Avignon, Blog 3

Avignon  Blog 3

We are docked in Avignon for two days.  So while we are “river cruising,” we haven’t moved an inch.  Today a foreign boat is docked along side us and since our room is riverside, our view is of their top deck. Alas, or maybe fortunately for them, I can’t stand naked in the window.  Also for them to get to the dock, they have to pass through our ship.  I know they’re foreign because of the cigarettes dangling from their lips!

We had 2 days of beautiful weather but now it is raining.  If the river rises too much, we will do a riverboat “cruise” by bus.  At the very least we will tour Arles “sur l’eau” this afternoon.

Our first day in Avignon (I love the sound of the word) we did a walking tour. By the way, my cousin Roberta who is in Israel right now says that if someone has a British accent, his/her IQ is automatically raised 10 points.  I think she’s right.  If someone has a French accent, is his/her snobbishness raised by a factor of 10?  Actually Dan and I enjoy the French.  We find then warm, friendly, and accommodating.  It probably helps that we are warm, friendly, and try to speak their language.  Even if I’m being immodest, we are good travelers (except when I try to sneak pictures in places where it isn’t allowed!!!).

But I digress…..Our ship is docked less than a 5 minute walk into the heart of town.  Our first stop was Palais des Papes, Palace of the Popes, the largest surviving Gothic Palace in Europe.  In 1309 a French Pope was elected who decided he’d be safer in France so he moved the entire papacy to Avignon.  The Catholic church literally bought the entire town from a French woman and popes resided there until 1403.  However, in1378 the Italians wanted their own pope so there were two causing a schism until 1417.  What would these medieval Catholics think about Pope Francis!  Some guidebooks complain that the palace has no furniture, but I prefer the barren stone rooms. Two of the smaller rooms had beautiful frescos:  one with vines, leaves, and squirrels and the other showing hunting scenes.  The kitchen had an extremely tall chimney, formed by the four walls of the room coming together at a point in the center. It was so high that I had to prop myself against a wall to see to the top.

We strolled next to Les Halles, a famous indoor food market where I bought some specialty salts and olive oil.  On the way, we passed the synagogue, which was closed because it was Friday afternoon.  Jews first arrived in Avignon following the Diaspora in the first century and were protected by the Pope during the time of the plague.   While the rest of the group went back to the ship, Dan and I walked up to the Jardin du Rochers des Domes for a beautiful view of the Rhone Valley.  We descended via restored ramparts to the riverside to the remains of the famous St. Benezet Bridge built in the 12 th century.  The only bridge crossing the Rhone in the Middle Ages, it was destroyed by a flood in 1668 and never rebuilt so today it’s possible to see a bridge to no where.  My book club just read a well-written fascinating book of historical fiction, “The Dream of Scipio,” which is about 3 eras in the history of Avignon:  Roman times, Middle Ages, and pre-Holocaust.  Each story is interwoven and has common themes. 

After lunch on the ship, we took a bus ride (much better bus!) to St. Remy to see the monastery where Van Gogh lived when he was in one of his mental declines.  It continues today as a mental hospital but only for women.  I told Dan that when I become truly crazy or when I have Alzheimers, it’s where I want to go.  A tree lined road leads up to the visitor’s building.  Along the way are reproductions of Van Gogh paintings.  In the middle of the monastery is a lovely garden.  Upstairs from the windows of Van Gogh’s bedroom, we could see a large patch of land with Iris past their prime next to a second patch of orange-red poppies in full-bloom.  The poppies are late this year because of the cold, rainy weather.  The intensity of their color makes them more beautiful than our California golden poppies.

Back on the bus we went a short distance to Les Baux.  The landscape leading up to Les Baux is almost lunar with its grey, irregular stone.  Baux has a long history as a powerful city once controlling 80 towns in the region and becoming a center of Protestantism.  Ruins of a castle remain on top while winding narrows streets are today filled with the ubiquitous but fun tourist shops.  The ride into and out of Les Baux was starkly beautiful.

After the Captains Dinner that evening, we were entertained by a gypsy trio—two guitarists and a singer/flamenco dancer. They were much more Spanish (speaking the language) than French and got people up and dancing to the beat of their music.

Bon Nuit