Our French adventures start in ST Remis, where we visited the large market that is held in the center of town every Wednesday and Saturday. We also went to a fish spa, this is where you put your feet in a large tank of fish that eat the dry skin of your feet and toes, it was really fun!

Our next stop was Avignon, where we took a ferry across the river of Avignon to France’s largest island surrounded by a river, where the old city is located. The city started when the Pope decided to leave Rome and settle in the small city of Avignon. He bought the entire village, and proceeded to build large walls around it, putting many palaces and large buildings in it! The palace the Pope built for himself took up over 3 acres of land inside the city walls. Just a few years after all of this had been completed, the Pope decided that Rome was better, and moved back to the Vatican. If he had not moved, Avignon might very well have been the new Vatican!

Our last stop on our trip was Marseilles, being a major trading city, established by the Greeks, it has small walled forts dotting its coastline. While there, we saw the main church for the area, complete with a 3 ton statue of the Virgin Mary on top of the main dome! We went to one of the largest forts in the area, built by Louie the 14th, it was made to keep the residents of the city under control. It is connected to the old town by a long foot bridge, which is over 60 feet above the highway that runs outside the city walls. My favourite activity was a boat ride to see 3 of the 9 Calunques (small inlets) that are around Cassis, a smaller beach town very close to Marseilles.

This concludes our trip. I am one of the few lucky people that has seen so much of Europe. The thing that stood out to me the most was the overabundance of heritage and history, from the meals we ate to the buildings we saw, everything was special in one way or another. I love the culture, the cuisine, and the history, and I am so thankful to my parents for taking me on a truly one in a million experience!