We had a late start this morning – didn’t get up for breakfast until 9am. After availing ourselves of the full buffet breakfast we set off for the Palais des Papes. This is the reason we came to Avignon, and we were not disappointed. It is HUGE. It housed nine popes in the 14th and 15th century, starting when Benedict XII, the first French pope, was elected. During its construction, it was the biggest building site in the Western world. The main building took 20 years – so fast for the size of it! It took us three hours to take in all of the Palais. So much to see! We even had a brief stop at a café right at the top of the tower at the top.
We followed this up with another visit to the Pont Saint-Bénézet and then the Musee du Petite Palais – which houses a massive collection of religious artworks. Extremely impressive.
After about five solid hours of touristing, we were happy to sit down for a while. The high for the day was 28C, so just a bit warm. We selected one of the many cafes in the main street and had a delicious meal (as usual!). We went back to the hotel for some R&R after this. About 8pm we emerged again, in search of ice cream. It was nice to be out for a stroll at dusk, the temperature was a bit more manageable. We didn’t linger though, as we were sharing the streets with a lot of homeless people at this point.
We seem to have settled into an eating routine that suits us. We eat a big breakfast (I have cereal, fruit, yogurt and toast, Stephen has some variety of bacon, eggs, sausages and pastries). That sees us through until about midday when we have coffee and I have snacks. Then we are ready for lunch/dinner around 3pm, and that’s our main meal. Then sometimes there are more snacks later if needed. I try and have a ready supply of tasty treats and fruit that I carry around in a big ziplock bag.
The Secret Life of Bebe 