Friday, 21 September 2012
Today we journey to Avignon to see the palace of the Popes and the famous bridge. We take the train on the advice of our driver from yesterday, Dave.
Parking, he tells us, is a nightmare in Avignon. (Winding through little towns to get there is also no walk in the park.) He points out a remote lot from which we can take a shuttle to the city center, and gives us directions -- left exit here, go to the third light and make a U turn, then park. Oh, train? Yes, 20 minutes!
We exit the station in Avignon and stroll to city center, lingering a while in a small park around the St. Martial (?) Church, with its lovely flying buttresses. The pedestrian streets of the city center are broad, some paved with marble(!), lined with shops and restaurants.
We divert east to the city market, Les Halles, to feed my insatiable appetite for touring markets. Here n the dim corridors you can buy a bottle of wine, a tart, macaroons, meat, fish and shellfish, cheese, mushrooms and other lovely vegetables, bread, prepared salads and casseroles -- everything you might want to eat. The market is open every day. Wouldn’t it be nice to have this at home?
We search out a restaurant for lunch, and are lobbied by an English-speaking lady who tells us she and her daughter do all the cooking at Le Petit Gourmand. The plat du jour is a scallop risotto. And she recommends the dried beef, which she herself prepares in the winter months. So, another successful lunch.
We spend the afternoon in the Palais des Papes. This imposing edifice was the seat of the papacy for most of the 14th century. We learn how the palace was built, primarily by two popes, and how it has changed as features were added and removed. It’s quite an edifice.
The ticket comes with a free audio guide, so we learn a lot, even if it is soon forgotten. The assembly rooms are grand - 50 and 55 meters long. If you squint, you can almost see the pomp and pageantry of the Pope’s formal audiences. It’s nice to be able to go at one’s own pace. Frequently there are slide shows as well, and supplementary audio from the audio guide -- polyphonic music, for example.
Near the end of the tour, we climb to the topmost terrace. From here we can see the famous Pont d’Avignon, which we will visit next. We exit the palace (through the gift shop, of course) and wait outside for Tom and Dianne. I get a text from Dianne -- they have gone on to the bridge, and are headed back to the palace. Hmmm. We are at the palace and headed for the bridge. Eventually we agree to meet at the carousel south of the palace at 5.
Then ensues a march to the bridge, and quite a march it is. Downhill should take us to the river, yes? No. We follow the signs to the archive -- wrong archive. We find Les Halles, and immediately set out in the wrong direction yet again.
At long last we find our location on the cartoon map we picked up at the tourist office, and right ourselves for a long trek along RueThiers back toward the palace, and thence to the bridge.
We spend a pleasant 15 minutes on the bridge, once again with an audio guide, hearing the legend of St. Benezet, a man from a remote province whom God called to come to Avignon to command the popes to build a bridge across the Rhone.
We arrive at the carousel as appointed, to find Tom and Dianne ensconced at a café sipping wine. Ah, just what I need after a long trek through the city! We catch the 1831 train back to Orange, and head for the Carrefour supermarket. Chicken soup tonight, using the stock we made yesterday.
Avignon, Provence, France
Today we journey to Avignon to see the palace of the Popes and the famous bridge. We take the train on the advice of our driver from yesterday, Dave.
Parking, he tells us, is a nightmare in Avignon. (Winding through little towns to get there is also no walk in the park.) He points out a remote lot from which we can take a shuttle to the city center, and gives us directions -- left exit here, go to the third light and make a U turn, then park. Oh, train? Yes, 20 minutes!
Market, Avignon, Provence, France
We exit the station in Avignon and stroll to city center, lingering a while in a small park around the St. Martial (?) Church, with its lovely flying buttresses. The pedestrian streets of the city center are broad, some paved with marble(!), lined with shops and restaurants.
Market, Avignon, Provence, France
We search out a restaurant for lunch, and are lobbied by an English-speaking lady who tells us she and her daughter do all the cooking at Le Petit Gourmand. The plat du jour is a scallop risotto. And she recommends the dried beef, which she herself prepares in the winter months. So, another successful lunch.
Palais du Papes, Avignon, Provence, France
We spend the afternoon in the Palais des Papes. This imposing edifice was the seat of the papacy for most of the 14th century. We learn how the palace was built, primarily by two popes, and how it has changed as features were added and removed. It’s quite an edifice.
The ticket comes with a free audio guide, so we learn a lot, even if it is soon forgotten. The assembly rooms are grand - 50 and 55 meters long. If you squint, you can almost see the pomp and pageantry of the Pope’s formal audiences. It’s nice to be able to go at one’s own pace. Frequently there are slide shows as well, and supplementary audio from the audio guide -- polyphonic music, for example.
Palais du Papes, Avignon, Provence, France
Near the end of the tour, we climb to the topmost terrace. From here we can see the famous Pont d’Avignon, which we will visit next. We exit the palace (through the gift shop, of course) and wait outside for Tom and Dianne. I get a text from Dianne -- they have gone on to the bridge, and are headed back to the palace. Hmmm. We are at the palace and headed for the bridge. Eventually we agree to meet at the carousel south of the palace at 5.
Then ensues a march to the bridge, and quite a march it is. Downhill should take us to the river, yes? No. We follow the signs to the archive -- wrong archive. We find Les Halles, and immediately set out in the wrong direction yet again.
Palais du Papes, Avignon, Provence, France
At long last we find our location on the cartoon map we picked up at the tourist office, and right ourselves for a long trek along RueThiers back toward the palace, and thence to the bridge.
We spend a pleasant 15 minutes on the bridge, once again with an audio guide, hearing the legend of St. Benezet, a man from a remote province whom God called to come to Avignon to command the popes to build a bridge across the Rhone.
Pont d'Avignon, France
We arrive at the carousel as appointed, to find Tom and Dianne ensconced at a café sipping wine. Ah, just what I need after a long trek through the city! We catch the 1831 train back to Orange, and head for the Carrefour supermarket. Chicken soup tonight, using the stock we made yesterday.
