Avignon Day 2: Le Pont & Villanueve

            For my second day in Avignon, I went to the Pont, and found it to be exactly what I had thought. It was an interesting tale of its origins, apparently ordained by God to a shepherd, but it was still just a very famous broken bridge.  After a quick lunch in town, I grabbed a sandwich and some fruit for the evening, then rented a bike and rode across the river to the little town of Villanueve des Avignon. This little town was devoid of tourists (a very welcome change after the throngs that filled Avignon during the day), and I made my way to the most interesting landmark visible, and old castle on the hill. This castle, Fort St. Andre, was built by the French king to guard against the growing papal power in Avignon. It was closed, but its walls offered an excellent place to eat a quiet dinner and share some cookies with some old italian ladies who were wandering the grounds as well. After dinner, I walked along the base of the fort before heading back across the river to return my bike and try to update my blog on the incredibly slow wifi.

Sur les Pont de Avignon, on y dansa on dansa....

Avignon the city from the end of the bridge.

The Pont and the St. Benezet and Nicholas chapels on it from the parapets of the town walls

The beautiful old streets of the much quieter town of Villanueve des Avignon, an extremely charming village where you really feel back in the middle ages.

Beautiful little town.
#nofilter

The fort St. Andre, buit as a defense against the power of the Pope to the south.

The view I had of Avignon as I ate dinner on the lower walls of Fort St. Andre

Avignon Day 1: From Paris to the Pope's Palace

         I managed to catch my train at the Gare de Lyon in Paris, all the while mentally kicking myself for scheduling my departure at 7:45am. That, my friends, was a terrible idea. On top of that I was feeling a bit ill (probably caught what Dona had as well), so despite my best efforts to stay awake and enjoy the views of the French countryside unrolling before me, I passed out for most of the ride. C'est la vie. I woke up in Avignon, and thanks to the lessons learned from my rocky start in Paris, I had mapped out my route to my hostel beforehand and I had no trouble getting to it. It was halfway acoss the river from Avignon, on the Ile-de-Begatelle and my window faced the ancient walls of the city across the Rhone. I spent about 5 minutes contemplating what I should do with the day, before I popped an ibuprofen and took a nap for a few hours.
        I woke to meet one of my roommates, a Spaniard named Jose who was an architect in London and is currently headed back to Spain to start his own company. We made plans to meet up later for a beer, and I took off to see some of the sights of Avignon. I managed to find my way through the winding streets to the Pope's Palace, which was built when a series of Popes made Avignon their home during some church troubles. It is a massive fortress, built to protect the northwestern border of the Papal Empire and the Popes themselves. I took a tour, which in addition to giving me quite a history lesson, also included a modern art exhibit being held in the castle. There were some weird pieces in that exhibit. After making my way through the maze of the fortress, I decided to try my luck at finding my way to the Pont de Avignon. This famous bridge was the first major bridge to cross the Rhone river, and eventually all but four spans collapsed. After I had payed the extra fee to see it, I realized I had just shelled out ten bucks to see a bridge that was famous because it failed at its one job. Being a bridge. I felt a bit like a sucker, but went in search anyways.
      Making my way through the city, I wound up on the acropolis where I fought against the violent winds, only to realize that the entrance to the bridge from this direction was closed. I turned around and raced through the streets, making it to the entrance with only 15minutes before the bridge was to close for the day. The kind lady at the entrance gave me a ticket to let me come back the next day, so I strolled back into the city to meet up with Jose instead.  We had a couple beers while he pointed out some interesting things he's seen in the city, and discussed the Spanish Euro crises. The city started to close down pretty early, around 9pm, so we headed back to our hostel for the night.

The abbey cloister of the Popes castle.

For my uncle Michael: Yes, the Pope had a pizza oven in his palace. No, it was not bigger or better than yours. Congratulations, you outdid the most powerful man in the world in his time. Thats pretty impressive haha.

The main dining hall of the Popes castle

The old chapel of the Popes palace, now a very strange modern art exhibition hall apparently... not sure how the Popes woulda felt about this.

Very very strange art. 

A real life creation of the Princess and the Pea at the Pope's palace

A snarling gargoyle on the tower of the Popes palace.

Avignon from the tower of the Pope's palace... Looking across the Rhone at the town of Villanueve des Avignon

The Pont des Avignon... so elusive.

Notre Dame of Avignon

The clock tower of Avignon

Sighting in through an arrow slit in the parapets.

Paris Day 7: One Last Push To The Seine!

      It was my last full day in Paris, and being without Dona or much more to really see on the cheap, I decided to stay in Sucy with my cousin Margaux and my uncle Humbert. The weather happened to be good enough that I could help Humbert with some gardening around his large plot of land (really a cool little compound, consisting of several buildings from the mid 19th century). We broke out the hedge trimmer and garden shears, and tackled the growth that had sprung up everywhere as a result of the never ending rains. We spent the morning reconquering the gardens, until the early afternoon when I accompanied Margaux out to the city for one last time.
         She had a really cool dinner for the American University in Paris to attend, but it was a little steep for my budget, so I opted to see the Pere Lachaise cemetery, which in addition to being the final home of the likes of Oscar Wilde and Jim Morrison, is supposed to be a really nice stroll. Well it was closed, so I decided to walk from there to the site of the old Bastille, and then push on to the Seine. Once there, I enjoyed a couple sunny hours by walking along the river, stopping back in at the Shakespeare bookstore to read a little more of Hemmingway's, A Farewell To Arms (which I started, but never finished unfortunately).  There is a special feeling reading a book where it very well may have been written, sitting where the author himself may have sat on a sunny Parisian afternoon.
       I eventually put down Hemmingway, and headed to meet up with Margaux in the park next to the Lourve. Then we hoofed it up to the Eiffel tower for one last glorious view of Paris at night. It turns out that we had made it just in time to watch the rising of a full, blood red moon. As I soaked up the last few moments of Paris, I thought on my journey so far and how much was yet to come. When we eventually looked at our watches, we realized that we had to really run to catch the last metro home. Thankfully we made it. Barely. We made it home and I quietly headed off to shower and pack for Avignon. My time in Paris was over.

