I haven't yet managed to connect yet to send my first email, but I thought I'd
compose a second one. Writing messages to people is kind of fun, although I
haven't felt real motivated to actually try and connect my modem. In fact, most
of the hotels that Zen and I have been staying in haven't had phones. I thought
that I'd send another message now, so it looks like the messages may come in
bunches.
It is now April 10 (I think), and we are currently in the town of Avignon. We
arrived here on our fifth day of cycling by riding the whopping 18 km from St
Remy where we spent the previous night. St Remy is an interesting town, and
there are some fascinating ruins on its outskirts ... the remains of a Greek
village from the 3rd century BC, and some old Roman ruins.
After arriving in Avignon, we took the afternoon off and sat and enjoyed the sun
in a pretty little coffee shop next to a large church. We then wandered around
town for a while, and visited le Palais Des Papes (palace of the Popes), which
is where the Pope was seated for most of the 14th century because of turmoil in
Rome. The palace is huge, and quite awe inspiring, although a lot of the
interior is damaged from the French Revolution.
For dinner, we bought some pate and a baguette, a bottle of Bordeaux, and some
chocolate, and then had a "pique-nique" on the banks of the Rhone,
while watching the sun set on the "pont d'Avignon" and le Palais des
Papes. It was a great way to end the day.
Tomorrow, we will probably do a day-trip out of Avignon, and cycle down to the
town of Arles, and then maybe to the town of Baux en Province which is located
on the side of a cliff.
