http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Provence-Alpes-C-te-d-Azur/Avignon/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Europe , France , Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur , Avignon en-us Mon, 28 Dec 2009 19:20:45 +0000 Mon, 28 Dec 2009 19:20:45 +0000 Walked miles from Avignon to Chateau beautiful over the hills of Gard. Went back to the old Rhone canal to take some piccies. http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Provence-Alpes-C-te-d-Azur/Avignon/blog-443743.html September 2 2009 Provence FranceSo instead of going thru the tiny roads of the Verdon Grand Canyon of France region we went through the tiny roads of the Luberon National Park. Funny how fate leads you in a direction and boy was this direction scenic. What a beautiful drive through Provence. They must have just cut the lavenders back as we can see field after field of them but no purple http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Provence-Alpes-C-te-d-Azur/Avignon/blog-436405.html It was nice waking up in Avignon again. We had already spent 2 days in this town and it felt familiar. After breakfast we broke into groups and went on a walking tour. We use a quietvox for this. It's a small ipod like speaker with a detachable earpiece. You keep the earpiece for future use and everyday get a new vox. The vox's have numbers and that is your group so when you walk around http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Provence-Alpes-C-te-d-Azur/Avignon/blog-431333.html Today we celebrate our 30th anniversary in Avignon. I have 10 minutes to journal before we leave the ship for our morning tour of the Palais de Pape. We enjoyed our stay in Arles. We walked the the town when we arrived and returned to the ship for a jacuzzi I wish I could call it a hot tub but the water is pool temperature so I have nicknamed it the cold tub. However at the end of the day http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Provence-Alpes-C-te-d-Azur/Avignon/blog-430986.html Le 17 juillet Maxime et moi nous sommes envols vers le sud de la France en Provence pour rejoindre mes amis Erwan et Caro qui habitent Rognonas juste cot d'Avignon. On a pass deux semaines magnifiques dans un coin du monde aussi enchanteur que ce que j'avais entendu et imagin au fil des annes. Un mlange de saveurs dlicieuses des mets typiques provenal des paysages couper le souffle http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Provence-Alpes-C-te-d-Azur/Avignon/blog-422577.html If I was in love this is the city i would visitAvignon just here four nights. It's amazing so much to see. We are on an island in the middle of the Rhone. This is the second largest region for wine in the whole of France.The city is amazing we walk out of the campsite towards the Rhone and jump on to the shuttle boat across the river into the city.Just about coping with the heat. The http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Provence-Alpes-C-te-d-Azur/Avignon/blog-402395.html On our last day in Provence we took another drive but this time northwest of Avignon along the Cote de Rhone one of France's wine regions. The countryside was hilly and light green from new growth of leaves on the grape vines. All very scenic. We stopped at a hill village called VaisondeRomaine which had Roman ruins right beside where we parked. The town was also having a flea market and m http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Provence-Alpes-C-te-d-Azur/Avignon/blog-395576.html Today was market day in VilleneuvelesAvignon. We just walked down to the square ater breakfast and didn't have to worry about finding a parking place. Think your local US farmers market times 20. Fruits vegetables cheeses sausages spices clothes purses candy it was all there. Then we took a local bus across the river Rhone into Avignon. Avignon was an important Roman cityas well as http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Provence-Alpes-C-te-d-Azur/Avignon/blog-395215.html This morning we woke up to rain but by the time we finished breakfast it was sunny. So we decided to take a drive into the countryside of Provence. Our first stop was south of Avignon to St Remy where Vincent Van Gogh spent many years painting. Alas it was market day and impossible to park anywhere. So we changed directions and headed east to the Luberon. This is a mountainous area of vi http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Provence-Alpes-C-te-d-Azur/Avignon/blog-395092.html Villeneuve translated into English means 'new village' but it is hardly new by an American's standard. Just across the Rhone River from Avignon VilleneuveLesAvignon was founded in the 14th century as a 'suburb' of Avignon where Pope Clement moved the Vatican headquarters from Rome. It still retains its old charm of narrow cobbled streets stone houses and walls tiled roofs and old church http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Provence-Alpes-C-te-d-Azur/Avignon/blog-394842.html Today was a very long day. We left our hotel in Sarlat in the morning drove to the car rental in Cahors took a cab to the train station took the train to Toulouse transferred to a train to Montpelier we could see the snowcapped Pyreneesat Montpelier transferred to a local train to Avignon we had 11 minutes to get off the train and get on the other train. Then we took a bus to the other http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Provence-Alpes-C-te-d-Azur/Avignon/blog-394438.html April 109We explored the Papal Palace that was home to 9 Popes when Rome was not safe for them for a period of about 150 years in the 15th and 16th century. I havenrsquot seen anything quite so grand in my life havenrsquot been to Paris yet Notre Dame and the Louvre still to come. Very spectacular We had the afternoon to shop and find an Internet Caf. Unfortunately I didnrsquot http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Provence-Alpes-C-te-d-Azur/Avignon/blog-389024.html March 31st Paris Charles De GaulWe arrived in Paris via a surprisingly pleasant Air Canada flight from Toronto. I was hoping to get a few zzzrsquos on the flight over the pond but unfortunately my sleeping pills were in my checked luggage Big mistake. I only dozed briefly now and again for a few hours in between being stirred by talkative teen girls and the bathroom door slammng every fe http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Provence-Alpes-C-te-d-Azur/Avignon/blog-389020.html off we go to england for christmas with philippe vigneron who has offered to take me to le mans. this means travelling over the massif centrale http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Provence-Alpes-C-te-d-Azur/Avignon/blog-373028.html sunrise sunset and square http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Provence-Alpes-C-te-d-Azur/Avignon/blog-371660.html last view of avignon before heading south to marseille think mont ventoux in the background http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Provence-Alpes-C-te-d-Azur/Avignon/blog-371468.html 10608 getting ready to leave Avignon to walk to ChateauneufduPape in the hope of finding work http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Provence-Alpes-C-te-d-Azur/Avignon/blog-370922.html Decided to head south to Avignon today. It was a gorgeous 2 hr train ride. The pictures you see of the French countryside were taken from a very fast train You go Fujifilm F30 I picked the Hotel de l'Atelier out of the guidebook. I called from the Avignon train station to see if they had a room. But of course I asked if they needed my name and cc info. No just show up he said. It woul http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Provence-Alpes-C-te-d-Azur/Avignon/blog-344783.html It has been a very long time since I've written and I've been dreading this...there's so much to write about the All Saint's VacationTo start I'll tell you about two of the most HORRIBLE days I've had since I got here the Thursday and Friday before I left for vacation. On Thursday I was supposed to leave for the metro at 650 a.m. and was instead woken up by my French mother at 7 a.m. askin http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Provence-Alpes-C-te-d-Azur/Avignon/blog-340991.html Saturday 16 AugustWe were on the bus at the fresh time of 730 in the morning. It was a long driving day arriving in Avignon France in time for dinner. The beds were very dodgy with one of the top bunks breaking early into our stay.After dinner we had our walking tour with the wonderful Leticia. Avignon is an old walled city that used to house the Pope. In the centre of the town is the ch http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Provence-Alpes-C-te-d-Azur/Avignon/blog-334376.html