John Edward Cooper’s Notes

DAY 4 - AVIGNON


Papal Palace

Today we visit the Pont du Gard — an amazing Roman aqueduct. It was the highest bridge the Romans ever built, a staggering 160 feet high and 900 feet long.

We also have the option to visit the famous bridge at Avignon during your free time in the city. You may wish to tour the imposing Papal Palace or the Petit Palais museum.

The evening is free for you to dine where you choose.

Janet got up at 6.15am. She wrote: “I had a pretty good sleep. Seven hours? Could have been better, of course, but…” She vacated the bathroom, ca.6.50am, which was when I showered, etc. We went down for breakfast at 7.30am. I’d scribbled in my notebook yesterday, “Tomorrow 8.30am”; so that’s when we crossed Boulevard Jean Jaurès and boarded the coach. “We set off for the Pont du Gard — it was raining! — via ‘the scenic route’,” Janet wrote. That route took us via Tarascon, where we stopped for a brief look at the castle and church. On the way there, I noted that we passed “many rows of tall trees to protect small fruit trees in between [the rows] from the Mistral” and “olive trees seemingly needing no such protection”. (I was able, after we got home, to gain some idea of our route from Tarascon to the Pont du Gard by comparing the photos that I took en route with Google Street View images.)


Map with Aix-en-Provence and places visited today highlighted in yellow


Open Street Map showing places mentioned in the following image captions

I took these two photos during the brief stop at Tarascon.


Thursday 18 May 2023 09:50:12
Château de Tarascon


Thursday 18 May 2023 09:51:48
Église Sainte-Marthe de Tarascon

I took the following five photos from the coach after we set off again.


Thursday 18 May 2023 09:54:48
Looking west at the Château de Tarascon


Thursday 18 May 2023 09:58:48
Looking west over to the Château de Beaucaire


Thursday 18 May 2023 09:59:02
Looking south-east as we cross the Canal de Beaucaire of the Rhône at the Écluse de Vallabrègues onto the Île du Comté


Thursday 18 May 2023 10:02:20
Looking south as we cross the Rhône from the Île du Vanel over the Barrage de Vallabrègues


Open Street Map showing places mentioned in the following image captions


Thursday 18 May 2023 10:16:52
Looking north as we cross the Gardon over the Pont de Remoulins

At the time I didn’t know what rivers we were crossing; it just struck me as odd that we seemed to be crossing an abundance of Rhônes! But the third one that I photographed was the Gardon. Indeed, on our second crossing of the Rhône over the Barrage de Vallabrègues, we also crossed the Gardon at its confluence with the Rhône. Having crossed back over the River Gardon (“10:16:52”, above), we went through Remoulins. This reminded me of refried beans, or something John Cleese once said about them. I’ve been unable to find this quote on the internet, but I seem to remember John Cleese once commenting in an interview, “Why couldn’t they get them right the first time?” In the same way, why would they need Remoulins if they’d ground the flour properly at Moulins? It seems strange that in the above photo we’re crossing from left to right, yet when we arrived at the parking place north of the Pont du Gard, it was named “Pont du Gard Rive Gauche”. It’s a bit like “port” and “starboard”, though, which depend on your direction of travel. Janet wrote, “By the time we arrived there was no rain, and it was warmish and sunny. We had a coffee at a café then headed for the bridge. Very impressive.” I’d scribbled in my notebook: “Rendezvous 12:15”. The way from the parking lot took us through a mall with shops, cafés and a museum (marked “Musée” on the map, above), so first we stopped at a café there before proceeding.


Thursday 18 May 2023 10:53:18
Walking to the Pont du Gard


Thursday 18 May 2023 10:55:28
How much of the history of the Pont du Gard has this ancient olive tree witnessed?


Thursday 18 May 2023 10:57:52
First century Pont du Gard and adjacent 18th century road bridge

“[John] decided to go to the top,” Janet wrote, “but I felt as if I would get vertigo — and, also, there were a lot of uneven… steps up. And down, of course! So, I had a good look around the bridge then headed back to look in the museum. Why was it so dark in there?! Anyway, I had a good look around, then went to the loo and saw [John]. He’d also been around [the museum].”


Tickets for the museum, handed out by Chris Brown. Before I put them back together to scan them, the sheet of paper on which they were printed had been torn into two individual tickets.

I went up to the top of the Pont du Gard on the “rive gauche” side.


Thursday 18 May 2023 11:00:06
First century Pont du Gard and adjacent 18th century road bridge


Thursday 18 May 2023 11:00:52
Ascending to the upper level of the Pont du Gard on the “rive gauche”

I was hoping for a view of the conduit at the very top of the aqueduct; but all there was, were stone steps up to a locked door barring the way to it. I think this could be unlocked for pre-booked parties.


