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Today dawned sunny and beautiful, a nice change from yesterday’s soaking rain. We set out to explore the beautiful city of Avignon.

Avignon is an old city located on the Rhône river in southern France, inhabited since Neolithic times. It was once a Roman city and then an important trading center when the border of France was the west side of the Rhône. There are still fortified elements on either side of the river to witness this “border” crossing—at the time it was the southernmost bridge on the river. Modern Avignon is a large city, but the old part of town is completely inside the fortified wall.

Home to the famous Saint-Bénézet bridge, Avignon’s architecture and history are immortalized in a song called Sur le Pont d’Avignon [1]. It was the only bridge crossing the Rhône during it’s time (built during the 12th century A.D.). Due to repeated floods less than half the structure remains, though it is still monumental.

The city was home to the Roman Catholic Popes during a papal reign here in the 14th century. The residence that was built by the popes, le Palais des Papes, is the largest Gothic fortress in the world and one of the most visited places in France. The castle is built on a hill at the edge of the river, and stands tall over town. Open to the public are rooms with magnificent tapestries, beautiful chapels with stained glass windows, and many of the papal living quarters.

Higher up the hill over Avignon is the Papal garden that offfers views far across the Rhône valley towards Mont Ventoux [2] and Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Some of the world’s most famous wine comes from those hills!

Most of our exploring was within the old city, but we did venture tonight across the Rhône to get a sunset view of the city, the old bridge, and the palace. There we found a small park with grass, benches, and a few picnic tables; we had packed a dinner so it was the perfect place to eat, watch the sun go down, and the city lights come on.

Tomorrow we travel to Aix-en-Provence, Lance’s home for six months in 1999.

Personal note from Lance: Avignon is also home to one of my favorite music groups: The Gipsy Kings. As I walked around with Erin I kept my eyes open in case I saw one of them out on the town.

[1] Fr. “On the Avignon bridge.”
[2] Large mountain that dominates northern Provence. The road that climbs up this mountain is allegedly used by cyclists like Lance Armstrong to train for the Tour de France and other races.