Day 9: Paris to Vaison la Romaine

Our last day in Paris :( - I am so sad, as I just love this city! Thus, I got up extra-early to be able to take an hour walk to Notre Dame and back before fetching Amy at 9:15 to go to the Picasso Museum. We got there as they opened and spent about an hour or so there. Amy said: "Um, yeah, I don't think I really like Picasso..." and that was ok - she still said she appreciated the experience, which I think is a lot of what art is about - you don't have to like it to get its importance.

We then shopped a little (Amy got outfits for her dogs) and we separated after that. I headed to the Film Museum to check out an exhibit on a Spanish director who I like, Almodovar. It had no English translation, but, being film, the exhibition was very visual and cool nonetheless. I zipped back to the hotel to meet up with the group at 1:15 p.m. for our 3-hour TGV speed-train to Avignon in the south of France, followed by a 1-hour bus trip to Vaison la Romaine, the town we'll be staying in for the next three nights.

We arrived and hiked up a hill to our hotel, which is lovely. After settling in, we had a group dinner at the hotel - it was mediocre, I will not lie - but we sat with the coolest folks on the tour, and between 6 of us drank 4 bottles of wine (and Amy really didn't drink more than a glass...). Keep in mind one fellow, Shane, is from Ireland and can put it away! It was good fun and from there, I went and took some night photos with my "tour buddy" (we had to pick one), Bob, who is a cool guy about my age who actually lives in Eastlake in Seattle. I also just needed some air after all that wine! Tomorrow is market day!!

*Photos:
Notre Dame in the morning.
Musee Picasso!
A few shots from the Almodovar exhibit I went to at the Film Museum.
Our street in Paris, Rue Castex.
The high-speed TGV train to Avignon - 3 hours via train up to almost 200 mph vs. 8 hours of driving.
The French country side from the train. Long live the TGV!!!