Lovely Avignon

Crikey I'm so far behind. I am mostly keeping up with the writing up of each day, it's sorting the photos and then putting it all together somewhere where I have an internet connection that can handle uploading it all that becomes tricky. For example, where we are presently staying, we can only use the internet down in the shared rooms, so you have to pick the times when it is less busy (and we are actually here). Right now the Euro soccer is on Germany vs. Netherlands, so everyone is yahooing down in the bar and up in the dining room it's pretty quiet :) Also my eyes are much better and only 50% zombie-like now, which also makes doing this kind of this towards the end of the day much less of an exercise in torture.

ANYWAY Saturday the 2nd of June...

We had a cruisy morning sort of by accident because we fluffed about too much packing up to get the 10am train, so had to wait until the midday one. We'd already decided to take the taxi back to the station, mostly due to Greg's fresh sunburn on his back from the day before which made carrying his pack rather unpleasant. Luckily checkout wasn't until 12 so we were able to mooch about in the hotel room after breakfast, taking advantage of the free wifi and squeezing a few more hours of relaxing in before we were on the road again.

The weather in Sete that morning was cool and cloudy, which was weird after three nights and two days of nothing below about 23 degrees... But never mind it was apparently 31 degrees in Avignon where we were headed...

The taxi ride was fine, managed to bluff my way through by learning the word for station hastily...

The train trip, 1.5 hours long, was a bit less pleasant than previously. Turns out when you're on a train without a seat reservation, there's no guarantee that you'll get a seat! The first half an hour was an awkward cram in with our bags next to a lady with rather bad BO. At Montpellier we dived into some seats before the second wave of passengers got on, and then had to endure the anxiety of watching a dodgy looking chap sit near where our bags had been stashed. He kept grabbing them to move them around and stuff and it made for nervous watching. Greg moved them somewhere safer as soon as it was feasibly possible...

Later, when the train was less busy!

Then we were in Avignon. Roasting hot, buzzing with crowds Avignon on a Saturday afternoon. Thankfully, finally, our hotel was a mere five minute walk from the station. We were greeted by a very lovely lady and air conditioning. Got our room, got a map and the lay of the land, and then tootled up stairs to dump our stuff and create a plan.

The Australian woman we had met in Barcelona had recommended to us a place called "Tartines'" for some good cheap eats, and as this place also appeared as recommended in the guidebook, we made it our first stop for lunch. Tartines are basically "stuff on toast". It was nice, and different, but not life-changing. The setting, in a square away from the crowds and underneath shady umbrellas, was rather good. 

The guidebook had a suggested walking tour so we figured that was a good place to start. We walked up the main street, teeming with people and high end shops. People were shop shop shopping til they dropped!  

This picture is a poor representation of the amount of people there were...

We got to the main square and admired the square itself, filled with cafe's and even a merry-go-round, and the various old Avignon buildings including the Palace of the Popes. 

Interestingly, at some point there was a French pope and he decided that Rome was far too dangerous a place to live, so he shifted his whole outfit to Avignon. Obviously a Pope can't live in just any old dingy place so a rather grand palace was built. The Church continued to be based there for a few more Popes until the Vatican got annoyed and decided the Popes should be back in Rome. For a while there were two Popes (or one Pope and one AntiPope), a French one in Avignon and an another one in Rome,until they eventually sorted it all out. Apparently the Roman Catholic church don't really like to remember “the Avignon years”...

 

The Palace of the Popes

The Golden virgin mary at the top of the tower on the church attached to the palace.

As an escape from the baking afternoon sun, the crowds, and also because the guidebook suggested it, we decided to visit the Petit Palais, attached to the Pope's Palace and also a museum of medievil church art. Really quite interesting stuff but by the end of it I felt quite 'Virgin Mary And Baby Jesus'-ed out. Of all the various stories and people from the bible they could have painted, that one was by far the favourite.

The museum itself was an old, architecturally interesting building, as well as the exhibits themselves.

This was the style of most of the paintings inside (as they were all from the same era and Church-related...) 

A lot of the pictures were of the Baby Jesus grasping Mary's boobie in a way that can only be described as 'anatomically uncomfortable'. Shocking as this kind of image is - particularly as a religious image - back in the day the idea of the Virgin Mary breastfeeding and nourishing Jesus and therefore God essentially was a perfectly acceptable to thing to celebrate and place images of all around your local church.

The portrait of Gregory we found in the museum was surprisingly lifelike...

The artist's image of Judgement Day. Fairly grim for those who didn't say their prayers.

I believe this one is quite famous. That's all I got.

Outside, the gravel in the courtyard had been worked into funky art. 

