Arrival And Avginon

We had a long but rather uneventful flight.  As usual they mucked up our seating arrangements leaving both couples separated, but at least we were two and two.

 I have to wonder why people choose to tell you what you are doing wrong and tell that they are going to let you off the hook, but still next time you had better.........  I did have the privilege of encountering a lovely gate agent that left me stressed the rest of the trip about my bag, which I use without incident last year.   Oh well.  We got our car, a VW and a good size for us, found our way out of the airport and on the road.  Poor Dean, he got the navigator seat and is unused to my way of wayfinding.  We ended up on some mountain roads, hairpin turns that left me breathless, but not because of the beauty.  

This region of France is indeed beautiful, we are at the beginning of the Alps and  it felt like we are in them driving, though  I know it could get a lot worse.

We had a bear of a time finding our first lodging place and stopped in Siagnon (pronounced like Mignon) and had a bite to eat.  

The B&B is part of an old abby, and the building is clearly old as well.  Our room is basic, but enough, though a chair of some sort would be nice, there is not really any lounging space.  

There are flowers in the room, a nice little touch.

  To bed at 6:30 PM.

Woke up at 0800, wow I was tired!  I went down to breakfast and was kicked out of the room because I was early.  When we were finally allowed in the kitchen, which looks like his kitchen, breakfast was bread, juice and coffee.  The coffee was just  how I like it, brown sugar, lots of milk and it had some backbone!!.  There was a basket of homemade jams and jellies, Lemon, Quince, Strawberry, Orange, and others.   The bread I had was a yummy three seed bread and I will probably be finding seeds in my teeth all day long!  The kitchen in the house looks like it must have looked 100 years ago, without the fridge!  

We eventually all left to Avignon to see the papal palace and any Roman ruins there might be.  After a harrowing drive through the old city, we finally found a place to park which had me squeezing every sphincter I own.  It was a tight fit!  I am having fun with Kathy and  Dean.  Dean takes my razzing well, and that makes it fun.

We had lunch and I got to try a Daube.  It was a beef stew with carrots, peas and olives over rice.  Julia Child eat your heart out, it was equal to my (Julia's) Beef Burgundy.  I got a pre fix so we all shared my chocolate mousse, it was a but wussy though.

 The palace was rather empty, I imagine all furnishings,etc, were moved, sold or stolen over the years, but it is an empty shell of a huge building.  

There was a paining of a Queen selling Avginon to the pope.  I wondered what she felt, angry, frightened, sad?  

She was the only woman in the painting.  What was there in the palace was some TERRIBLE art through out, AND above the alter was a painting of a nude woman, I wan not sure if it was insulting or appropriate.  It was the French Papal place for about 100 years in the 14th century.  After, we got rather lost trying to find a bridge that goes over about half of the Rhone.  We stopped to regroup and have a beverage, followed by a ride on a carousel.  ;)  Finally we found the bridge and it was lovely, nice view back at the town and palace.

 A nice cool breeze, it was cool when we left and I actually put on something warmer and encouraged Jodi to do the same, we both suffered.  So it was nice to catch a breeze out there on the river.  

We stopped in Apt for dinner I had tagietelli with ceps mushrooms and fois gras.  I did not care for the fois gras on the pasta, but it was delicious alone, well both of them,  The pasta with the 'shrooms and the fois gras on bread, and it was Devine!

Accompanied by a glass of wine it made a perfect meal.  Finding the B&B at night was not so bad and after a rather cool shower ( there is not great hot water in the shower in this room)  I am ready for bed!