Happy St. Patrick’s Day everyone!! Today is a very special day, not only because it’s St. Patty’s, but because 3 years ago today, I was set up on a blind date and low and behold, the man I met then is the man I continue to fall madly in love with everyday today. Happy 3 Year Anniversary Patrick… Je t’aime beaucoup! And even though we are not able to be together today, he sent me a dozen red roses, champagne and these delicious, to-die-for chocolates…what more could a girl want (besides being with her man?)
So this past weekend was our very first CEA excursion to Aix-en-Provence, in the south of France. Aix-en-Provence is a very small town (you literally can walk from side to side of the town in about 15 minutes) with not much to do, but the weather was absolutely beautiful and surprisingly warm! Friday night we got settled in, walked around the town, had dinner at a great tapas restaurant and hung out at the hotel because Saturday was an all day adventure and we didn’t want to be tired. But we did have fun making some very unique and dirty madlibs haha It was a good bonding time for our group!
where we ate lunch
the gang at Cezanne's studio
We ate at this restaurant called ‘Le Tire Bouchon’. Looking at the menu, I thought that I was going to be out of luck for something I could eat because everything was either duck, breaded or some obscure dish like tripe. But luckily, I found 1 chicken dish on the menu and ordered it! It turned out to be one of the best meals I’ve had so far in France…it was chicken with eggplant and melted cheese, ratatouille and potatoes au gratin..yummy! After dinner, I was able to meet up with one of my sorority sisters who is studying abroad in Aix for the year! I haven’t seen her in about 9 months, so it was so much fun catching up and hearing how her study abroad experience is going and the many amazing places she has seen! We got to talking and I didn’t end up coming back to the hotel until midnight! But it was worth it for sure!
Sunday was our last day in Aix and our program director took us out in the countryside to see mount Saint Victoire. Our program director, Patrick, told us all to wear comfortable shoes because we were going on a nature walk, but little did we know that we were about to embark on an actual, fully fledged hike up part of the mountain! Half way up, I was starting to sweat like a pig and could feel my legs getting a workout that’s how steep we were climbing! “Nature walk” my butt. When we finally made it to the top, the view was gorgeous. You could see the entire valley all the way out to the coast as well as lavender fields and vineyards. It definitely was worth the hike to see the view and enjoy our lunch up there. After we made it down, we explored the visitor’s area where we saw a video on the history of this region and also some donkeys. Yes, seeing donkeys at first was strange, but it is the countryside of France. We hung out with the donkeys for a little bit and as we were turning to head up to the bus, the 2 donkeys closest to the fence belted out this moaning/grunting sound at us. It was like they were telling us they were upset we were leaving haha It was a sight to see! 
we made it!
Overall, my weekend in Aix was a lot of fun but tiring! Now I am getting ready for this weekend when I finally make it back to my old stomping grounds in PRAGUE!!!!!!! Ah! I am so excited I cannot wait until Friday! Definitely check back next week for a more!
Here are a few more pictures of some hit spots around Aix:
we call it "the fuzzy fountain"
the main fountain in the only roundabout in Aix
the cathedrale
my program director, Patrick (had no idea I was lurking in the background) heh :)
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