Another beautiful sunny day. I went for a walk early this morning and found the fourteenth waterwheel. I couldn't leave Isle-sur-la-Sorgue without seeing all of their remaining waterwheels! Then after a late breakfast we caught the train to Avignon which only took 26 minutes. The train station in Avignon is directly across the road from a gateway into the old city which is still (amazingly) surrounded by ramparts.
We were then able to walk directly through the old city down to Place de l'Horloge (past some wonderful buildings and a beautiful park) which is a delightful town square. We had lunch at a restaurant there where we could sit outside. It was such a warm day I had to take off my cardigan. Hard to believe I was wearing it over two other layers and with my coat, scarf, gloves and hat only a couple of days earlier. We watched some workmen putting up the Xmas lights in the town square while we had our lunch. There's something just a little bit extra special about workmen who speak French!
After lunch we walked around the main tourist sights such as the Papal Palace. We didn't go inside (the outside of it is impressive enough) as we wanted to stay outside and enjoy the sunshine. Although if I was in Avignon for more than one afternoon, I would have checked out the current exhibition being held there about Pope Joan who was elected pope back in the ninth century until she fell pregnant and they figured out she wasn't a man! Apparently even today the sex of newly elected popes is verified when they have to sit in a special chair with a hole in the seat of it. I'm not sure whether I believe this. Maybe the chair itself still exists but surely they don't still use it. The mind boggles at the thought. Whose job would it actually be to to carry out this check or maybe all the Cardinals in the enclave have to have a feel? No wonder the new popes are always smiling when they go out on to the balcony! Very weird!
We walked on to what remains of the Pont Saint-Benezet which was built in the 12th century after Benezet (when he was just a mere shepherd) had a vision where he was told to build the bridge. Lindee said that the audioguide - I didn't listen to mine as sometimes I like to just enjoy the sights and try to read the French inscriptions on things - described Benezet as 'a man inhabited by fairies'! Anyway, there are only four arches (originally there were 22) of the bridge remaining but you can walk right out to the end of what's left and the views along the Rhone River on a sunny day are very nice. There is a small chapel built about halfway along the bridge where Benezet is interred.
The best part of the day was when we walked up a tower and then a lot of steps to a hilltop park behind the Papal Palace. Absolutely beautiful gardens with statues and fountains scattered throughout and amazing views over Avignon. I clambered up the rather dodgy crooked stone steps of a very old grotto to get the best views. Getting down again was a case of slow and steady wins the race - or at least doesn't get their neck broken!
Finally, after a great day out seeing a little bit of Avignon (actually we saw a lot of it from the various vantage points but only explored a bit of it), we caught the train back to Isle-sur-la-Sorgue. My ONLY complaint about the train system in France is that their ticket machines don't accept notes - only coins or cards. We keep getting caught out with not having enough coins so either have to use a credit card or wait in the queue to buy our tickets from a human being.
