Provence

Sorry this will be a short and sweet post, and you might see that trend becoming more popular as work has started to pile up before the two-week Christmas break. So two weekends ago we went to Provence, more specifically Arles and Avignon. I will highlight some of the good, bad, and ugly.

Good:
-Got to Arles and had a wonderful dinner. Arguably the best dinner I've had so far in France. The starting dish was eggplant sprinkled with Parmesan cheese, then roasted guinea fowl in a rosemary-shallot-cream sauce with haricot verts and sun-dried tomatoes. Dessert was a chocolate fondant with raspberry sauce and mint. So delicious I can't even tell you.
-Saw the Cafe la Nuit which inspired Van Gogh to paint one of his most famous works, Terrasse du Café le Soir. I've provided pictorial evidence below...




-I went horseback riding for the first time in my life. In fact, the whole HCJYF program except for two students went horseback riding...for the first time...and here's my segway into the bad...

Well first, here's a pick of me on my horsey.


Bad: So we started out in a single file line, all 30 or so of us. I'm just kind of getting the hang of everything when suddenly the horse from behind me decides to get all alpha-male on my horse. Now, the way horses show their dominance (as I learned after this incident) is to get in front of other horses and lead them. If a horse feels like they are the dominant one they will BITE the other and move ahead. Ok, well this horse behind me, hormones raging, decides he can totally take my horse so he tries to take a bite, and succeeded, sort of. The thing bites MY LEG instead. I give out a yelp of pain, my horse gets spooked and throws me off. Fortunately I landed into some brush but my leg felt like the jaws of life clamped down on my calf. I got back on my horse though on the condition that the other mechant horse goes in front of me for the rest of the trip.

Ugly: Here's the bruise the night of the incident, still fresh. haha


A few days after...you can actually see the outline of the freaking mouth


Really it wasn't that big of a deal. I still had fun for the rest of the ride. The lead horse man told me "Well it can be your little souvenir". Thanks horse guy, thanks. We played a game at dinner that night: Who would be the worst person to get their leg bitten by a horse? So I ask you, my blog-readers: Who is the worst person to get bit by a horse?? Love to see comments!