Avignon

"On the bridge of Avignon.They are dancing, they are dancing. On the bridge of Avignon.

They are dancing all around." -  Sur le Pont d'Avignon is a French children's song.

The Pont Saint-Bénézet Bridge

Saturday 11-10 in Avignon we wake to see the renowned bridge made famous by the children’s song Sur le pont d’Avignon.  After a very nice breakfast we head out on a tour of the city. It has 90,000 inhabitants of the city, about 12,000 live in the ancient town center enclosed by its medieval ramparts. Between 1309 and 1377, during the Avignon Papacy, seven successive popes resided in Avignon until 1791 when, during the French Revolution, it became part of France. The town is one of the few French cities to have preserved its ramparts. The historic center, which includes the Palais des Papes, the cathedral, and the Pont d'Avignon, became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995.

Avignon

In the morning we take a food tour of The Halles and Markets of Avignon which is the covered market. It is composed of about 40 stall holders, true ambassadors of local produce: fruit, vegetables, herbs and spices, olive oil and other cookery specialties, indeed a typical atmosphere of authentic Provence. We tasted cheese and wine at the covered market. We then walked to a chocolate shop and lastly we had lavender infused spreads and tasted olive oil.

Cheese in The Halles and Markets of Avignon

Wine Tasting 

Chocolate Olives

Lavender Salt

Lunch on the ship and rest, we then travel by bus to Chateauneuf-du-Pape for a visit to a local winery. The village lies about 2 mi to the east of the Rhône and 7.5 mi north of the town of Avignon has a population of 2,179.

Local Wines

A 14th century ruined medieval castle sits above the village and dominates the landscape. It was built by the second of the Avignon pope. After the popes left the castle passed to the archbishop of Avignon, but it was too large and too expensive to maintain eventually used as a source of stone for building work in the village. Almost all the cultivable land is planted with grapevines. It’s famous for the production of red wine classified as Châteauneuf-du-Pape Appellation d'origine contrôlée which is produced from grapes grown in the surrounding towns. We visit Domaine Le Pointu a family run winery and learn all about the family and the wines. 

Medievil Castle

We travel back to the boat as the sun is setting a good chance to catch our breath.  We change for dinner and have a second wonderful paired dinner with the wines from Peterson winery.  We have had lunch at Fred’s home a few years ago and he is truly an interesting person.