Provence & Cote d'Azur - Avignon & L'Isle sur la Sorgue

Beware:  This Provence & Cote d'Azur series will last several posts with endless photos of brown people wincing in the sun.


Where do I even start?  We left for a quintessential French summer vacation down in the south of the country, together with hordes of French holidaymakers, at the end of July.  

Here's what we packed.  Not bad for a family of four for 2 weeks, don't you think?

At the Gare de Lyon train station in Paris.  That's who we were vacationing with.

While our first week was all about Provencal villages, the mountains, lonely country roads, Roman ruins, and natural wonders, the second week was dedicated to the Riviera sun, the sea, and the high-life of chic seaside resorts with their gleaming white yachts, casinos and dense city centers.  

In both places, the sun was relentless, and I am ashamed to say that despite my Malaysian genes, I admitted defeat.  On some afternoons while we were out exploring some village or other, I opted to cower in the comfort of the A/C of our rental car parked under a shady tree, and we snacked on chips to pass time.  Yeah, I know.  Unprecedented stuff.  (It also reminds one to be careful with what one wishes for.  We were grumbling every day about the rain, gray skies, and cold in Paris in the days leading up to our vacation.  It even started to rain soon after we boarded the high-speed TGV train in Paris at the start our trip.)

With a packed schedule, some places were really just whistle-stops.  Again, I blame this on the sun.  With a toddler crashing out by mid-afternoon for his nap, a whiny 6 year old who keeps asking how much longer we will be out, a husband-cum-toddler-carrier bathed in sweat, and myself wilting from the heat & glare of the sun, the recipe does not make for good outings.

So, on our first day, when we arrived in Avignon to see the Palais des Papes (Pope's Palace), a UNESCO World Heritage Site, we literally just "saw" it and then scurried into the shade.  

The Pope was not always in the Vatican City.  In the early 14th century, the Pope fled political unrest in Rome, and settled in Avignon.  Avignon became the center of papal control for almost 70 years after that.  Today their palace, the Palais des Papes, is one of the world's oldest and largest medieval Gothic building.

Pont Saint Benezet, aka Pont d'Avignon, the French version of London Bridge.  It is the subject of a popular children's song called Sur la Pont d'Avignon.  The bridge was bombed during the WWII, and that is why it now ends halfway across the Rhone River.  

Avignon is also famous for its annual Festival d'Avignon, a summer arts festival featuring acts from all over the world.  The festival had ended by the time we arrived, but we were lucky to catch some stragglers still performing in its streets.

Aussies performing some real blues.

A puppeteer painting a caricature of the young child, using her puppet.

We stayed in a gite (self-catering apartment usually found in the countryside) near the village of L'Isle sur la Sorgue which boasts of one of the best Provencal markets.

We bought some ingredients for our dinner from the fruits & vegetables stalls.

Door knobs (yup you heard me right) of all colours, shapes and sizes.

Lavender for sale.  4 euros for a bunch.

Crafts and all manner of souveniers can also be found.  This photo reminds me of our Malaysian pasar malam (night market).

But really, the attraction of L'isle sur la Sorgue is its antiques.  It is apparently Europe's third largest antiques market, after the one in Paris and London.  We did see a couple of promising pieces of furniture, but how would we bring a chair or a console back on the TGV?

We arrived at 9am when the air was cool, and there were room to breathe and wander to admire the wares.  By mid morning, it was a zoo and impossible to stop to browse.