We arrived in Avignon late Friday evening and after wandering through the Old Town commenced our search for a hostel outside the old city walls (some of the best preserved in Europe, after Northern Ireland's Derry which I've also visited!). Here's a glance at the city clocktower: 9:05pm.
After finally finding the hostel (my Rough Guide was uncharacteristically vague, giving precise directions of "take the bus over the bridge to the hostel") we made our way back into town and ate at the delicious, but linguistically confused Les Arts restaurant. Take a look at some of the English translations in blue text. The rallying cry for the rest of the weekend was, "Let's pepper!"
The following morning we visited the enormous Palais des Papes, a refuge of popes for 100 years when Avignon usurped Rome as the capital of Catholicism. We spent hours exploring the huge structure.
The palace was so big, I think this neat courtyard is actually on the third or fourth floor.
A moment of reflection.
A gleaming statue of Mary on the Notre Dame des Doms cathedral keeps an eye on the western walls.
A massive interior dining hall.
I believe this is the Grand Chapel, "where the Avignon popes worshipped." Pictures were forbidden, so I had to stealthily snap this one.
Eventually we made our way up to one of the high towers overlooking part of the old town.
This turned out rather well.
"Sur le pont d'Avignon" - On the Bridge of Avignon - is a famous children's song that popularized the city's incomplete bridge, abandoned after it became too difficult to continually repair after the incessant ravages of the Rhone River.
A romantic narrow street near the Palais.
On Saturday evening we had a picnic on the riverbank near our hostel. You can clearly see how much the Palais dominates the city landscape, dwarfing even the foreboding city fortifications.
After our picnic (and an encounter with a large but friendly stray dog who sniffed approval of our cheese and wine) we headed into town to check out Avignon's two Reds - the Red Lion and Red Zone - upon the recommendation of a friend. I preferred the former... since I fell asleep in the Red Zone. Oops. Here's Johanna and I, still awake!
We made our way further south Sunday, arriving a bit before noon in Nimes after a short train ride. The city's claim to fame is a remarkably well-preserved Roman arena, unfortunately under extensive renovation here. We were initially confused about where to find the arena, since we couldn't find any maps and the town was deserted in the early Sunday morning. However, there was a grand boulevard leading towards the towncenter from the train station and, inspired, we followed it until spotting the enormous arena.
Some of us played gladiator. I wanted to run into the ring but decided against it after realizing the walls out were at least three or four meters high -- I'm sorry, I've started to adapt to the metric system! -- or around ten to twelve feet.
In retrospect, I think I may be standing a bit too close to that edge. The thing drooping goofily from my neck is an audioguide, narrated by a soothingly animated Englishman.
Our second stop was the Maison Carree, another remarkable Roman building tucked away in the town. Unfortunately, there's nothing to see inside apart from a 22-minute 3-D movie about gladiators (weaklings who paled in comparison to my earlier ferocity).
Palm trees? Phoenix? Nope, just another pretty church in southern France.
Nimes seemed rather quiet after the bustling and student-dominated Avignon, but we enjoyed the calm tree-lined boulevards nevertheless.
The third and final Roman relic proved a little more elusive than the Arena and Maison Carree. We had to navigate our way through the gorgeous canal-spanning park (Jardins de la Fontaine) and weave our way through a kilometer of steep trails before finding it...
...the Tour Magne, or Great Tower, "the only surviving part of a line of 30 Roman towers that defended Nimes in the 1st century BC."
Once we'd scaled a couple hundred steps, we walked onto a narrow balcony and discovered just how useful for defenses the tower would've been.
Watching the aforementioned 3-D gladiator movie in the Maison Carree (blog connossieurs should compare this picture to a frighteningly similar one taken at the city castle in Ljubljana). Yes, I fell asleep.
The final stop on the sightseeing tour was Montpellier, another short train ride away, full of fountains, narrow alleys and a festive student atmosphere. Here's one of the central hangouts, the Place de la Comedie. It was a great city and we had a fun time strolling around, though there were a few too many American voices for my taste.
Dinner was delicious at La Terrasse, a small twenty-seat restaurant and service was exceptional. My two indispensable traveling companions are to my left: my camera and my Rough Guide. By the way, you can tell our numbers have increased: we met up with Rachel and Penelope earlier that evening.
Courtesy of Wikipedia: "Rue Foch, looking towards the Porte du Peyrou."
A crucifix framed against the background of, I believe, the steeple of Saint Anne church (now a contmporary art gallery).
The next plans called for several days of beach barbecues and we were driving further south to the Cote d'Azur to fulfill them (in an amazing Renault Twingo) when we saw the French had already started without us.
