Day Thirty One

July 17th

Hello Excursion Day!! Woke up massively early to meet the other kids at the train station for an excursion to Arles. We rode in a giant charter bus, compared to the tiny buses we have used previously. There was so much space that we did not know what to do with ourselves.

The first stop was at a history museum, and for some odd reason there were a lot of people just hanging out waiting for it to open. It was built on the area where the Roman Circus used to be, which I found to be pretty cool. Never knew how much have an obsession I had with the Romans until being in Southern France. There were some neat things within the museum, and a lot of tiny reconstructions of the important Roman buildings; like the Forum and Amphitheater. An art exhibit was also at the museum, but I only saw one of the art pieces. The only bad thing about the place was that I had to leave my purse in a random ass storage bin, and the peoples said they were not responsible if anything was stolen. Grrr

(Nifty art piece)

The second stop was at the Amphitheater, which was fucking awesome! I am amazed at Roman engineering and how these massive structures are still partially intact. This particular Amphitheater was built in the 1st century after Jesus, and the main structure still exists. The only major part missing is the 3rd level of seating, and the arena is still used today for bull fights and the like.

(Part of the Amphitheater)

We were granted a mini break, which lead a number of us to walk to the market and grab some grub. I had a sausage sandwich from a random vendor and it was quite tasty. Eventually found a pottery dealer and bought some things for peoples. We then proceeded to wander the streets checking out some of the local shops, until it was time to meet up for the 3rd stop of the trip.

(Inside a pastry/candy shop)

The 3rd stop was a pretty bad ass church, in the Place du Republic. The front door was sooooo cool, and I took a lot of pictures of it. The architecture was very detailed and probably only to be seen in Europe. The inside was massive, with a lot of stained glass windows that I took multiple pictures of.

(Bad ass door)

Finally we had the rest of the day to whatever, until catching one of the trains back to Avignon. By the time we got on the train I was so irritated that I only wanted to associate with Amanda, because the others girls were complaining. Anyways, I eventually ended up home and was ready to have some time to myself. Finally it was time for the dinner party at Brittany's people's house, which I did not end up in my room until 1am. It was just a long ass day. Kinda ready to be back home.

(Arles Train Station)