Mi piace la francia.

Monday, November 10, 2008. Aix, France. (pronounced EX, France)

I write to you today from a bed in a room where the walls are "papered" in the same fabric as the draperies leaving me feeling a little... dizzy. But it is indeed beautiful here! Let me first tell you about our trip to Avignon!

Saturday we were still in Paris. We got up and went to the Louvre Museum. It was SOO HUGE. There was NO way to see everything, but we DID see the Italian artists section which was so cool because that is what I am studying in my Art History class! We saw the Mona Lisa, obviously, but it was smaller than I imagined. I also felt like I was reliving the DaVinci code as I was walking through the paintings, thank you Dan Brown. After that we went to a "market" which was pretty much just like a bunch of JUNK on the side of the road for sale. After a few minutes there, we left and got some lunch. After eating, we went SHOPPING!! I didn't actually end up buying anything (minus a little chocolate) but we did run into a little booth of a lady selling white chocolate pistachio spread (similar to nutella!) which we bought. Obviously. After shopping, we went back to the hotel and went to dinner. The hotel made us reservations at a "casual" place that didn't end up so casual. So Mommy and Ms. Ellen suggested that we just get up and leave. So one MORTIFIED McKinley got up and left without even ordering anything. It was worth it though, with the dinner that we got instead. Salad for dinner and a trio of sorbets for dessert! YUMM!!

Sunday, we got up, packed up, and made our way back to the Paris train station to catch our 8:05 AM train to Avignon. We were in first class and it was a SUPER fast train! We were of course in a little cubicle with Mr.I-brought-my-dog-on-the-train. Just my luck. I napped and listened to my iPod. I have gotten to the point where I love trains! They relax me! We got to Avignon, took the bus to our hotel and wandered. We went to the Papal Palace (Did you know the pope used to live in Avignon?) and shopped around. We then went back to the hotel to rest. Dinner time finally approached and we went back into the city for dinner. We walked into a restaurant and our waiter was so rude that we, for the second time in two days, got up and left to find a new restaurant. But again, it was worth it. I had lime salmon for dinner and our waiter was SO cute and nice. Oh French boys...

It was also during this time that I checked my text messages to see one from Laughlin saying "Call Mer, she has the slate!" She was referring to the TriDelta list of officer positions that I had been waiting for. She got through a few names and then said, "McKin, you are--" then my ONE MINUTE that I had left cut out. I didn't know what I was. So I hurried home to get back on Skype with Mer to find out that I am VP Chapter Development. What does that mean? I'll let you know when I figure it out.

Then, this morning, Mommy and I went to the Avignon Bridge--LIKE THE SONG. It was such a beautiful morning, and I loved the bridge! Then back to the hotel to pack up, check out, and get on our train to Aix. Wouldn't you name a city "Aix" and pronounce it "Ex?" We checked in, got our lavishly decorated room, and went out into the city. We found some really cute shops and explored the city. Now we are back in the room and heading off to dinner soon... I hope!

We are off to Rome tomorrow for three nights! Yay for Italy! A culture that I understand and a language I can kinda speak.

Love yall!
xoxo
mckin