Day 1

Our first day waking up in Aix-en-Provence began with a croissant and a cappuccino. We ate at a cafe in the heart of the city. I asked a man where I could find the best cappuccino, but sadly, his answer was “go to Italy”, and that they don’t have good coffee in France. He was right, as my cappuccino was not very good. On the way to our orientation at our school for the 3 weeks we are here (CEA CAPA), I walked by local markets that were selling goods like handmade blankets, clothes, art, and more. Our orientation gave us a good understanding of what we are to expect on this trip and a brief overview of Aix-en-Provence. We also received a metro card, giving us free access to “La Metropole”, the bus and metro system throughout France. We then went on a tour of the city, guided by our local CEA CAPA community members. We began at the statue of Paul Cezanne, a famous painter who, at the time, was despised for his work, as he was a revolutionary artist who paved the path for French Post-Impressionist painters. He introduced new modes of representation, influenced avant-garde artistic movements of the early 20th century, and formed the bridge between late 19th-century Impressionism and early 20th-century Cubism. The town of Aix (what the locals call it) is very bourgeoisie and beautiful, known for being a safe college town with a large amount of wealth as well. After the tour, Alexi and I purchased a baguette and a bottle of local wine and went to Parque Jordan to enjoy it. We stayed several hours and watched people playing card games, having picnics, and practicing sports. We finished the night at O’Shannon Pub to chat with some of our classmates before heading back to the hotel.