To Avignon

Neither of us slept well, but we got going and left the apartment by about 8:45. The station wasn’t very far but it did have an uphill section, so we took our time getting there for the train to Marseille leaving just before 10. Travelling first class, it was a comfortable journey, although there was a 10 minute delay, reducing the time for us to get to our next train to Avignon. But we made it ok.

We arrived in Avignon at about 2:15. We only had a 700m walk to our apartment, but we stopped for a salad lunch on the way. Our apartment is in a very quiet part of the historic centre of Avignon, beside a big gothic church and looking down onto a very sweet restaurant. The weather is quite warm, cooling off at night, but perfect for eating outdoors. 

View from our apartment window

View from our apartment window

The apartment is far from modern and a bit rundown. Several levels inside, a minute bathroom and sea grass matting in the bedrooms! And up two flights of narrow, winding stairs! Will we ever be pleased to ditch the third suitcase (it holds our formal gear for the cruise, which we will send home at the end). I went out to get the usual breakfast supplies.

We wandered out at about 6 to find a restaurant for dinner. The one right downstairs was closed (being a Monday), but we only had to walk about two minutes to find the Grand Cafe Barretta. We had a drink before their dinner service started at 7. I was feeling a bit off, so only had water and a “vegetarian plate”, which was quite delicious. Ian had a couple of beers and a glass of red with a veal dish that he found very good.

We had a very early night and as we had two bedrooms we slept apart.