TravelStream™ news feed for member 3beansabroad on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/3beansabroad en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Thu, 08 Oct 2009 16:07:01 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/3beansabroad/3/1254412811/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/3beansabroad/3/1254412811/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/3beansabroad/3/1254412811/tpod.html Thu, 08 Oct 2009 16:07:01 -0400 A week in Avignon and Provence

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Villeneuve-les-Avignon, Languedoc-Roussillon, France

Today we stayed close to home in order to see the Palais des Papes, the home of several popes when they took a leave of absence from Rome for a while in the 14th and 15th centuries.  It's absolutely enormous and very imposing and impressive from the outside.  The inside is not much to look at because fires destroyed many of the frescoes and all of the ornate tapestries and other decorations purchased by the popes are long gone.  The audio guide provides a wealth of information about the various popes who lived there, their styles of rule, the politics of the day and construction and use of the facilities.  Quite frankly, it got to be too much.  We couldn't listen to all of the audio entries and we have pretty good stamina when it comes to history.Next door to the Palais is the Notre-Dame de Doms Cathedral which has a giant gilded statue at its peak, making it an easily identifiable landmark on the Avignon skyline.  The church was first established 898 years ago and has been used, abused, torn apart and repaired many times.  For all of the action it's seen in the last 900 years, it is very attractive and reasonably comfortable inside.  If I were going to choose one of the many holy places that I've visited this week to attend mass, this would be the one for me.Next to the Cathedral is a public garden which also offers beautiful views, primarily of the Rhone and Villeneuve-les-Avignon.  It has a grotto, plenty of olive trees, a small playground and grass which may be walked on, but not used for a picnic (don't ask me why).Those are the three things we did in the afternoon.  In the morning we drove across the Rhone bridge to Villeneuve to see their market and to visit the tourist attractions there.  I think Villeneuve needs to get better coverage in the guidebooks because it is a very cute little town and the market is excellent and it has several interesting places to see.  Also, the local constabulary didn't seem to mind that Lucy created her own parking space when none existed.At the market I bought a gift for Kate and we purchased a pound of paella for lunch.  We hoofed it upwards to Le Fort Saint Andre.  This is a really great medieval fortress that was built in the 10th century.  It's in great condition and has magnificent views of Avignon and the Rhone valley.  There is an abbey and abbey garden on the site as well.  The abbey is apparently privately owned and getting a tour requires work.  The gardens are available for a fee, but we gave it a miss because it's probably far from its best now that we are in October.Back closer to the center of town, we went to La Chartreuse de Vileneuve Lez Avignon.  It was established in the 14th century by Pope Innocent VI when he became pope and had other fish to fry across the river.  It is a Carthusian Monastery, one of the order's largest in Europe.  Lucy and I decided that the Carthusians, even back in the day, had a much more enviable lifestyle than the Cistercians.  Everything was more comfortable, more attractive and not quite so isolated.  You could be punished for engaging in alchemy and a few other infractions, but it looked like a pretty decent lifestyle for the time.  Pope Innocent is buried there.  Also, they have taken to sponsoring modern art installations on site.  The most bizarre and disturbing one was in the Chapel of the Dead where, formerly, dead monks would be laid out before they could be buried.  At present there is a scary looking Teddy bear holding a scythe and hammer.  You need to look at the picture.  We still can't figure it out.Money-saving tip: Avignon/Villeneuve have a free discount pass this year that allows you to purchase tickets for a number of sites at a discount.  We've saved at least 10 Euro using it, maybe more.  It can be picked up at tourist offices and major attractions in the two cities.  The pass is like a handy little passport with pictures, addresses and phone numbers.My little camera ran out of power, so I only have pictures from the morning available to upload.  I'll have to do the rest of the trip pix when I get home.Tonight we are having our big dinner out at Le Tout Petit, a hole-in-the-wall restaurant that comes highly recommended.  We made reservations for a very early dinner at 7:15.  Bon appetit! 
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/3beansabroad/3/1254552242/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/3beansabroad/3/1254552242/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/3beansabroad/3/1254552242/tpod.html Sun, 04 Oct 2009 12:50:08 -0400 A week in Avignon and Provence

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Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Provence, France

