Michael and I are spending the holidays this year in the South of France, which will be the first time we've been to this part of the country in winter. The idea was to find a quiet place to escape for a week, where we could easily get out and about if we wanted to be tourists for a day; or stay put with a good book if we didn't feel like doing a thing. Our destination of choice is Avignon, which is a medieval walled city that is mostly known these days for it's epic theater festival every July, but was previously known as the seat of power for the French Popes during the Great Schism. The city was important long before the Popes arrived in 1309, but the major tourist attractions that still survive today are from that era - the Palais des Papes and the Pont d'Avignon. We have passed through here a few times before, but this is the longest time we've spent in the city. We also recently discovered that you can walk to a town across the river, Villeneuve-lès-Avignon, which was fortified in the 1300s by French King Philip le Bel when the Popes moved into Avignon to make sure they knew who was boss in the region. Some things never change. The highlight of Villeneuve-lès-Avignon is most definitely the Fort Saint-André, which though technically in ruins, still maintains enough of its bones to allow visitors to imagine what it was like in the glory days. To see more pics from around Avignon and the fortress, check out our album.
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AuthorBecause why not get married and move to Paris to really kick off your thirties? Archives
December 2016
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