I don’t usually post a picture of something until we have explored it, but I just couldn’t wait! The featured photo is of our view from our new AirBnb, in Carcasonne France! Now I’m having my coffee on our terrace and the sun is coming up behind those walls. It is very windy and the clouds are moving fast, with birds virtually hovering in mid-air by the turrets. Last night, as the lights came on we could see nighthawks and bats swooping around. I can’t even believe we are here!
But first I have to tell you how we got here and our last day in Avignon! Though we were only there 3 days I grew to really love the city. The view from our apartment might not have included a giant magnificent fortress, but it was still pretty cool and my little pigeon buddy liked to hang out!
This cathedral is a block away from our place. People enjoyed sitting in the benches outside and high school students hung out under some random looking Roman arches.
Another nearby glorious church turned out to be vacant. Some French students welcomed us in and explained they were hosting an exhibit. There was artwork and maybe science projects. I have seen vacant churches before and it’s great when they can be repurposed so the building remains in good repair.
It was such a nice area, full of shops and restaurants. We relaxed with a glass of wine in a courtyard with the sycamore trees and the vacant church in the background.
I love used bookstores and popped in one that also had albums and videos. I was shocked and honestly a bit rattled when I saw this book.
I kinda didn’t want anyone to see I was looking at it, so I snapped a couple photos. When I got home I learned it is a series of graphic novels written in French. In this particular book, the KKK is trying to assassinate President Obama and two heroes with American sounding names are trying to thwart the attack. Wow.
The small museums in Avignon have all been free. This one was also inside an old cathedral. Each wing was full of ancient artifacts from Europe and Egypt. There was a tiny mummy of a child, which sort of took me aback. The museums have not included any English, so we had to work a bit to learn how old things were and where they were from. It was ice cold inside, so when it closed at 6 pm I was secretly a little glad.
We had checked with our host how best to pick up our rental car and she suggested using Bolt, which she said is like Uber. So Friday morning we packed up and ordered our ride. It was a little tricky because the street was being blocked by a police car letting a large delivery truck into a courtyard. They have metal pillars that using a code or something go down into the street. After about 15 minutes however, we were in our Bolt and I was really glad–it would have been a 45 minute walk through an industrial area.
Getting out of the city even with google maps on audio and a navigator is so hard! There are mannnnny traffic circles and we missed one turn that messed us up. It seems like we should have just gotten straight to our new city, but how do you ignore a town on the way that advertises a Roman amphitheater that’s right on your way!?
We reeeeeally didn’t want to accidentally drive into the city centre of Nimes France, so when we saw a parking spot we grabbed it. The sign said, in French of course, 15 minute parking, but that seemed to be only the first spot. Using my awful French, I approached a guy and he said he didn’t speak English, but he waved over his buddy. We worked our communication and he said it was free where we were parked….but there was a picture of a tow truck hmmmmm that would really ruin our day. Mike found a machine that after many minutes we changed into English and bought 3 hours of time for 50 cents–turns out only the first 30 minutes was free.
Nimes, pronounced Neem, was a medium sized city and seemed like a great place to explore. It kinda made me sad we had to drive by a gothic looking church without stopping. But when we got to the colisseum, well……we gladly paid our 10 euros each to go inside. Built in 70 AD, it was used for gladiators and now is still used for concerts and even bullfighting twice a year, which honestly I didn’t realize was still a thing.
We took a bit of a back way because our new place wasn’t available until 5 pm. For reasons we will never know, google maps had us squeezing down alleys in a tiny town. I guess we missed a turn or something. As I watched the kilometers roll by, I kept asking myself, Have I ever seen anything like this before? No, I haven’t. It just looked different. The farms, with mountains on the horizon. The vineyards with French towns in the distance, always with a tall church steeple. The stores with unfamiliar names.
By the time we got to our new place in Carcassone, Mike was whooped. It was verrrrrry windy, which somehow seemed so appropriate as we stood on our new porch in awe for where we were. This is like a luxury place to us, but when you look online nearly all the hotels and apartments have a similar view since the city walls are so huge and all the houses are built facing the wall. We had dreams of driving all the way to Portugal, but now I don’t know, maybe we’ll just stick to Spain next. And who cares for the moment anyway. We have 3 days to explore our new home!
Your writing is exceptional. I am so pleased you are sharing your adventures with us.
Awwww, thanks Elaine! It helps me also to stay connected and grounded