Palais des Papes

The other day Paola, Jessica and I drove into the center of Avignon. It is so hot here that we don't usually go out in the morning. We waited to leave until a little after four. The architecture is so different here. Everything is so beautifully sculpted! It is a very busy place and the streets are very narrow. They do their parking meters a little differently too. They have one that distributes cards that you have to keep in your window showing that you've paid rather than having one meter per spot. Parts of the road were paved in regular stones. I came to learn that this is very painful to walk on after a while if you are not wearing thick soled shoes.

We went to the Pope's palace which dates back to the time when there were multiple popes. It was like another miniature Rome. A lot of the decoration has worn off over time, but the monstrosity of it is still very visible.

We toured the palace and used audio hand guides in English. There was one room that had a secret treasury where the floor lifted up to reveal coins. There were some beautifully painted chapels and chambers. Unfortunately we couldn't take pictures in the rooms that still had the original paint.

All the popes to reside at the palace.

After the tour we went the Avignon Bridge. There have been many famous songs composed about it. The odd thing about it is that it was never finished and only goes partway across. There is also a chapel in the middle of the bridge which I found interesting.

The chapel on the bridge

View of the popes palace from the bridge

Overall it was a wonderful tour with some very interesting history. On a different cultural note. I have noticed that Malcum in the Middle is on a lot here and is very popular. I find this amusing because I used to watch it a lot with my family.