2024 Tour Day 4: Avignon to Aix-en-Provence

After fueling up at breakfast, we departed to Avignon, a beautiful fortress city surrounded by walls. The bus ride there was around three hours, during which we saw the many lavender fields that Avignon is famous for. There were a lot of lavender-themed gifts at shops in Avignon and even lavender ice cream! I was skeptical but it turned out to be very tasty!

While in Avignon, we had some free time to explore the shops and area (I used this time to get ice cream). We enjoyed a tour of the Palais de Papes, which was very grand. The pope had fled to Avignon from Italy to escape rebellions in Rome. Because the pope lived there, the city had to have walls around it for protection. Our tour guide told us that the residents liked having the pope around because they thought it would bring them closer to God. My favorite room in the palace was probably the pope’s room because a lot of the paintings on the wall were preserved and had beautiful ornate patters on them. There were many ornate images of vines and animals.

After the tour, we had time to eat lunch and explore for a bit. There were a lot of tourist-y restaurants, but also many authentic ones if did some searching. I got a second ice cream which did not disappoint. There was a sheet music store which, of course, attracted many GTCYS students. Next, we departed to see Roman aqueducts.

The aqueducts were much bigger than I expected. We walked onto them and got distracted by kids doing flips off the rock below. They were very happy to have the entirety of GTCYS symphony watching them do tricks. I remember river below the aqueducts looking so good to swim in since it was very sunny and hot when we were walking around.

Next, we took another bus ride to our final destination of the day, Aix en Provence, which is near the sea. We enjoyed a lot of time to explore and eat dinner. My friends and I went to a very good restaurant near our hotel and got burrata and bruschetta. After dinner, I contemplated getting a third ice cream, but decided not to. There will be plenty of time to get some tomorrow!

Au revoir!

Milly, bass