The monument to the Bastille

Finally, a sunny (ish) day on the river.

The Pantheon, rising over the city in a testament to thinkers and artists. How the human mind can create great and beautiful things

Lovers strolling on the bridge of locks

A French moon

The Pantheon, the moon, and the Eiffel Tower on my last night in Paris

Paris Day 6: Takin It Slow

     So Donna had gotten sick from the rain and cold in Paris, and Versailles in particular. She decided to head home a day early to curl up at home and try to fight off whatever she had (probably a good choice since it kept raining). So we went into the city one more time before she left in the afternoon. We visited the Arc de Triumph, then strolled down the Champs de Elysee. We just took it easy, trying not to make her even more sick in her state, but still enjoying our time and a nice lunch in the St. Germaine neighborhood. We stopped for a bit in the St. Germaine chapel as well, which was nearly empty and provided a quiet respite from the bustle of Paris. We headed over to the Gare de Nord station where I bid her farewell and good luck at Yale next year... See you soon Dona!

The Tomb of the Unknown soldier in Paris.

From the Arc de Triumph to the Lourve, the Champs de Elysees

Some clever French protest signs at the closed Virgin megastore...

The stained glass in St. Germaine

St. Germain church... Nearly empty.

This glowing pillar really caught my eye as we left.

I was disturbed to see this sign in Sucy, I thought it might meant that they have issues with car bombers... Apparently, it means that you cant transport explosive liquids... Weird sign though haha

Paris Day 5: Coming Home to Versailles

        On the fifth day, I dragged Donna out to the Chateau Versailles, home of French kings. The long train ride was nice, and I passed the time by pestering her with questions about the political situations in France. We finally arrives, and a cold windy drizzle arrived with us! We managed to brave the extremely long lines of tourists, and made it into the castle where all the splendors unfolded before us. It is such an incredible display of craftsmanship, wealth, and ego. Mostly ego. 

        We were hopeful that by the time we got out to the garden, either the wind or the rain would stop. No such luck, but for a few minutes it was almost refreshing to be out of the stifling crowds of tourists. That lasted a few minutes before it was just cold haha. I pushed Dona and I on, determined to get the most of my garden ticket before I threw in the towel. We managed to enjoy a fair amount of one wing, before we both just wanted to go back to a warm house that waited for us in Sucy. The cold and the rain beat us that day, and it was so nice to be away from tourists,  back with the great food that Humbert prepared for us for dinner.

Some communist party stickers while changing metro lines... so weird for me to see that!

The golden gates of Versailles

This statue caught my eye because its a woman sitting on the back of a man in obvious anguish... Kinda like this palace was another burden on the backs of the people. Yay for royalty!

The Chapel of Versailles... quiet impressive.

So close to the key of Versailles... Almost mine!

Me in the hall of mirrors.

A beautiful ceiling in the chambers of the king.

The gardens from the hall of mirrors.

Dona hoping that the rain either stops or drives the tourists away... neither of which happened! It was still good though!

The coronation of Napoleon and the hordes who still swarm him today... Seriously a little crowded. 

The fountains at Versailles are stunning, even in the rain.

Paris Day 4: "Cover Me, Im Goin In!" (To Notre Dame and the Lourve!)

          On the fourth day, Donna and I got up early to head over and see the Notre Dame. I figured that was the only way to avoid the lines to go inside, which can easily stretch a block or two. Our luck was in, and we visited the Notre Dame in all of its glory, inside and out. The massive vaulted ceilings and the intricate stained glass was truly breathtaking. I can only imagine the stillness and the calm of that space when it isn’t full of tourists. After a good long break just enjoying the magnificence, we took our leave so more could enjoy it after us.

           I was feeling pretty ambitious by this time, so I hurried us over to see the Lourve. The building itself is enough to take your breath away, with magnificent statues looming over the courtyards which guards the entrance marked by the famous glass pyramid. We knew it was massive in size so we went in with no expectation of seeing it all. We enjoyed what we could of the Egyptian artifacts on display, and made sure to hit some of the famous pieces (the statue of Victory, the Mona Lisa, and the Coronation of Napoleon).  I know that this might be sacrelidge, but I found the Mona Lisa thoroughly unimpressive. Not because it was small, I guess I never was much of a fan but assumed that there must be some secret to seeing it in real life that made it better... I didn't find one. I did however find dozens of other works of art that were far more moving and impressive to me, like the Winged Victory. 

        After a few hours, we left to grab some lunch and gather our things from Pauline’s before heading back to Sucy for the night. We were greeted by a wonderful dinner and great company, as I enjoyed the parts of the conversation that happened to be in my mother tongue. I finally bid everyone goodnight, and fell very asleep after an exhausting day.

The famous stained glass window of Notre Dame

The intricate nature of all the work was so beautiful. The whole building is a work of art.

The vaults of Notre Dame

The Lourve park.

A wonderful French breakfast, fresh croissants coffee and orange juice before the Lourve. All right across from Notre Dame.

Dona relenting to having her picture taken at the Lourve... we had to wait for about half an hour so might as well snap some pics... Then my camera died. 

I managed to revive my camera for this magnificent hall in the Lourve.