Lucy asked for it and we got it.  Today we experienced the beginning of the Mistral season.  Each fall and winter Provence is swept by a wailing wind.  Lucy made the mistake of saying that she'd be interested in being here for that.  She got her wish and our last day was very windy.  Luckily, the temperature held and we stayed comfortable, despite having bits of sand and debris swept into our eyes as we walked around.  We visited three towns today.  In the world-famous Châteauneuf-du-Pape we could have purchased many incredible bottles of wine to bring home and share with friends. Alas, since all liquids have been declared potentially dangerous to carry onboard planes, we were limited to trying them on site.  The town itself was very quiet.  I expected more hustle and bustle, but perhaps everyone is busy squeezing the grapes just harvested from the fields.  One advantage of grapes over lavender is that the fields look pretty much the same before and after harvest.  Frankly, I enjoyed the wine tasting experience more in California.  The people were much more friendly.  At one Domaine the woman stared silently at me as I sipped a series of three reds, starting with Cotes-du-Rhone and ending the Chateauneuf.We enjoyed our morning in Orange the most.  We started with breakfast at a cafe on a square, did a little window shopping and visited one of three remaining Roman theaters in the world.  It is 2,000 years old and has been to Hell and back, but it's still standing and people perform operas there.  A statue of the Emperor looks out at the audience from the top to remind everyone who is in charge.  We were told that his head is removable so that they didn't have to create a whole new statue every time power changed hands; just pop off the head and replace it.  When performances as the theater began, there were all sorts of different kinds of performances, including classical Greek plays.  Apparently by the end they were reduced mostly to performing mime, which I'm sure had to have something to do with the fall of the Empire.Across the street from the theater is a museum that houses bits and pieces from the theater and the town that have been unearthed and are being protected from the elements.  It also housed single-room exhibitions on fabric printing in the Provence style, a furniture collection and portraits from a locally prominent family and some paintings.  The first floor was given to a temporary exhibition of photos of famous people and artists, sponsored by Paris Match magazine.  We enjoyed it, but were not sure why Sharon Stone was included.The guide books recommend seeing the Arch du Triomphe in Orange.  It is very large and ornately carve.  It is also hard to appreciate in its current condition which is wrapped up in scaffolding.  Lunch was at a small shop that served Chinese food where I had a cellophane noodle soup with mushrooms and chicken.  Lucy had rice and shrimp.The Orange-Chateauneuf combo did not take as long as we expected so we made for Carpentras.  It had 2 stars in the guidebook and was pretty close, so why not?  We were too late to go in anywhere, but we saw an old synagogue and Lucy attempted to translate the broad-brush story of the history of the local Jewish population.  There was an Arch here as well, but it was small, jammed up next to a church and not very impressive.  The apothecary museum is here, but it was closed too.  One thing we did enjoy was the covered marketplace which has a long, arched ceiling that lets in lots of light.  Most of the shops were closed, but it was very pleasant to walk through.  We stopped at a pharmacy to buy Lucy some chocolate and I found the anti-wrinkle cream that Consumer Reports gave top marks and is only available in France.  I should be gorgeous again in about 12 weeks.We bought dinner in Avignon square that houses the Sunday flea market.  Lucy and I both had the Carmargue salad.  It is named for the cattle ranching region of France, which makes me curious as to why it has no beef at all, but includes tuna and anchovies.  Hmmm.Now Lucy is gone, I've cleaned the apartment and am ready to face the world again with no friend, driver or translator.  Lucy is not only terrific company, she is also talented and useful.  I will hoof it to the other side of Avignon where I will pick up the TGV train to Paris.  Catherine and Laurent have promised to pick me up and take me to dinner before dropping me at my hotel near the airport.  Au revoir, Avignon!  
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/3beansabroad/3/1254427067/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/3beansabroad/3/1254427067/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/3beansabroad/3/1254427067/tpod.html Thu, 01 Oct 2009 16:20:18 -0400 A week in Avignon and Provence

