Avignon 11/6

On Thursday, November 6, Sohail and I boarded a train bound for Avignon. The plan for the weekend was to visit Julien, my hostelmate in Paris the previous week. Our overnight train was uneventful but pretty much sleepless. We arrived in Avignon at 5:00 AM, I advocated for a little sleep in the train station. The waiting room was the most inviting location, but its chairs were standard French train station chairs - designed to ward off sleepers. The real culprit was the cold. Despite its southern location, Avignon was freezing, and we struggled to stay warm. Regardless, some sleep was had, and we didn't leave the station until 9 AM.

The Tourism Office believe it or not

Avignon is a walled city, made famous for its medieval Papal palace which was almost arbitrarily placed there. Sohail and I crossed the old city in 10 minutes and arrived at the Palais des Papes. The palace was a castle-type building built in several phases starting in 1334 under Pope Benedict XII. Pope Clement V was the first Pope to move to France, and did so in 1306 at a time of instability in Rome. He eventually settled in Avignon. The papacy in Avignon only lasted until 1377.

Palais des Papes from the interior

Room where meals were served

View of Avignon from Palais

My audioguide gave me the statistics on one of the feasts at the palace, including 39,000 eggs.

Next Sohail and I found an internet cafe so I could register for my classes for next semester. While I had trouble at first and blamed the computers, Sohail fixed my problems, and was eventually registered. I will be taking Fluid Mechanics, Control Systems, Mechanical Engineering Analysis for Design, and The Art Market.

After registration, I walked back toward the palace to see the Avignon's bridge Pont St-Bénezet. The bridge was built after St. Bénezet came down from the mountains proclaiming his God-given mission to build a bridge in Avignon. The bridge was popularized in the famous French song Sur le Pont d'Avignon. The song describes how people danced on the bridge, however, the very first version described more accurately the dancing that went on beside, not on, the bridge.

Lower level of Pont d'Avignon

View of papal palace from Pont d'Avignon

Sohail and I went to the Musée du Petit Palais, which holds a collection of Renaissance art. We saw about 100 versions of Madonna and child, and little else. The museum is bordered by a small park with a view of the surrounding countryside.

View from the park - In the distance you can see the outline of Mont Ventoux, the most grueling climb on the Tour de France

Small Vineyard with Pont St-Bénezet in background

Satisfied with our visit to Avignon, Sohail and I travelled to Montpellier where Julien was to pick us up at the train station.