Paris and Provence, Day 6: Avignon and the Bridge to Nowhere
We took the train to Avignon for the day, browsed the indoor market, bought more salt, and wandered around. Lunch at a market stall was a ham omelet for Ksenia and sausage for me.
At the Palais des Papes, the tour handed us tablets that recognized where we were and showed the rooms as they once looked. They even knew when we’d entered the little side rooms. Pretty neat technology, and the castle itself was cool. I went into the small treasury room—about 15 feet square—with hidden floor compartments for storing valuables. From there we walked to the Pont d’Avignon, the least bridge I’ve ever seen. It stops halfway across the river. Great engineers! After the “bridge to nowhere,” the city started to stink. We wandered in the heat, stopped at Notre Dame for air conditioning, grabbed a street crêpe, and found some French children’s DVDs before the train home.
Dinner at Le Bistrot des Philosophes in Aix: Ksenia had gazpacho and duck in fig sauce. I had the sea-bream special topped with marrow bone—the marrow was crispy. We finished with lemon sorbet and Żubrówka bison-grass vodka.
Part of our August–September 2019 trip through Provence and Paris. Trip summary.
From the Notebook
