"Sur le Pont d'Avignon, on y danse, on y danse..."

This past weekend, Emily and I ventured through Provence. I finally have a picture of us together! That way you know that I didn't just make her up, she exists.

 Emily and me by the Cours Mirabeau in Aix

Anyway, we were quite busy. We went to Avignon, Arles, & Aix, and visited Les Baux, the Pont du Gard (left), the Cathedrale d'Images, and a winery in Chateauneuf du Pape. Some of the best wine in France comes from that area. Chateauneuf du Pape is named so because there used to be a chateau there where the Pope would go when he needed to escape from Avignon for a while. The chateau was destroyed, but they still make great wine, some of which we  were able to taste.

In Avignon we visited the Palais des Papes (top right) and walked on the Pont d'Avignon. We also stayed at a hotel right next to the Palais which also used to be an old manor house. In Arles (bottom right) we saw an old Roman coliseum and amphitheater and ate lunch from the amazing market there. Also, we saw the "Cafe de la Nuit," from the Van Gogh painting. Oddly enough though, non of Van Gogh's paintings are in Arles anymore. In Les Baux is an old chateau/castle, cute shops, and the most amazing view of southern Provence. You can actually see the sea! In Aix, we had a short tour, visited a cathedral, visited the Musee Granet where some of Cezanne's works are, and enjoyed the beautiful weather. Aix is really beautiful town! It's not too big, but has a big student population and is very lively at night. The Cathedrale d'Images, is an old cave sort of thing that this one couple bought and now use as an art display for various artists/directors. It changes every few months and can feature any number of themes. It uses projections of images and videos onto the walls and floors of the "caves" accompanied by music. It was quite strange and beautiful. The display we saw included elements of Australian culture, including animals, flowers, the Aboriginals, old artwork, and the modern Australian city.

Besides her trip to Provence, Emily has been spending her time continuing to explore Grenoble, hiking in the Vercors, eating lots of delicious French ice cream, studying French, writing postcards, drinking hot chocolate in cafes, and turning 21! For her birthday, she and her study abroad friends ate at a Mexican restaurant in Grenoble. She said it was good, but not very Mexican.