like a bridge over troubled water (Avignon - Chateauneuf du Pape)

Do you really need a caption?

The title for this post was the basis for some discussion. Jayne wanted to call it 'sur le pont d'Avignon' but I reminded her that our last French titled post was also our least read and no-one but her had heard of the song anyway (if you have heard the song, please comment on this post). Apparently it is some song she used to teach the kids in her French classes ... last century! In the '80s! ZZZzzzzz.

The reason for the visit to Avignon was to see the former seat of power of the Catholic Church and the Roman bridge. Jayne confided later that the only reason Avignon made our itinerary was because of the song she used to teach the kids.

Avignon

About half of the Palais

For the non-Catholic readership, Avignon is known as the City of Popes, as nine Popes resided there and ruled the Church from there, not Rome. So, the main attraction is the palace that they built within the walls of the city. What you won't find in any of the tour guides is that it is also known as the 'city of violent wind'. They certainly got that bit right. The wind was gusting up to 60kmh while we were there. I swear I saw a brown dog blown off a chain (Jayne says no-one will have heard this saying, if you have, please comment - yes, it IS a competition).

Looking up the chimney in the kitchen.

Our day commenced in the usual fashion. The duelling GPSs continue to disagree with each other and we find our way despite them. We arrived at the 'above ground' car park (no more underground for Jayne) to find the mayor had closed half of it and threatened to tow the car if you parked there. In a totally unFrench response I drove further down the street and parked. Unlike the 100 or so others who ignored the notices and parked there anyway. When we returned in the afternoon their cars had not been towed away. Civil disobedience in France, who'd have thought it?

The palace itself was amazing. Parts of it are being restored - I think restoration work is keeping France afloat financially. We arrived with a school group and a Japanese bus tour - YAY! Didn't see either of them again. I think the Japanese would have been in the next country before we had finished our visit. There was, after all, no Mona Lisa or the like, in front of which to be photographed. No delays and no audio-guides for them.

The room below the Chapel.

The opulence that the palace must have seen its day can't be overstated. They described the food consumed at one Papal coronation. It's a shame we can't remember all the details, but among the thousands of capons and chickens were 39,000 eggs. That's a lot of crepes or quiches. An interesting rule of table was that you could only eat what was in reach, sorry no passing food (so to speak). So if you weren't important ...

 The palace has been stripped by a number of different groups. The Revolution is responsible for a great deal of vandalism right across the county - in the name of liberty. What rubbish. It was pure testosterone driven destruction. They removed every head from every statue or carving, no matter how small. So egalitarian. Later groups had the same concept. It was used as a soldiers' barracks at one point. They decided they needed more space so they put extra floors in - those high ceilings, so difficult to heat the room anyway. Despite all of this, it survives, largely intact and parts are being restored to its former glory.

It is a true marvel of its time. The gold statue of Mary dominates the skyline. The square is massive although not as big as Fatima.

Lunch

Walked from the palace to the square for lunch, trying to avoid the wind and keep the sun. Found a place where Jayne could have Quiche Lorraine (I know, we weren't in Lorraine, but I had pizza and we weren't in Italy either). The waitress asked were we American :-( no, Australian. Ah, 'skippy' she replied. Is that better than the Crocodile Dundee comments from La Rochelle?

Pont de St. Benezet

Another Roman bridge. In gale force winds. I might let Jayne tell this bit of the day. 

I apparently forgot to tell Brad the bridge was the real reason we went to Avignon - had he taken an interest in my early teaching career, he would have known that Sur Le Pont D'Avignon was taught to each Yr 8 at St Mary's Liverpool for each year of my tenure as French teacher.  Anyway, no way was I doing a tour of France without standing on the bridge - generations of Liverpudlian Catholic girls will attest to its import on their formative years...  I was so excited when I saw the bridge, I totally missed the entrance to the tour and the gale force winds that belted us around when we left the protection of the old city's walls to approach the Rhone river.  Eventually worked out how to get in and paid, requesting audio-guides en Anglais.  Climbed up to the start of the bridge tour and found ourselves listening to Russian (we think) so while Brad took artistic photos, I trudged back to get the girl to recode the guides.  Once in English, we set off across what is left of the bridge - destroyed not by the revolutionaries this time but the force of the Rhone river over hundreds of years. The original bridge actually spanned the entire Rhone which is pretty wide (spans an island in the middle of the river) but sections were washed away over time despite rebuilding and eventually the local population gave up. The Rhone won and St Benezet who was told by God to build the bridge (hence his canonisation) lost.  The wind was ferocious out on the pont but at least the audio guide proved to Brad that I am not the only one to know about the song... and I got to kind of dance on the bridge, if only to stay on my feet in the wind.

Chateauneuf-du-Pape

Clearly I am bad Catholic (Brad again). I have always known Chateauneuf-du-Pape as an excellent wine brand. The pope bit didn't register. Until today. And, in ignorance, I thought it was a winery. Sadly, or happily, depending on how much time you have, it is a wine region - like Mudgee. So, the search for the perfect Chateauneuf-du-Pape wine could take weeks. Sad face, no time. We went into the first cave we passed. Winner! I'm hoping a bottle will make it home. It was quite interesting, just a shopfront - until you walked into the limestone cave at the back for wine tasting. Ahhhh. I might never come home.

What's left of the 'new castle'. Luckily the wine survived.

But, there is a dark lining to every silver cloud and Chateauneuf-du-Pape certainly had one. I may have mentioned, once or twice, about the narrow french roads. Today, at an intersection in the village of Chateauneuf-du-Pape I met two trucks. No they weren't heading in the same direction (thank you Renee Geyer) and I was in between. I even folded in the side mirrors. I am going to write a book when I get home. "101 Jobs I Could Never Do". Number 2: Truck Driver in the French country. Number 1: Priest (think about it, no comments necessary).

Anyway, we survived and the car is still intact and we had, in the boot, 6 bottles of Chateauneuf-du-Pape. It's a wonderful world.

Home again

Today was the most beautiful day, even with the wind, the sun was shining! I could never live in a climate without sun.

Tomorrow we were heading for Nimes and its totally awesome Arena (read Colosseum if you are stupid). Curiously, Jayne requested that I google the Arena because sometimes it's closed if there are concerts on. No concerts. No problems. Um, wait, the whole site is closed for the next five days because of the Pentecost festival. WTF? Seriously! How Catholic are the French? It hasn't translated to bums-on seats in church. 

So ... no Nimes. We are heading to Arles instead. Stay tuned gentle reader for who knows what awaits us tomorrow?