France Daily III: Avignon

I ought to start my description of Avignon with  our dinner last night. My charming host took me to a cute little French place specialising in tartines. Ginette et Marcel came thrice recommended by my host, Trip Advisor and my Lonely Planet guide and understandably so! The food was excellent; I had goats cheese and honey, the three cheese and pear was also grand, the wine was lovely. We stayed for pudding and coffee, and didn´t faint when we saw the bill! The atmosphere was great too- gently kitsch, no pretence and the service none too in your face.

(A slice of Ginette et Marcel)

This morning I set off in search of a local french patisserie, I failed and ended up in an incredibly touristy place. I did however convince them that no I didn´t want to eat my over priced croissant on their terrace. I did enjoy a little reading and typing croissant in hand - that´s the dream isn´t it?

Avignon Tourist Office produce a map booklet with three key routes through the town. I followed their blue route of Mansions and Monasteries through the city. It started at a lovely little free municipal museum. An enjoyable diversion but nothing to write home about. The rest of the route was very picturesque, a great excuse to play with all the settings on my new camera. That said, the scale of the map was such that half the important road names, where one must turn left or right, were omitted - you could spot people on this walking tour as they stood dumbfounded at a dead end! So top marks for free tourist resources in a gorgeous location, but poor follow through on the detail.

(Pretty Avignon)

The route led me to the garden of the Palais des Papes. The garden is a stunning location and a must-see you can even walk part of the city walls here. It provides amazing views of the surrounding area up to the snow capped mountains in the distance, the sister town of Villeneuf-les-Avignon, the Rhone beneath you and a myriad of tourists attempting to dance on the famous Pont d'Avignon. Up on this promontory the mistral is really strong - driving through the Rhone Valley it whipped my hair into a frenzy and I felt so alive! The mistral really is kind, blowing away clouds, taking the bite off the summer heat and creating the ideal weather for great wine! I returned to the garden at sunset, hoping for picturesque photos of the Palais in the setting sun but instead found hawkers and danger. I have always promised to be sensible, so as soon as I sensed trouble I came home by the quickest known route.

(The Rhone, The Pont, The Palais)

I intend to explore the Palais and Villeneuf village more fully later this week but for now that´s all because tomorrow the field of the Chateauneuf await!