What a difference a few hours on a high speed train makes! We love Paris, but quite frankly, quite often, the weather sucks!  I’ve mentioned it before, but even in July, it can be very often cloudy and chilly….that being said, the weather can change on a dime. It definitely keeps you on your toes…but 60’s in July leaves much to be desired.

In just a little over 2 hours, our high speed train brought us 400 some odd miles south to Avignon! And my how different the weather! Nearly 90 degrees, hot, humid and sunny! This is what we were waiting for! Culture and sophistication in chilly Paris…but warmth and relaxation in Provence!

We are staying in a lovely old 17th century townhouse within the old walled section of Avignon. The rear yard of the townhouse has a luscious garden with a pool…and as soon as we were unpacked, we were poolside!

We strolled around town and visited the huge Papal Palace (Pope Clement V moved the papacy from Rome to Avignon in 1309).  This amazing UNESCO world heritage site has too much history for this blog…and I’m on vacation…so do a bit of google searching to read up on the palace and enjoy my visual depiction of the grand palace.

 

 

Following our visit to the Palace, we happened upon a square with a gorgeous church and an inviting restaurant where we had a delicious dinner in the most amazing setting you can imagine. The sun was setting and reflecting off the facade of the church, the bells rang on the hour…it was all so European.   And the food was a delicious Provencal salad which was a feast for the eyes.

 

And we even had a little time to take a last minute dip in our pool before it was bedtime for a lucky 8 year old traveler!

So far, this trip has been beyond amazing and we are very excited about what is yet to come!