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Avignon, Provence, France

I'm so sad that I didn't bring my camera to our special "splurge" belated birthday dinner.  It was so beautifully presented!  We went to a hole-in-the-wall place with 8 tables that came highly recommended.  Those people were right. It was a world-class meal and exceptionally reasonably priced by French standards.  I'm not sure how he's paying the bills with only 8 tables, but my hat is off to the chef/owner.  It's a good thing we made reservations because we saw more than one couple turned away tonight.  In fact, when we asked if we needed reservations, the owner said, "Oh yeah!"Lucy started with the trio of salmon: mousse, tartare and smoked.  I had a vegetable terrine with parmesan cheese and tandoori flavor with parmesan cheese ice cream.  The tandoori flavor was very subtle and the ice cream was a nice counter point, I thought.  Dill was also a player in this dish.  I tried Lucy's salmon and it was excellent.  The mousse spread on bread was particularly good.For her main course Lucy had sea bream filets and scallops on fish mousse, cardomon flavor and Norway lobster cream.  I had tartiflette with fresh salmon, reblochon cheese and potatoes.  It came in a little ceramic pot, rather like a classic French onion soup with the cheese melted on top.  It was hot and creamy and very filling.  I felt bad leaving some of it to go back to the kitchen, but a girl has to leave room for dessert!  Also, the half bottle of Cotes du Rhone we were sharing was going down pretty smoothly.Lucy's dessert was definitely the more visually compelling.  She had three scoops of house-made ice cream: gingerbread, Calisson and banana flambee, which were accented with a little kumquat and a slice of star fruit.  It was lovely.  Mine looked a little like breakfast cereal, but it was wonderful:  chocolate raviolis in a white chocolate sauce with flambeed banana ice cream served on the side.  The raviolis were garnished with petit strawberry and a yellow raspberry.  It was all just perfect and a superb choice for our big dinner out.  Recommend highly!  At $27 Euro each, it was a steal compared to every place around it.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/3beansabroad/3/1254336085/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/3beansabroad/3/1254336085/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/3beansabroad/3/1254336085/tpod.html Wed, 30 Sep 2009 15:18:38 -0400 A week in Avignon and Provence

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Bonnieux, Provence, France

It was quite a study in contrasts moving from the bright, festive colors of Roussillon to the severely plain, unadorned walls of this medieval Cistercian Abbey. We originally sought out the Abbey, in part, because in most of the pictures of it, it is surrounded by lavender fields which the monks tend to support their order. Alas, it is too late for lavender! Still, the building is very majestic and sits alone in the bottom of a narrow valley with high cliffs on either side. The Abbey was founded in 1148 and construction and growth continued into the 13th century. It is still in use today, it's brothers having celebrated the 850th anniversary back in 1988. We took a very quiet tour of the Abbey. Silence is demanded as that is one of the vows of the brothers. When we were in more public areas the tour guide described the history of the order and the buildings in French. Lucy followed along interestedly. I looked for mason's marks on the blocks because I don't speak French. Ironically, the one place we went where we could not get a tour in English was the one that was the least interesting be be on a tour in without hearing the tour guide. In any other place one could entertain oneself by looking at paintings or sculptures or architectural features. Not here! Lots of white limestone blocks. Clear glass in the few windows. I challenged myself to try and come up with interesting photos to pass the time. The central cloister did have a little garden, so that made up for missing the one yesterday in Aix.If you wish to visit the Abbey yourself during the high season, visit the web site to purchase tickets in 48 hours in advance. The tours are very limited and are only in French.  An additional note of warning: it seems that the brothers don't want their visitors to enjoy any unnecessary comforts or amenities either.  There were inexplicably no toilet seats in an otherwise modern bathroom.Note to the contemplative: If you wish to temporarily join the Cistercian's community of prayer for a while, the monastery has guest quarters if you write to Frere Hotelier.We thought we could fit one more town in before sunset, so we flipped through the guidebook and decided on Bonnieux. It is another town perched on the top of a mountaintop. We drove partway in and then hiked up winding streets to the top where the "old church" stands. Of course this church only became the old one when the "new church" was built in the 19th century. We were very surprised to find that the view from Bonnieux is very different from the other towns. It is a little further south and east and is surrounded largely by a cedar forest, so we got a very different, but equally beautiful view from some of the others we enjoyed throughout the day. We had no luck getting snacks, and it was too early for dinner, so we had to cut our visit a little short or starve. On the way home I spotted a boulengerie and we picked up bread, tarts and Lucy got something with nuts.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/3beansabroad/3/1254334978/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/3beansabroad/3/1254334978/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/3beansabroad/3/1254334978/tpod.html Wed, 30 Sep 2009 14:37:40 -0400 A week in Avignon and Provence

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Roussillon, Provence, France

