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Published: April 26th 2011
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Telephone booth in the squareToday would not be spent in Marseille but rather the small neighbouring town of Avignon. I booked my train tickets last night and made sure to arrive at the Avignon Centre station. The other is on the TGV and comes in a little out of the centre of town (although much faster it is also much more expensive). On the TER (Train Express Regional) it takes about an hour and a half. Not too bad. I had been looking forward t o having some time to read on this trip (the Kobo is loaded up with tons of books) so I delved right into The Da Vinci Code. I have read it a number of times but under the circumstances of where I find myself, I was in the mood to read it again. While waiting for the train to arrive, I indulged in my first pain au chocolat with an espresso. It is unbelievable that I am nine days into this trip and have yet to have a pain au chocolat. Sacre bleu!!
Avignon is one of those quaint little towns which is again filled with windy side streets, cafes and boutiques. I wish I could come shopping here
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Morning dew once in a while because there were definitely some very pretty dresses that I would have taken home in a heartbeat!!
The first thing that drew my attention though was a little gourmet shop called Les Péchés Gourmands. They specialize in the provençale delicacies. What really caught my attention were the “navettes” which are traditional cookies that I had vowed that I would try during this trip. The tradition of these cookies is that they are boat shaped and the legend is that they represent the boats that brought the saints onto the shores of Provence. The original ones are scented with “fleur d’oranger” which I tried but I also walked away with one chocolate, one anise and one almond. The other delicacy that I had to try and was able to find in this little shop is the calisson d’Aix. It is a small diamond shaped pastry made with ground almonds and fruit syrup and is wrapped in a communion wafer and iced with white icing sugar.
Walking away with my little bag with goodies to keep me happy for a couple of days, I walked down the Rue de la République which is filled with shops
and cafes. This lead me to a square called Place de l’Horloge which is again filled with locals and tourists alike and lined with cafes and souvenir shops. You cannot walk ten feet without smelling something made of lavender! I would end the day here by stopping at the Pizzeria des Arts and enjoying a nice pizza on a terrace.
Adjacent to this square is the Palais des Papes. This is considered one of the largest gothic palaces in Europe and was home to nine popes. The tour included an audioguide and you could liberally walk through the many rooms of this enormous complex. Some of the highlights for me included the treasury rooms which had trap doors that led to secret compartments where many of the fortunes at the time would be hidden. There were many rooms including the pope’s bedrooms that had been restored and you could see some of the original frescoes on the walls. Some of the rooms were simply grandiose in size and must have been quite lavish in their day.
From there, I would walk over to the Pont Bézenet or otherwise known as the Pont d’Avignon. The legend behind the construction
of this bridge is that Saint-Bézenet heard voices telling him that he needed to build a bridge. This met with some skepticism (of course) and he was challenged to throw a large stone in the water in order to start the construction. Some say that angels assisted him and that he was indeed able to throw this enormous stone in the water which ultimately led to the construction of the bridge. The length of the bridge counted 22 arches of which only four remain today. There are two small chapels as well, one dedicated to Saint-Bézenet.
Coming back on my steps I would step in to many of the little shops and do a bit of souvenir shopping. One of the things that I had on my list of things to do in my lifetime was to buy Herbes de Provence in Provence … done!! I even got a little recipe book … don’t know how easy it will be to recreate some traditional recipes but I will try. There is a recipe for a chicken that involves 40 cloves of garlic … I have to try that!
So my day ended with aimless wandering of the streets
of Avignon and stopping in at Square Agricol Perdiguier. It is a lovely little park adjacent to the tourism office. I had stopped in quickly in the morning but decided to stop in on my way back to the train station and just sit, read and watch Avignon life go by.
So now I am safely tucked away in my Marseille hotel room with another beautiful day in France under my belt. Tomorrow … it’s another little village … just have to decide which one!
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galthea
Galthea
oh i'm just about to visit France, and after reading your blog, i just can't wait! and i love those pictures. they're beautiful!