So we had a fun 3-hour train ride where we got to see a lot of French country side and experience the TVG.
The first stop for our adventures was Arles. It was sunny and really warm!!
Arles was a Roman city, and we saw the ruins for the old Amphitheatre and Theater. It was so neat. I think ruins are so cool, I dunno why. After the ruins we had some free time, so I went to the market with Jessica, Willa, and Sarah J. It was torture to go before lunch, because there was so much food and so many spices, and it all smelled delightful. We all got a few provence gifts for people, along the lines of lavender and kitchen-y stuff. :)
Lunch was provided by Sweet Briar, we went to a restaurant and they served us chicken with vegetables. Then more free-time, which meant more walking around in the now hot sunshine and more shopping. And sitting outside with ice cream people watching. And we saw the old church.
After Arles was Pont du Gard, which is an old roman aqueduct. And since it was over a river, there were people outside swimming! A few people waded in the water, one person accidentally got her jeans soaked, and another person swam.
That night we got to stay in an Abbey, l'Abbaye Saint-Michel de Frigolet, which was SWEET. It was up in the hills and there was nothing really nearby. There were hiking paths though, so Jess and I went on a hike before dinner, and it was GORGEOUS. We got to the top of this one hill, and we were talking kind of loudly, when I was like, "Hey.. listen!" So we did. And it was silent. Like, you could faintly hear a bird chirp, or an insect once in a while but otherwise... just quiet. So we just stood there listening to the nothingness and watching the sun go down, and it was amazing. And it reminded me just how noisy my life really is. Jeez.
At dinner we had pasta and gross wine, and we learned french drinking songs. Haha. It got a little obnoxious after awhile though. After dinner, Willa, Sarah J., Jess and I played egyptian rat screw and stayed up late. Aaaaand that night was the time change.
The next day we had an early breakfast of croissants, yogurt, and hot drinks. Then we departed for Les Baux, which is my new favorite location in France. Seriously, I thought it was sooo gorgeous. It was really windy, and up in the sort-of mountains, so it was really rocky. But the village of Les Baux was about half-way up the mountain, and it was so neat! And we got to see some 11th century ruins. But seriously, that town/area of Provence was my favorite.
Our last location was Avignon, which I didn't find as exciting as Les Baux, even though it was soooooo much bigger (it was actually a city, not a little village). We saw the Palais des Papes (Popes), and the PONT D'AVIGNON! So of course there was a dance party. Yesss. We (Willa, Jess, Sarah and I) got a little lost finding the bridge though, so we didn't have a lot of time for our dance party and had to RUN back to the bus haha. Then our lightning-fast trip to Provence was pretty much over and we went to the train.
The train ride back was really fun. And it was neat watching the weather get worse and worse until we were in Paris and had to go back in the pouring rain. Hahaha.
I'd move to Provence. It's so pretty.
If you're confused about why we had to dance on Pont d'Avignon:
So there's this french song called Sur le pont d'Avignon (On the Avignon Bridge) and it goes like this:
Chorus:
Sur le pont d’Avignon
On y danse, on y danse
Sur le pont d’Avignon
On y danse tout en rond
(on the Avignon bridge/ we dance there, we dance there/ on the Avignon bridge/ we all dance there in a ring)
1:
Les belles dames font comm’ ça
Et puis encore comm’ ça.
2:
Les beaux messieurs font comm’ ça
Et puis encore comm’ ça.
3:
Les militaires font comm’ ça
Et puis encore comm’ ça
4:
Les musiciens font comm’ ça
Et puis encore comm’ ça.
And it's just all these people dancing on the bridge. Wahoo! It's a folk song, so there might be slight variations in the lyrics, but the idea is the same.
Sitting in Arles:
Les Baux!
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