I'm combining these trips so that, at long last, I won't be behind on my blogging anymore. (Just kidding - because I started this blog probably a week ago, but due to slow interwebz, I didn't finish it). For at least a little while, anyway. Donc. Side note: there's a bee trying to enter my room right now - I closed the windows in hopes that he wouldn't realize there are some more open windows just a little ways away...
Back to Provence. Provence is a region of France:
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| Voilà! Provence. |
Coincidentally, it is also the region I already live in. However, for our trip we went further inland to the cities of: Arles, Tarascon, Châteauneuf du Pape, and finally Avignon. The following day we went to La Fontaine de Vaucluse. We got to Arles and had a tiny bit of time to wander the market. I love outdoor markets, I'm going to miss them so much when I get back to the States. From there we went to see two Roman ruins, a theatre and a something-else. Again, I apologize for the lack of details. I have no memory anymore, apparently. We also ate our sack lunches at the theatre, so I've now eaten in some Roman ruins. Ta da!
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| We also saw this - modeled to look like the place where Van Gogh used to hang out |
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| Some really old stuff |
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| Note the exit signs |
A little history on Van Gogh and Arles. Arles is where Van Gogh first met Gaugain. Gaugain's brother basically sent him to keep Van Gogh company, poor guy. They got along well for a little while, and it was Van Gogh's idea to form an artistic community. However, the two fought and that's when Van Gogh lost part of his ear. The question remains: was it Van Gogh who cut off his own ear, or was it Gaugain? We may never know.
From Arles we went to a castle in Tarascon, home to a terrible monster of French lore, known as the Tarasque. It seems to be some sort of cross between sea creature and armadillo. The castle was pretty cool - much better than the ruins, in my opinion.
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| Tarasque de Tarascon - be afraid |
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| Another castle very close by |
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| The roof had these slits in it - a little worrying |
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| Totally scratched my elbow on these |
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| Look at them long hairs |
Following Tarascon we went to Châteauneuf du Pape for a wine tasting, then had time to explore their museum.
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| Grape-squashing barrels |
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| Old bottles |
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| Old, dusty bottles |
Then we finally made it to Avignon - where we spent the night. We slept in a hotel right next to the Palais des Papes, which is where one of the popes lived when there were three of them. Weird. I don't know the whole story, so you should just google it or something.
We wandered Avignon to do some shopping and then had dinner in the hotel with the rest of AIFS. I got served eggplant with tomato sauce on it, which was okay the first time, as an appetizer, but then it was also my main course. Seriously, the exact same dish. I was sad. But then Aude got really mad, because they told her that they had stuff for vegetarians and they made us macaroni and cheese. Hah. It was good, though.
The following day we went to the Pont d'Avignon, which looks like half a bridge, and then to the Palais des Papes, followed by some free time for lunch.
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| Avignon from my hotel window |
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| Pont d'Avignon |
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| ...I don't know what this is... |
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| Preeeeetty |
From there we drove to La Fontaine de Vaucluse, which was a beautiful natural spring.
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| Awesome roots |
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| Must be the last of the season! |
Basically, I never wanted to leave. It was so pretty and such a nice day. The French have also all wheeled out their granita machines (slushies) and I got a GIANT strawberry one. Summer has arrived.
I also moved again! I began in 213, moldy room, then went to 99, single room, and I now inhabit 402 (shout out to Nebraska), which has a gorgeous view of the sea.
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| Aaaahhhh |
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| Same decorations - awesome new view |
Last weekend we went to Grasse, which is the perfume capital of the world. We got to create our own perfume and went on tours of Fragonard's factory. The creation was a disaster. It was kind of like being back in Chemistry class, which I enjoyed, but what we ended up with did not smell good at all. What we did was add different chemicals together to create a violet-like smell. It smells disgusting. But moving on. The tour was pretty cool and we learned that it takes 1000 kilos of flowers to make 1 kilo of scent. Quite a few flowers. We also tested our noses to see if we could identify certain smells. There are people called "noses" who work for perfumeries and other companies in order to create new perfumes. There are only about 50 in the world, and they go to school in Paris or Grasse for 2 years, then have an apprenticeship for 7. Think of how much they must get paid! But sorry, ladies, it's a man-only job. Apparently our hormones screw up our sense of smell? Quel dommage. We ended our tour in their sales room where we tested a couple of perfumes before we were set loose. I ended up getting one called "Juste un Baiser" (just a kiss) which totally smells like candy. It's delicious.
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| Stuff to smell |
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| Chemistry all over again |
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| I have awesome skills with a camera |
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| Different perfumes |
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| Bottles of perfume to sell |
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| Different scents |
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| Final Product |
