#21 - "SUR LE PONT D'AVIGNON"

"SUR LE PONT D'AVIGNON"

FRANCE

#20

From:           Montepellier 

To:               Avignon

Distance:       95km / 56 miles

Climate:        23C = 75F

Time:           1.5 hrs but took 5

REGION: LANGUEDOC

AVIGNON 

South of France

Typical scenes......

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Here's a song I remember about Avignon during kindergarden in a French School. 

  - "SUR LE PONT D'AVIGNON" 

Sing along....Maybe you know it?

ON THE WAY!

This morning when Bob asked me - "Beach or Mountains", I answered both!! And both I got. 

We left Montpellier and took a small beach road which led along the Mediterranean Sea. Vineyards hugged the shoreline ....it was a lazy stretch of road as it travelers had "beach" in mind rather than the "city" zipping in and out to get to work. 

CROISSANTS

Ah, but before leaving, we stopped  to sit down and enjoy a warm delicious croissant. This has become a daily ritual while in France. My question is - why are the croissants only good here in France? What is the secret or the missing ingredient that the rest of the worlds bakers are missing? Why are these delicious French croissants so elusive to the rest of us in the world??? And do they deserve all the attention they get? The answer is an undeniable YES.  They taste so fluffy and full of butter which makes them melt in your mouth.

BIRTH OF A CROISSANT

The name Croissant comes from the crescent shape of the pastry. However, the original croissant came from an Austrian baker until the French imitated and improved on the concept. Thus the birth of a French Croissant in the 1800's.

A french man once asked us in Spain (when tasting a Spanish version of a French croissant) -" I never saw a Croissant before filled with dough in the middle". Anyway 4 Croissants and 2 baguettes later  we finally got in the car to plow ahead on this unknown journey to....Avignon where neither Bob nor I had ever been.

THE LONG ROAD 

If any of you have been sitting in the back seat with us, you may have noticed we haven't been driving a very straight line lately. Nope.... we turn right, left, circles etc.. and what should have taken just 1.5 hours took us 5 hours today? Why? Not because the car has no horsepower - but instead - because there were so many small inviting roads  along the way with soooooooooo much to see.

PIT STOP

AIGUES- MORTES! Without any idea of what we were going to see or who or what was there we stopped off at Aigues-Mortes. You never know what s off any road in Europe. Could be a hidden jewel. This time it was a HUGE walled city dating back 100 BC. Picture a large city, with streets, parking and all the norms of an active town with a huge fortified wall surrounding it. Well that is Aigues- Mortes.

1600 sq meters (@16000 sq ft) of wall surrounds entire town. During the 1500's it was an important city to hide the Protestants. Louis IX rebuilt the port making it the ONLY port on the Mediterranean during the 13th century!!  The town is located just by on the Med.

Normal looking streets on the inside rather than the traditional medieval stone cobbled streets....

I am not sure if you can see it clearly in this photos but this tree is flat on both sides.  They line the street from one end to another.

As in every European town - the hub and center of it's life is found on a plaza just in front of an old church with the plaza full of restaurants and shops.

Ah... time for the Bmer to get cleaned!!

NEXT STOP - 

CHATEAU d'AVIGNON

A Heritage Site -  The entry fee of E3 included audio so we had the pleasure of really understanding the life here during it's time.

NOILLY PRAT 
- Vermouth
If anyone is familiar with Vermouth, especially the very distinguished brand of NOILLY PRAT , then this bit of history will be quite interesting for you.

Situated on 19,000 hectares  or 47,500 acres. ( 1 Hector = 2.5 acres) this stunning estate is a must see when you are in the Camaraque region of France.

The original estate was built by the wealthy Jean-Francois d'Avignon, son a very rich Arles family. Having no children, after his death, the estate passed on and eventually purchased by Louis NOILLY PRAT - the bourgeoisie family of Lyon who produced wine and vermouth.

He expanded the estate to what it looks like today. Because I could not take any photos online, I suggested you take a moment to click on the link below to really appreciate just how stunning this estate really is..
CHATEAUX D'AVIGNON

MODERN BATHROOMS
Louis Noilly Prat was avant garde and a hygienist making this Chateaux on of the most advanced of it's time. He installed the latest and most modern plumbing bathrooms when taking a bath was considered bad for one's health. During this time most French homes didn't even have bathrooms. It wasn't until the 19th century that the medical world believed bathing as "good" rather than "bad" for ones health.

He was able to set up bathtubs which were hollowed out and in-between kept the hot water. He also was one of the first to have toilets, sewage treatment, irrigation with large water towers.
Fresh water was a commodity and the life expectance was only 25 years old.

He invented what is similar to the modern day Brita water filtering system. At the time it provided the Chateaux with 10 litters of fresh purified water a day - adding to the better health and longevity to the peoples lives.

