Our first day in Avignon! It was a long day yesterday and we slept like a bunch of logs! We had agreed we were going to leave by 9:30 to start our day. The first time I opened my eyes was 8:45A! Then, we had this wonderful sunny breakfast on the balcony. So a little late with the agenda, but a such a delightful morning to enjoy. We split up into smaller groups for our day touring. Two of the group are staying in Avignon after the villa because they are meeting up with their husbands. So they decided that they would do just a general scout of the city and then do our food shopping for the villa. Darlene likes to do her own thing, so she was given the apartment key and promised to be back to the apartment by 5 to let the rest of us back in to the apartment. And then Colleen, Carol, and I did he town! 

We had a little trouble navigating the street names with the map, but we were meeting the nicest people who kept helping us. But our first stop had to be the bridge!!! Sur le Pont d’Avignon …l’on y danse! had been on Colleen’s “Bucket List” and so we danced.

 

   
One of the other famous places in Avignon is the Pope’s Palace. In the mid 1300’s there was a change of the Papal Capitol from Rome to Avignon. And those popes built a HUGE palace, but unfortunately during the French Revolution the rebels took over the Palais des Papes and destroyed much of the beautiful sculptures and frescos. They are in the process of restoring the interior, but the structures are massive.

 

   
We ended up walking about Les Jardin des Dom, a beautiful public garden that included ponds, fountains, playground and trikes for the children, and amazing views of the Rhone.

 

 
The evening ended with local wine, olives, a long walk because we got ourselves turned about, but a lovely dinner at a Cubano/Mediterranean restaurant. Early wake up call tomorrow as we head off to the market.