Today I hopped the 0716 direct from Carcassonne to Avignon, arriving there just about 10 am. I wanted to see the city and in particular the Palais des Papes, the palace which the Popes of Avignon used--for 100 years, the Pope didn't live in Rome, but in Avignon (1306-1406 AD)--it was a political thing. Clement the VI was French, and he got fed up with Rome for some reason, so he moved the whole shebang to Avignon--perhaps the wine was better. Anyway--I wanted to see that palace. It's lovely, and big, and lavish in that cute little medeival way they had of making things "fancy", as my grandmother would have said. I got to see the Pont d"Avignon from a distance--this weekend (starting Wednesday!) is their big annual festival of Avignon, and the place was PACKED with tourists. I heard more than one English-speaker cursing at the winding little alleys which one would think would take one around the block--no such thing! I didn't get to dance on the bridge because the line was SO long to get there, and I didn't wish to miss my train. Also, they only allowed photos inside the Pope's Palace in 2 rooms . . . but I got some of the outside, at least.
On the train on my return trip, I sat with 3 young ladies (18, 19 and 20!) from Germany who were doing the 2-week backpack trip. They are going to see Carcassonne and then go to Barcelona--both wise choices! We started in French but quickly switched to English (their request) because, while they study English for 10 years of their 12 years of school, they don't have to take French at all. We chatted right along about lots of things--one of the things they noted is that some French people recoil when they hear the German language spoken--probably understandable in an occupied country for most of WW II. However, they said most of the French folks have been friendly and helpful, and they said that THEY were trying to be "ambassadors of goodwill amongst nations"--I agreed that was a noble goal. They had been at the Taize Community for 6 days before heading south to Lyon and then Avignon. I showed them where the Tourist Information kiosk is, right by the train station, so I hope they could find a hotel in town. It was a nice day adventure, and maybe the nicest was seeing sunshine over Carcassonne as we pulled into the station!
When I got home, I just walked along the road towards La Cite, taking photos every hundred steps or so, so I won't forget the walk to the Medieval City on the Hill, which has been my backdrop for 3 months. It's nice to see the sun after TWO SOLID WEEKS of rain!
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