(Note: most of the photos on this post were contributed by one of our students, Jiaxi “Jessica” Wen. I will note which photos are hers by marking them with “JW,” and mine by marking them with “JN.”)

On Friday, we had our first excursion! We went to Aix-En-Provence. First, we met in the morning to catch the bus.

(JW)

(JN)

We arrived in the Place Charles de Gaulle, which would also be our meeting place in the afternoon.

(JN)

Our first stop was at the Cathédrale Saint Sauveur, where we were given a tour of the adjoining cloister by an extremely knowledgeable and enthusiastic guide. The carvings on the pillars tell the story of the history and beliefs of Christianity. The complexity of the story was more confusing than the fact that we were hearing it in French.

(JN)

A few students asked me how old the cathedral was. As you can see from this plaque, it’s a complicated question! Different parts were built in different time periods.

(JN)

(JW)

(JN)

After we left the cathedral, we had lunch at a restaurant called “Chez Nous.” The vegetarians had risotto, and the others had lasagna and salad. Then we had a café gourmand (explained in a previous post) for dessert.

(JN)

(JW)

(JW)

(JW)

(JW)

(JN)

The afternoon was free, so most everyone went shopping!

(JW)

(JW)

We found many local products: books, art, macarons, calissons…

(JW)

…and, of course, lavender! We are in Provence, after all!

(JW)

Everybody ended up at the meeting place on time, so it their map studying earlier must have helped.

(JW)

(JW)

(Not gonna lie: I started the bunny ears thing. But Brenda got me back!)

(JW)

Then we took the bus back to Arles.

(JN)

This weekend, several students are traveling as a group to Marseille. I can’t wait to hear how it went!