Provence Day 1: Avignon

Last time I came to spend the summer with Melissa in France (5 years ago!), we took a two-day road-trip to the Loire Valley to visit castles. This time, we headed to Provence--a region in the south of France. Our first day was spent in Avignon. 

You may be familiar with the bridge of Avignon from the popular children's song. (It was stuck in my head all day.)

Sur le pont d'Avignon, 

On y danse, on y danse, 

Sur le pont d'Avignon, 

On y danse tous en rond. 

Avignon is a beautiful walled-in city nicknamed "la cité des papes" (the city of popes) because it was the residence of 7 successive Catholic popes from 1309-1377. Le Palais des Papes (the Palace of the Popes) is huge.

We decided to splurge and take a little train around Avignon to enlighten our minds on the history and layout of this famous city. 

Handy-dandy little headphones were available, which we took full advantage of. The train took up the entirety of every narrow street, and I have never been jostled so much in my life. But thanks to this train tour, I did learn that Victor Hugo and Charles Dickens liked to stay at this hotel when they visited Avignon.

 

A house from the 16th century transformed into a hotel in the 18th century, it has since been turned into a five-star luxury hotel. (Other famous guests who have frequented this place include: Picasso, Salvador Dali, Jacqueline Kennedy, various European presidents, etc.) 

After the train tour, we walked to the famous Pont d'Avignon, though we did not dance on it, nor were we even willing to pay to walk on it. 
 

The bridge now only goes across half of le Rhône.

We spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the city and the gardens next to the Papal Palace. 

 (Names of Jews sent to Nazi extermination camps during WW2.)

 (le Pont d'Avignon)

 (We brought peace everywhere we went.)

 (Is it a statue or is he real? Any guesses?)

 (He's real, and nearly scared me to death when I turned around and almost literally stumbled upon him.)

 (We happily represent Birkenstock on all cobblestone streets in any French town.)

(The fascination with old doors continues and Melissa gladly indulges my oddities.) 

Here's another one: 

 (Isn't the detail amazing?)

 

After walking around for quite a while, it was nice just to sit and relax for a minute. 

We also conveniently stationed ourselves to where we could watch France play in one of the World Cup games. (By the way, did you hear? They play tomorrow in the Final!)

Dinner that evening was at our favorite bistrot, which we stumbled upon in our wanderings.

Where did we stay? Not at l'Hôtel d'Europe which I previously described, but at a cute little bed and breakfast just outside of Avignon. (Better suited to our budget and our level of class.) But you'll have to stay tuned for the next blog post to see pictures.