Nearby, local teenagers took turns breakdancing to loud music from their beat box. Did Avignon get frozen somewhere in the early 90's?

Once we emerged it was getting late. We decided to head back to base. At base, we asked the friendly hotel lady where the nearest supermarket was. Then we went on an adventure to the supermarket to get some water and a new toothbrush for Greg. While there we also purchased som French snacks (muesli bars of some kind some things Greg called 'French Toffee Pops'). Entertainment while waiting in line was the Topdeck tour group of young Australians, Americans (and possibly the odd Kiwi, but they were keeping quiet/drowned out) buying booze so they could all get wasted “Oh yeah, lets grab some vodka and orange juice or something!” One Aussie girl called out.

Seriously? You're in Provence and you're going drink vodka??

Ok, I'll stop being such a booze snob...

...but seriously?

Also making me grin was the the guy with the backwards cap, board shorts, orange singlet top and jandals in front of us... it was like the supermarket was a weird portal back to Australasia.

Supermarket achieved we went to the train station to look into the possibility of a morning excursion to l'Isle of Sorgue de something, as they have antique markets and fairground vibes going on on a Sunday morning. However sadly the only morning train was leaving at 6.50am and then there were no more until 14.00! This was contrary to what the hotel lady had said, but we decided even if we were missing something and somehow magically there were trains if you turned your collar the right way and showed the train people the secret broch that there was plenty to keep us busy in Avignon itself for most of the day, and if not down time is always good.

We popped back to base again for a predinner relax and I swatted up in the guide book on a good place for dinner. There was a restaurant recommended both in the guidebook and by the hotel lady so we decided that would be a goer. At hungry oclock we spruced up and headed out for L'Epice and Love (Epice means spicy and sounds like the English “Peace” making the name sound like “Peace and Love” - a deliberate play on words by the English and French speaking restaurant owners).

The restaurant turned out to be a tiny place on a backstreet decorated with dim reddish light and candles on the table, and walls covered in wire sculptures and various cooking implements hung from string in the window (egg beaters, cheese graters and the like). The waitress was a lovely girl who spoke French and English and was happy to explain the menu to us (but I did ask for a table to for two please in French first!!). We as usual got the menu, and a bottle of wine, and enjoyed yet another fabulous French meal. 

 

The dessert was cute – there were two different chocolate items on the menu and I got one and Greg got the other. When they came out mine was in the shape of a heart and Greg's was the ying/yang symbol for peace – Peace and Love!

Peace...

...and love!

Pleased with another successful day, we headed back to the hotel for sleeps.

The Joys Of Travel

Hello readers,

Apart from today's post, which was really just a bit of finishing off from work I did over a week ago, you may have noticed I haven't really posted in ages! This is for two reasons: One, sporadic internet access & busy days has limited time available but also Two: What I thought initially was an eye allergy related to pollution, now turns out to be a proper bacterial infection, and it has made looking at a computer screen difficult! I am now on antibiotic eye drops so it should hopefully clear up soon! This will also be why there are several days with not many pictures of me in them - when your eyes are blood shot and swollen two twice the normal size it doesn't make for a pretty picture! Also my sunglasses broke just as the symptoms started, which has made things even more challenging (mainly for Greg, as he has been lending me his sunglasses...)

Thank fully the symptoms ease a bit during the day so my enjoyment of the trip isn't too impaired and I'm glad it's my eyes and not my foot or something that would actually inhibit my ability to travel!

Still having a fab time and we are both otherwise fit and well. It's boggling my mind going back and thinking over all that has happened in the last three weeks just as much as looking forward to the trip used to overwhelm me (and still does, when I consider how much there still is to go)! I guess it's going to take some time to sift through all the memories and make sense of just how mammoth a volume of experiences we are cramming into such a short space of time - I ought to be dining out on this for at least a few years!! (I'll have to dine out on something, I'll be too broke to actually dine out... j/k).

Also Germany won the soccer tonight and it's a party in Munich! Best way to celebrate, apparently, is drive around town honking your horn in a congratulatory manner. We went out and had dinner and watched the game, but now we are going to sleep, glad that the morning will bring happy hungover Germans rather than sad hungover Germans.

Also Greg likes soccer a lot and would heartily enjoy being a passionate European soccer fan, and I  think enjoyed pretending to be a German one for one night!

Love Jane

Beach Break: Sete for two days.

Two days in Sete: 31st of May and 1st of June.

Our two days here, always intended as a mini 'beach break' in the midst of the Birdling Adventure Whirlwind Trip, can be summed up up fairly easily:

Temperature 27 – 30 degrees from 10am - 8pm

Beaches

Amazing food.

