Postcard from France
View along the Mediterranean Sea |
Most of the week, we were in the city of Avignon. The old city was still surrounded by the ancient wall. It could only be entered through a few gates. Of course, the modern part of the city has grown up on the other side of the wall, but we were amazed to see this ancient wall still standing.
My husband reaching across the street |
The streets in the old city were very narrow, but, surprisingly, cars still drove down these roads. Of course, they weren't SUVs, but I wouldn't have been brave enough to drive even a small car in those streets.
In the 1300s, the Catholic popes lived in Avignon, instead of Rome because of a dispute with the French crown. As a result, a large part of the ancient city was taken up by the palace that was built for these popes. It was a massive structure near the Rhone River.
The Christian presence was very prominent within the city. It was nice to see that.
It was interesting to spot a castle in almost every little village as we drove through France. The feudal system seemed to explain much of what we saw.
All in all, we decided that France was a great place to visit, but we wouldn't want to live there. Too expensive and too hard to find your way around. (Of course, we are speaking from the experience of getting lost several times.)
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