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View of the Rhone
walking up to the Parc des Rochers des Doms We started our day with a free continental breakfast at the hotel. June Bug was enjoying her plateful of croissants, fruit, and cheeses when she said, “What I look like a vegetarian?” I laughed out loud. That was the first time I had ever heard her use the word vegetarian.
We headed off for the center of town. Avignon is surrounded by a pretty city wall and the Palace of the Popes is visible from far away. By the time we arrived all the obvious parking just outside the city walls was taken, so we spent a long time weaving in and out of narrow streets searching for a parking garage. Eventually we found a parking garage right under the Papal Palace, which is where we were going anyway. Perfect!
The last time we were in a parking garage, we were shopping in Germany and I threw up. This is the only time June Bug’s ever seen me throw up, so it freaked her out. Anyway, when we pulled into this garage she said, “What we’re going? To see Mommy’s food?” As if we would open our car doors and see the spot on the ground where I had vomited. We
On the Way to the Park
walking up to the Parc des Rochers des Doms told her that we were going to a palace, and went on our way. We looked at the Papal Palace from the outside, but we didn’t pay the entrance fee to go in. Instead we walked up to the park on the rock formations right behind it. The park offered scenic views of the Rhone River below, lots of shade, and a playground. June Bug loved the park, but she didn’t have the best luck there. On the way up, she picked up a handful of gravel and threw it. It was a windy day, so some of the dirt/gravel flew back into her eyes. Ouch! Oh well, she eventually cried it out. Live and learn. Later she fell pretty hard on the merry-go-round. Luckily, the park had a duck pond, and ducks are perfect for cheering up three-year-olds. June Bug also loved the pigeons. She would pick a pigeon and walk up behind it, but as soon as the pigeon started to fly away, June Bug would get scared and run clear to the other side of the playground before she would get the courage to look back (and see that the pigeon really wasn’t following her). It was
The Park
Parc des Rochers des Doms really quite funny. The other adults in the park enjoyed watching her pigeon adventures as well.
We left the park and walked down toward the Avignon Bridge. Along the way we did some shopping and bought Katherine a wooden sword. I had forgotten to pack pajamas, so I was looking for a cheap, over-sized T-shirt. I finally found a rack with 4 old T-shirts for 3 euros. I chose one that said “1998”* and featured a soccer ball and flags from around the world. The French and Brazilian flags were the largest and they were strategically placed above the others. The shopkeeper told David that in 1998 France played Brazil in the final game of the world cup. (I assume they lost, because the shopkeeper didn’t say that they won the world cup.)
We stopped and had lunch at an outdoor café, then we headed back to the hotel for nap time.
After nap time we ventured out to find a grocery store, so we could keep a few items on hand in our hotel room. We got fruit, cookies, drinks, and a pizza for dinner. Our plan was to have a free continental breakfast, one nice French meal, and
one cheap meal each day. Taking a pizza back to our hotel qualified as our daily cheap meal.
After dinner, things began cooling down, so we decided to go out to Pont du Gard. The Roman aqueduct stays open until 10:00 p.m. in July, so it was nice to go late and avoid the crowds and the heat. I don’t know about you, but I think Roman plumbing is fascinating. This span of three-tier aqueduct crossing the Gardon River is the tallest Roman structure outside of the Colosseum in Rome. I thought the structure was pretty impressive, but June Bug preferred looking at the little fish nibbling her toes as she soaked her feet in the stream.
We returned to our hotel in time to see some of the Germany-Argentina world cup game on TV.
*1998: A good year for French soccer, and a good year for marrying the love of your life.
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