It was fun, though, as usual. I'm so grateful for all the wonderful ladies I got to share this experience with and feel so lucky for how close we have become.
After dinner, Emily and I reprised our spring break tradition of playing cards and then we all went to sleep in the luxurious feather beds. We seriously considered going on strike in the morning so that we would never have to leave the hotel but, for some strange reason, Nathalie didn't go for it. We ate breakfast on the terrace and it felt like a movie set. It was lovely!
Our ever-cheery driver then conducted us to Les Baux de Provence, a village at the summit of les Alpilles, the mountains (hills?) surrounding the area (Alpilles like little Alps). The view of the valley, cliffs and ancient castle was absolutely amazing. Despite its height, the entire area was once covered by ocean, so there are fossilized shells everywhere in the ground. Due to the climate, it is known as the Valley of Hell. Provence is host to an extremely strong and chilly wind that sweeps down from the Alps-- a wind so intense that there is a special name for it, mistral. It wasn't too bad for most of our trip, but we certainly got to experience mistral at les Baux!
The village was somewhat wall-surrounded and everything was made out of beautiful white stone. There were quaint shops and restaurants up and down the streets and, at the top of the hill, the sprawling ruins of the Castle of the Baux of Provence. The entire area was a medieval village and the castle boasted lots of illustrated scenes in order to help us better imagine the town in its prime.
The castle was definitely the best part. Amy, Kathryn, Dani, Helen and I explored it for about an hour. There was an amazing view from the edges and a few cool towers. Pretty wildflowers surrounded it, and we even found a couple of secret passageways. There were also some relics like catapults and wooden stocks.
The stairs to get to the towers were almost vertical and the pathways were very narrow-- at one point we were basically along the edge of a cliff pressed against a wall! As you might imagine, this was a not-unchallenging feat with the mistral keeping us company. We estimated that the winds were around thirty miles per hour, and at one point I was literally blown over-- luckily there was a boulder right next to me and so I just sat down on it until the gust passed. It was quite an exhilarating adventure!
We had lunch after that, our actual last meal, where I had yet another chevre salad (good thing I like goat cheese-- it was my third in two days) and... another fraise melba! Best ice cream dish in the world. And then it was off to the train station in Avignon for our trip back. This time we really did want to grève, or strike, as is the custom of the French. We tried to convince Nathalie that it would make more sense for her to tell Puget Sound that we were all very skilled at French and thus did not need to take our final exams and that it would be much more prudent for us to stay in Provence for the next three weeks, but unfortunately it did not work. After briefly considering making a picket line in the bus, we sadly gave up.
In sum, yet another lovely excursion (with the wonderful Nathalie to thank for it)! I am starting to feel repetitive, but I had so much fun and it was a great break. Coming up next, weekend in Spain with Amber! And just so your mind can be as completely boggled by the passing time as mine is right now, Spain will be followed by three days of classes (including three exams), during which one of our professors from Puget Sound, Michel, will arrive for a visit (we got to see Steve, another professor, tonight!)! We'll have that weekend with him, including a petit excursion to a nearby castle, and then finals week will commence. This means we'll have tests Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, we'll freak out a lot on Thursday, and on Friday my parents arrive! Don't ask me how this happened because I don't know. Oh, and we have ten final exams to study for in the next two weeks. Ten. Don't ask me in what world that is acceptable or normal because I really don't know. Even though I am starting to feel ready to go back, I am still so in love with this program and this place. I am continually so glad and grateful that I got to do this, and the next few weeks are going to be crazy getting ready to leave!
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