Day 57 Avignon

We set off just on 9 am for Avignon, with a stop in Vaison en Romain just down the road to do grocery shopping for several days, at the local Intermarché supermarket. The produce on offer there was very good. One interesting procedure they have - there is a person in the produce section who weighs your individual bags of fruit, veg, etc and puts a price sticker on them in order to speed your checkout experience. Nice idea.

We arrived in Avignon near the Pont d'Avignon at around 11am in a howling gale. This strong wind persisted pretty much the whole day. It became really uncomfortable and annoying, especially in the morning when it was not so warm yet. We split up after the carppark, agreeing to do a progress text at 4pm and meet at the car at 5pm. We went to the bridge first, buying combined tickets for the bridge and the papal palace - the two main attractions. I was surprised to discover that the bridge ends in mid-stream. Joan did a virtually imperceptible little song and dance number to satisfy her fantasy. We learned that the song Sur le Pont d'Avignon was written in the mid-19th century, although it had many predecessors, most lost. The current version was recovered from a Normandy wedding song.

The big deal was the Palais des Papes, a large semi-fortified, externally rather ugly building. The original parts date from the 13th century but of course it was extended and modified many times over the centuries. There were some impressive large halls but I was not greatly interested in the history of the Avignon popes, something that featured prominently in the displays. Near the top of the building there were some great views of the adjacent square and cathedral.

Afterward we walked around and found a lovely little church with some good stained glass. Lunch was at nearby little square. We ordered canard but got entrecote, but we didn't mind as it was very good. Walked around some more and found the main l'Horlogue square - very attractive with the Hotel de Ville on one side. We should have eaten here.

Next we had a look in the cathedral next to the papal palace - another interesting building with fancy loges and an unusual very high pointed dome. This church has a large golden Virgin Mary statue on the top that you can see from almost everywhere.

The gardens next to the church beckoned and we enjoyed our stroll up there. This hill gave good views across the Rhone and of the Pont d'Avignon. Back at the main square we bumped into H&B only minutes before our scheduled co-coordinating text session, making that unnecessary. After coffee there we rounded out the day by doing part of one of the recommended city walks that took us back to the car park. The streets we traversed en route had what to us was a typically French flavour.