Emmie H.:
I woke up this morning in a deep melancholy for I knew I was saying Au' voir Paris, but boy was I in for a treat. We took a train to the beautiful medieval city of Avignon where we spent lunch. We were taken back in time as we wandered around the streets of this stone fortress. But once again we said goodbye to a fabulous city and were on to another. Point tu Gard is a magical place that must be something out of a dream, a river with a Roman aqueduct. As in the Romans, like ancient Romans, built the aqueduct. As I swam through the deep river with my friends and looked up at the ancient stones that were forged into a structure by pure brilliance and man power, I realized how small I was in this world. But, at the same time it seems as all my insignificant problems were washed away in the river as my mind focused in on older, more meaningful things. After we drove to our hotel in Orange and had a nice dinner and then walked to another astounding Ancient Roman accomplishment. A Roman amphitheater in the middle of this quaint French town. We ended the night swaying to a Jazz concert in the middle of the streets, mesmerized by the universal language of rhythm and sound. The older things get around you, the smaller your problems seem.
Matt G.:
Leaving Paris today on the TGV in the morning had made me sad because of what we were leaving behind. However what was to come had made me even more excited because we were going to Avignon. Once we had arrived, we went to the markets in Avignon to grab some lunch(Which in reality was just chocolate ice cream for me). While we were there we also went to see the palace of the popes which was very big in order to show the popes might in the area. Then a short drive out of Avignon, we arrived at the Roman aqueducts. Since the aqueducts went over a river, we were able to swim under them to see some pretty interesting sights.these aqueducts stretched hundreds of feet into the sky, which makes you wonder, how did the Romans build these?. There were also some rocks around the aqueducts,which to me was the perfect opportunity to jump off of into the river below. After swimming we went to our hotel to eat and have desert, however we decided it would be best to go out and get gelato to eat instead. Walking back we encountered a French jazz band that I had no idea what they were saying when singing but I really didn't care it was good music. Now we retreated back to our hotel to be prepared for another busy but fun day in Provence.
Alyssa P.:
We woke up early today in Paris to get onto a train to Avignon. Once in Avignon we visited The Palace of the Popes where we spent about two hours just walking around the little squares, shops, and cafes. While these were really cute and much different from those in which you would ever see in the U.S., I personally enjoyed Point tu Gard with the Roman aqueduct the most. We drove through more of a hilly countryside with little grape plants dotting the sides of the roads until we finally arrived. I am not exactly sure how to describe the aqueduct, but it is almost as though you are walking through a simple forest and randomly come across the Golden Gate bridge or something. My reaction must have been something similar to the way that novelist Henry James describes how one stands gazing at the aqueduct with the simple, "feel that it is noble and perfect, that it has the quality of greatness..." The whole thing sort of glows in the sunlight as if there is a spotlight always on it, drawing your attention and demanding to be admired. I know that we have seen Versailles, the Louvre, Westminster Abbey, and countless other pieces of perfection, but none of them quite caught me like the aqueduct did. Later, when a group of us were swimming, it was amazing to look up to actually see this structure that the Romans had built hundreds and hundreds of years before any of us were alive. At home our roads barely last a few years in the snow before getting cracked and patched back up, but this is still standing.
Alana L.:
This morning we woke up and sadly left Paris but went to beautiful Avignon. Once we arrived and got off the train we were able to have free time for lunch. There were immediate differences between the busy streets in Paris to the quiet streets in Avignon. There were many shops and cafés to go to but first I went into the palace of the popes and saw where they stayed during the great schism which was very interesting. After having lunch and waking through the many shops we left to go to the Roman aqueduct. This was my favorite part of the day and it was so amazing to be able to walk across and swim under the the huge display of Roman achievement. Many people swam, explored, and tanned by the river underneath for hours. The weather was great and it was so nice to relax and cool off in the river. Finally we walked around the small city, got ice cream, and watched a jazz performance before returning to the hotel. It was a great way to end our first day in Provence.
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