Arles, France, was the second stop on my European vacation back in May so below is another delayed ~greetings from~ Greetings from Arles, France! After spending three days in Paris, we took a train to the Provence region to spend three days in Arles. Following traveling all morning, lunch, and checking in to our hotel room, we walked around Arles to get acquainted to the city. Sights included the main town plaza and the Arles Arena which is a Roman Coliseum from when the city was part of the Roman Empire. Day two started with a traditional Provencal farmers market that Arles hosts one Sunday a month. We were very fortunate to be in town for the market. The produce, lavender, crafts, and art were all absolutely wonderful. After the market, we went to the Vincent Van Gogh foundation. Again, I'm not a huge art person but seeing these paintings in an area where they were created was cool. We ate at two AMAZING restaurants while in Arles. Both were classic French / Provencal spots and hands down some of the best food I ate while in Europe. The names were Le Criquet and La Pergula. Yelp again did not disappoint. For our third day in Provence, we took the train from Arles to Avignon. Avignon was a much larger Provencal city than Arles and had so much character. Both were wonderful cities but I think I liked the small town charm of Arles more. In Avignon we visited the Pope's Palace, walked around the Saint-Benezet Bridge, and explored a contemporary art museum. The Pope's Palace was fairly interesting. The museum had self guided tours through an ipad that acted as an audio guide and was location / AR based to show you what the palace looked like in each room while it was in use. Arles and Provence were so beautiful and full of character I definitely want to visit again in the future and explore other cities and maybe see the lavender fields in bloom.
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I visited Paris back in May with my Aunt, so here is a delayed ~greetings from~ Greetings from Paris! Day One: We arrived in Paris early on May 14th ready to explore. It was both of our first times visiting Paris (my first time in Europe!), so we knew we had to start at the Eiffel Tower. After a quick lunch at a cafe on Rue Cler, we took the elevator up to the top. I'm not usually one to get queasy, but this ride made my stomach drop. The views were totally worth it tho. Seriously. Post Eiffel Tower and photos, we spent an hour at the Musee d'Orsay. We definitely could have spent longer here if my feet were not killing me or if we weren't jet lagged, but an hour let us see some Monet's and the photogenic clock. Day one ended with an incredibly early dinner (I wish I wrote down all the names) on Rue du Bac. It was a cute little place with an adorable bar, filled with Parisians enjoying an after work drink as we fell asleep in our dinner. Day Two: For our second day in Paris, we took a day trip out to Versailles to see the Palace. Versailles was my favorite experience of our entire trip and I highly recommend venturing out of Paris to visit. We spent 2/3 of our day there, but time can definitely be shortened. We strolled through the gardens at a leisurely pace for reference. Everything about the palace is as extra as you expect and even more beautiful in person. I knew what the Hall of Mirrors would look like based on pictures, but seeing it in person took it to another level. Since we went during the week, the palace was filled with elementary aged field trips. Absolutely zero school trip I have ever been on can compare. I was genuinely jealous, and wished I remembered half of what I learned in AP Euro. Anyway, after the Palace we took the train back to Paris, recharged, and went out to dinner at a renowned steak frites restaurant called Le Relais de l'Entrecote. All they serve is steak, frites and different desserts. Day Three:
For our final full day in Paris, we started the day at the Louvre. Prepaid tickets and getting there early definitely made a difference since we were not inundated with crowds. We also went straight to the Mona Lisa to get it out of the way and give ourselves time to explore the rest of the museum without worrying we would miss it. I'm not a huge art person, but visiting the Louvre was a very cool experience. After the Louvre, we had lunch in the Jewish quarter at L'as Du Fallafel. It was important to me to stroll the streets of the Jewish Quarter since I did a program following my bat mitzvah where I adopted a Holocaust survivor and she was from France. This area of Paris was extremely lively and I loved seeing the Hebrew writing everywhere. The falafels were also huge and delicious. Our afternoon consisted of shopping/browsing at Galeries Lafayette, macaroons at Pierre Herme and recharging before dinner. Our final Paris dinner was at the restaurant Barack Obama took Michele while in Paris, La Fontaine De Mars, and it did not disappoint. It was also in walking distance of the Eiffel Tower, which let us find a perfect spot to see the light show. Seeing the tower sparkle and become all golden may be touristy, but was beautiful and extremely well done. A perfect way to end our time in Paris before moving on to Arles! |
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October 2019
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