Today was a full day, but we all felt pretty rested because the weather is much better, not near as hot as it has been. We started at the Pope's Palace about 9:00, no lines! The audio tour was a must, if it was not for the explanations it would have felt like there was nothing to see. At the end of the 13th century the pope decided that Italy was getting to dangerous and they would build a palace in Avignon.
There were 9 popes during the almost 100 years in Avignon, after the decision to return to Rome the palace deteriorated and then was ransacked during the French Revolution. It was a prison for a time and then finally in the early 20th century the city began renovation. It still has a long way to go, but it was an interesting place to visit.
We took a small group tour in the afternoon. The first stop was Roussillon, or the red city. The soil is kind of like Oklahoma, red, and all of the houses and building must also
be built with a red hue. The story goes that a royal couple was visiting and the King was out hunting and his wife falls in love with a local man. The King finds out about the affair and takes the man hunting and kills him. He then serves the man's heart to his wife, he comes clean and tells her what he has done. She loses her mind and the blood of the story turns the soil red. This is the French tale.
be built with a red hue. The story goes that a royal couple was visiting and the King was out hunting and his wife falls in love with a local man. The King finds out about the affair and takes the man hunting and kills him. He then serves the man's heart to his wife, he comes clean and tells her what he has done. She loses her mind and the blood of the story turns the soil red. This is the French tale.
The second town we visited was Gordes, the homes there must be built with limestone, native to the area. The movie "A Good Year" was filmed in Gordes.
La Baux, the last little city we visited just has 40 residents. It had very quaint shops, and all the houses were in the
valley below. We purchased some olives, chocolates and nougat. The castle at the top of the town was in ruins, but its story was that the Provence area was becoming more Protestant and Napoleon was not happy about this, so he killed the King of that area and gave the castle to the Moroccan King with the stipulation that it remain a Catholic area.
valley below. We purchased some olives, chocolates and nougat. The castle at the top of the town was in ruins, but its story was that the Provence area was becoming more Protestant and Napoleon was not happy about this, so he killed the King of that area and gave the castle to the Moroccan King with the stipulation that it remain a Catholic area.
We walked the aqua duct from Roman times on the return to Avignon. It was an engineering feat to get water a long ways. The duct went 31 miles, dropping 20 inches over the entire distance.
Our evening meal was one of the best, we had a variety of dishes and a nice, friendly waiter, we thought might be the owner.
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