A Day in Provence

The scenery changed for us again today as we entered the southern region of France known as Provence. We left Lyon early and as we drove south along the Rhone River, the scenery began to look different. The land flattened out a little as we left the more mountainous region. The weather got hotter, the sun brighter, and the colors more pink. We passed orchards of plum, pear, and peach trees, and fields of lavender which so strongly scent the air we could smell it on our coach.

Our first stop was to get our lunches prepared – we went to a local grocery store (super marche’) where we shopped for a “French” lunch. Our tour director, Alexandra, encouraged us to explore the store on our own, and to select items that make up a typical French lunch such as baguettes, pates, cheeses, fruits, and some French cookies. We followed her advice to a T and each toted out some good food. Next we drove to the famous Pont du Gard. The Pont du Gard is a Roman aqueduct that was built about 2000 years ago to supply the cities in the region with water. As a testament to Roman engineering, it still stands. The structure is huge – much larger than we expected! We took our picnic lunches and ate on the shady banks with a view of the aqueduct right in front of us. Quite a piece of history – we tried to think of all of the people over the centuries who have looked upon this – overwhelming.

After we left the Pont du Gard, we headed toward the city of Avignon in the heart of Provence. Avignon is a medieval city, with it’s fortified walls still standing.

After we went through the walls into the city, we went to visit a military palace called the Palace of the Popes – the Palais de Papes. During the 14^th Century, the Italian kings ran the popes out of Italy because of conflict and a struggle for power. For almost 100 years, the offical holy residence of the popes was in Avignon. The palace was built by two popes, and is a magnificent structure. Although the palace is fairly bare inside, there are lots of interesting details such as the hidden basements where the treasury was hidden so that the wealth of the church could be saved. During that time period, the Palais de Papes was in fact as holy and as important as the Vatican – it was the replacement for that period of time.

After we left the Palace, we got down to business – shopping in Avignon!

The entire town square is centered around the Palace with it’s beautiful cobblestone streets and medieval buildings. We scoured the streets and the square for lots of goodies and got a chance to see a lot of the goods the region is known for – lavender soap, olive oil, Provencal linens, and herbs – especially the namesake blend, herbs de Provence. We ended our shopping spree with a rest in the courtyard in front of the Palace and got a chance to do one of our favorite things – people watching!

We finally left for our hotel, a quaint little inn outside the city, where we ate dinner and the kids finally got a chance to hit la piscine – a swimming pool!

Tomorrow, more of Provence and finally – the Riviera!