Thurs  October 19. Okay, I promised to take you through the Pope's palace in Avignon. And what, you might be asking, is the Pope doing in Avignon? There were multiple reasons this happened but suffice to say that the French kings in the 14th Century were very keen to dominate and control the papacy. Seven popes served here and all of them were French. I will admit that I was rather underwhelmed by the furnishings. I guess having been through the Vatican in Rome I expected something more opulent. But then it occurred to me that in 1309 the Renaissance hadn't even started in Italy and wouldn't reach France for over a hundred years. And Avignon was in no way ready to be the seat of what was, effectively, the court of a major prince. All of the bureaucrats, lawyers, ambassadors, and sundry hangers on needed facilities for them to do what they do and it all had to be built from scratch. What they built is impressive but about the time they got to the decorating part, the Pope went back to Rome. It is a piece of history though so interesting to us.

First stop were the gardens. 

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Then in typical palace tour fashion we went from one room to the next and tried to picture business going on as usual. 

_8500034-Pano Below is the grand hall where formal ceremonies such as receiving ambassadors, installing cardinals etc, were held.

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Below are two rooms that got their finishing touches. They are frescoes and some of the most vibrant we've ever seen. _8500061 _8500062

Then there was the crypt. All seven Avignon popes were buried in or near the city but not all in this crypt.

_8500063 _8500067 Below is the main cathedral. Not as impressive as St. Peters, which had not yet been started, but it was built in about one tenth the time. (and even less money)

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So now for the view from the roof. 

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_8500132 Above is the requisite carousel in each French town square.

On the way out of town we stopped at an island in the Rhone that gave us a nice view of the town. Wish the light had been better.

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_8500162 Above in the background is the famous bridge at Avignon. Okay now try not to hum the song. "Sous le pont d'Avignon, L'on y danse l'on y danse!" I guess after repeated flooding of the Rhone in the 1600s took out most of the bridge it was only used for dancing, as it was no longer a bridge but a pier. Who but the French would think of making lemonade out of those lemons? Well, besides the Italians?