Late 19th century postcard showing the west end of the Pont du Gard


Thursday 18 May 2023 11:02:18
Pont du Gard: upper level


Thursday 18 May 2023 11:04:56
Pont du Gard: upper level


Thursday 18 May 2023 11:07:46
Pont du Gard: information

So I went down again, and crossed to the “rive droite” over the 18th century “Pont Pitot”, about which novelist Alexandre Dumas was strongly critical: “It was reserved for the eighteenth century to dishonour a monument which the barbarians of the fifth had not dared to destroy.”


Thursday 18 May 2023 11:13:28
Pont du Gard, seen from the “rive droite”


Thursday 18 May 2023 11:13:52
First century Pont du Gard and adjacent 18th century road bridge


Thursday 18 May 2023 11:15:34
First century Pont du Gard and adjacent 18th century road bridge

My way up took me under one of the middle-row arches.


Thursday 18 May 2023 11:18:12
Ascending to the upper level of the Pont du Gard on the “rive droite”


Thursday 18 May 2023 11:20:04
Ascending to the upper level of the Pont du Gard on the “rive droite”

The way onto the conduit was barred by a steel-mesh gate, but I was able to poke the camera through it. (A party on the conduit must have pre-booked their access through the gate.)


Thursday 18 May 2023 11:21:36
The very top of the upper level of the Pont du Gard


Thursday 18 May 2023 11:22:06
Tunnel, leading in the opposite direction


Thursday 18 May 2023 11:25:18
Pont du Gard


Thursday 18 May 2023 11:26:30
Pont du Gard


Thursday 18 May 2023 11:30:18
The Gardon, viewed downstream from the “rive droite”


Thursday 18 May 2023 11:30:42
View in the same direction as “11:30:18”, zoomed in: Castillon du Gard


Thursday 18 May 2023 11:31:32
The Gardon, viewed upstream while crossing the bridge adjacent to the Pont du Gard

There was no-one at the desk in the foyer of the museum, so I didn’t have to present my ticket.


Thursday 18 May 2023 11:44:26
Visit to the Musée du Pont du Gard


Thursday 18 May 2023 11:45:08
Visit to the Musée du Pont du Gard


Thursday 18 May 2023 11:47:14
Visit to the Musée du Pont du Gard


Thursday 18 May 2023 11:48:12
Visit to the Musée du Pont du Gard


Thursday 18 May 2023 11:49:16
Visit to the Musée du Pont du Gard

I didn’t see Janet while I was in there; I think our paths crossed in the foyer. I took the next photo in the mall.


Thursday 18 May 2023 11:57:50
Visit to the Musée du Pont du Gard

Then we went back to the coach.


Thursday 18 May 2023 11:58:46
Dandelions nearby


Thursday 18 May 2023 11:58:52
Dandelions nearby

…Janet continued, in her holiday journal write-up: “We headed back to join our coach, then it was off to Avignon. It started raining again, and still was when we arrived. No problem. I had my kagool on and I had a brolly, and my fab plastic mac. Chris led us up to the square where we would meet him at 4pm.”


Thursday 18 May 2023 12:50:04
Approaching Avignon

I scribbled in my notebook: “Rendezvous 16:00”. From the coach park (“P” by “Boulevard du Rhône” on the map), Chris led us through the Porte du Rhône into Rue Ferruce, right into Rue du Limas, left into Rue du Pont, right into Rue Grande Fusterie, then left through an arched entrance, which looked like all the other arched doorways to shops in that block, but this one was a narrow road through the building. The continuation of this in the same direction was a narrow alley with flights of steps up, Rue Pente Rapide, at the end of which was a right turn with more steps up, and a left turn into Place du Palais.


Part of a street map of Avignon


Thursday 18 May 2023 12:56:14
Pont Saint-Bénezet (“le Pont d’Avignon” of the song: M2 on the map)


Thursday 18 May 2023 12:57:48
Entering the Porte du Rhône, Avignon


Thursday 18 May 2023 12:58:56
On Rue du Limas, Avignon, turning left into Rue du Pont


Thursday 18 May 2023 13:00:30
Proceeding towards Rue Pente Rapide, Avignon


Thursday 18 May 2023 13:05:08
Place du Palais, Avignon: (left:) Avignon Cathedral (Cathédrale Notre-Dame des Doms d’Avignon: 1 on the map); (right:) Palais des Papes (M1 on the map)


Thursday 18 May 2023 13:05:22
Place du Palais, Avignon: Palais des Papes (M1 on the map)

