Avignon, France

Oh Avignon, I love this town. I fell in love with it on our first visit to France close to 30 years ago, and that feeling has not waned over the decades. The whitewashed buildings, chapped and blistered from the scorching sun, faded blue shutters, narrow, twisting cobbled alleys, the ancient walls that surround the old town; what’s not to love? This town is an architectural gem.

Construction of the walls began in 1355 and they were completed just 15 years later. The circular formation covers an impressive 2.7 miles (4.3 km). More on these in future posts.

Palais des Papes, the largest Gothic palace in Europe and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is a must see during your visit to this historic city. Nine popes served here between 1309 and 1376. The palace, built in just twenty years beginning in 1335, is an impressive site. More on the palace in future posts.

We arrived on August 1st, after visiting various locations in France and Luxembourg. It was hot, really hot, but we needed to go foraging for food. We exited our building, walked a short distance to Rue des Teinturiers, considered the most beautiful street in Avignon, to the closest grocery store. As we turned the corner, we saw a huge crowd just ahead of us. As we approached, a man stopped us and explained that it was a movie shoot. He said go ahead and walk through, but please don’t talk or look to the left. Feeling a bit like Lot’s wife, we made our way through.

Interestingly, while chatting with my cousin a few days later, I learned that he had a part in the production and would be in town for the final shoot. More on my dear cousin, an actor in French cinema and TV, in the coming weeks.

Just wandering through this amazing city is a photographer’s dream.

We booked this apartment for several months, knowing that August would be a time for us to unwind and process all our recent events. We focused on blog posts, editing photos, (sketching for theTravelsketcher) and just relaxing after the intense few months of travel, packing and shipping our belongings to the states. We knew that September would bring cooler temps and opportunities to enjoy this amazing city.

However, there was a short reprieve from the excessive heat on theTravelsketcher’s birthday in mid-August. We wandered through parts of the old town we had not yet seen, and had an absolutely amazing lunch at Au Jardin des Carmes.

On our first morning here, as I was just waking up and enjoying a cool breeze through the open window, this little feline jumped in. She was quite talkative and very friendly, and made herself right at home. We have missed our sweet Neville immensely, so her daily visits are very welcome. She has a family here and is well cared for, but like most cats, she wanders.

Most mornings in August, we were up early, to get a daily walk and pick up any essentials we needed. The heat doesn’t bother theTravelsketcher as much as it does me, so he often went out in the afternoon to a cafe on Rue des Teinturiers for an afternoon libation. It’s turned into a regular stop for him, and me as well, now that the weather has cooled. Yesterday he enjoyed chatting there with a retired art professor from Paris. You can read about that here.

We are thoroughly enjoying our time in Avignon, and are looking forward to exploring more of this amazing city now that it’s cooler. I’ll have much more to share in the coming weeks.

As always, I would love to hear from you, so feel free to leave a message.

Wishing you grand adventures,

Tricia