Monday, 25 August 2008

Thursday 24 July



We had a busy day. Up at 8ish to recce the station and train times to Avignon in a short half hour run (I did 27 mins and felt ok at the time but my hip felt sore later). Breakfast at the usual Salon du the – 1 formule + pain au chocolat + orange juice.

We left for Avignon on the 11.27 train in the blistering heat, writing cards to Kim and Joy and John T on the platform. Arriving in the middle of the festival 20 minutes later we had a colourful time – flyers were constantly thrust towards us and we enjoyed several street performances including an enthusiastic band (moved on by a woman trying to drive down an impossibly narrow street) and an act involving an audience member playing ‘la reine’ who was forced to give birth to a balloon!

I tried to drag Russ into several alluring shops without any real success and we settled for a 12.30 leffe in a square off the Rue de la Republique. We walked around the outside of the Palais des Papes and had an alfresco salad lunch – serenaded by another band on an elaborately decorated merry –go – round. Then it was off to the Musee de Calvert – all about French art over the past 500 years apparently. I found this quite hard going and was honestly glad to leave….

In the evening we went out for a simpler meal of salad and moules frites in the square around the corner from the hotel.



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