“It was around 1.30pm,” Janet wrote, “so we looked for somewhere to eat. We eventually did, and [John] had tagliatelle bolognese and I had a big mixed salad (the best I’d ever had: such a variety) and bread.” Going south from Place du Palais we came to Place de l’Horloge; and a short way along the left side of that, on the corner of Rue de Mons (obscured on the map by “M12”) and sticking out slightly in front of us to make it more noticeable, we saw the word “RESTAURANT” in large capital letters above a door in the rounded corner of the five-storey building. Just within were stairs leading to the first floor. Just beyond that was the “Brasserie Hôtel de Ville”, but this looked rather spartan, so it was through the door and upstairs that we went. A hanging sign attached to a balcony above the door proclaimed this as “Couscousserie de l’Horloge”. The bill, though, was headed “Brasserie Hôtel de Ville”.


Thursday 18 May 2023 13:48:30
Lunch at “Couscousserie de l’Horloge”, 18 Place de l’Horloge, Avignon


Thursday 18 May 2023 14:05:52
Lunch at “Couscousserie de l’Horloge”, 18 Place de l’Horloge, Avignon


Bill, printed “14:13:09”


Thursday 18 May 2023 14:20:44
“Couscousserie de l’Horloge”, 18 Place de l’Horloge, Avignon

“We’d passed a real carousel on the way to the café and I wanted a go [on it],” Janet wrote. “[The] last time was over 40 years ago in Skeggie[i] with [John]’s Mum and Dad! We both went on: it was only €2.50 each. Fantastic! Made my day.”

[i] Skegness.

Thursday 18 May 2023 14:22:40
At the north end of Place de l’Horloge, Avignon, looking south


Thursday 18 May 2023 14:25:54
Carousel on Place de l’Horloge, Avignon


Thursday 18 May 2023 14:28:58
On the carousel on Place de l’Horloge, Avignon


Thursday 18 May 2023 14:29:58
On the carousel on Place de l’Horloge, Avignon


Thursday 18 May 2023 14:30:26
On the carousel on Place de l’Horloge, Avignon: Opéra d'Avignon (2 on the map)


Thursday 18 May 2023 14:31:10
On the carousel on Place de l’Horloge, Avignon: Hôtel de Ville (1 on the map)

We went back to Place du Palais.


Thursday 18 May 2023 14:36:24
Approaching Place du Palais, Avignon, from the north end of Place de l’Horloge, along Rue Gérard Philippe

“Back in the square we decided not to visit the Papal Palace as there wasn’t enough time. It was getting on for 3pm and there was a very long queue,” Janet wrote. “We walked around the square for [John] to take photos, then we went down to the Avignon bridge for photos.”


Thursday 18 May 2023 14:38:00
Place du Palais, Avignon: Palais des Papes (M1 on the map)


Thursday 18 May 2023 14:38:34
Place du Palais, Avignon: (right:) Palais des Papes (M1 on the map); (left:) Avignon Cathedral (Cathédrale Notre-Dame des Doms d’Avignon: 1 on the map)


Thursday 18 May 2023 14:47:00
South-eastern end of Pont Saint-Bénezet (“le Pont d’Avignon” of the song: M2 on the map)


Thursday 18 May 2023 14:47:14
North-western end of Pont Saint-Bénezet (“le Pont d’Avignon” of the song: M2 on the map)


Thursday 18 May 2023 14:47:42
Chapelle Saint-Nicolas on the Pont Saint-Bénezet (“le Pont d’Avignon” of the song: M2 on the map); and, glimpsed through the arch below it, the Chapelle Saint-Bénézet

“It was 3.15pm by then, so we looked for a place to have drinks before meeting back up with Chris,” Janet wrote. We followed the route of earlier — Porte du Rhône, Rue Ferruce, Rue du Limas, Rue du Pont, Rue Grande Fusterie, left through the arch — but instead of continuing along Rue Pente Rapide, we turned right into Rue de la Balance, where on the left, after a gift shop and a clothes shop, we found at №46 Rue de la Balance a place called, appropriately enough, “Le 46”. This described itself variously: on its awning as “Restaurant – Cave à Vins”; on other signs as “Bistrot – Bar à Vin”. Janet commented that it was a “smart and warm place. Comfy,” and went on to write, “I had a Coke Zero then a decaff ‘longue’ (good) and [John] had two glasses Côte du Rhône.”


Thursday 18 May 2023 14:48:50
Walking eastwards along Rue Ferruce, Avignon


Thursday 18 May 2023 14:48:58
Statue atop the Cathedral, seen from Rue Ferruce, Avignon


Thursday 18 May 2023 15:05:50
Refreshments at “Le 46 Restaurant – Cave à Vins”, 46 Rue de la Balance, Avignon


Thursday 18 May 2023 15:45:40
“Le 46 Restaurant – Cave à Vins”, 46 Rue de la Balance, Avignon

Leaving there, we turned left and left again, going along Rue Vieille Post which ended at Place du Palais.