He also learned that to overcome the disease of the vineyards that rather than planting the seedling them directly in water if one just planted them in water for 6 weeks instead of dirt - then they would be disease free.

His finacee died just before their wedding. He therefore never wed and did not have any children. The estate was passed down to this nephews. Because of the high running cost, they later turned the property over to the French government as at the Heritage Site it is today. It has been slowly restored back to its original state.

 ( if you remember, the other day, we spoke of inheritance and it's impact on society - this is another one of those examples in France' s long history of Chateaux wealth)

He had an entire building built just to house and run the water system on the estate. Below is some of the original equipment - the most advanced for its time.

Water tower and explanation of the advanced plumbing system

The Chateux d'Avignon is worth a visit, if not for it's beauty, but for its clear understanding of the struggles and achievements of modern day plumbing.

NEXT STOP ....
CAMARQUE!


Do you know Camarque? Have you heard of Camarque? If not, it is the area in France where the native to the land, ancient beautiful wild running horses were once found and named after the Region.

For thousands of years they lived wild in the marshlands of the Camarque region/
.

We were told these horses are always grey. However, they are born with dark hair and as they get older it changes to grey. Underneath the grey their skin is dark.Although small, they are strong and eventually became known as the War Horse and were used in many of the Roman and Celtic wars.

NEXT STOP !
AVIGNON

Yes it was a busy day today of stops and visits. Don't fall asleep... this part gets even better!

One of the most famous walled cities.
Keep reading to find out why......

Our hotel - full of pretty roses!

"AVIGNON"

This very very special city is situated on the Rhone River.

These next photos are what make Avignon so special. And I had to take the photos in sections ... but in your mind ... imagine them all linking together to make one great big building. ok?

PAPACY IN FRANCE

70 years of ruling

For almost 70 years!! Yes 70 years!! Avignon was the home to 7 popes instead of Rome. In the 1300's a French pope was elected and decided to move the Papel home from Rome to Avignon because of the civil unrest in Italy. This made Avignon owned by the PAPACY and not France. However, after the French Revolution Avignon was returned back to France and the last Pope fled the area. 

During the 15th century it was a rule that any French King must rule Avignon. 

The papacy originally taxed the people and therefore was in very good financial shape during the first Pope. However, when the 2nd pope came to term he did away with the taxes and the papacy ran a deficit and survived on borrowed money until it was moved back to Italy.

The pope was the only one outside of the meat carver who was allowed to use a knife.

This is the square infront of the Papacy.The photos do not give it justice as it is really quite large of an area.

EXTRAVAGENT EVENTS:                          They held events for 900 people which would require quantities of food to include: 93,000 eggs, 7000 fowls, 95000 loaves of bread ( 10/pp).

We took an audio tour. The complex was vast. Two popes had this built and it took over 20 years. There was a fire and much of it had to be rebuilt.  The high walls, large staircases and opulence showed images of a grand lifestyle for the Popes.

There were many of these types of hidden dug outs in the Papacy where the Treasurer hid all their monies for their accounting. Like an internal bank.The stones are huge and I have no idea how they would lift them up ...

(left) A model of the complex

TIME TO REST

Ah.. the delights of France. Just about any corner you turn you will find an outside cafe.

Although there is a fortified wall surrounding the city - the inside is quite quite large. Some of the streets are cobblestone while others are paved. You do not have the feeling you are in a walled city due to its grand size.

THE CITY OF AVIGNON

The famous

 Le PONT d'AVIGNON

A medieval bridge, only 4 of the original 22 arches are left today.During it's time, this bridge was the only one in the South which connected the Mediterranean and Lyon. Therefore the destruction of this bridge had a huge impact during the 14th century.


 An entry way into the city! Tiny...

For Joel - An original SIMCA car

We found that after 7 30 in the evening, most of the French streets in the smaller cities are like a ghost town. Unlike Spain which comes alive at night, these streets are usually empty after working hours, except for the few restaurants with people.

Our dinner for the night. An authentic delicious Viet Nam restaurant just off the main square.

TIDBIT: 

What's the difference between Patisserie and  Boulangerie. 

• Patisserie - sweets, pastries
• Boulangerie - breads and rolls

Most have both in the same place! 

So I ask myself - 

Why aren't the French fat? 

Just about every French person is walking around with 1-3 baguettes in their hand and still slim!! 

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I hope you did not fall asleep in the back seat today... it was a full day - full of discovery and excitement as we find our way across the jewels of France.

Again, thanks for joining.... shall I save you space in the back seat for tomorrow's drive? 
**Get some rest because tomorrow's drive is taking us all the way back in time to 500B.C.

night night


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