the prettiest place on earth

i am continually amazed at how beautiful a city Avignon is. we've been staying in a cheap (very cheap) hostel just outside of the city walls until we find a permanent apartment. in order to get inside the city walls we have to walk across a bridge that overlooks the rhone and we have a wonderful view of the palais de papes. even though it doesn't quite compare to Aix, this is a pretty great city and i am so privileged to have the opportunity to live here. so far, i have successfully eaten at least one serving of cheese a day which is now a staple to my diet, as well as sat at a cafe every afternoon for a pick-me-up. yesterday, we discovered the cutest cafe, mainly because the only was super nice and they had mini-sandwiches. i'm hoping she will take me under her wing and teach me how to bake. the other assistants are brillant (as the English ones say) and i am so excited to finally move into an apartment with my 2 roomies (who are equally as brillant)! we had 2 viewings yesterday, one far surpassed the other, and we have 2 more today. we loved the first place we saw yesterday and we are most likely going to live there. it is off a beautiful cobblestone street (the owner promises it is the most beautiful street in Avignon) and has a sweet water wheel across from it. if only there was a goat farm next to it, then it'd be perfect. more pictures to come!