Paradise in Provence

Bonjour!

Our travels north from Barcelona to Avignon were a perfect introduction to southern France and the Provence landscape.  We left the Barcelona bus station under ominous clouds quickly running into blowing rain and emerged in Avignon in beautiful clear late day sunset skies.  Like our drive to Granada from Madrid through endless olive groves, this drive would be through endless vineyards and slowly rolling hills.  The centuries old chateaus, villages, river valleys, wineries, and drug dogs on our bus would make this part of the trip very memorable.  (Yes, apparently the French authorities are well aware of Spain’s lack of concern over Marijuana possession and frequently stop busses after crossing the border to make a point.  Four or five people on our bus smelled really good to the dog and they had chats with the cops while looking through their luggage in the rain.  No one was arrested and we were back on our way in no time.)

We enjoyed a really quaint and charming hotel with extremely personable owners in the village of Les Angles, just a few minutes across the Rhone river from Avignon which is considered to be the capital of the Rhone valley.  We spent our days wandering around Avignon and other medieval towns in the area, our favorite being Villeneuve because of the local charm but mostly one amazing tart we enjoyed at a little sidewalk cafe there.  We explored around our hotel in Les Angles, took a boat cruise on the Rhone to visit Arles, used the local bus transport to visit Avignon, and walked to the neighboring villages of Villeneuve and Vieux Villages.  The intention for exploring so much of the surrounding area was to visit EVERY BAKERY WE COULD FIND searching for the best croissants and pastries! 

You can probably tell from our earlier posts that sampling local food and drink options really is our preferred way of exploring a new destination.  We may or may not visit the “must see” museums or spend much time in the most tourist friendly locations but we will always spend time searching out the local savory and sip-able delicacies!  France was very easy to continue these efforts!

We enjoyed a nice afternoon exploring Avignon, walking the cobblestone streets, climbing to the top of a hill and enjoying the view over a large portion of Provence, and eating a traditional French meal on the sidewalk while listening to a 6 piece jazz band.  Of course we managed to find a local gourmet shop that offered extensive samples of chocolate, dessert spreads (think Nutella to the next level), bread cubes soaked in various liqueurs, and nougats.  We also found a local lavender product shop and tried out a rub for sore muscles, like a better smelling version of Aspercreme or Tiger Balm!

Palais de Pape (The Pope's old summer pad in Avignon)

Le Lutrin's patio seating would be our 1st "French" meal.

Spontaneous lunchtime entertainment!

Wouldn't suggest driving your car over this bridge...

View from Avignon's hillside park.

Our morning Rhone river boat cruise to medieval Arles included a great lunch and some wonderful scenery on the way.  We arrived in Arles to spend a few hours seeing the sights and enjoyed a beautiful ride back on the top of the boat with the wind blowing in our hair and the sun beaming down on us.  It was pretty much perfect!

We caught some rays on top of the boat on the way back from Arles.

Through a lock & dam

Arles street between the Roman arena and homes.

Oh, just cruising past another castle on the Rhone...

Villeneuve was walking distance from our hotel through a beautiful valley with some amazing homes!  (Ok a REALLY long walk but seemed shorter because we were enjoying some delicious croissants.  The walk home was only half as long because we actually payed attention to the map.)  Once we arrived we enjoyed coffees in the plaza, people watching, and soaking in the gorgeous weather.  As we mentioned earlier, we had one of the most amazing pastries we have ever had.  The picture doesn't do the taste justice!  (We may possibly return to the area in the future just for this little snack.)  We walked through an open church as we have dozens of times but this time we were treated to a Cantor rehearsing in the stone hallways of the Cloister!  Unfortunately we may have scared her off but it was really cool for a moment!

Ugh...to die for!  Cannot convey this experience in a picture.

Cloister of one of the many churches we visited.

We walked to Vieux Villages, the oldest area of Les Angles, and enjoyed the view out over the vineyards with Avignon in the background and the French Alps further behind that.  It felt very inspiring to walk the narrow streets of a village that many famous paintings have been made of.

Vieux Villages

Valley below Avignon

So, to sum up our time in Provence, we walked a lot, in several very beautiful old towns, enjoyed more croissants then we can count, and had the best pastry ever!  Sounds like the perfect stop to us!  We then took the TGV high speed train to PARIS! 

Avignon at sunset

Leaving our hotel for Paris!

Figuring out where our seats are on the train.