Blogs from Avignon, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France, Europe - page 9

Day 7 Just thought, you don't know who's writing do you? Here's a little quiz, you have to guess each day who has written what! Last night we got to be about as rebellious as we get now we are in our dotage. In the sixties we joined the revolution and manned the barricades, now we giggle as we break hotel rules and picnic in our room! Last night was another one of incredible thunder and lightning with the concomitant floods in the carpark and garden. We walked into the nearest village and had coffee beneath plane trees in the square then walked through a tunnel up the hill behind the village - the views were stunning down to the Rhone.{ See Sue Bish- we can do tunnels and views too! Later we drove to Le ... read more

Sue and John met me at the station and it was so good to see them again, sit out in the garden and have a glass of gin and tonic with Sue, and finally get a few swims in the pool! They looked after me so well, just when I needed a break from traveling and to get a few good nights sleep, it was perfect! We spent a lot of time around the house, sunbathing and in the pool, it was so relaxing. We had a few days out; I went to explore Avignon one day. I saw the Pont d’Avignon, which is a bit useless as it only goes half way across the river, and no one was dancing on it either. I saw the impressive Palais du Papes, with its lovely gardens ... read more

Hi all, just wanted to share with all you flower lovers the most beautiful experience ever !!!! Fields of French lavender we sighted overlooking ....Sur la Pont Avignon la la la la la and surounding the 11th century Abbey of Senaque and then just driving along through the countryside.... often with a castle or Chateau in the distance, ....just sooo romantic !!!! And the perfume was hynotique!!! We had to pinch ourselves sometimes .. or was that when Ian pinched me, whatever !!! And then on our drive to Conques we passed by our first of many fields of sunflowers ...in full bloom... such a sight to see, I just wantd to share with you all.... the joy!! Sunflowers are always such a happy flower, like daisies but just so much brighter and bigger, they can´t ... read more

Started my day off right with a typical French meal. Hit up the local supermarket for a baguette and a wheel of munster cheese and headed over to the park near where I would meet my host a little later on. Sat out on a bench and enjoyed my meal on a beautiful morning and enjoyed how many other people I saw either walking around with their own baguette or having a little meal similar to mine. My host, Christophe, picked me up in his car by the tourist office at noon and we drove out to his place in the suburbs. I had noticed that the weather here was a little cooler than I expected and after talking to him I found out why. The Provence is notorious for its strong winds which the locals ... read more

Today we leave the South and return to Paris for a day and a half before we return to the US. Blogging has been light while we've been in the south because we've had so much fun relaxing and soaking up the Midi sun. Some highlights of our time in Provence include: 1) A trip to Cassis, a small fishing/beach village about 20 km east of Marseille. Cassis is known for the beautiful coves, or calanques, that mark the coast. We took a boat ride to see the inlets dug into the chalk cliffs over millions of years. In the 1980s, a diver found underwater caves in this area that bore the markings of prehistoric man! Drive time from Avignon - about 2 hours, depending on how lost you get. It's probably better to take the ... read more