Rainy Paris Days and the Sunny South of France

After a month of clear, sunny skies, I'm getting my first glimpses of the iconic gray Paris I was anticipating before I came here. It's definitely feeling like fall, and I'm loving it! There hasn't been any torrential rain, just drizzly days, so it hasn't been too much of a pain getting to school and running errands and what not. I've also found another ideal rainy day place when Shakespeare & Co. is too crowded. It's called Angelina's, and they have the best hot chocolate I've ever tasted in my life. I wouldn't be surprised if I found out they made it by just melting chocolate chips then pouring it into a mug; that's how rich it is. I'm starting to drool just thinking about it...

The only issue I've had with the rainy days so far: it gets slippery!!! I completely wiped out one morning entering the metro station. Remember that game we all used to play as little kids where you would slide down the stairs on your butt? Yeah, that's basically what I did in a dress and tights in the middle of the Paris morning rush hour, but once I came to a rest at the bottom of the steps, a nice old woman helped me up, shook her head, and lamented with me, "La pluie, c'est horrible!" And shortly after I witnessed a woman looking very elegant in her black stilettos do the same thing I had, so I didn't feel as mortified. I guess I'll just think of it as a rite of passage.

Last Wednesday, Annie, Melanie, Jaci and I had another "family dinner." This was my turn to cook, so I decided to fall back on my mom's trusty old spaghetti and meatballs recipe. Needless to say, it was a hit, and it was nice to have a comforting meal that tasted like home! This week is Annie's responsibility, so that means she gets to do the dishes, too :)

On Friday and Saturday, we went on our first NYU-sponsored weekend trip to the south of France. We started off in Avignon, then went to Arles where we spent Friday night,  traveled to Nîmes on Saturday, and returned to Paris that night. It was a bit of a whirlwind, but we managed to see so much!

Friday morning we were supposed to meet at the Gare de Lyon, which is about half an hour from our residence, at 6:40. I set my alarm for 5, giving my plenty of time to pack, eat some breakfast and straighten up before leaving...at least that was the expectation. Reality? I woke up to my doorbell and my friend Ethan asking if I was awake. I looked at my phone and found that it was 6:15. OOPS.

I told my friends to go ahead and leave because I didn't want to make them late, and I rushed around my apartment like a madwoman throwing random clothing and a banana into my backpack, cursing myself for choosing the absolute worst day possible to oversleep. Miraculously, I made it to the train station only 10 minutes late, and the great mystery is that I somehow managed to beat my friends there. As soon as I caught my breath I realized I hadn't packed pajamas. Oh well. C'est la vie.

Our first stop was Avignon, a sleepy little town where the pope resided for about 70 years in the 12th century after t was "politely suggested" by the French king that the papacy be moved to France. We visited the papal palace then had free time to walk around the town center and get a coffee. 

Charming Avignon

View from a turret of the papal palace

The palace (now a museum) is also something of a gallery for local art...pretty cool! They host concerts during the summer in the main courtyard, too.

The palace had window seats galore, and my family will attest to my love of window seats, so I was quite envious of the papal digs.

Then, it was off to Arles! Our bus brought us right to the historic city center where we were let loose for lunch. Annie and I wandered down a side street and found a little restaurant with different types of homemade pasta. I had pesto tagliatelle with pine nuts and fresh tomatoes...fantastic! We met back up with the group for a walking tour through the Roman ruins and historic sites of Arles.

These three pictures are all the former theatre of the city. It was partially destroyed by orders of a ruler who decided the productions had become "too decadent" and were promoting immorality among his citizens. Thankfully, though, the basic structure remained and it has been partially rebuilt and still hosts concerts today. So now citizens of Arles can casually see performances in the same place as their 2000-year-old predecessors.

Amphitheater of Arles (fun fact...amphitheatre means double theatre because amphitheatres were designed as two of the traditional half-moon theatres put together. Sorry I'm a history nerd.) 

The subject of one of Vincent Van Gogh's paintings

Such a quaint town!

 We finished up our time in Arles with a fantastic dinner at the hotel and a brief walk around to settle our food and see the streets at night. Next stop: Nîmes!

The Pont du Gard, a former aqueduct just outside the city.

So beautiful!

The amphitheater of Nîmes is one of the best preserved

Les Quais de la Fontaine--all the city's water originally came from a single spring. They've upgraded since then, but it's still pretty.

The area surrounding the spring has now been turned into a public park....you can sort of see a wedding party in the very back. They were there taking pictures :)

Melanie and Annie looking like divas in their sunglasses at the Jardins de la Fontaine.

Part of the former city wall

And the view of Nîmes from the top.

All in all, a fantastic weekend!