Avignon, France

Bern and I took the first flight from London to Nice on Saturday (not something we would do again, as we were up at 3.30 am to catch the flight). We were met by friends who were already in Nice and they kindly brought breakfast, which were a couple of pain au chocolate (chocolate croissants). As I bit into the flaky and delicate texture of the croissant, I knew we were embarking on a gastronomic journey of no return.

I contemplated how I would blog this travel, and I’ve decided to just stick with chronological order and mention highlights of the trip (which was pretty much the whole trip). I will also give special mention to places that I loved most and also travel tips that I have learnt (mainly from own mistakes!).

Once we arrived in Nice, which is a coastal town south of France, we started our journey towards Avignon. We had four days to get to Paris, which is over 700km from the south (direct route). As we were travelling in a group of four, we rented a car which made it alot easier to get to our accomodations which were mainly B&Bs which were usually not located in the main cities. Our first night, we stayed in a provincial farmhouse in Saint Veran, 20 mins drive from Avignon. I will give special mention to this B&B in another blog as it was my favourite accommodation during this trip.

Avignon in Provence is a small city, and it feels as though it was built within a medieval fortress as there are large stone walls surrounding most part of the city. The two main attractions in Avignon itself is Palais des Papes (Palace of the Popes) and Pont St Benezet (St Benezet’s Bridge). The bridge was completed in 1185 and was repaired and rebuilt many times, but the wooden bits were washed away by severe floods and all that is left standing is a half-bridge.

Palais des Papes

Pont St Benezet

We walked along the streets of Avignon and quickly found a bistro to have lunch. Most things were served with frites (French fries) and also bread. French are soooo good at making baguettes, it is not funny. Crunchy on the outside and soft inside, baguettes are great plain with a little butter or stuffed with salad and cured meats. We have lost count how many baguettes we ate! I feel like I could eat one right now while writing this...

Streets of Avignon

With every city, a church.

After lunch, we took a leisurely stroll through the city and visited Palais des Papes and Pont St Benezet. A great way to start a holiday with a full tummy in a beautiful country.