It has been an exciting last couple of days in Aix!
On Sunday, we woke up early to take a bus to Avignon. Luckily for us, there was a theater festival happening while we were there, and the streets of this little medieval town were full of musicians, performers, and artists alike. Everywhere, people in costumes were handing out flyers for shows that would be going on at different hours throughout the day in the many theaters of the town. The first thing we did when we got there, however, was visit the Palais des Papes. This was an enormous and ancient palace, which housed 9 popes at different times throughout history. After this, we were free until dinner time. We split up to see the town of Avignon. A couple of friends and I went straight to the Pont d’Avignon. We stood on the bridge, reading about its history and singing the song “Sur le Pont d’Avignon“. After this, we walked around and watched street performances until it was time to meet again for dinner. The group ended up having dinner at the home of a friend of one of our counselors. This quaint little dinner in their garden was one of my favorite of this trip.
Monday, we began class again. In the afternoon, the four art students took a bus to the place where the famous artist Cezanne painted the Mount Saint Victoire. The outdoor painting environment provided us with the ideal setting for practicing our impressionistic painting style. After this, we had cooking groups, in which we made kebabs and salad. It was one of the best meals we have made so far. After this, we prepared for Lizzy’s birthday and ate cake.
On Tuesday, the afternoon consisted of a choice between going to the pool or doing a photography workshop with Agathe. We then ate a dinner of salad, bread and tapenade, and duck galettes in a famous restaurant of Aix. After this, students went to a cafe in order to practice more French.
All in all, we’ve been having an awesome and extremely busy time here in Aix. -Kristen
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