Your trusty study abroad blogger Richael Best here, coming to you live from Aix-en-Provence.

This Saturday my History of Provence class went to Arles to visit the ancient theatre and amphitheatre and study the façade of a church. We also went to Glanum, an archeological site, where we got to explore the ruins of an old gaulois-turned-gallo-roman town. It was fascinating to realize how much there is under the surface of the ground here, all around. Even in Aix, there are Roman ruins under all of the current buildings and streets; we just can’t see them. At Glanum, however, you can pick out the temples from the houses from the baths based on their foundations and the few reconstructions archeologists have made. Here’s a picture of the site:

And of the cenotaph depicting the inhabitants of Glanum receiving Roman citizenship:  

Sunday my host family took me to Cassis, and we climbed up these huge cliffs and had a picnic at the top overlooking the sea. I cannot even describe the glory of French picnics. Still-warm baguettes fresh from the bakery spread with always-amazing butter and fresh salami from the boucherie and quail eggs, gourmet potato chips, and cherry tomatoes on the side. The view was absolutely incredible as well, and we had beautiful weather. For the first time since coming here, I bared my ankles in cropped pants and little suede shoes with tiny socks. I am so tired of wool socks and boots!

Here’s a picture of me on the cliffs (les falaises):

My host dad said the day was “un bol de l’air frais.” Literally, “a bowl of fresh air.” With the cool sea breezes blowing up from below as we hiked and munched our delicious food, that’s a pretty accurate description.