43. Avignon - The Town

To Avignon, where are other gorgeous and delightful friend, Nathalie, took great care of us and helped us find our bearings. Nathalie, like Jilly, is a bloggy friend, who also takes stunning photos. (OK, you could argue that the south of France provides a ready-made palette for successful shutter-bugging, but this pair have serious talent). You can also meander around Nathalie's photo blog Avignon In Photos to discover aspects of her home town we just couldn't uncover in our fleeting visit.

Below: The view from Nathalie's terrace, across the rooftops to the Palais des Papes
Below: Nathalie's view in the other direction
Below: On a trip to the supermarket, we discovered varieties of coke we never knew existed. We lined them all up for a snap.
Below: One of the gates in the old walls. Along with the locals we parked our hire car outside the walls, where it is free. We were staying about 100 metres' walk inside the wall.

Below: View of the Rhône across Île de la Barthelasse to the castle in Villeneuve-lez-Avignon (see separate entry). Taken from Rocher des Doms, a park atop the bluff. The vineyard is a recreation of vineyards that existed at the time the popes occupied Avignon in the first half of the 14th century.

Below: Notification from the local council indicating that a resident within the building has approval for traffic to be halted outside for a specified time and date (14 June from 08:00 to 18:00). Because the streets are so narrow, this approval must be sought if you wish to arrange delivery of whitegoods or material to be carted away, etc. Nathalie explained that you go to the mairie (town hall) with your proposed date and time, and permission is granted as long as there is not a conflicting demand in a street required for diversion of traffic from yours! The Town Hall keeps the "master plan" . And it works.
Below: Ice cream pit-stop in Rocher des Doms.
Below: Cathédral Notre dame des Doms and Palais des Papes
Below: Outside the Palais des Papes
Below: Palais des Papes
Below: Trompe l'oeil people watching over Avignon
Below: A Sunday morning stroll along Rue de la République

Below: Pretty window
Below: The facade of Les Halles (the indoor market) features this astounding "vertical garden" . I've never seen anything like it before, and found it might impressive. Inside, the food stands are mouth-wateringly delectable, and one of the few places to get food on a Sunday morning. It looked like lots of people were stocking up on sweets and cakes, tartes and viandes before heading off to maison maman et grand-mère 's for Sunday lunch!


Below: A certain Italo-Australian goes native in France, ensuring that his morning baguette doesn't get home end intact! Sprung!
Below: Hmmm - edible g-strings?