Thursday, May 17th. Avignon. Arthur got a super good night sleep last night. There was a good stretch of 6 continuous hours! The night before wasn’t as good, but last night was super enjoyable for me.
These past two days, we walked around Avignon. Yesterday, we went to Pont St. Benezet and the Palais des Papes, and today, we walked around the main town and went to the garden. We left the apartment quite late on both days. We really took things slow.
So, yesterday, we started our day by walking towards the bridge on the north side of town. The apartment’s location is perfect for a day of exploration. It is located just right across Les Halles Market.
The walk to Pont St. Benezet was very pleasant. We passed by many shops selling not just souvenirs but also real good smelling lavender. The small streets and really old buildings made the place feel so cozy. It was a quiet town even though there were so many people around.
Once we got to the bridge, we decided to pay the fee to go in and learn more about it. There were originally 22 arches but now only 4 remained. Years of flooding and war caused the destruction.
Part of the museum was connected to one section of the ramparts of the old city. We tried going up to the top, but it was closed. We found out later that the section was connected to the public park. They had to close it so that people from the park wouldn’t be able to access the bridge. It is a paid attraction after all.
From here, we made our way to the Papal Palace. Sean wasn’t really keen on going in, but the imposing building was hard to miss.
After going through security, we got our “audioguide” called the historipad. It was actually a pretty cool guide. In almost all the rooms of the Palace, there were medallions that you need to scan with the iPad. Once you’ve scanned the medallion in the room, the iPad showed what the room originally looked like. You could also tap on some parts of the room to find out more about the items. One of those items held a treasure coin. Should you wish to collect all treasure coins, you need to carefully look at every item in all the different rooms. There were 9 coins to collect in total.
Obviously, we played the game.
I was impressed with the way the museum was trying to engage the visitors. We saw another visitor who was so ecstatic when he found one of the treasure hunt coins. He was probably around 50 years old. Fun was had not only by the kids but also the adults. The treasure hunt was cool, but the ghostly past was cool as well.
We spent quite some time in the Palace. At one point, Arthur took a nap. We weren’t allowed to bring the stroller (the museum rented out carriers) so we had him in our carrier for a while. When he took a nap, though, I carried him in a cradle position.
After the Palace, we headed down to the Town Square to grab some food. We wanted to have an early dinner. Most of the kitchens in the square were closed, though. They served drinks and snacks, but they were not yet open for dinner. We asked each of the restaurants in the square if they were open for food. We finally found one that was open.
I got myself a burger a la Provençal, which really meant that they served goat cheese with my burger. It was good. The cheese was strong, but it was pretty good.
After dinner, we went home. Arthur was getting super sleepy. Sure enough, once we got home, I fed him and he fell asleep quite quickly.
And one of his stretch of sleep that night was for 6 continuous hours.
I woke up feeling really refreshed this morning. We had a slow morning, and when we finally left the apartment, it was already past noon. We made our way to the park. We visited the cathedral first before the park.
The park itself had a nice view of the river, Pont St. Benezet, and St. Andre Bastion on the other side of the river. There was also a small vineyard inside the park. Apparently, it is the only vineyard inside a city in all of France. We wondered who manages the vineyard. I should google it.
After the park, we took our time walking inside the shopping area of the town. Many shops were closed. Not sure why.
And then, we went home. It was a short day, but it was nice nonetheless. We felt so carefree and relaxed. The weather was really good and the ambience was just perfect for a nice stroll.
Wish we had stayed here longer. I would love to have the opportunity to explore other places in this region, like Arles or Pont du Gard or the wine country.
Maybe next time.
two backpacks and a diaper bag 