Avignon

:: April 29 - May 2 ::

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Seven hours of train travel from Madrid and we arrived  at Hotel Central in Avignon, France. The next morning, we picked up the two electric bikes, a GPS unit and some maps we had reserved with Matt at South Spirit Bike to explore the area for two days. We highly recommend his shop if you want good equipment and great service.

Avignon is on the Rhone River. Crossing one bridge brought us onto Barthelasse, a large, rural island in the middle of the river. From the island, we could look across at the Pont d'Avignon. 

Did you as a child sing, as we both had, the popular song "Sur le pont d'Avignon"? According to the local legend, this famous bridge of 22 arches was first built of wood in the 12th century by a shepherd boy who had heard voices that instructed him to build a bridge. The bridge was then the only way to cross the river from Lyon down to the Mediterranean. Over the centuries, due to the forceful river flooding, it was rebuilt in stone several times. Today only 4 arches remain. 

We rode loops on the island's quiet country roads, viewing fruit orchards, vineyards and other cultivated areas.

We then crossed another bridge from the island to the village, Villeneuve-les-Avignon on the other side of the Rhone. Upping the power on the bikes, we climbed to a steep, craggy outlook above the city to see Fort Saint Andre which had been built in 1000 to protect the Benedictine Abbey, and later served at a military outpost to protect the border--Avignon and the region on the other side of the river were once independent of France.

 

We returned to Avignon where the walls built to protect it have remained largely intact.

While Bob people-watched in the plaza,  Marney toured the massive, gothic Papal Palace. It served as the main residence for seven popes between the years 1309-1377 --starting with Pope Clement V who reportedly wanted to avoid political turmoil in Rome while being encouraged to move by the  French king.  After 1377, Avignon remained papal property until 1791 when it was returned to France. Today the palace is used for concerts, art exhibits and community festivals. 

Coffee in an outdoor cafe on Place de l'Horlage (Clock Plaza) provided the opportunity to admire the attractive Hotel de Ville (city hall) and the Opera-Theatre next door as parents photographed their children on the Belle Epoque Carousel in  the plaza. 

We enjoyed evening dinners on restaurant street-side patios near our hotel.

On Sunday we biked out of Avignon for a couple of hours on bike paths and quiet back roads (dirt and gravel and asphalt) passing several Vineyards on our way to see the Pont Du Gard over the Gardon River. The Romans built this marvelous structure of yellow limestone in the 1st century to carry water above and under ground for 50 kilometers to Nimes. It later served the Romans as a bridge (a viaduct instead of aqueduct). Its age, size and beauty takes one's breath away. There is a large, shaded terrace from which to observe the Pont Du Gard and the river. Visitors were playing, eating and generally enjoying a beautiful day. A Backroads cycling group arrived about the same time as we. 

While it is meaningless to make a comparative judgment on such examples of past genius, Bob left thinking the Segovia aqueduct merits something closer to equal billing with Pont du Gard. We are blessed by history to have them both.

On the ride back to Avignon we stopped in the village of Aramón. While sipping coffee on the main plaza outside a pub we were two of many enjoying some good live music.

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Avignon is a gateway to Provence; it would be a pleasure to return and explore more of Provence's small towns by bicycle