Return to Paris

Today is a low blog content day because we spent our time packing to return to Paris and traveling back to Paris.  But first, since we enjoyed yesterday's meal at L'Epicerie so much, we returned there for lunch today.  Bill had an appetizer of thinly sliced eggplant filled with goat cheese and rolled up.  It was served with a tomato sauce and some salad.

We both got the filet which came with french fries (our first fries since we've been here) and ratatouille. It was delicious!












For dessert I got panna cotta and Bill got the café gourmand.  It's a tiny cup of expresso with three small servings of dessert - in this case panna cotta, the chocolate cake we had yesterday, and ice cream.

After lunch we checked out of our apartment and went to the train station.  At the train station there was an area where people could recharge their laptop batteries by pedaling a bicycle.  Great idea!

Sur le Pont d'Avignon (On the Avignon Bridge)

Today was rather frustrating.  We had planned to go to L'Isle Sur La Sorgue, a small town a few miles away from Avignon that is known for its antique shops.  However, we couldn't find the bus station.  It turns out that the bus station has temporarily re-located due to construction.  By the time we found it, we had missed our bus.  We decided to just stay in Avignon today and finish seeing what we had not yet seen.

First we went to a store that specializes in Provençal fabrics and bought some place mats and napkins.  Then we stopped for lunch.  I'm not posting a photo because it was pretty ordinary - roast pork for Bill and pizza for me.  We walked out on the Avignon Bridge and I did the obligatory dance.  

It doesn't sound like it, but we'd done lots of walking today.  I think there's a certain amount of cobblestone crabbiness in effect, too.  We were happy to return home at around 5:00 p.m.  Sorry for such a short post.

Exploring Avignon

Avignon is impressively old.  When I was out exploring this morning I found this remnant of Roman ruins from the first century.












While the papacy was located in Avignon there was lots of construction.  As in Paris and other smaller towns in France it's amazing how many churches there can be.
















Here's what the town looks like from the garden above the pope's palace.







And here's what the famous bridge looks like.  Since the 17th century only half of the bridge remains.












We had a very nice lunch in the large plaza near the pope's palace.  I had an appetizer of sauteed eggplant with tomato sauce while Bill's appetizer was salade Nicoise.  He had steak and I had cod served with aioli (a garlicy mayonnaisse) and steamed vegetables.   I had marriage de mousse for dessert - a combination of chocolate and caramel mousse.  Bill's dessert was similar, but featured pineapple.





In French restaurants you always know where the meat came from.  I'm not exactly sure what to do with this information.

A Ride on a High Speed Train

Today we checked out of our Paris apartment and took the TGV (high speed train) to Avignon.  But first we stopped for lunch at a restaurant near Parc de Bercy.  This particular restaurant specializes in food from the Aubrac region.  We had today's special, which was brochette of beef, salad, and gratin ratatouille.  Unfortunately, neither of us was particularly impressed with this meal.  However, the waitress was very nice and helped Bill learn how to pronounce "Laguiole" the
town in Aubrac famous for manufacturing knives.












I did some knitting on the train.  In retrospect it may not have been a good idea to knit lace after a wine-fueled lunch.  I stopped after one row because it was clear things would not go well if I continued.











Avignon still has its medieval walls and was home to the pope during the 14th century.  It's famous for it's walls, bridge, and papal architecture.  We arrived in the town shortly after 6:00 p.m. and spent nearly an hour talking with our new landlord.  By the time he finally left it was beginning to  get dark.  I did get a picture of the gate our bus came through when we entered the city.

The apartment is huge compared to the 2 Paris apartments we've stayed in the last few weeks.








After the landlord left, we went out to buy a few groceries and find a boulangerie for bread.  We saw a very pretty town square not too far from the pope's palace.  Here's a photo of the city hall on that square.

Because we're in the south of France the weather is warmer here than in Paris - no jackets!  It's also much cleaner and less crowded.  We'll be here a week and are looking forward to enjoying lots of seafood and vegetables dishes.  We're also looking forward to a break from climbing up and down stairs in the Métro system.