Avignon Blew Us Away!

We left Maresille and drove to Avignon.  No problem other than the GPS was not helpful at all.  It was even worse when we got to Avignon and was hoping it would guide us to our hotel right beside the Palais des Papes (the Popes' Palace) in the medieval section of town.  However we followed the GPS and ended up driving down streets barely wider than the car we were in and circling the Palais before asking for directions and being told to leave the walled city and start again.  And that worked just fine.

I dropped off Cristina and drove off to look for the parking lot while she checked in and had a nap.  I came back an hour later after having driven miles in various wrong directions.  Back to relying on hard copies of maps for me.  I've had enough of the French GPS.  (Somewhere there are some French programmers laughing themselves silly thinking of the stupid tourists that would follow the blue line on the GPS anywhere despite evidence the direction was wrong.)

After Cristina's nap we walked up the stairs by the Palais to the gardens perched atop the hill the Palais is on.  From one side you could see the famous Pont d'Avignon which only goes halfway across the river (Rhone).  Officially it is called the Pont Saint-Benezet and was finished in 1185 and then crossed the river.  In the 1600s arches of the bridge began to be washed away and now only 4 arches survive. 

Apparently no one knows the reason for or origin of the song "Sur le Pont d'Avignon" and maybe it should even be "Sous le Pont d'Avignon" (i.e. under rather than on the bridge), but we decided we weren't going to dance anywhere near it and in stead checked out the opening time for visiting the Palais (to avoid the cue that will form later) and visited the gardens above the Palais, the Garden of the Doms.  Here gale force winds whipped at the trees and lifted sand and dust into the air as we looked into the distant landscape and could see Mount Ventoux.  I gather it is aptly named.  We were blown away (figuratively).

Dinner was at l'Essentiel as Cristina didn't want anything fussy and too fancy.  It ended up being neither what Cristina was looking for or what I would have opted for, but was quite good and well recommended.

 While Cristina posted on Facebook I ate a brandade on a tomato and eggplant terrine for an appetiser.
With this meal I ordered a 2012 Vallon des Anges Rose from Domaine de Valdition.  It is a biological wine from Orgon on the Coteaux D'Aix en Provence, not far from Avignon.  It had a salmon copper colour and the bouquet had a aromatic orange essence and it had a similar taste. The wine started a bit bitter but had a nice long finish for a rose and lingered and improved on the palate.  50+5+10+15+7=87.

While Cristina had the Supreme of chicken I had seared tuna ringed with a lemon ginger puree with some soya sauce.  I could see why the chef thought this was a good idea but found the lemon ginger concoction overwhelming the delicious tuna in a very un-French way.  The side of chickpea and carrot hummus with sesame seeds and olive oil was much more successful.

The fig poached in port and spices was wonderful and the hazelnut ice cream  and carmelized sugar wafer were both decorative and added taste to the dessert.  This made a nice way to finish the meal and the evening to let us prepare for our visit to the Palais the next morning.