Sunburn (and gradually expanding waistlines).

Day One Photos:

After twenty minutes or so of walking in the very hot sun, we found the beach!

Sparkly Sand.

Obligatory bikini photo. I was actually pretty modestly attired by comparison on the beach.

Also, on the beach it was plain that we weren't from around these parts: we were so, so pasty white compaired to everyone else! At least by the end of the two days I had a tan that took the edge off of the refectiveness of my skin!

If you ask Greg about the beaches in Sete eventually he will no doubt mention 'boobies'. There were quite a few pairs of boobies laying about.

After a successful beach visit, lunch by the canal on the way home was in order, and the 'menus' were proving a great option - with three courses for a set price. 

That brownie... I am still not over that brownie...

After a shower + change, the sun was setting when we ventured out again for dinner...

Sete was also where we started ordering bottles of wine with dinner. At first confused by the measurements in centiltres rather than millillitres, the first night we ended up with a full 750ml bottle of wine with tea which was quite a lot to drink after a long day in the sun! We have it sussed now though :)

We managed to order wine for the first time!

A bit of Italy while in France. It's only a few hours away by train, so why not?

So much pretty on the way home!

The canal running through the town made for pretty viewing, both during the day and at night.

Day Two, more of the same!
 

We had lovely meals and some more language adventures. I even managed to order two sandwiches and two pain au chocolats over the counter successfully without having to point. When I hugged the paper bag full of goodies to my chest and grinned broadly at Greg over our French food booty, the lady behind the counter cracked up.

I was feeling very pleased that I had ordered our lunch over the counter entirely in French!

After this we caught the bus to the beach successfully so we didn't have to walk for ages!

There is the bus story... on the first day we walked to the beach but it was over an hour in the hot sun and then the walk back home after was especially poos. So the next day we successfully navigated the bus – but only just, and thanks to some random help from a chap with no english. We were standing at the bus stop that we though would take us home, debating about whether or not it was the right one. A man approached us, asking questions from the tone of voice. We made out that he was asking us in German, if we spoke German, and said no english. He nodded then proceeded to point at the bus sign and talk to us in French. Protests that we didn't understand were politely ignored, with more insistent pointing and talking. We couldn't figure out if he wanted to know something or was trying to tell us something. We took out our map with the bus map on it and he was pointing along the map. Eventually we decided he was trying to tell us we were at the wrong stop. When I finally pointed on the map to where our hotel was (where we were trying to go) he said very clearly “Le bus numbere trois”. We were at the stop for the number 9 bus, not the number 3 bus... Hoping that we had understood him correctly we thanked him and headed off to a number 3 stop. It got us home at least! (We actually had the same thing happen to us just when we were standing near a station the day before, a nice French man tried to help us even though were just looking at the timetable to see how it al worked and we couldnt' understand a word he was saying.) The friendly French seem generally convinced that if they talk French at you for long enough eventually you'll just magically learn their language and understand. As long as they don't mind being patient and wasting their time I'm happy to be a part of the madness!

Greg takes a dip.

As we left after 5pm on a Friday evening, the beach was still busy and heaps of people were arriving after work/school/uni to relax. Why not when the temperature is still high 20s and the sun won't go down for hours?

Later on, a last chance dinner by the canal...

Being a seaside village, we had lots of yummy fish to eat too. Although in one restaurant Greg spent a large amount of time goggling at the couple behind us who had orderd the 75 euro two-tiered seafood platter. That thing was massive!

Seafood for tea! Doing things right in a seaside town!

 \

Greg knew how to recognise Ile Flotantte on the menu by now! Me, I had by now adopted a strategy of ordering whatever had "chocolat" in the name. Never once let me down!

So basically, Sete was the holiday from our holiday that we needed. We didn't do a single 'sight-seeing' activity. Just ate, walked around, and lay on the beach for hours. It was lovely. Sete is a beautiful town. It was more touristy than Narbonne but not too bad, and also most of the tourists seemed to be people from other parts of France, with some Spanish and Italians in the mix. So as English speakers we continued to be a novelty this early in the season. There was also one street we dubbed “Turkish Street” due to it's predominance of Kebab shops and bars and groups of apparently Turkish men (but could have been Lebanese or otherwise, who could tell? All their signage was still in French) hanging around all day drinking tea... just like in Turkey (and just like in Turkey, not a woman in sight. Where do they hide their women, I ask?).

All in all it was everything that I had hoped for when I had booked the place, thinking that at this point in the trip we might need a wee break! We even got some laundry done (and turned our hotel room into a Chinese laundry for the two days).

And that's the update!