I am blessed to have a set of drawers.

Greetings! As my title so affectionately proclaims, a set of drawers is truly one of the best things thus far. Living out of a suitcase, although somewhat exotic and fun for about 20 minutes really sucks once you have to start moving around. Although leaving Paris was sad, I'm so glad to be in Avignon, where I have drawers, a vase, a tea pot, and a bed. It's pretty much heaven.

For those of you who do not have a facebook or have not yet seen my Paris albums, here are the links:

The first half:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2007113&id=1417500098&l=f7921ccab0

The second half:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2007114&id=1417500098&l=09746be873

Since I did my best to recount my Parisian adventure while I was on my train ride to Avignon, let me give you a small taste of what I've experienced thus far in beautiful Southern France.

We arrived on Friday, and stayed in L'Hotel Magnen, which was quite nice. Unfortunately, the French apparently don't believe in outlets, so four girls had to share a grand total of one socket. It was a bit of a problem. Oh well...it was worth it just to have internet again! I had felt so disconnected from the world. After having eaten nothing but a baguette all day, the OU students got to have a spectacular dinner (and free wine). I know it sounds cliché, but the French really do take their food seriously. My dish (the name of which I cannot recall) was quite spectacular in all respects. It was delicious, beautifully presented, and the perfect amount of food. After dinner, I went with a few other students to the Irish pub (O'Neil's), a place highly recommended by Nicky. There, I met Rémy and tried a demi fraise (aka: fruity beer). Not bad, and certainly cheaper than Paris. Sheesh.

Saturday was mostly taken up by walking in the rain. Christophe took us on a relatively unhelpful tour of the city. To get out of the rain, we ducked into a small museum for a few hours that ended up being somewhat interesting. It was dedicated to the collection of M. Jacques Doucet, a very famous collector of art. He was among the first to recognize and collect painters like Degas (my fave). Anywho, enough on that. Saturday night after a little shopping at H&M (yes, there's an H&M in Avignon), we got to meet our host families. I won't go into detail just now about the family, but know that it was WAY stressful. Not in a bad, way, of course, but in an overwhelming way. It'll take a few days to really get acclimated to everything, of course. I'm sure that I'll really enjoy it in the Lestrelin household, though. Last night the two boys (Thomas and Hugo) had a band concert, so Shawna and I decided to go. The boys (and Marie, one of the girls), attend a music school. It was so adorable seeing them get into the music...they are both quite enthusiastic percussion players. =]

As for my new house...please, feel free to be jealous.



This is a slightly blocked few of the front of my house. It's over 100 years old, and straight up gorgeous.



This is the entrance way to the house. When I have the chance to take more pictures of the general living area, I will. Nicky was right when she said that it was just like a Home&Garden house.



My room. The curtains are the perfect color and they cast a wonderful light on the room.



My bedside table, which frankly looks too good to be true. It was so nice to wake up, turn over, and see a baguette and a bowl of fruit.



And here is a general view of the city. It's not the best picture, but it kind of gives you the sense of the city. I'll take more (of course) when the weather is better for photography.

Again, there is SO much more I could say, but I have other things I need to get done before dinner tonight. I wish you all a pleasant evening!