Weekend en Provence

I took my first voyage outside of the city this weekend for our group visit to Provence. It was a wonderful, very active trip.

We spend the first day in Aix-en-Provence. The weather was beautiful, still chilly but sunny... a nice change from the endless rain in Paris. For lunch we bought cheese, fruit and baguettes and just sat outside enjoying the fresh country air. Aix was the hometown of Paul Cezanne, so we visited his atelier (studio) which has been preserved to look like it would when he worked there. Very interesting, and the house is surrounded by a beautiful garden. That night we had a group dinner in an amazing Provencal restaurant. It was another 3 course menu paid for by the school, so we ate an obscene amount of food. The appetizer was by far the best part of the meal: fresh mozzarella and tomatoes with lavender olive oil.

Saturday we had a whirlwind tour of some of Provence's most popular sights. We started by visiting Baux de Provence, an old Roman village and castle ruins. It's definitely just a tourist spot (the village's population is 20, probably all employees) but it's perched on top of a hill, so the view of the Provence countryside was amazing. Next we stopped in Arles (once home of Van Gogh and Gauguin) where we had lunch at the local outdoor market and visited the Arenes, a small Roman coliseum that is still used today for bull fights. Afterwards we went to the Pont du Gard, one of the oldest and best preserved Roman aqueducts. It was pretty neat because we were able to walk along the entire inside of the Pont where the water used to run.

Finally we ended the day in Avignon, where we spend our second night. Avignon is a very charming town, all enclosed in old castle walls. Our hotel was right in the heart of town, so that night we just walked around to some local bars. It was definitely interesting to see the difference in personality between Paris and the south of France. It's definitely true that the stereotype of the French as stuck-up and cold only comes from Paris, because everyone is much more friendly and welcoming in the south.

Sunday we visited the Palais de Papes, which is where the Pope lived briefly during the 14th century before moving permanently to Rome. It was a very beautiful building with some interesting displays and we had a wonderful guided tour. Afterwards, we visited the popular indoor market, Les Halles, and we bought some fresh food to have for lunch in a beautiful nearby garden.

Sunday afternoon was absolutely beautiful and the temperature rose to 60 degrees! I hadn't felt anything like that since leaving California. None of us wanted to go back to cold, wet Paris. It's continuing to rain today, there was even a moment earlier where it was snowing/hailing. I just keep crossing my fingers that spring will come soon, and I'll be able to experience the sun in Paris like I did in Provence...