April 25-26—SeaTac to Charles de Gualle to Dinner with Gavin and Elaine
Saturday was a long but good travel day. After all the hype in the papers about long security lines we changed our arrival time to SeaTac just in case. So we walk off the ferry, meet our driver in front of the Coleman Ferry Terminal, drive 17 minutes to SeaTac and... right, no lines. Luckily, we had time to meet with a Delta ticketing agent so he could correct a computer glitch with my ticket. Somehow my last name was included twice and so I couldn't get a boarding pass, because the name on my passport didn't match my ticket. Ya, my passport only has my last name once—of course. Eduardo, the Delta agent, was cheerful and corrected the error and we were off to TSA Pre√, except we didn't bother, because there was no one, and I mean NO BODY at the regular TSA line. We walked right up checked in with a TSA agent and he gave us an expedited card to indicate to the other agents that we had TSA Pre√, and viola, we had three hours to burn before our flight.
At Charles de Gualle, we expected long lines, because they instituted a biometric procedure that has slowed down Passport Control. Well, this also was a shocker. The huge room with the rat maze all airports use to make travelers walk up and down and back and forth to an entry point was there and we ran the course and stood behind 3 people going through the biometric thingie. Two French agents were there to assist and within 5 minutes our passports were scanned and we had our pictures taken and that was it. We took a taxi to our hotel and had three hours to freshen up and have a little rest before meeting Gavin and Elaine for dinner at La Marine at 7PM.
I sure hope the rest of our 5 weeks in France go as smoothly as the start of this holiday!
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| The flight was smooth and uneventful, except for one distressed baby screaming in first class. Event- ually, she passed out and so did we. |
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| Our flight route 30 minutes after departing SeaTac. |
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| Pre-dinner snack. |
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| Ravioli dinner on Delta 80 to Paris. |
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| Me, Marie, & Gavin on one of the many pedestrian bridges that cross Canal St. Martin. Elaine, Gavin's wife, took this picture and we'll include one of all of us after they send it to me. |
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| Does this look like April 26th? |
This is a restaurant Gavin and Elaine like and have come back to several times during their month in Paris, and all I can say is, they chose well. Fantastic and friendly service and really delicious food!
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| And here we all are! |
April 27—Avignon
The trip from Paris to Avignon, with one stop at Lyon Saint Exupery Tgv averaged 299km (185mph) and took three hours. Second Class on the Tgv is comfortable and inexpensive, and seniors get a reduced fair.
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| Inside train. Didn't want to intrude on passenger privacy too much. Pic taken from seat level down the aisle. |
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| Route, speed, and updated ETA's on ceiling monitors. |
It was 77(F)/25(C) when we arrived around 1430, and after checking into Hotel Bouquier, we took our usual orientation walk and got the lay of the land.
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| Our orientation walk took us down Rue de la Republique, Avignon's main street running from the train stationto the Rhone River. Now a museum, this former church's facade is still impressive. |
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| Avignon Theatre on Main Square. |
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| Now a hotel this papal residence only rates three starts. (see red plaque) |
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| The Papal Palace was the seat of Western Christianity in the 14th century. It is massive. |
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| Closer look at Papal Palace entrance. |
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| Modern apartments with passage underneath to the next street. |
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| This is the backside of the Papal Palace. Note how the wall is built to include the massive natural stone. |
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| Section of Avignon's original wall that encircles entire town. |
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| We took this short cut through the massive stone wall surrounding the city. |
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| Just a cool side street as we get oriented. |
Tomorrow our plan is to begin the day early with coffee and croissants at Les Halles and then take one or two of the walks described in the Avignon "Leisure and Heritage Map" and then take a midday rest to avoid the heat. It's only supposed to be 76(F)/24C, but the sun is pretty intense this far south so we don't want to push it. We'll take another heritage walk later in the afternoon. That's the plan but we'll see.
April 28—Avignon
Avignon is an old city, dating back to 4th century which is apparent if you walk down the narrow lanes that swarm around Rue de la Republique, Avignon's main street, and the spine of the city that is lined with "modern" buildings from the Second Empire (1852-70). But the medieval construction throughout the city is clear if step back from Rue de la Republique.
Avignon is one of the few French cities to have preserved its city walls. They were built in the 14th century and considered the finest example of medieval fortification. Avignon is also known as 'La Cité des Papes' (The City of the Popes, 1307-1348) where seven consecutive popes (and two schismatic popes) maintained a residence.
The historic center includes the Palais des Papes, Avignon Cathedral and the Pont d'Avignon, became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995 because of its architecture and importance during the 14th and 15th centuries.[12] The medieval monuments and the annual Festival d'Avignon – one of the world's largest festivals for performing arts[13] – have helped to make the town a major center for tourism. (Wikipedia)
See Wikipedia for:
- Cultural Heritage at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avignon#Notable_people
- A Timeline at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_Avignon
- Avignon Papacy, a brief history: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avignon_Papacy
Check out Avignon Tourisme for a simulated walk through its streets. This website provides descriptions and pictures of Avignon's most significant sites. And the Avignon's "Leisure and Heritage Map" includes 10 color coded walks that also include descriptions of historical and cultural sites.
If you don't feel like looking at all the Wikipedia links mentioned above, take a look below at the pictures taken this morning on our 4+ mile stroll "behind the scenes" of Avignon.
We started our morning looking for Les Halles, the covered market, where we enjoyed a fabulous cafe au lait and then spent an hour ogling what the shops have for sale.
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| It's gotta be close. |
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| Not yet. |
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| Ah, here we have arrived at Les Halles. |
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| We'll take you on a wander through the market stalls. |
After Les Halles we walked toward the Cathedral of the Doms, the seat of the Archbishop. It was built in the 12th century and consecrated in 1111. Getting there was most of the fun. Again, check out the narrow lanes and massive walls of these medieval buildings and churches.
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| Can you find the bicycle? |
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| Walking behind and... |
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| around the Papal Palace. |
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| Hôtel des Monnaies built in 1619 has a varied history. Check out the link for more information. |
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| This free water taxi crosses the Rhone so we took it and continued walking. |
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| Pont Avignon was built in the 13th century washed away several times by the flooding Rhone and was rebuilt more than once. In 17th century the city could no longer afford its reconstruction and abandoned it to future tourists. |
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| Temple Saint-Martial (1388) was built as a school and monastery for the Benedictine monks. Today it hosts the Avignon Tourism Office. |
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| Square Agricol Perdiguier was the cloister and garden for the Benedictine Abbey at Temple Saint-Martial. You can see it is still well-used and appreciated. |
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| Place des Corps Saints is surrounded by really good restaurants, cafes, and a few bars. Our hotel host told us we would enjoy a meal here. He was right. |
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| This is a close up of the fountain's base. |
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| And we found a restaurant for our main meal. |
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Tartine and salad was the plat du jour and it was yummy. |
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| We loved wending around Avignon's medieval lanes. You never know where you'll come out. |
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Hey look, a modern street. It's one of the few within the walled city. |
