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Published: October 1st 2012
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Bonjour from Avignon,
It’s actually a few days now since we left Avignon. We were in Avignon for only 2 days and we packed a lot into those 2 days. Avignon was our last stop in France and we stayed in a really luxury hotel as a kind of present to ourselves. The hotel was a real treat and some of the photos show the courtyard of the hotel.
We wanted to visit Avignon because it is a walled city with lots of history. Avignon was the centre of the Roman Catholic world from the late 1200’s- to the late 1300’s. 6 Popes held court in Avignon and built a Palace that indicated their wealth and power. The hotel we stayed in was inside the walled city. Avignon, at least the walled city, is recognised by UNESCO for its historic value.
It’s a short trip by train from Lyon to Avignon and we arrived in time for lunch. The wall of the city is undergoing restoration in some parts and is made from local white/gray stone. This stone is really hard to photograph and gets really dirty so it is difficult for the locals to keep clean.
During our first afternoon it rained and we were concerned that the weather would turn nasty on us; however the weather on our second day was beautiful with blue skies. The streets of the city are all narrow and paved with cobbles or stones, which are hard on the feet, uneven and slippery in the wet. I guess that Avignon – the walled city- exists now only for the tourists, but it is charming and pretty and we enjoyed our visit very much.
On our second and last day in Avignon, we spent all morning looking over the Palace of the Popes – “Palais des Papes” in French. The building is enormous and we were provided with mobile phone like devices with a commentary recorded in English. We were 2 in a crowd of hundreds visiting the Palais. Many were in groups with a guide that needed to shout to be heard. The noise of all the mobile phone like devices for those not in tour groups was a constant loud hissing or buzzing noise. Thankfully, the Palais is no holy place, just a place with lots of history. Even after the popes left Avignon and returned to Rome
in 1367 or so the Palais continued to be used and changed – parts were demolished and parts were added and internal walls and floors added and subtracted. We guess, because of the UNESCO listing, there is much being done to restore the building. Probably, the most interesting useless facts I picked up were the tiny, tiny holes though which archers defending the Palais, could shoot at the incoming enemy. Also, the holes are so tiny, I am not sure that the persons on watch would see much of the enemy. Brendon was staggered by the amount of food brought into the Palais to feed everyone celebrating the investment of a Pope. Feeding a few hundred people in this day and age is a challenge; feeding over a thousand in 1300 or so is……. I am not sure there is a word for what it is……………
One of the other famous monuments or buildings in Avignon is the bridge of Avignon. I am sure that the rhyme about the bridge is reasonably well known. We were provided the mobile phone commentary things again. In the forecourt of the tourist centre attached to the bridge is a presentation of the
“story of bridges” in which the Sydney Harbour Bridge is mentioned. I took a photo because Sydney seems a long way from Avignon. The bridge no longer completely spans the Rhone River to the shore of Avignon’s sister city across the river Villeneuve les Avignon; it was washed away over many hundreds of years.
The story or legend of the origin of the bridge is that a local shepherd, Benezet, who was considered to be a little “touched”, was visited by angels and told to build a bridge over the Rhone. Benezet told of his dream to the local bishop who did not believe Benezet’s story and told him that if he had been visited by angels and they wanted a bridge then Benezet would be able to lift a stone block that no one else in the city was able to lift. Benezet was able to lift the block and the building of the bridge started in 1171. The bridge went through many changes and additions. Inside the bridge down some stairs there is a shrine / chapel to “Saint Benezet”. There is a photo of the shrine / chapel. The Rhone River is a very large river
and the Pont d’Avignon was eventually determined to be too unsafe to try to re-build. I got a bit of vertigo on the bridge and did not feel too confident taking photos from the lower areas of the bridge. Brendon has a photo of me (which he will not share!!!) gingerly holding on to a railing with the camera in the other hand attempting to take a photo of the bridge. It was a little disappointing to learn that many of the Popes did not actually live at the Palais in Avignon; they maintained residences in Villeneuve les Avignon and walked across the bridge to get to Avignon.
After our big day of touristing, we had afternoon tea in the beautiful court yard of our hotel. We had a fantastic meal to finish off our time in France and we were and perhaps still are a little sad to have left France behind.
We are so sorry for the delay with this blog, the bandwidth if the WiFi connection in the hotel makes a very big difference to access to the blog site to upload photos.
We hope you enjoy!
Cass and Brendon
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Kym
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History lessons abound
Thank you boh for the wonderful historical info that you are imparting upon me. This is so much more interesting than the history i learnt at school many many years ago. And as a visual learner the pics are brilliant. I had never even heard of this place until now. I hope you are all enjoying your wonderful holiday. Can't wait to catch up when you get back here.