[A] July 14- Avignon and Pont du Gard

Our last Wednesday excursion was to Avignon, home to the popes during the Babylonian captivity of the papacy in the greater part of the 14th century, and to Pont du Gard, a Roman aqueduct turned footbridge turned riverbank beach site.

Our first activity after the hour bus ride was to get on the Pont d'Avignon, a bridge made famous by a song that I assume was thought to be common knowledge. It speaks of dancing on the bridge. No explanation is given as to why one must dance on this stunted, half effective bridge between Papal and French territory. Nonetheless, there was had a short dance. More of a circular movement, really.
We then moved into the walled old town and toured the Papal Palace, more like a fort in its design. As it turns out, French monarchs do not take kindly to papal wealth on their Provençal borders. The primary issue in the construction of a new holiest pace on earth was the placement of yeomen turrets. And the money. The palace having been destroyed in every major and minor conflict in the last 600 years and rebuilt all the same, the original artwork of the Siennese masters was for the most part to be imagined. Indeed the palace is now presented as a series of concrete walls and a few elevated ceilings. There was, however, a modern art exhibit that was strangely and creatively placed throughout the castle. The elephant in the above picture is of the same artist. After our 1.5 hour tour, we found lunch at a guide-recommended restaurant. I had an omelette. Julie found two (2) sno-globes in Avignon! Victory.

We took the bus to the Pont du Gard, just outside of Nimes and, naturally, Gard. It was an impressive structure. The original aqueduct stretched fifty kilometers and maintained a slope of a perfect 1 centimeter in 500. That, to me, was an unfathomable feat. Out tour of the aqueduct, turned footbridge out of disrepair, took us to the original top level. We had great views of the small river valley and of the tempting beach area below. We were eager to cool off, and thus raced into the river as soon as given the opportunity. The area was very beautiful, and we were lucky to have another nice day in Provence. We took the bus home later than usual.
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