Arrival in Avignon
The TGV journey was everything I expected and then some. 200mph is fun I don't care what the vehicle is. Arrived in Avignon and got some first hand experience with the Mistral winds. They're strong, to say the least. The best news is that it's sunny here, this hotel room is about twice the size of my apartment, and I've got a whole other day to explore out here. I think I'm in Provence, or at least I'm near it.
I saw the bridge of Avignon - built by a crazy shepherd who convinced the whole town God told him to build a bridge. Funny thing is, it doesn't actually cross the river anymore - it's stops about 66% of the way out. You see in 1693 they handed over construction of the bridge to Louisiana Governor Boudreax Avignon who said "as long as you name it after me, I'll fund it, and don't care where it goes. Those of you familiar with Louisiana politics know that several of his decendents went on to build bridges to nowhere in 20th century Louisnana.
There is some great history to the bridge too. It was an important crossing point for Italians going to Spain. It was rebuit about 3 times over the years. St. Benezet (the loon who convinved the town to build it) is buried in the bridge. Winter crossings were especially dangerous because the bridge had no side rails. Agian, this wind is fierce, and it blows all the time. Apparently they lost a good number of horses and people each year who slipped on the icy bridge and into the river. There are 20 dams on the Ronhe today, but back then it was really wild. If only they had paid attention to the "Bridge Freezes Before Road Surface" signs...
I then saw the old papal palace. Very impressive. Built over the course of 6 different pontificates (or whatever is the plural of pontificate). It's enormous - bigger than any castle I've ever seen. If I didn't send you the link to my pics yet, let me know and I'll e-mail it to you. Lots of places inside you couldn't take pictures because the frescos on the walls are still in tact! The pope's private chambers were really impressive. French blue walls with gold leaf floral patterns on them. Hunting scenes and biblical stories painted on the walls. I give up - can't describe it all here. Will look for a link and include it.
Was going to spend some of my "fun" money on a typical dinner, but then I did a wine tasting outside the old papal palace and decided my money would be better spent on typical wine. I'm going to save it for a meal with Ella. So instead for dinner I had a Ketwah. Never heard of it, had no idea what was in it, but there was a line of locals at the place so I figured it was good. Turns out it's spiced lamb, cheese, and fried eggs in a baguette. And get this - they put the french fries on the sandwich! It was amazing. I tried to make a potato salad sandwich once when I was a kid and my Mom said "you don't want a potato salad sandwich - that's too much starch." No, Mom. Maybe if it was a potato salad, corn and rice sandwich I'd agree with you, but the French say it's perfectly fine to put "pommes frites" on a baguette!
Then it was back to the hotel. It's a Holiday Inn Express and I really like it. Near the train station, much nicer than my apartment, and 2 Euro gets you a round-trip shuttle ticket to the city. I picked up some brochures of other things to do in the area so I can explore some more tomorrow.
I saw the bridge of Avignon - built by a crazy shepherd who convinced the whole town God told him to build a bridge. Funny thing is, it doesn't actually cross the river anymore - it's stops about 66% of the way out. You see in 1693 they handed over construction of the bridge to Louisiana Governor Boudreax Avignon who said "as long as you name it after me, I'll fund it, and don't care where it goes. Those of you familiar with Louisiana politics know that several of his decendents went on to build bridges to nowhere in 20th century Louisnana.
There is some great history to the bridge too. It was an important crossing point for Italians going to Spain. It was rebuit about 3 times over the years. St. Benezet (the loon who convinved the town to build it) is buried in the bridge. Winter crossings were especially dangerous because the bridge had no side rails. Agian, this wind is fierce, and it blows all the time. Apparently they lost a good number of horses and people each year who slipped on the icy bridge and into the river. There are 20 dams on the Ronhe today, but back then it was really wild. If only they had paid attention to the "Bridge Freezes Before Road Surface" signs...
I then saw the old papal palace. Very impressive. Built over the course of 6 different pontificates (or whatever is the plural of pontificate). It's enormous - bigger than any castle I've ever seen. If I didn't send you the link to my pics yet, let me know and I'll e-mail it to you. Lots of places inside you couldn't take pictures because the frescos on the walls are still in tact! The pope's private chambers were really impressive. French blue walls with gold leaf floral patterns on them. Hunting scenes and biblical stories painted on the walls. I give up - can't describe it all here. Will look for a link and include it.
Was going to spend some of my "fun" money on a typical dinner, but then I did a wine tasting outside the old papal palace and decided my money would be better spent on typical wine. I'm going to save it for a meal with Ella. So instead for dinner I had a Ketwah. Never heard of it, had no idea what was in it, but there was a line of locals at the place so I figured it was good. Turns out it's spiced lamb, cheese, and fried eggs in a baguette. And get this - they put the french fries on the sandwich! It was amazing. I tried to make a potato salad sandwich once when I was a kid and my Mom said "you don't want a potato salad sandwich - that's too much starch." No, Mom. Maybe if it was a potato salad, corn and rice sandwich I'd agree with you, but the French say it's perfectly fine to put "pommes frites" on a baguette!
Then it was back to the hotel. It's a Holiday Inn Express and I really like it. Near the train station, much nicer than my apartment, and 2 Euro gets you a round-trip shuttle ticket to the city. I picked up some brochures of other things to do in the area so I can explore some more tomorrow.
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