Lucy and I thought the impressionist paintings of Provence were just stylized to have those eye-popping ochre colors. Not true in Roussillon! Ochre from the red soil and rocks has been used in the stucco on the buildings in this village to gorgeous effect. They use contrasting paint colors on shutters, doors and other fixtures to gorgeous affect. If I come back, I think I will stay here. It was quiet and so beautiful. Again, it was so hilly that we watched a toddler giggling as she tried to walk down this treacherous landscape with no concern at all. Luckily, her parents each provided a steadying hand.Most of the buildings in this valley are built with limestone from the local environment.  There are meticulously tended stone walls all over the place, the valley is filled with lavender and grape vines and the roads are narrow and winding.  This is the France I really wanted to see.  Lucy wants to come back here one day in July to see the lavender in bloom.  We understand that it gets harvested no later than mid-August.  It is probably very hot and very crowded, but no-doubt worth it.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/3beansabroad/3/1254333704/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/3beansabroad/3/1254333704/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/3beansabroad/3/1254333704/tpod.html Wed, 30 Sep 2009 14:14:50 -0400 A week in Avignon and Provence

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Gordes, Provence, France

This was a long and eventful day, so I've broken it up into separate entries to make it more manageable.  We headed toward the village of Gordes, on the recommendation of our French friends.  Our struggle with the GPS continued, but today it worked to our advantage.  After we missed our turn we stumbled on a Lavender museum established and run by one of the top lavender producers in the world.  It turns out that the lavender we have at home isn't actually lavender, but lavendin, a cross between true lavender and spike lavender (or aspic).  True lavender is only grown here and in a limited area due to its fickle nature.  We saw how the plant is sown, grown and harvested and then distilled for its essential oils.  Then we hit the gift shop.  I appreciate that many tourist area employees have nametags marked with flags to indicate the languages that they speak.  It's very helpful.We went on to Gordes which is at least as beautiful from a distance as it is up close.  It's built on the top and sides of a mountain and is quite spectacular.  The French have built little areas off to the side of the road for safe viewing on the roads to and from the village.  The cobblestone walkways are narrow and steep, but fun to walk.  We twisted and turned about and kept arriving at new views of the valley or new shops to explore.  Unfortunately, one of the sites of the city, the Chateau, was not open while we were there, so we gave it a miss to head on to Roussillon.Lunch in Gordes:  Croissant with ham, cheese and I believe a bechamel sauce.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/3beansabroad/3/1254253148/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/3beansabroad/3/1254253148/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/3beansabroad/3/1254253148/tpod.html Tue, 29 Sep 2009 16:52:33 -0400 A week in Avignon and Provence

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Aix-en-Provence, Provence, France

