On Friday, we left extremely early. Good thing I got blackout the night before and didn't pack until the morning of leaving and had no alarm clock. It was struggle-city, population: me, even before getting on the bus. Unfortunately, the twins had to go back to USA for a week for a funeral, leaving me to fend for myself. Anyways I managed to get comfy on the bus, pass out, and before we knew it we were in Avignon. Avignon is a very cute town. Our first touristy site was the Palais des Papes, which was the Pope's Palace. It was actually very cool, the only thing I learned was that it was built in under 20 years and that the Pope was the only person allowed to eat with knifes. The Pope's chamber was beautiful, with colored mosaic tiles and paintings on the wall, however we weren't allowed to take pictures of it. After, we left for our next site, the Pont du Gard. The Pont du Gard was amazing. A lot of jumping pictures were taken on the bridge. We explored more and found an old grotto where cave men lived. We ventured to play in the water, where I learned I am the world's worst rock skipper. We were entertained by throwing huge rocks in the water to try and splash Mark, which got really sketchy when they got really dangerously close to him. After playing at the Pont du Gard we left for our hotel in Arles. We stayed at Hotel Constantin and watched some weird commercials before dinner. By the time dinner arrived, we were starving. I don't think anyone realizes the extent of our hunger. We went to a small restaurant, le Saxo or something like that. We were given the BEST SALAD for the appetizer, and I kid you not it was the best salad ever. We literally cleaned the plates. After dinner, we wondered through the town and went to an Australian-type bar where I iced Mark once again. Sucks to suck. Day 2: "Something's Happening"
The next morning, we wanted to explore Arles for a little so Katie, Rachel, Kayla, and I ate breakfast and left the hotel. We had crossed the street and a shopping frenzy came over me when we spotted shoes for only 5 EUROS. The market was great, I got a blazer, shoes, and a top for only 25 euros. Shopaholics dream. After shopping, we got back on the bus and headed for the next site, the Arena and Theater. There's not much to say about it besides of how old they are and the amount of planking done at the sites. Then we got back on the bus and headed to the town of Aigues Mortes. It's a town that is walled in. We got lunched and wondered around the town. Then we all got on a boat for a tour around the city. No one told us how hot and boring it was going to be. It was like taking a boat down the Mississippi, with the occasional wild horse or herd of bulls. Then the boat stopped in the middle of nowhere and we had to get off and were welcomed by 3 cowboys/girl and waited for some show to start. The show consisted of the cowboys rounding up bulls into a yard and then escorting them out one by one... Then we got back on the boat and headed back to the port. On the way, we saw a bunch of house boats which reminded me of the Chad in Charlie's Angels. After, we got settled into our hotels, got ready, and went out to dinner. Side-note about the hotel, the keys were impossible to figure out. They really need to fix that. At dinner, I sat with Katie, Rachel, Emily, and Lizzy. I decided to try some weird stuff at this meal so I had oysters and mussels for the appetizer and a as raw as it gets piece of bull meat. Emily, who is a vegetarian, also tried something fairly new because her dish had meat in it but it definitely wasn't suppose to. Whoops. After dinner, we headed to a park and played some drinking games. Turrets was played and also 10 fingers. A little tipsy, I was trying to think of a never have I ever statement when all of a sudden I felt something in my hand... A Smirnoff Ice. Thanks Mark. Then we went back to the hotel where we hung out in one of the rooms. Being the typical Bennie, I wanted to eat some chips. When I grabbed it, there was an Ice in the bag. Twice in a night, very impressive Marky.Day 3: Giant Playground
On our last day in Provence, we stopped at Les Baux, which was one of the coolest sites. It's kind of like France's own Grand Canyon. We hiked around the castle, climbed up huge stairs, and took in some breathtaking views. At the top of a tower, I wanted to attempt to do a planking picture so I gave my purse to someone. When I got my purse, SURPRISE, yet another Ice. Definitely not mad about getting Iced at the top of a tower though. After, we shopped around town. The Provence region had the cutest blankets and there were stores and stores full of them. We ate lunch at a restaurant, where I had my first savory crepe. Then, we made the bus ride back to Cannes. Overall it was a great trip. Traveling has been probably my favorite thing to do while in Europe, obviously. I've been really bad updating my blog sooooo coming up next is stories of Monaco, Eze, Nice, London, and Paris. xo, jennifer
