Le Printemps et Avignon

Its beginning to feel a lot like spring time!

Dining on the cheap--as the locals do
from the supermarche!

Now that it is getting warm and the tourists are just starting to arrive, the city seems to be giving itself a bit of a face lift. Buildings are getting new roofs and shops are being renovated and painted.  They like to re-use even very old buildings here.The cafes have all set up huge umbrellas in preparation for the hot summer, and they have set up barrier walls to mark out which seats belong to which restaurant.

Renovation and construction of buildings
is now in full swing at Avignon.

Restaurants, even fast food, is expensive in France! However, I've  discovered that a good way to get around this is to buy already prepared food at the grocery store and take it somewhere to eat. The food is quite good and much less expensive. Especially when I stick to French favorites like jambon, ham or le thon, tuna; or regional favorites like cassoulet, bean stew. It seems to be what the locals do too. I see lots of them buying the same kinds of things around lunch time along with bread, fruit, vegetables and cheeses.

 

I saw quite an antiques market setup in the square, la Place d'Horlogue today! They had all kinds of things-- jewelry, silverware,  porcelain, linens, decorative objects, old farming equipment, war memorabilia; it was

La Place d'Horlogue
Tourism is starting to bloom as well here!

quite an eclectic collection. I saw a few things I liked, but nothing that would fit well in a suitcase.

The roof tops and tower of Avignon Palais.

 The street vendors at the place de Horlogue are mostly selling jewelry and painting. I wasn't  particularly impressed or unimpressed, though there was one rather good water-colorist. There is also a tram that you can ride around the city. It's apart from the city buses which operate year round. The tram starts out front of the Palais des Papes and goes around most of the historic sites. Its about 7€ a person I think, which was a bit much for me, but it does look like a good way to see the city without getting lost- which is something to consider given the maze of streets that is Avignon!

The road to the Barthalese area at Avignon

At the Isle Barthalese, camping and lodg-
ings for the budget minded in Avignon.

The place to board the river ferry at Avignon.

Finally, I visited the Isle Barthalese today, which is the largest river island in Europe. It is accessible by bridge for cars, bicycles and pedestrians, and by ferry for bikes and pedestrians.

The ferry is free, but unfortunately, while it runs every day in the summer, it only runs Wednesdays and weekends in the spring months. 

The isle has a large camping area, as well as sports facilities and an organic farm where you can buy fresh fruits and vegetables.

A view of the adjacent  Villeneuve les Avignon
from the walkway.

 There is also a very pleasant walkway along the river. While the river is nice for walking, the rest of the isle is better suited for car travel, unlike Avignon within the walls where walking or biking is the best way to get around.

Getting Into the Swing of Things

My view of the courtyard at the Palais Des Papes

We Are Study Abroad --EIU!

This is New Student Week! for us foreign students, and it's generally been a lot of fun! And my student ID gets me into the dining hall and discounts in lots of places, likes stores, museums, travel and more.
We toured city sites and met each day for social activities as well as to finish our registration. Friday morning topped off the process when we took our placement exams. This determines our class schedule the rest of the semester. Yeah! I've got no 8am classes this semester! Classes are starting.



The weather here is great. It's the south of France after all. True, the Mistral winds do blow cold in winter, but the sun is warm and the skies, very blue!

I went to the Palais des Papes and the Pont d'Avignon with the rest of the exchange students. The entire trip was a bit confused. Apparently, it was not very clear where and when we were supposed to meet up, so we ended up going in two groups.

The Papal throne, ca. 14th century

 The Palais interior was a bit less impressive than I imagined. You can definitely tell it was built to be a fortress. The walls are thick and high! I didn't get to learn as much of the history as I would have liked, but it is free the first Sunday of each month, so I shall have to go back.

The interior is not in particularly good condition. The structure is still fine-- massive stone buildings tend to last after all, but the interiors seem to have been damaged. Many of the frescoes and tile are gone or badly damaged, and it looks as though anything that wasn't part of the building is basically gone. There is no furniture, no rugs or tapestries or anything else you might expect to find in a place where some of the the most powerful men in Europe once lived. I would guess it all fared badly in the Revolution. All of the statues around the doors to the Papal chapel  have been beheaded!