I'm not sure how much I can get down tonight because I'm dog-tired, but Lucy has gone off to the cyber-cafe and I'm here. Let's see what I can come up with...Food here is pretty cheap, restaurants are very expensive, so we went back to Les Halles, the marketplace in Avignon to pick up some supplies for some lunches, snacks and dinners. Also, of course, we went for fun because Les Halles is a very cool place. Lucy bought seafood salad, marinated mushrooms (she estimates about 20 kinds), a multigrain bread in the little basket it was baked in and some green olives that had been cured with fennel. The olives were sweet, not salty at all, which was interesting. I bought fresh pasta and a separate container of basil sauce. At the herb shop I purchased a few gifts of Herbes de Provence, sun-dried tomatoes and a pizza spice blend for Kathy and Pat. The cheese monger provided chevre fraiche. I also chose some mixed olives and shallots which will probably get tossed with pasta one night. So far the highlight of this morning’s shopping trip was some amazing local grapes that are like little flavor bombs of violet juice in the mouth. We've never had anything like them.When we got back and unpacked I realized that the basil sauce got left on the pasta counter. Grrrrr. The proprietress was distracted and I was juggling bags, camera and money and we both missed it. So back we went before heading out to Aix-en-Provence.Some random observations on the way to Aix: parking is much better in Avignon than I would have thought. There is not a whole lot of parking in the city walls, but free parking is available in large lots just outside the walls and even up against the wall. Men do hang out and play bacce ball, just like in the books and movies. There is a group that loiters about the tobacco shop that I have seen several times. Lucy’s preferred breakfast is the brioche sucre; mine is the pan au chocolat. King Tut was panhandling near the Eiffel Tower the other day when I was there. He wasn’t holding his hand out or anything, he was merely swathed in gold lame, wearing his ceremonial headdress, seated next to a donation plate. I think that all travel experiences include at least one encounter with a crazy driver. Today we were impressed with how badly one guy wanted to pass people. He'd pass one, wait, then pass another. We were laughing about how much effort it was taking him to get almost nowhere when the guy in front of us slammed on his breaks. The guy in back of us, rather than slamming on his brakes as well, seized this as an opportunity to pass four cars at once! Absolute lunacy, I tell you! We thought we had front row seats to a high-speed head-on colision for sure. The best part is that he saved less than 30 seconds with that maneuver. He turned off the main road a few miles on and he was still only 3 cars in front of us.Aix has a gorgeous fountain in a circle named for Charles de Gaulle. The guide book told us that also nearby was a fountain that was naturally hot. Water comes out at 93 degrees and the fountain is covered with moss. The moss part was correct, but I walked over and stuck my hand in the water and it was 50 degrees, tops. The streets and buildings and churches in Aix were all very nice. The orange-yellow buildings look lovely in the sun and really set off the colors of the flowers in the boxes. We were lucky enough to arrive before they closed up the flower market and the fruit/vegetable market for the day. We didn't have long, but we were able to appreciate the riot of colors and smells. The mint was very powerful in the veg. market.Highlights:Lucy read to me about a scandalous murder that took place on the Cours Mirabeau and then bought me a Provencal treat called calisson d'Aix. They are diamond shaped, made mostly of sweetened almond paste and glazed with royal icing. There is a little hint of melon in them as well. They seemed like a good treat to bring back, but they are crazy-expensive.Visiting the Musee Granet. They have just closed an exhibit of Cezanne and Picasso original paintings, but they had a terrific permanent interactive installation that explores the relationship between the works of the two men and how they helped pioneer modern western art. I found it so interesting that I really didn't miss not seeing the originals. The museum also had marble sculptures. Most of them were busts of important men or Greek or Roman figures, but the two I enjoyed most were one of a shepherd who was distressed by the loss of his bees and a marble relief of a modestly dressed woman nursing a chubby baby by Charpentier (I think that's the spelling). One was funny and the other was beautiful.The Saint-Sauveur Cathedral. It was a slightly bizarre mix of the very old and the very new and everything in between. Very old frescoes are visible in one part of the baptismal area, but other parts have been covered with paintings that are only a couple hundred years old. On the altar, the bishop's chair looks like a gilded piece of modern art modified to be a bidet. Also there is a statue of a saint emerging from the back of a dragon who, according to the available literature, barely had time to make the sign of the cross. This sits just down the way from a 3-foot tall doll of the baby Jesus carrying a cross. At the end of our visit, Lucy tried to get us in on a tour of the cloister, but the tour guide had already locked the door. We could only peer in from outside and see a small part of the cloister while the tour group walked away. Later, when we visited the Musee Granet, we saw a painting by Granet of that same exact view, from the outside of the cloister looking in. Apparently Granet missed the tour too. Very funny!The sweet shops are so beautiful. Every little candy, every tea biscuit is a small work of art and they are displayed so elegantly and offered in sophisticated and attractive containers and arrangements. Each shop is special and feels like Mary Poppins might be there. We so wanted to buy cookies or caramels or calisson d'Aix or chocolate olives or <i>something, but at roughly $60/lb for most of these treats, we just couldn't do it.Lunch was not worth mentioning, I am sorry to say.We made dinners at the house. Lucy opted for the seafood salad and a mélange of marinated mushrooms. I boiled a handful of my soft pasta and tossed it with sautéed shallots and basil sauce while I ate my bread and chevre fraiche and shared olives with Lucy. Afterward we walked around Avignon, taking note of which public buildings are lit at night and how very many cafes there are. Of course, our real purpose was dessert. At the gelato stand Lucy got chocolate hazelnut and dark chocolate. I wanted to fit one more serving of fruit in for the day so I got passion fruit and lemon.No pictures tonight...but here is a link if you want to read more about how those dainty little calisson are made: http://www.nytimes.com/1989/02/26/travel/fare-of-the-country-provence-s-almond-calissons.html?pagewanted=all
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/3beansabroad/3/1254164007/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/3beansabroad/3/1254164007/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/3beansabroad/3/1254164007/tpod.html Mon, 28 Sep 2009 16:52:53 -0400 A week in Avignon and Provence

