Much of Sunday was spent on the move, so we decided to blend two blogs into one. After a late-ish check-out of our apartment-hotel in Aix en Provence we made our way to the bus station for the 1pm bus to Avignon, a smooth, comfortable journey, taking just over an hour. On arrival we walked the short distance to our accommodation for the next ten nights while we explore the central region of Provence. We passed through the 14th century town walls (Les Remparts d'Avignon), originally built when the papacy was based in Avignon. Although there has been continual repair and rebuilding over the centuries you can still see the original wall segments near where we are staying.
Our hosts, Capucine and Bruce, are a delightful couple and
our apartment is just perfect for our needs – spacious, well-equipped and with a
private balcony overlooking the gardens and with glimpses of the town wall
through the trees.
Monday - both of us still a bit drained after all the
exertion over the past couple of weeks, so we didn’t venture out until well
after lunch, up through the “village square” and into the central avenue of
Avignon old town, passing old churches and quaint plazas populated with couples
and singles just sitting, reading or chatting and pigeons surveying all round
from their vantage points on top of the many statues.
Visited the Calvet Museum, the largest in Avignon and housed
in what was once a private residence – a huge building, built around a large
square and containing art and statuary mainly by Renaissance and Enlightenment
artists (including Jean-Baptiste Pierre’s 1760 “Beheading of John the Baptist”
which, while impressive, doesn’t compare with Caravaggio’s masterpiece we
marvelled at in the cathedral in Valetta, Malta a few years ago). It also contains an impressive gallery of
marble statues and some Egyptian caskets and other artefacts.
Past the Square of the Holy Bodies, originally a paupers’
cemetery. Interestingly, the remains of
Saint Benezet, the builder of the Pont d’Avignon, are also buried there. More of Avignon tomorrow.
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