Avignon - Day 2! We had lots of time today to explore the town. One of our first stops was to view the
Palace de Papes, constructed in the 1300's after Pope Clement V moved his papal dwelling to Avignon to avoid violent chaos that erupted after his election in 1305.
It was used by successive popes until 1377, when the papacy moved back to Rome. The palace and cathedral are some of the most magnificent buildings in the Roman Catholic church ouside of Italy.
Afterward, we visited Les Halles, a huge indoor market where you could buy wonderful picnic foods. The women at the market, though, were "all business".
They were there for a reason - to get groceries. You didn't dare stand in the way of these French mammas! Afterward, we returned with our picnic lunch to the plaza at the Palace de Pape, listened to some amazing jazz musicians.
It was getting hot... time to find a nice shady place to spend the afternoon. So, we took a free ferry across the Rhone, chilled in a park there, away from the summer heat.
There we could see the Pont D'Avognon - a very strange bridge that was built between 1171 and 1185, and originally spanned the
Rhône River between Avignon and
Villeneuve-lès-Avignon on the left bank. However, a catastrophic flood swept away much of the structure in 1668, and was subsequently abandoned. Since then, its surviving arches have successively collapsed or been demolished, and only four of the initial 22 arches remain intact today.. What you see now, then, is a bridge that essentially goes nowhere. It's still beautiful, though, and a landmark of this ancient city.
That night, we went to see the Soweto Spiritual Singers, a high-energy, very talented group of musicians.
Reluctantly, we had to return to our hotel by 10:00 PM, early enough to see Jan, the owner to ask if he could help us get our luggage to the bus the next day.. We're on our way to Djon tomorrow.
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