MHS Travel Club: Recap Day 3 (Part 1)

Bonjour tous! We just surpassed 5,000 views on this blog, more than 1,500 views since we left on Thursday! Very exciting to think so many people are following what our kids are doing.

We had a very very very early wakeup call this morning, made all the moreso because of the change in Daylight Savings Time here last night. So after our 5:30 wakeup calls, we headed down to breakfast, then on to the bus for a short ride to the Gare de Lyon in Paris.

At the train station on the platform

The TGV was introduced in the 1980s, it is still the fastest train in the world and can reach speeds of 350 mph on certain lines. Our line speed average was about 185 mph. The train was very nice and comfortable, though it was a fun sight to see all of us lugging our baggage on to the train and up the stairs. Several other student groups were also traveling on this train so luggage space was hard to come by. However the kids were very mellow from being so tired and I think everyone snoozed most if not all of the trip to the south of France.

The Ramparts

In Avignon we again had to hurriedly get off the train while managing our luggage, then out of the station into the sunshine and a temperature much warmer than Paris. We met our bus driver for the next few days, José Miguel, who is from Madrid. We drove into the city center, about 10 minutes. We got off at one of the outer gates of Avignon. The city is along the Rhone river, and is the Provence region of France. It is well known for lavender, which blooms in June and July, and the cooking oils and spices of the region (Herbes de Provence).

Avignon's other claim to fame is as a "City of Popes" when the papacy moved here in the 1300s for about 120 years during the split in the Catholic church. The palace were the pope lived is still standing and in very good condition, though the interior was ransacked and gutted during the French Revolution. The ramparts around the city center are also still preserved and it is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Palace of the Popes

So we walked from the ramparts up into the Place de l'Horloge (Times Square), which has a delightful carousel and is rimmed by cafés and shops. The kids were automatically in love with the town, it has a much slower pace and feel than Paris and you could feel the stress and hurry of the last 2 days in Paris seeping out of them as they enjoyed the sunshine. We gave them almost 2 hours to stroll the square and find lunch. Many had pizza, others grabbed sandwiches from the carts and everyone found something to eat. Several students decided to ride the carousel, and other shopped for scarves from a merchant lady who has sold scarves there for the last 35 years. She picked out scarves for each student based on their coloring and taught them how to tie them in the French fashion. We posed for lots of pictures in front of the Hotel de Ville (which is the town hall, not an actual hotel). Then a short walk up hill to the Palais des Papes, the Palace of the Popes.

Palace of the Popes

The square in front of Palace of the Popes

One of many lavender boutiques

We did not go inside the Palace, because there's not much to see, but it is a huge complex fortified and built in stone. The kids peeked in some doors and took pictures and then we met back on a square. More shopping (of course, these kids love to shop!) and then we paused to watch a street performer. He had painted himself brown and was enrobed and stood on a pylon still until someone dropped money in his basket. The kids had a ball dropping in money and then posing behind him for pictures. It's the little things in life :)

Then we walked down hill past more shops, more Euros spent, and then out to the Pont d'Avignon. This bridge is famous from a French traditional song, which Lotte and Lynda sang for us. It was built in the late 1100s and had 22 arches spanning the Rhone river. It fell into disrepair, was damaged by a flood and now only has 4 of the original arches. We took pictures, including introducing Lotte to the "duckface" photo tradition popular with American teens right now. Then back to the bus for a quick hop back to the hotel.

Doing the "duck face" with Lotte

Our hotel is very nice, our room is quite spacious especially compared to European standards and is quite modern. I think we will spend a pleasant two nights here. We have given the students some down time to "chill" and recharge phones and cameras and then will meet to head back into city center about 5:30 and do more shopping (after they find an ATM - several are already running low on Euros) and then have dinner in the city.

Tomorrow we are headed to Nimes, an important city in France during the Roman Empire. We'll also do some more touring of Provence before returning to Avignon for the night. If I have more to report after dinner, I'll do another recap, otherwise you can expect more short hits as we continue our adventures.

Your students are doing great, they are LOVING the smaller town and pace of life in southern France. They have decided their euros will go further for an apartment here instead :)