Le Jour Onze (Day 11)

Dude. Paris wore us out. With four hours of sleep once again, we woke up super early (6:30), checked out of our room, checked in with our T.A. (sweet Brady), and pigged out at breakfast. I was sad to have that chocolate cereal for the last time; I wish we had that in the good ol’ states. Oh well! With three hats on my head (so they don’t get squished, of course), my large T shirt, Nike shorts, and chacos, I was ready for another long (10 hour) bus ride to Avignon! My friend Garrett (who is the blond dude in all my pictures) told me I was wearing my booger shirt; apparently it’s a bit dirty. Don’t be too embarrassed mom, he always picks on me, and I don’t think it’s THAT dirty… but Kelly and I agree it’s time for a good washing of our clothes in Nice in our bathtub, which is our next stop!

Getting this whole travel routine down, Kelly and I settled into seats at the front of the coach this time, with Brady and our friend Ryan in front of us, and Sydney and Allison behind. I was out immediately, and only woke up whenever we had to stop. I think I slept a total of 7 hours on the bus; no exaggeration. I was POOPED! Before taking off, Dr. Mac presented a presentation of some of the funniest sleeping pictures so far on the trip, and I made it to his #1 favorite. He showed the ENTIRE bus, and it was me with my neck pillow, mouth open, and I had fallen asleep with gum in my mouth because you could clearly see the blue. GREAT, hope that sells people next year to want to go on the trip! And apparently I slept so hard this trip that (well, besides always sleeping with my mouth wide open anyways) my eyes would occasionally open half way and were rolled back in my head so that only white was showing. I know, creepy. I woke up whenever we were almost to our lunch stop, and literally about 10 people sitting all around and in front of me were staring at me, and Dr. Mac was hovering over me with his camera, and they were freaking out. I was so confused. That’s when they told me about my eyes doing that weird thing; take me or leave me I suppose! “Glad I’m some sort of entertainment for you all! Dr. Mac, I’m going to get you!”

Once awake at 5:00 p.m., our Nice group (Kelly, Syd, Allison, and I) worked on our rap for our presentation then admired the beautiful scenery outside our windows for the rest of the way. France is so green, hilly, and I love looking at the little cottages and villages sporadically placed throughout. We arrived at 6:30 in the beautiful, quaint village of Avignon, and I immediately became obsessed. There were small market stores everywhere, the selling of lots of lavender, and it looked like something picturesque. Our hotel is located in the center of town, and right outside is a square of restaurants, gelato, markets, a carousel, and a river. It’s literally the cutest place I’ve ever seen in my life. In our room, we even have two queen size beds! Our Nice group decided to go to dinner together to talk about our presentation (because it’s tomorrow night), and we went to the restaurant that the man downstairs suggested. It was called Odepi, and it was half inside and half outside (no wall separating), and the chairs there were gold and princess-like! I got Spicy mustard, poppy seed marinated chicken salad in olive oil, and it was WONDERFUL!

Brady and Drew

The people here are the friendliest I’ve encountered in Europe. The waiter LOVED us and kept talking to us, a French retired couple talked to us and asked questions for a good 15 minutes, and an even older couple came up and said in French that she is so happy to see such young people so lovely and happy and traveling the world! People here are very smiley J

Afterward, I changed back into my booger shirt and Chacs because we wanted to go climb trees and walk the river. BUT FIRST we had to get gelado! And oh my word they had about 50 flavors! Of course, it took me forever to decide. I ended up with Strawberry Basil; obsessed. Then, a large group of us went on a walk, hammicked, climbed trees, danced, laughed, and took pictures. It was quite beautiful. We also don’t need to be anywhere until noon tomorrow, so we have all morning to go on a walk, eat breakfast, shop at the little market stores, and eat more crepes before heading to Nice! I actually feel like I’m on vacation here; it’s pure bliss. I would totally live here in a heartbeat. Kelly feels 100% better, and the Lord knew we all needed rest. Avignon is giving us this rest. Praise Jesus! This place has already CAPTIVATED me!