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Nîmes, Languedoc-Roussillon, France

This was a long and eventful day.&nbsp; Je suis tres fatigue, so this will be an abbreviated entry for the time being.We got up and went out in search of food and to give Lucy a glimpse of Avignon before setting off.&nbsp; I had pan au chocolate, she had brioche.&nbsp; Everyone was happy.&nbsp; On the way back we looked around a Carmelite cloister that was built around the 14th century, I believe.&nbsp; We grabbed our stuff and headed to Pont du Gard, long considered one of the wonders of the Ancient World.&nbsp; It is the largest of Rome's aquaducts and quite a show piece.&nbsp; It's in amazing condition and spans the river Gard.&nbsp; It's a very friendly attraction.&nbsp; There are hiking trails and we saw people swimming and kayaking nearby in the river.From Pont du Gard we headed on to Nimes, the former Roman city that the aquaduct was built to service.&nbsp; Here the Romans left behind, among other things, one of the most intact coliseums in the world (La Arenes) and a temple that is also in exceptional condition, Maison Carree, which was modeled after the Temple of Apollo in Rome and dedicated to two of Augustus' grandsons.&nbsp; Across from the temple is an art museum that was modeled loosely in its form on the temple.&nbsp; Wandering around nearby we found some interesting fountains lined up in a row, some of which actually held water.&nbsp; We also finally found lunch, which was good before we were starving.&nbsp; Part of lunch was a raspberry tart that was so good that I didn't even bother to have gelato today.&nbsp; Unbelievably good.&nbsp; Having admired several churches and the temple, we moved down the street to the Coliseum where we took a lengthy audio tour which described the evolution of gladiator contests from the first century through the 7th.&nbsp; Today the venue is home to bull fighting.The last sight we thought we could see for the day was the Jardin de la Fontaine.&nbsp; It is fed by a spring that provides quite a lot of water, but not quite enough for a whole city.&nbsp; There are Roman pools, some temple ruins, gardens and statuary.&nbsp; Since it was a beautiful day the place was busy with lots of French folk enjoying the open space, but because the garden is so large, exists on several levels and has many twists and turns, almost everyone could find quiet of privacy if they wanted it.&nbsp; We just wanted not to be near the teenagers playing Michael Jackson on their radio.Despite our fatigue, we walked up to the top of Mount Cavalier which is part of the garden to Tour Magne, a tower that was once part of the city walls and was also built by Augustus.&nbsp; Having viewed many views, we opted not to pay to climb up the tower steps.We wended our way home, both pretty tired and maybe a little cranky.&nbsp; I pressed for a quick and cheap dinner at a close-by pizza place near the university.&nbsp; I'm not sure of its name, but it is at the corner of Rue de la Carreterie and Rue du la Tour.&nbsp; The place only serves pizza and salad.&nbsp; All of the pizzas have Egyptian names.&nbsp; The half-pizza/salad/coffee combo is 5 euro and quite a deal.&nbsp; The pizza was excellent although it only had 2 olives on it.&nbsp; The salad had a dijon vinaigrette and a little round of bread topped with chevre and fig confit.&nbsp; Lovely.&nbsp; The owners don't speak English, but were very pleasant.&nbsp; Since there is only pizza on the menu, there is little need for conversation.Lucy has been unable to get her wifi to work, so she has gone to the cyber cafe down the street.&nbsp; I don't have the card reader for my Nikon, so my pictures are temporarily limited to snaps from my pocket Canon.&nbsp; Bon Soir.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/3beansabroad/3/1254167724/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/3beansabroad/3/1254167724/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/3beansabroad/3/1254167724/tpod.html Mon, 28 Sep 2009 16:01:22 -0400 A week in Avignon and Provence