Thursday 18 May 2023 15:47:14
Proceeding up Rue Vieille Post, Avignon

Actually, it was now that what Janet wrote as occurring earlier happened: “We walked around the square for [John] to take photos.”


Thursday 18 May 2023 15:51:42
Place du Palais, Avignon: Palais des Papes (M1 on the map)


Thursday 18 May 2023 15:51:50
Place du Palais, Avignon: Palais des Papes (M1 on the map)


Thursday 18 May 2023 15:52:02
Place du Palais, Avignon: Avignon Cathedral (Cathédrale Notre-Dame des Doms d’Avignon: 1 on the map)


Thursday 18 May 2023 15:52:14
Statue atop the Cathedral, Avignon


Thursday 18 May 2023 15:55:22
Place du Palais, Avignon: Hôtel des Monnaies, near the south-west corner


Thursday 18 May 2023 15:55:22 (detail 1)
Place du Palais, Avignon: Hôtel des Monnaies


Thursday 18 May 2023 15:55:22 (detail 2)
Place du Palais, Avignon: Hôtel des Monnaies


Thursday 18 May 2023 15:55:22 (detail 3)
Place du Palais, Avignon: Hôtel des Monnaies


Thursday 18 May 2023 15:55:22 (detail 4)
Place du Palais, Avignon: Hôtel des Monnaies


Thursday 18 May 2023 15:55:48
Place du Palais, Avignon: south end

Then, as Janet wrote, “Back in the square we met Chris and the other party members and returned to the coach to head back to Aix-en-Provence.”


Thursday 18 May 2023 16:14:08
Leaving Avignon: the ramparts


Thursday 18 May 2023 16:14:44
Leaving Avignon: the ramparts


Thursday 18 May 2023 16:16:26
Leaving Avignon: passing “SOUS le pont d’Avignon”

“It started raining and was still raining heavily when we arrived at the hotel around 5.30pm.” Before we arrived, I scribbled in my notepad, “Tomorrow 8.15am.” Janet didn’t mention in her journal that because we’d wondered exactly where our room was situated, I braved the rain to go out into the grounds to take a couple of photos of her waving at me.


Thursday 18 May 2023 17:45:08
Hôtel Aquabella, 2 Rue des Étuves, Aix-en-Provence: Janet waves from Room 415.


Thursday 18 May 2023 17:45:08
Hôtel Aquabella, 2 Rue des Étuves, Aix-en-Provence: Janet waves from Room 415.


Thursday 18 May 2023 17:45:18
Hôtel Aquabella, 2 Rue des Étuves, Aix-en-Provence: Janet waves from Room 415.

She wrote, “We ‘sorted ourselves out’ then went off in the rain to find somewhere to eat. We eventually did [find somewhere] and were welcomed with open arms as we were then the only customers. We had our own personal heater too! [John] had ‘lamb and mash’ and two wheat beers and a coffee, and I had, after much negotiation (!) a smoked salmon salad and bread. It was good. It was still pouring (no problem) and we were back in our room at 7.45pm. Perfect. Last night we weren’t served until after 8pm and it was after 9pm before we got out [of the restaurant]. I ‘sorted my bits’ and updated this [journal] and we were both in bed at 9.40pm. Thankfully! An ‘early’ night at last! A really good day today.”
 We set out going the same way as we’d done on the walking tour, along Rue Mérindol, but then at Place Fontêtes we turned left into the long and fairly wide Place des Cardeurs, which — with both its sides crammed with restaurants, with their outdoor awnings filling the square in between — would ordinarily be the place readily to find somewhere to eat and drink. But many of these establishments were closed in the hiatus between lunch and dinner. It was right at the end of the square that we found Le Beffroi; and as Janet said, we “were welcomed with open arms”. I had two glasses of the Grimbergen bière blanche that I’d first had in 2019 in Dubrovnik and later that year in Interlaken.


Screen-capture of Google Maps 3D view, showing the locations of the hotel (top right) and Le Beffroi (right)


Photo of Le Beffroi from its Facebook page. We were seated in the covered area.


Bill, printed at “19:32:10”

I enjoyed what I had to eat; indeed, my parting words were, “À demain!” — though, as things turned out, we didn’t go back. Back in the hotel room I transferred 73 photos from the camera’s SD card to the WD Elements HDD, then copied the files to “Pictures” on the computer (20:11).… According to Janet’s journal, “we were both in bed at 9.40pm.”

[Friday 19 May 2023]