02/09/2022
Avignon is an absolute maze of cobblestone streets and historic buildings.
The year is 1309. A new pope is elected. Pope Clement V. And he is French. And he is not that keen on the way things are going in Italy, so he decides to move the papacy to Avignon. Besides, there he can be supported by the French king. He proceeds to make things pretty around him. Vast open spaces for public squares, and a massive papal palace. Three acres of it. And why not add a wall around it all – more than three miles of it, with 39 towers. Just so the cardinals’ mansions and the residences of the bureaucracy would be protected. Avignon was the place to be. And it was the center of Christianity for almost a century.
We spent our afternoon roaming through the countless allies and cobblestone streets. Around almost every corner is another building with probably its own fascinating story to tell. And for a while, we wandered outside the walls, to get a view of the famous Pont Saint-Bénézet, or as it is better known – the Pont d’Avignon. They started building the bridge in 1234, but by the mid-17th century, they got tired of the arches collapsing every time the Rhône flooded, so abandoned any further efforts to keep it in tact. Today, only 4 of the original 22 arches have survived.
Back at the Palais des Papes, we walked through a narrow alley bordering the palace, and for the first time, I could see the absolute vastness of this massive palace. Reaching up probably to about the height of a 10 story building, if not more, and yet , in places, the windows indicated only about 2 or 3 stories. Just astonishing.
We ended the day with a good meal at one of the restaurants in one of the narrow streets.
You can certainly easily lose yourself in these bustling French cities. I have to admit, though – I prefer the smaller towns. It feels to me like that is where you find the real French people.
