Auberge Bagatelle Avignon

... over 1.5 million tourists each year as it is the source of a natural spring. It's wierd seeing a fast flowing river and then walking 50 metres "upstream" and there only being a trickle.. and then a bit further and no water... nothing but a big cliff straight up! <br><br>The town itself is nestled in a valley and is particularly pretty at dusk when rocks take on the colours of the sunset ...

... and Rhone. Built in 90 AD it&#8217;s hard to imagine all the events that have taken place in this building. Walking around and around, I tried to imagine it filled with 20 000 screaming fans as gladiators ripped apart animals, but it was hard. From Medieval times to the 1830&#8217;s, it was bricked up and used as a fortified city. 212 housed and 2 churches made their home ...

... did he find the determination to continue? Even the one friendship he had ended so bitterly that he felt the need to main himself. Thus triggering the descent into insanity. <br> <br> Starry, starry night, <br> Flaming flowers that brightly play.<br> Swirling clouds and violet haze.<br> Reflecting in Vincent&#8217;s eyes of China blue. <br><br>I was so ...

... pope from Rome to Avignon, so that he would have the whole church under his control. So the town was circled with water so there was almost no way out of here for the popes. So they stayed here over a century. In history this phenomenon is known as "popes' 100 years' imprisonment". Their residence was this very "palais" which is very beautiful from outside, but unfortunately it was too late to enter, it closes at 8pm.<br>We ...

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... home to Catholicism's alternate and sometimes dueling Popes. We also kept a running version of the children's song "Sur le pont d'Avignon, on y danse, on y danse..." as we walked along the river Rhone, viewing the old Roman Pont St. Benezet (bridge) that inspired the song. On Tuesday and Wednesday, we rented a tiny, red Fiat and drove through the surrounding hill towns of the Cotes du Rhone and the Luberon. Of note for us was market day in ...

... for a little over a year. We checked out the ruins, had a beer and then bought a tour book that took us on a wild Van "Goose" chase (the Van Gogh trail) to some of the locations of his paintings. Some of the spots still look similar to when Vincent had painted them ... and some of them not so much. After Arles we returned home for a rest before heading out for a late supper at Les Artist again (Sea Bass and Duck leg this time).

Paris to Avignon Beyond Avignon it was my idea to not have any accommodation planned - and so I guess the risk was mine. :) Given it was the shoulder season, I thought that it would be low-ish risk around accommodation. So, it was off to the train station and to another engineering marvel - the TGV. If I had thought the Eurostar was fast, this was faster. :) A highlight for Bridget was "the dogs in ...

... we were awoken by the campground gestapo checking peoples tags at 2am, but we were ok. The next day it was hot as always and we walked around the town some more, taking in the sights such as the Pope Palace and beautiful Romanesque church and getting some nice views of the Provence countryside from a hill. We chilled out the rest of the day in the shade, then had a picnic dinner by the river and Pont D'Avignon. Got some sleep before heading off to the City of Lights.