Pascal our lovely postmaster (now recovered from the armed robbery) said he thought that I didn't really understand the concept of holidays, that I always seemed to be buying stock, ingredients or making notes for the next stage of the renovation. So I thought I ought to try being a proper tourist for a change.
Avignon seemed to be the ideal place to start.........................and to cut a long story short.............I didn't like it!
I shall probably be burned as a heretic but it just didn't float my boat. The city is beautiful with the immense walls and of the course the famous 'Pont' but once inside, I don't know how to describe it really.
The Palais des Papes was obviously built to impress, to be grandiose and to make a very public display of wealth and power. It certainly ticked all those boxes. But it lacked a heart. Most of the rooms were vast, the walls thick, the beams were the largest I have ever seen, but it just didn't move me at all. Normally in old buildings my imagination is working overtime and I lose myself in another era. This time it just didn't happen. Judging by the body language of the other tourists, I was not alone.
The building was empty, but that wasn't the problem, my imagination has taken flight in remote ruins before with no problem at all.
Outside, there were lots of overpriced cafés selling 'tourist food', paella?? and lots of long menus with rich heavy sauces, not appealing in the incredible heat. They were interspersed with some very expensive gift shops that seemed to have reduced Avignon and Provence to a series of bad clichés. There were some pretty winding streets in the old city but I think there are much more beautiful places to visit.
I did find a good place for lunch, La Tartinerie, a building that married old and new very successfully. The dining room, previously a chapel, had a vaulted stone ceiling. The eating area in the square has a mist machine (no idea what these are really called, a 'brumatiseur' in French) to help cope with the heat.
Avignon seemed to be the ideal place to start.........................and to cut a long story short.............I didn't like it!
I shall probably be burned as a heretic but it just didn't float my boat. The city is beautiful with the immense walls and of the course the famous 'Pont' but once inside, I don't know how to describe it really.
The Palais des Papes was obviously built to impress, to be grandiose and to make a very public display of wealth and power. It certainly ticked all those boxes. But it lacked a heart. Most of the rooms were vast, the walls thick, the beams were the largest I have ever seen, but it just didn't move me at all. Normally in old buildings my imagination is working overtime and I lose myself in another era. This time it just didn't happen. Judging by the body language of the other tourists, I was not alone.
The building was empty, but that wasn't the problem, my imagination has taken flight in remote ruins before with no problem at all.
Outside, there were lots of overpriced cafés selling 'tourist food', paella?? and lots of long menus with rich heavy sauces, not appealing in the incredible heat. They were interspersed with some very expensive gift shops that seemed to have reduced Avignon and Provence to a series of bad clichés. There were some pretty winding streets in the old city but I think there are much more beautiful places to visit.
I did find a good place for lunch, La Tartinerie, a building that married old and new very successfully. The dining room, previously a chapel, had a vaulted stone ceiling. The eating area in the square has a mist machine (no idea what these are really called, a 'brumatiseur' in French) to help cope with the heat.
The food was simple and good...........
Maybe I'm just not cut out for conventional tourism!
In the end I decided to head for the hills and wander round tiny villages with avenues lined with plane trees. There are medieval churches and of course ancient narrow streets lined with fascinating shops, places where you could buy authentic local produce, tangy olive oil, intense lavender oil, pastis and lots of other quality items that genuinely reflect the very best that Provence has to offer. That is my kind of tourism.
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