That's So Nice!: Sur le Pont d'Avignon

As Paola says, "It's a bit of an early start, everyone . . . . " What she actually means is, we're going to get up at the crack of dawn to get on the road, but really (and don't tell her), we don't mind. Every day is a grand adventure! New sights, new smells, new foods . . . .

We took our own coach bus to Avignon this morning, rather than having to ride a metro or take a city bus, and lots of kids (and grownups) were snoozing their way across the French countryside. When we got there, we travele alongside the Rhone River, and I am fully convinced that my future self will travel on one of those river cruises--like they advertise on Downton Abbey! The river is calm, clean, serene . . . Just babbling its way down the sunflower and lavender fields . . . . Yes. Am sure of it; one day, I will enjoy one of those trips.

We were wowed immediately by the picturesque walled city and beautiful bridge as soon as we saw them, and then we disembarked from the coach and proceeded to sing and dance about beside the bridge. Really! Apparently, there is a little song about this bridge, which Mrs. Stanley taught the students, and which is accompanied by a little dance! I promise you this is true, and there is video of it--check out the Facebook feed of the HHS French Travel Club if you'd like to learn the song and dance for yourselves . . . .

Then, we entered the city gates and wound our way through Medieval cobblestone streets that led to the papal palace when there were two popes. In the 14th century, Pope Clement V refused to move to Rome, as he was French, and then the popes who succeeded him stayed here, too, until Gregory XI moved the papacy back to Rome. So the palace here is both impressive, ornate, and beautiful, as befits a powerful man of the clergy, but it's also somehow austere; there are little studies and chapels throughout the large halls of the palace that are there to provide quiet moments of reflection, research, and meditation for man who is responsible for providing religious leadership for an entire nation.

After touring for a while, my group moved out of the palace and back to the square where I bought some art from the most charming lady who was tickled with my rusty French and who allowed me to take her picture when we finished with our transaction. Noticing the knawing hunger and knowing we were lunching after a "quick ride" to the next city, I also used my rusty French to procure a little snack of pain au chocolat and a drink. I am fully snacking freely here, as it is a little-known fact that there are no calories on vacation in Europe. I absolutely intend to eat my weight in gelato and chocolate and pastries for the foreseeable future.

Then onward to the sea! We coached to Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, a 9th century city known for its Romani (gypsy) population and it three Saint Marys--Mary of Clopas (who was at the crucifixion of Christ and was also maybe his aunt) and Mary Salome (the mother of James and John of Zebedee, and also maybe cousin to Jesus' mother). Their relics are at the church in town, and legend has it that they arrived here with Mary Magdalene, causing the town to become a site for pilgrimages.

The church was lovely, and a mass in French was being performed, but after we emerged from the sanctuary, my mother got a bit of a lesson in the traveling Romani, or gypsies, who congregate here because their patron saint, Sarah, who is buried in the crypt of the church. A Romani woman approached Mom to buy a medallion and got, as they sometimes do, a little more assertive than we are comfortable with, clutching at my mother's shoulder, but quickly and firmly, we assured her we were not going to buy a medallion and she abandoned her pursuit of us. No worries.

After the church exploration, we were free to do as we chose--either go swim in the clear, calm, refreshing Mediterranean Sea or eat or shop or all three--so I chose to eat and shop (taking advantage, once again, of the lack of calories here . . . ) and had a lovely afternoon, trying out my French and gathering up treasures.

At 4:00, though, we were scheduled for an adventure--a boat tour of the coast and the Rhine River! We boarded a boat and traveled from the coast marina over the sea to the mouth of the river. There, for about two hours, we saw sights that included native rice fields, Romani and local fishermen's houses along the banks, squillions of herons, a tiny herd of bulls, and also the Camargue horses! Being wrangled by a cowgirl! The Camargue horses are both wild and domesticated here, and are a pretty shade of white when they mature. They're a little smaller than most horses I've seen, and a little thicker in the legs and chest; when they're born, they're brown or even black, and as they grow up, they fade to a gray and then white color. They're just lovely, and they seem happy in this climate, which is pretty dry right now, except along the river, and they roam all over the countryside, kicking up dust and eating the reeds and vegetation.

Following the boat tour, we came back to our hotel, got some ice cream as a treat from Paola and Mrs. Stanley (I got a cone of pistacchio, caramel, and tiramisu), and later had dinner (quiche, pork with roasted rosemary potatoes, and a dessert of apple tart). And now I write to you from my bed, from which I will rise at 5:30, because we have "a bit of an early morning tomorrow." :-) Bonne nuit, mes amis!!

The winner of the day today is Adam Retivo who airdropped me the most gorgeous picture of the Camargue horses and their cowgirl! I fully intend to steal it and post it on my Twitter when the Best Pictures Contest is over--find your winning photographs, travelers--there's a prize in it for you!!

And, finally, a selection of pictures from today--I hope . . .