We left Paris on Thursday on the fast train to Lyon where we changed trains for Avignon.
It was a great trip but as we sped past fields with tracks beside them I contemplated how different it was to our days on the bike. We had to get a local train to Avignon Centre to our hotel and we ended up in the same car as 4 Aussies also doing our bike barge trip. Imagine our surprise when they told us our barge “Soleo” had sunk earlier this month! They had heard the news from their tour agent while we had heard nothing from Girolibero, who own and run the barge. A few quick emails confirmed the story and assured us that the replacement barge “Le Caprice” would be as good.
We had 2 days in Avignon to see the sights before boarding “Le Caprice”. Avignon is a walled medieval town which was the home of 7 popes and 2 antipopes during the 14th century. They built the Palais de Papes which towers above the city.
Also on the tourist trail is the 12th century Pont Saint Benezet. Legend has it the Benezet, a shepherd, had a vision from God and was instructed to build a bridge at Avignon. The locals laughed until he lifted a giant stone and cast it into the Rhone to start the bridge. The bridge had 22 spans of which only 4 survive. Flooding of the strong flowing Rhone kept destroying the bridge until in the mid 18th century, the bridge was abandoned.
