| Aug 23, 2007 - Avignon
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 | | show all 10 | | Avignon, viewed from park across the Rhone | | another shot of the town from across the river | | as night falls | | |
| crap! curse these foreign keyboards! I have been typing this entry for the past 20 minutes and hit some unknown key, erasing the entiire entry, grrrr...
I have had a great 2 days in Avignon and have managed to avoid most of the tourist crowds. The main street through town, leading past the 'Palace of the Popes' and main square is jammed with tourists and bad restaurants, so after the my initial walk through, I stayed clear. The side streets just a few blocks away are much quieter and filled with more locals. In the 1300's, the Vatican moved the Pope here and built a big Palace and cathedral, which is the heart of the main tourist zone. You can tour it but i just couldn't stand the crowds so just took some photos from the outside and the nearby park. The central part of Avignon is surrounded by an old wall and like most European cities, the oldest section of town is a jumble of twisting and narrow medieval lanes. It can be a little disorienting navigating them, but half the fun is getting lost and finding your way around. In a town like Avignon, you can only walk so far before running into one of the town walls, so it's not that difficult to find your way. I love watching the French women navigate these uneven cobbled streets in their heels, usually with a cell phone in one hand and a cigarette in the other. It's a wonder they don't break their necks, but they never seem to stumble. I am alwqays surprised when they allow cars to drive down these narrow, twisting streets. In many cities, these areas are pedestrian only zones, but other cities, like Avignon, allow cars. Is packed with people and I am amazed there aren't more accidents considering how fast they drive. I saw a moded barely miss a little girl today. The mother started screaming what I am sure were a stream of obsenities in Italian at the guy on the bike, but he didn't even slow down.
Yesterday I went on a wine tasting tour to some of the wineries in the nearby Cotes du Rhone. It was much like the tour I did in the Alsace; a local wine expert driving a small group in a minivan. I had a great time and highly recommend one of these tours to anyone interested in wine. Both tours I did were excellent and a lot of fun. There were 2 Australian girls, a Spanish couple from Barcelona and myself. I only signed up for the half-day tour, but when it was time to go I was having so much fun I decided to pay the extra amount and make it a full day. We toured several wineries and small villages, and by the end of the day I was feeling no pain. I hit it off with Miquel and Cassandra, the Spanish couple and ended up going to dinner with them aftewards. We ate at a great little place on a quiet square not far from my hotel, then walked across the bridge to a park on the other side of the Rhone river with great views of the town, drinking a bottle of Chateauneuf du Papes wine they bought on the tour. I am surprised I didn't have a hangover today considering the amount of wine I drank yesterday. |
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