Surviving fresco, the Papal apartments

Decapitated figure, entrance to
Papal chapel

I  want to go back to their gift shop! They have working toy wooden crossbows and hand crossbows, along with other cool things. I want one!

The fast moving Rhone river at the
Pont d'Avignon

I also went to the Pont d'Avignon, which was interesting enough. It has a very nice view of the Rhone river. The river seems to be quite fast moving, and I would imagine it is very dangerous to fall in!

Impressions, My First Week

 Getting Around in Avignon

Yesterday I went walking around the main shopping district. The city here is the old city. It's almost completely surrounded by fortress like walls. I read that it's one of the best examples of  the fortified old cities remaining in France. There sure are a lot of different kinds of stores; some are big global chains that we have at home as well, but others are little, unique small businesses, and some are national French brands. It seems like everyone goes shopping on Saturday afternoons here. I went walking down along Le Place d' Horlogue and Rue de La Républic. It was quite busy.

La Place d'Horlogue, Avignon

The view overlooking the city

I also went to the public gardens behind the Palais des Papes. It is quite lovely, and has a wonderful view of the surrounding area because it is quite high up,  higher even than the Palais, which is built on a cliff overlooking the Rhone river.

Another surprising sculpture in the park.

The very attractive park near the
Palais Des Papes

I can't  believe I have only been here a week! I have set up a bank account, registered, paid my tuition, settled into the Foyer, learned my way around somewhat and discovered that I will learn more French here!

New Student Week!

Today starts new student week-- for international students. Sounds funny when I say that-- I guess that means me!  There will be a movie later tonight. There are a pretty lot of other students; some are here for the whole year, some are studying a semester.  I met a couple nice girls- there seems to be distinctly more women than men here-- today I've made the acquaintance of a Briton, a Chinese, an Australian and a Romanian who are like me, all here to study French.

The very functional University buildings

The elegant University of Avignon

Oh and also, I 'm getting more used to these French keyboards, though I still cannot find the apostrophe key!

Avignon

I have arrived at the Foyer, my new home away from home. Everything seems to be fine. The room is small, but it is very clean and seems to have everything I want. I also have a nice view of the courtyard garden from my window. The building is complete with a roof top terrace and a beautiful view of the city! I can see the top of the Palais des Papes from here!

Foyer at Avignon

 Madame la Directrice seems very nice; after inspecting the room I got busy unpacking. I was a bit worried that the building would be cold, as so many of these old buildings here seem to be. Happily, the Foyer seems to have steam heating, so it is very warm! The showers are down the hall. Overall it's home-like.

The rooftop view from my room

They serve breakfast and dinner here five days a week; we have use of the kitchen on the weekends. I'll eat lunches, that's the main meal of the day here, at the University.


 The walk to the university is very short, and I saw the location of the university buildings, though I still have to find out how to get there on foot. It is very close, so that shouldn't be a problem. I'm located within the university domaine.

Stone wall of the Papal Palace

The city itself is very pretty! Right now it is rather cold, because all of France is having a cold snap, and the Mistral wind, while not too strong today, is as frigid as promised!

The Pont d'Avignon

Decorative ironwork gate

I slept pretty well last night. It was very quiet. I walked around Avignon for several hours today. I went to the Palais des Papes and saw the Pont d' Avignon. I also saw the cathedral of Saint Peter. It was warmer today than yesterday; it drizzled a bit, the wind wasn't blowing.

The city is really interesting; there are all kinds of pretty bits of sculpture and architecture, often just sitting here or there: sculptures in niches on the walls, carved aches, delicate iron work, elaborate door knockers. They're all kinds of different things. The Papal palace is very impressive, though located on a cliff over the Rhone river and with such high walls, it 's almost more a 15th century Papal fortress!

The entrance to the Papal Palace

St. Peter Cathedrale Avignon

A French language keyboard

Oh, and the keyboards here are slightly different, and it is very annoying! I never thought about having a different language means different keyboards too!