Provence

Sorry for the delay between posts, the study part of studying abroad caught me with a few mid-terms and a presentation. All went well :)

This past weekend was pre-planned by my study abroad program and spent in the lovely and scenic Provence area. We were on the bus by 7:30 am to go to Arles, famous for the painting Cafe Terrace at Night by Vincent Van Gogh and for the remains of a Roman amphitheater and theater.

The Roman Amphitheater and Theater were also very interesting. Apparently, the amphitheater was designed so that different social classes would never have to mix on the way to their seats, as the entrances all lead to different expense levels of seating.

Theater and Amphitheater respectively.




We then visited a medieval castle stronghold in Les Baux de Provence. The view from the top of the 245 m high plateau was truly fantastic.

From Les Baux de Provence we traveled to the beautiful walled city of Avignon, home of the Pope's Palace. There is a Pope's Palace in Avignon because of some conflict between French royalty and Roman Pope Boniface VIII. The full story is quite interesting. I found that Wikipedia summed up our tour guide's explanation nicely, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avignon_Papacy.
The Pope's Palace was still quite a sight despite the many fires, destruction attempts, and prison usage it has endured.

Also, it is apparently possible to hold large-scale  receptions within the palace as we observed a large queue of nicely-dressed people walk into the front doors of the palace ushered in by a band and fire performer. Just in case you really need a venue for something...

After Avignon we went to visit the Pont du Guard, a Roman aqueduct built over 2000 years ago. The Aqueduct was originally 31 miles long and was still water tight up until about 900 years ago. Once again, we had beautiful weather. 

Last but not least on our excursion we had wine tasting at a vineyard in Chateauneuf-du-Pape. (Yes, another location associated with French popes. The first vines there were planed in the 13th century by some wine-loving popes). We enjoyed the finer points of two glasses of red, and one glass of white wine. 

Starting this Saturday the 25th is my Spring Break! Stories and pictures to come in early March. I'll be visiting Paris, Edinburgh, London, and Amsterdam!