Destination: Avignon, France

As tradition goes, I spent my birthday weekend out of town. For the past three years of living in France, I’d been using my weekends to travel and celebrate my year of birth, all the while exploring more of the country. From the Brittany region in my first year of teaching to Dijon just last year, I’ve used the opportunity of my birth date falling near or on the weekend to go somewhere special.

This past weekend, I opted to go to Avignon. Besides using the opportunity to celebrate my birthday, I also used it to visit a friend living there, who’s also a fellow lectrice. I left town on Thursday afternoon after my last class wrapped up. Usually, I work Fridays, but I’d requested to move my only class to an earlier day that week, so I could enjoy my long weekend sans problème.

Considering that trains were ridiculously expensive (and would’ve required two transfers, which would’ve been annoying), I took a BlaBlaCar over. I got super lucky with my ride, because I had a hard time finding one which left at a good time, all the while could pick up and drop me off in the city center– many could only drop people off at the autoroute, which wouldn’t be ideal. I also had the misfortune of a couple of cancelled rides, which added to the stress of just getting to Avignon in the first place.

In any case, I was fortunate to have found a BlaBlaCar ride that left that afternoon (and didn’t require me to rush after class to the meeting point) and arrived in Avignon at a reasonable hour. It was a pleasant ride over, as I chatted amicably with my driver who was a theater director in Avignon. He kindly dropped me off just inside the city’s fortifications (as it’s a walled city) and I met up with my friend to head to her flat near the university and drop off my belongings. We got dinner in town that night at a Vietnamese joint– it’d been a while since I had Asian cuisine, so I was happy to have it again.

My friend had to work the next day, so I headed out with her and explored Avignon while she was at the university. I’d already visited Avignon back in 2016, but I still enjoyed re-exploring the charming inner walls. From the narrow, cobblestone streets to the solid, medieval buildings at every turn, Avignon is a photo-worthy city that never ceases to be lovely. Plus, it’s incredibly small, so you can easily cover the main sights (let alone the entire inner city) within two hours.

I first headed to the Rocher des Doms, a small garden located in a hilly district of Avignon. From the top, you can get great views of the iconic pont Saint-Bénézet, aka the famous half-bridge made popular by the traditional French song “Sur le pont d’Avignon.” It happened to be an incredibly sunny day then, which made for perfect views of the bridge, along with the neighboring village Villeneuve-lès-Avignon in the distance.

Just next to the Rocher des Doms is the Avignon Cathedral; I headed inside to admire the interior. Although the inside was rather bare, I noticed that there were some old wall paintings that have since faded, which I found rather fascinating. It was history upon history, with *newer* artwork existing side-by-side with the older, faded one. Just before exiting, I popped into the church’s souvenir shop to purchase a postcard and a magnet– it’s what tourists do!

I hung around the Place du Palais for a bit, taking in the sun and admiring the exterior of the Palais des Papes. Originally the seat of Western Christianity in the 14th century, it’s the main draw of the city, attracting plenty of visitors each year. I’d visited the inside during my last trip to Avignon, so I didn’t have the need to visit it again.

From there, I made my way to the pont Saint-Bénézet, which is located just a bit outside of the inner walls. Like with the Palais des Papes, I opted not to go onto the bridge, as it required an admission fee, but just to take a photo of it from afar. Again, I’d also gone on the bridge the last time I was in Avignon, but it wasn’t worth it…really, paying to walk on a bridge that leads to nowhere. Crazy to believe that the bridge hasn’t been completed since the 17th century, although it won’t be so at all!

I returned to the inner walls and made my way back towards the university, close to where I would meet my friend for lunch after she got off work. We got lunch at a vegan canteen, which was a surprising (but refreshing) change from the usual, meat-and-cheese-based French meals I’ve had before. It turned out quite tasty, and it was a lot of food– I was super-stuffed in the end!

We returned to my friend’s flat afterwards, where we stayed for the rest of the day. As lectrices, we had a lot of grading to do, so we ended up having a “grading session” which was quite productive. We ordered pizza for dinner that night and, with some good-ol’ kir, it was a relaxing night in.

Along with an assistante, my friend and I visited Villeneuve-lès-Avignon the following afternoon. After returning to Avignon, we headed over to a cat café to relax. It was my first time at a cat café, and it was fun! Along with a light, afternoon snack, I found the cats and atmosphere quite therapeutic, and I could see why it would attract people to the establishment.

Afterwards, we returned to her flat and made some dinner. I tried some Provence rosé, which was refreshing, although it would’ve been better on a warmer day (and not during the March mistral). I stayed up until just past midnight to ring in my birthday, and then I headed off to bed– seems that the older I get, the earlier I want to turn in!

The next day was my last in Avignon. Before catching my BlaBlaCar ride back in the late afternoon, I had a quasi-British afternoon teatime with my friend at a British-themed café. It was more of a cake-and-tea kind of occasion, but the generous slab of mocha cake that I ordered, along with floral tea, hit just the spot. It was the perfect thing to do on my birthday– simple, but effective. Soon thereafter, I packed up my bags and headed to the gare to meet my BlaBlaCar driver and soon enough, I was back home within two hours.

It’d been a short weekend, but all the same a good one. Filled with food, sunshine, and good company, it was just what I needed since my last travels (back in January, which seems likes ages ago). Avignon was a pleasure to re-visit, and I hope to return to it for more food and adventures in due time.

Will recap my brief, but lovely trip to Villeneuve-lès-Avignon in my next post!

 

— Rebecca