Exciting day
Our little 1-star hotel has free Internet access (whee!) so here's my post about today's exciting day. Again, I'm going to try another LJ cut, so click on the link to see details.
We started off early, taking the TGV (Train à Grande Vitesse) from Aix-en-Provence to Avignon. And boy, is it fast! We must have been going at least 250 km/h or more, although unlike in the German ICE trains, there are no screens between the cars to tell you how fast you were going. I was very excited; I like trains, especially fast ones.
Once in Avignon, after hitting the tourist office for maps, we headed straight for (of course) the famous Pont d'Avignon, which is actually called the Pont de Saint-Bénézet. According to the audioguide, it was the first bridge across the Rhône at this point, so it was fought over a lot, partially knocked down, rebuilt, then finally most of it was washed away by flooding. There are only about four arches left of the original 22 (which totaled 900m). And of course, after traversing it we did a little jig, then about 8 measures of swingouts with a few turns and a dip at the end. One man looked at us as though we were crazy, but if he couldn't figure out what we were doing and why, then he was an idiot. (I mean honestly, what else do you do on the Pont d'Avignon?) Then we had lunch, then went back to the hotel for nap #1.
The next place was the Palais des Papes, or seat of the Pope while he was at Avignon in the 1300's (for about 200 years?). The Church was having issues at that point, so for a while there were 2 or even 3 popes (again according to the audioguides that are so helpfully included with the price of admission).
By the time we were finished, it was 6pm, time for a very rich chocolate snack and nap #2. (They eat dinner very late here, around 9pm, so we've been getting used to it.)
Then a freaky occurrence. Starting in Nice, we have been getting occasional catcalls from random men on the street (Bonjour, chérie, tu est très belle!), but as we moved north, we've been getting less and less of this. But this evening, as we were standing outside reading the menu of one of a string of restaurants in a square, I felt an arm around my waist. I turned around and there was an unkempt man right there, mumbling something in my ear about giving him money. I told him no very sharply, then "ne fait pas ça", which made him remove his arm and drift away. My wallet was also still there, which was nice. We then picked a different restaurant and had a nice dinner.
So, that's about it for today. We've had to change our plans due to a very crappy bus schedule. Instead of going to Vaison-la-Romaine tomorrow to see an expanse of Roman ruins (not Romaine lettuce), we've decided it's much more convenient to go to Orange, a nearby town which also has a surviving Roman amphitheatre. It's where William of Orange was from, for those who remember their British history.
So that was today. Very eventful, but I hope to have a more relaxing next few days.
We started off early, taking the TGV (Train à Grande Vitesse) from Aix-en-Provence to Avignon. And boy, is it fast! We must have been going at least 250 km/h or more, although unlike in the German ICE trains, there are no screens between the cars to tell you how fast you were going. I was very excited; I like trains, especially fast ones.
Once in Avignon, after hitting the tourist office for maps, we headed straight for (of course) the famous Pont d'Avignon, which is actually called the Pont de Saint-Bénézet. According to the audioguide, it was the first bridge across the Rhône at this point, so it was fought over a lot, partially knocked down, rebuilt, then finally most of it was washed away by flooding. There are only about four arches left of the original 22 (which totaled 900m). And of course, after traversing it we did a little jig, then about 8 measures of swingouts with a few turns and a dip at the end. One man looked at us as though we were crazy, but if he couldn't figure out what we were doing and why, then he was an idiot. (I mean honestly, what else do you do on the Pont d'Avignon?) Then we had lunch, then went back to the hotel for nap #1.
The next place was the Palais des Papes, or seat of the Pope while he was at Avignon in the 1300's (for about 200 years?). The Church was having issues at that point, so for a while there were 2 or even 3 popes (again according to the audioguides that are so helpfully included with the price of admission).
By the time we were finished, it was 6pm, time for a very rich chocolate snack and nap #2. (They eat dinner very late here, around 9pm, so we've been getting used to it.)
Then a freaky occurrence. Starting in Nice, we have been getting occasional catcalls from random men on the street (Bonjour, chérie, tu est très belle!), but as we moved north, we've been getting less and less of this. But this evening, as we were standing outside reading the menu of one of a string of restaurants in a square, I felt an arm around my waist. I turned around and there was an unkempt man right there, mumbling something in my ear about giving him money. I told him no very sharply, then "ne fait pas ça", which made him remove his arm and drift away. My wallet was also still there, which was nice. We then picked a different restaurant and had a nice dinner.
So, that's about it for today. We've had to change our plans due to a very crappy bus schedule. Instead of going to Vaison-la-Romaine tomorrow to see an expanse of Roman ruins (not Romaine lettuce), we've decided it's much more convenient to go to Orange, a nearby town which also has a surviving Roman amphitheatre. It's where William of Orange was from, for those who remember their British history.
So that was today. Very eventful, but I hope to have a more relaxing next few days.