A 2 hour train ride south and we arrived in Avignon. We stayed in the middle of the old town at Hotel Boquier which was ok. Great location and quiet at night. Nothing fancy. We explored the winding and narrow city streets that evening with dinner at Le Vintage. A little bit of rain but just drizzly. Explored the Palais de Papas the next morning as well as the Pont Avignon. Many roman ruins around the city which are just striking. Generally walked 7-8 miles a day. Dinner was at Le Coude e Coude which was very good. We traveled by train to Arles the following day where we visited the arena and theater. Learned a lot about gladiator fighting including a live performance at the old Roman Theater. The Saturday market was happening so for blocks there were stalls of food and crafts and thousands of people. Back in Avignon we had dinner at Restaurant Bar a Vin Le 46 where we had great food and discovered Domaine des Bosquets wine from Gigondas. We visited Nimes the following day but got a little cocky with thinking I knew how the train worked. We got off the train at Nimes/Pont Gard which turned out to be 10 or so km out of town. We Ubered into town for the same price as out return ticket from Avignon. Nimes has a fairly intact arena and a good audio tour. We explored up in a park with a wonderful pond including swans and ducks. Again more walking across town to the Maison de Carree (roman Temple where people came to exhalt their emperor). We walked back along the Rhone river to the train station and back to Avignon. We spent 1 more day in Avignon walking about the city, looking in the shops, having a glass of wine on a plaza. We found some old canals with ancient waterwheels still present and a nice cafe overlooking the canals for a tasty gin & tonic. We picked up our rental car, a Kia with an automatic transmission, at the train station. After 20 some round-abouts we were out of the city and out into southern France. Beautiful winding roads through vineyards and lavender fields passing through small old towns frequently on the way. We stopped in Chateauneuf du Pape for wine tasting. We visited a wine museum there and walked about the small city waiting for our appointment at Saint Charles. Turns out, a 40 something former sommelier bought an old stone building very close to the Pope’s summer residence and called it Les Caves St Charles. Down one of the darker corners he set up a private tasting room complete with candles and chanting monks. Katie and I sampled quite a few wines as he described the region, the evolving wine trends there and his own history traveling as a sommelier about Europe and to the West Coast every few years. We ended up buying a mixed case of generally non-traditional CNP wines to ship home. To ship they take off the 20% VAT from the purchase so we figured between that discount and the relatively cheap wines compared to at home, it was better just to ship. We’ve used that logic several times since then, particularly after tasting a number of wines at a Caveau or Domain. We drove on to Vaison la Romaine where our VRBO was located. Again, beautiful roads and scenery all the way. Our city, is on the banks of the Ouveze River. We are just on the slopes of the old medieval city built of course on a hill overlooking the river. We had a hard time finding our place as the address they gave us is actually the house across the street and when we rang there, they knew nothing about a rental. A few moments of angst, some slang english words and finally the owner messaged the actual location of the place. It is new but feels like it fits in well in this old part of town. Beautiful yard and very private. This is our 7th day staying Vaison la Romaine and it has been a fantastic base. We have explored wineries as far north as Cote Rotie (Guigal) and close to home in Gigondas, Vacqueyras, Rasteau, and Cairane. We have toured in the car around Mt Ventoux and down the Gorge of Nesque which is spectacular. We hiked in the Dontelles and in Luberon. We climbed down grottos at St Marcel in the Gorges de Ardeche. We were able to visit the Sunday market in L’Isle sur la Sorgue with booths set up all along the canals there. Beautiful villages along the way included Gordes, Roussillon, and Venasque. All with drop dead gorgeous views along the way. Sometimes, or rather frequently, our driving app, Waze, would send us right through the middle of town with extremely narrow streets and people walking all about. I was often not sure if I was on a pedestrian mall or I was going to wedge the car between two buildings. I have become a pseudo expert at the round-about which I think is an excellent idea for many intersections. I have had my share of tailgaters, sometimes within a couple of feet of my bumper as I am not the fastest driver out there. The Waze app is good in that it will signal a change in speed-limit, which is frequent and often not well posted. No tickets so far that I know of though they have many speed cameras and average speed zones where they mail you a ticket. Today is a bridge holiday, the 31st. Many things are closed and we found out it is because tomorrow is an official holiday, All Saints Day. Therefore the French bridge this with a day around it if possible which is today. Katie and I laugh abit about the French and their mid-day siesta, noon to 2. We had 1 young woman explain that they just work so hard they have to close and take a rest. Most things open at 10 so that for us makes us giggle. You go guys. Oh well, in general despite Katie’s and my French being terrible, most people have been very nice, even apologizing at times for not speaking English. We generally get a laugh when we say au revoir as a greeting or gracias to say thanks. Just trying to represent good ol America. Tomorrow we are heading towards Bordeaux for the last week of our ‘Holiday’
