Program Coordinator Kelly Bisbee and Program Consultant Meaghan Richards on staff tour
Article by Program Coordinator Kelly Bisbee.
Kelly Bisbee and Program Consultant Meaghan Richards joined an Explorica student tour of Italy, France & Spain this summer to help out and get a firsthand look at our product. Find out just what they discovered on their trip, and what unexpected surprises awaited them in Avignon!
Hopping off the plane in Rome, I knew my coworker, Meaghan, and I were in for a great adventure. We were excited, nervous, mildly exhausted, and ready to start our first staff tour with Explorica!
Our Italy, France & Spain itinerary was packed with cities and activities, some we had ventured to on personal travels, and some completely new to us both. We grabbed our bags and made a promise to each other to be open to all the new experiences coming our way: food, language, traveling with our group—we were ready for it all!
Pope’s Palace in Avignon
We kept our promise and saw it all in action when we arrived in Avignon, France and found ourselves on the streets of the Festival d’Avignon. We didn’t know it at the time, but we unexpectedly stepped into the midst of one of the most important contemporary art festivals in the WORLD!
What we thought was a surprise and random street festival actually is an annual contemporary art festival that takes place each July and has its origins dating back to 1947. Using the famous Pope’s Palace in Avignon as the main stage of the Festival d’Avignon, more that 30-40 different shows take place during the month. With over 300 performances and 130,000 admissions tickets sold, the festival has become a big economic boost for the city of Avignon.
The Festival d’Avignon in the Place d’Horloge
Strolling down the festival streets, Meaghan and I were slightly confused but fascinated by the number of street performances. We had no idea this was a planned event. With our croissants and brioches in hand, we wandered through an improv group, a cabaret side show, clowns of all types, and even a few folk singing groups.
Most performances we couldn’t understand, but we could clearly see the excitement everyone shared being a part of the event. Even with our lack of French understanding, we joined the fans and had a front row seat to some funny, odd, and expressive street performances. We couldn’t wait to tell friends and family about the “wicked awesome” festival our group found!
Street performers in Avignon
Sometimes the greatest memories while traveling are the unexpected detours! In our case, we found a gem of European culture that we didn’t know existed but were able to experience and appreciate all the same.
See what surprises you can discover on our European trips, too! A street festival? New food? Wrong turn in Florence? Share what you find along your Explorica travels!
Kelly Bisbee is a Program Coordinator at Explorica. After first getting a taste of the world abroad in high school, Kelly set off again in college to spend a semester living in Florence, Italy and get a full taste (and stomach) of all that Italy has to offer. With a quick cowboy-esque adventure in Wyoming for a few months after school under her belt, Kelly is back on the East Coast and working to make sure teachers and students can experience the world too!