Monday April 13, 2026 - Avignon France

By Ellen Outten
Window from which the Pope would wave

COLD that was the word for today.  47 degrees.   Oh, did I say WINDY!   I’m glad I packed a sweatshirt.

We left the ship at 9 am and had a “stroll” to the Pope’s Palace.  This is a huge castle and fortress built in 1307.  It only took 17 years to build.  It was where seven popes lived during the 14th century before the return of the papacy to Rome. 

Our stroll across to the old city

The Broken Bridge

The Broken Bridge is a medieval bridge across the Rhone built in 1177.  Only four arches survive.

Into the old city








The bell that rang when a new pope was selected, before the smoke of today

Picture a fire pit where Bettiann is standing 

This us the chimney above the fire pit

The Pope’s actual room where he slept

Some of the original paintings still on the walls



The chapel in the palace



The Pope’s palace is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the tour inside took about two hours.  

After our tour Bettiann and I struck off on our own for some shopping.  After all, she bought another suitcase so we are good!  

The walk back to the ship was wi diet and colder than even earlier but we managed not to get wet.

The afternoon was relaxing.  We played some cribbage and then, frankly, it was nap  time. 

Dinner tonight, we had a birthday at our table


Finally, I had my crepe 

We’re here overnight and sail at 5 am to our last stop , Arles.  

8,900 steps today and far too many steps.  

Tomorrow morning we sail to Arles for the day.  We sail back again tomorrow evening and leave for the Marseille airport Wednesday morning for the trip home.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Day. 25 - Thursday, May 22, 2025 - Amsterdam to Phoenix

By Ellen Outten
The day started at 7:30 with a ride from the hotel to the airport. NOTE to myself:  always order.rhe taxi for 1/2 hour earlier than you need it.. it showed up at about 7:35 am and traffic was heavy on the way to Schipol airport.  We had plenty of time, but regardless, it's better to be there early. The flight boarded a little late, but there's so many checks for international gates.  Immigration to leave the country, security for baggage.  We made it to the gate about an hour in advance.   I flew first class home.  There's nothing like it.  The seats are sooo much better.  And if my flight had been an evening flight, I know I would have slept.  God bless lay down seats.  I paid for the first class upgrade and what happens, Wayne gets an upgrade at the airport for free.  He didn't even know he had been upgraded until we were at the gate We arrived 25 minutes late but still had two hours to get to our new gate.  It took abou...
Read more

Day 11 - Thursday July 27 - Seefeld to Salzbueg

By Ellen Outten
Image
  The view from our breakfast area window this morning View from balcony window in the sunshine From the grounds behind the hotel O Our first stop today was in Tyrol portion of Austria at the outdoor living history museum, Tiroler Bauernhof.  We had a guided tour, with a lot of ups and downs and hill climbing.  We looked at relocated buildings, mountain huts dating from the 13th century.  These are primarily original and donated and relocated to this Tyrolean government owned museum. So, I take pictures of doors, does that make me a bad person? The stones on the roofs were to hold down the shingles, as the shingles were not nailed down. Lunch was about 15 minutes away in a little town, Rattenberg. A bowl of soup and a piece of cake were perfect.  Wayne's ice cream made him smile. They're known for their glass blowing and they had demonstrations and lots of glass for sale.  I managed to get out of town without a purchase. Onward to Salzburg.  We cross i...
Read more

Day 2 - Tuesday July 18 - Lake Lucerne

By Ellen Outten
Image
   Our hotel for the next two nights. We arrived at the Zurich airport at 7:45 am Tuesday which meant 10:45pm Monday in Mesa AZ.  We had been traveling since 7am. We were fed very well on the plane (9 hour flight from Chicago), both with a dinner 2 hours of boarding and then about 2 hours before landing, we were served breakfast.  The flight was uneventful which is a lovely word when it comes to air travel.  Odyssey Tours sent a driver to pick us up and drive us the one hour to Lake Lucerne.   We met a very nice couple, Patty and Joe from Kentucky that were on the same flight.   We walked around the property, which sits right on the lake, and since it was only about 9:30 am, we had to wait for our rooms.  So, what else is there to do?  Out of whack on time zones, we had a few local beers.  After all it was still 2 am AZ time!                        Snow on the mountain...
Read more