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Avignon, Provence, France

Mike, I couldn't leave you hanging for even one meal. &nbsp;After Lucy had time to settle, we walked down the street to a place called L'Hedoniste (41 rue Carnot). &nbsp;They specialize in seafood. &nbsp;You can have several different sea creatures prepared in a delectable variety of ways. &nbsp;Lucy had shrimp who were served dancing on a stage of rice. &nbsp;I had moules frit, which is mussels served with fries on the side. &nbsp;My mussels came steaming in a pot with sweet onions and a thin basil-cream sauce. &nbsp;I might have liked it a tad less salty, but I got past that minor shortcoming by introducing bits of baguette to the mix. &nbsp;For dessert I had a chilled ganache that was sprinkled with pecans and rolled in a tortilla, sliced into medallions and served with creme anglaise and whipped cream. &nbsp;Lucy had some profiteroles. &nbsp;Both were chocolate heaven.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/3beansabroad/3/1254064739/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/3beansabroad/3/1254064739/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/3beansabroad/3/1254064739/tpod.html Sun, 27 Sep 2009 11:48:26 -0400 A week in Avignon and Provence

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Avignon, Provence, France

It was a little too quiet this morning with no children greeting me with birthday wishes. &nbsp;I consoled myself with bread, chocolate and tea while contemplating my options for the day. &nbsp;I haven't heard from Lucy, but according to the car rental contract, she arrives in Marseille around 5. &nbsp;I think that will put her here around 7, but I'm not sure. &nbsp;I don't want to do everything fun in Avignon without her so I settled on swinging by the tourist info place to pick up the discount pass and walking along the Rhone along the wall outside the city.It's a very pleasant walk. &nbsp;On the far side of the river I could see some sort of event going on which involved boats and jet skis and balloons. &nbsp;All things considered, the Rhone is actually a pretty quiet river, from my perspective. &nbsp;Eventually I came to the Pont D'Avignon. &nbsp;This is a bridge that dates back to the 10th century. &nbsp;It has lots of quirks to recommend it as a tourist attraction. &nbsp;A saint (&nbsp;Saint Bénézet)&nbsp;inspired the building of it and for many years his body was buried on site. &nbsp;At one point the bridge washed away and they managed to retrieve his body and move it to a safer location. &nbsp;Unfortunately, during some battle or other, it was looted and soldiers stole his "relics." &nbsp;Some have been recovered. &nbsp;I tried checking for better details on Wikipedia, but they have less of the story than the audio guide I got on site. &nbsp;Given that his miracles are just under 900 years old, I'm sure there are differing accounts of what actually occurred. &nbsp;What seems to be most important was that the bridge was key to the pilgrim traffic between Spain and Italy. &nbsp;Now there is only half a bridge, which is visually interesting, and a popular French children's song which encourages dancing on the top.Just downriver from the bridge to nowhere is a free water taxi. &nbsp;How could I not? &nbsp;I hopped on and enjoyed the view for the 3 minutes or so that it took to cross. &nbsp;From the far side I saw a building that looked like a castle. &nbsp;Why not walk there? &nbsp;I started off gamely until I got to another branch of the Rhone which had no bridge and no taxi. &nbsp;Hmmm. &nbsp;Accepting that not all of my brilliant ideas pan out, I headed back up the river to walk the bridge back to Avignon. &nbsp;This walk provided some nice views, so it wasn't time ill used. &nbsp;As I headed back into the city, the hand of fate brought me to the gelato shop. &nbsp;Fate, I tell you. &nbsp;Dark chocolate and coffee. &nbsp;I read about a place that I am interested in going to dinner, so I started looking around for it, thinking to make a reservation. &nbsp;I was lost in the fold of the map for a while, but eventually found the restaurant "A Tout Petit," but it is closed Sunday and Monday. &nbsp;At least it will be easier to find next time. &nbsp;This morning I saw the awards ceremony for a bike race they had in town before I woke up. &nbsp;In my wanderings this afternoon, I saw the kids' version. &nbsp;Since cycling is so big here, it was pretty intense. &nbsp;Rather than have the course loop around town, they cordoned off a long street and the kids had to make sharp turns at the end so the could go up and down the street.One last place I stopped that I forgot to mention: &nbsp;I walked around the market "Les Halles" for a little while this morning. &nbsp;I had a tough time deciding on what, if anything I should buy, so mostly I just enjoyed looking around at all of the very cool shops. &nbsp;Wine, meats, seafood, vegetables, cheeses, foi gras, flowers, bread. &nbsp;It's all there. &nbsp;Ultimately I picked up two pears for snacks. &nbsp;Cheese would have been good, but could have been potentially very messy in my bag.Thanks for all the birthday wishes. &nbsp;Until tomorrow!
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