Weekend in Provence

This weekend we had our only overnight trip with BU. Woke up at 6h00 on Saturday and were on the bus by 7h30. We had a two hour ride, and most people just passed out. But I doodled with my excellent pens (I will rave about them later) and then Andrew lent me the book No Country For Old Men, which he had been talking about non-stop. I read 100 pages or so before we got to Arles.

In Arles, we dropped our stuff off at the really cute hotel and then walked to the market. I bought some Christmas gifts and we bought some fresh fruit, bread and potatoes for our delicious picnic lunch. I really wanted to buy a hunk of cheese, but had no idea how to go about it, since everything was priced by kg.

After the picnic, we went on a tour, led by Patrice and Marie-Eve.

We saw some ancient Roman ruins, walked past the amphitheater to this overlook with a view of the city below, which was really nice. And then we walked into the amphitheater where they were having a photo shoot for the Arles historical society. It was pretty cool, a bunch of guys dressed up as gladiators, a toreador and some women in traditional dress.

After this, we continued walking around and Patrice showed us some scenes that Van Gogh painted. We stopped at La Cafe La Nuit, which Van Gogh painted and had a drink. After the church we went to the cloitre. You're going to have to read Sam's blog to find out, I guess. It was very pretty and I wish I knew more about it, but Saturday was just not a good day for history lessons.

After this we went back to the hotel, where Monica, Sam, Anna and I were sharing a room. Anna left to go to mass and Sam and Monica and I just lay there for our two hour break, resting. Monica wasn't feeling well either and Sam was exhausted, so it was very very nice.

When it was time to go out for dinner, I still wasn't feeling that great, but once we started eating I felt a lot better. I ordered this magnificent duck cooked in honey sauce, because I'd never eaten duck before. It was wonderful and I'm definitely going to start ordering it when we go out.

After dinner Monica and I were tres fatigue and so we returned to the hotel while Sam and Anna went out. We both took nice, long showers and then crawled into bed to watch some excellent French television (I lie, it was a dubbed episode of Extreme Home Makeover ). As soon as the other two returned (around midnight, not too too late, don't worry!) we went to sleep.

The next morning, we woke up early to go get breakfast early, only to find out that breakfast didn't open until 8h00. We hung around for half an hour and then went back down a little before 8h00, and there was food (albeit not a lot).

After breakfast, we piled onto the bus and drove an hour and a half to Stes. Maries de la Mer, a little village in the Camargue (France's vast swamp land). Everyone save Andrew (who doesn't like horses either) and Julia L (who broke her arm Friday riding her bike) went horseback riding. The three of us (plus Marie-Eve and Patrice) were then driven to the center of the town, where we split up: Andrew went to mass, Julia went to go sit down at a cafe because her leg/arm/entire being was in pain and I went with Patrice and Marie-Even to the beach.

The water was wonderful! I dipped my feet in and immediately regretted not bringing my bathing suit. I picked up a few shells (souvenirs from the Mediterranean!) and chatted with Patrice and Marie-Eve for a few minutes before heading off to wander around the little streets in the village. I bought a bunch of Christmas gifts and then met up with everyone at a cafe. We sat there for a while, waiting to see if Andrew had gotten out of church yet, and then I decided to a little more wandering. In about 40 minutes we met up again and headed back to pick up the horse people.

Apparently it all went well-- the people who were more experienced riders had a great time, but some of the first-timers were not too happy. Also Clare got thrown off, so she was a little shaken. But luckily she was fine physically.

Then we all returned to the town where we bought lunches and the picnicked on the beach. It was wonderful. After eating we dipped our toes in and then got some delicious ice cream. I got 3 scoops (they were small, don't judge!): 1 scoop "brownie", 1 scoop "cookies" and 1 scoop "Bounty" (a delicious coconut and chocolate candy). You're so jealous.

After devouring our ice cream, the group went to see the shrine to Ste. Sarah in the town's really creepy church. Here's the deal with this town: Old French legends say that the three Ste. Marys who witnessed the crucifixion of Jesus set sail from Egypt after his death. They supposedly landed in Stes. Maries de la Mer (although it probably wasn't named that at the time) and many people have made pilgramages to this site and miracles have happened, etc. That's great, but who, you may ask, is Ste. Sarah? Some legends say that she was the (dark-skinned) daughter of Mary Magdalene, but most likely she was an Egyptian servant of the three saints, who became the patron saint for the gypsies. The roma people make pilgramages once a year to the site and
there's a pretty creepy statue of her in the crypt.

After this, we left. Everyone was sore from horseback riding and exhausted. As soon as we sat down on the bus, I felt so sleepy, but Andrew said, "Your mision, should you choose to accept it, is to finish this book before we get home." Now, I don't know about you but when someone uses those words, I take it seriously. Also the book was really good and I did want to see what happened. It only took me two hours to finish, and then I spent the rest of the ride chatting with Andrew about books and tv shows.

And then we were home! Oh miracle of miracles! I could finally get into my pajamas, crawl under my covers and drift-- oh wait, no. Just kidding. I had a bunch of homework that I had put off all weekend. So I trudged through that and then went to sleep.

More pictures of this lovely weekend in Provence can be found here.