Day 1 ...Provence, France！ 法國, 普羅旺斯

I traveled out from Kuala Lumpur on 9 October 2019 on a direct red-eye British Airway flight to London. With a less than 2 hours layover, I arrived at Marseille, France, in the mid-morning of 10 October. It was cold, around 17C that morning, luckily I was wearing my fleece jacket.

The free shuttle bus to the Vitrolles Airport train station is available from Platform 5 right outside the left of the airport. While I was waiting for the bus, I bought a train ticket to Avignon Centre from the machine there. There was not much signage at the train station except a small TV showing the destinations of the oncoming train.

It took about an hour to reach Avignon, and Hôtel Boquier is just a five minutes walk from the train station. Hôtel Boquier is a small two-star hotel hidden along the main road Cours Jean Jaurès. It is only one minute away from the Tourism Office where is the meeting point for most ground trips. I like Hôtel Boquier, the room might be a bit small, but it was clean, bright and airy while the bed was comfortable and good water pressure for the shower.

After a much-needed shower, I headed out as I bought tickets to visit the Palace of the Popes & Pont d'Avignon. I was hungry and wanted to snack, so I got myself four pieces of churros for EUR2 along the street to munch on.

When I arrived outside the Palais des Papes, this busker was playing La Vie En Rose on his harmonica. 

I walked a total of 15,110 steps that day, exhausted, I had a quick dinner at the close-by diner The Brasserie du Théâtre and turned in early.

Here I go...Provence, France！ 法國, 普羅旺斯 - 出發咯！

I wanted to go to Provence because I saw this video somewhere. I was so mesmerised, and I even tried to bring the exhibition to Kuala Lumpur when an opportunity arose. But then it didn't work out. 

A few months passed, I was looking for an escape - a break from it all. Where shall I go? I have never travel for leisure on my own. All the previous travel ideas came from whoever traveling with me. I was clueless until the video popped up on my Facebook again.

So, Provence, here I go.

As I was researching the logistic, I found kimkim. I just need to answer when, where to go and what I want to do, they gave me a proposal :

Day 1: Arrival in Avignon

Day 2: The Gourmet tour of Avignon - Shared activity

Day 3: Avignon, City of the Popes

Day 4: Van Gogh in Provence

Day 5: From the medieval Avignon to the Mediterranean Marseille

Day 6: Half-day morning tour in Cassis

Day 7: Marseille Off The Beaten Path Walking Tour

Day 8: Departure from Provence

As I plan to go during the first half of October, it is considered as the off-peak season.  But it would still cost me about USD$1,750 (~MYR7,300) which was above my expectation as it did not include my flights nor any pocket money.

At the same time, while I was researching for the most value for money flights, I found that Tripadvisor, Expedia, and Viator offer plenty of ideas and options.

So, I booked both my flights and accommodations via Expedia for about MYR5,000 while my ground tours via Viator for less than MYR1,700.  I have also changed MYR1,850 for EUR400 as pocket money for use when a credit card is not accepted.