City Des Papes, Avignon, once a very important city because of it's strategic importance on the Rhone River. Fought over by Popes and French kings and other Europeans it was once home to nine Popes from 1309 to 1423. Popes were apparently itinerant not specifically based in Rome, Pope Clement came to Avignon and liked it so much he decided to stay and build a palace for himself., this started a huge schism in the Catholic Church with sometimes 2 or even 3 Popes on the go at the same time. History 101.....
It was also and still is today a walled city with most of it still standing and some of the bridge, yes the old nursery rhyme "sur la pont " etc
As tradition has it the bridge was built as some shepherd lad came down from the hills and told everybody that God told him to build a bridge across the Rhone. Nobody believed him, so they set him a test, they had a spare block of stone outside the cathedral that nobody could move because it was so heavy so the city fathers said if you can move the stone we will build the bridge. So of course with any good story God helped the lad lift the stone and the bridge was stated in 1171 and the kid made good and became S.Benezet . The problem was that the Rhone is a particularly rough river on bridges and since completion in 1185 it has been knocked down and rebuilt many times until in the mid 1600's the people of Avignon said bugger this for a game of soldiers it's costing a lot to keep fixing it we'll build a ferry instead and that's what they did, and helped themselves to the stones to build new homes. Of the original 22 pillars only 4 remain and you can walk on it for €5 if you are a pensioner, so we did........
The city is again one of those gems from the past that has character and charm as long as you don't go out of the old town. Many river cruise boats stop here and there were 2 moored in the river which accounted for the groups of older unsmiling people shuffling around the town en masse, Keith take note!!!!
They are also excited that the All Blacks are coming to town for a World Cup game in November and have a timer counting down on the old town hall, stand by for the kiwi invasion .
So visiting the Pont d'Avignon then the Palace du Pape
