Day 11, 12 & 13 Nice, Avignon and Drive to Carcassone

Day 11 - Arrived by train at Nice in the afternoon and collected the car at the railway station. The coastline between Italy and France is one town after another with little or no countryside in between. Nice was packed with tourists enjoying Easter Saturday. We found the car in the multi-storey carpark. It is a manual, so Richard had to drive the car through a narrow exit ramp to get out. Then we were faced with one-way streets, tourists walking everywhere and everything opposite to what we know. It was challenging! We went on a circuit of Nice to our Hotel which was only a few blocks from the Railway station but had to follow this complicated path of one-way streets. Luckily the Garmin knew where to go and understands one-way streets. We found it but their limited parks were taken and there was no street parking ..... so we had to set off again to find the nearest paid carpark. At least the circuit wasn't so long this time.
We then faced the Easter crowds and walked down the main street, Avenue Jean Medeon, where they have trams running. This was congested with people walking and shopping (the shops were open). The sun was shining but it was blowing a gale so we decided to walk through the old Ville. Narrow cobbled streets and old buildings with lots of quaint shops targeted to tourists. We then braced ourselves and went down to the Promenade Des Anglais. The waves were impressive pounding on the pebbled grey beach. We walked along the beach but the wind was so strong that we went back to the old part of the city and had a burger in an English Pub. The boys were impressed because Snoop Dog had dined there and had been photographed. Nice is like the Gold Coast - tourists and shops everywhere. We walked back to our Hotel which was away from the 'tourist' part, so was quieter.

Day 12 - Nice to Avignon
We found the carpark again and set off to Avignon. It was Sunday morning and the streets were quieter. No tourists randomly wandering out in front of the car. We went off the auto-route and headed into the National Park. The country side was very green and mountainous. The roads got narrower and more windy as we got further into the mountains. We visited some villages (Seillans and Fayence) which were perched on the sides of mountains and the car could just fit through the streets. Beautiful towns which haven't been developed but after 1 and 1/2 hours of driving we hadn't got very far, so decided to go back to the auto-route. Got onto the A8 which was fast - speed limit of 130 km/hour but cars were going faster than this. We soon started making progress to Avignon ... stopping at a petrol station for lunch. We arrived in Avignon in the early afternoon but had to wait until 4 to book into our apartment, so decided to tour the old city. Luckily we were able to get a park in a street one block away from our hotel/apartment. Again one-way streets and no carparks but less tourists which made driving easier. Our hotel was within the city wall in the old part of Avignon. We walked to the Palace of the Popes and around the Rocher Des Doms gardens (Palace's gardens) and then down to the famous Avignon Bridge on the Rhone river. Toured the bridge but we didn't sing the song or 'on y danse, sur le pont d'Avignon.' We found out the history of the bridge and how many times it has fallen down and been rebuilt until the 17th century when it was abandoned. Also found out that they danced 'sous' or under the bridge on a shopping walkway not 'sur' or on the bridge, as the song says, as this was too narrow. We walked back to the apartment and Richard tested his French by talking to the proprietor who spoke very little English. He thought Richard could speak French and started to explain various details to him. I'm glad Richard could understand him .... I was lost. Dined at a Cuban restaurant (not very French but nearly everything was closed) near the apartment and enjoyed a quiet night.

Day 12 - Avignon and Carcasonne
We said goodbye to the apartment's proprietor who talked to Richard about the renovations he is doing to the building .... using French and English. It was unique accommodation, a loft apartment on the third floor with no lift in an historic building. Luckily we only had 3 bags to carry up. Left the car in the same park and walked to the Pope's Palace for an audio tour. The tour took about 1 and 1/2 hours and was worth the effort. The Palace was home to the sovereign Pontiffs (9 Popes ruled from Avignon) in the 14th century eventually being abandoned due to Avignon becoming a dangerous city due to the Plague and mercenaries starting to hold the Popes to ransom. We then got into the car and drove to Pont du Gard (near Avignon). The Pont du Gard is the tallest Roman bridged aqueduct in the world built in 50 AD. It is a UNESCO World heritage site and is an amazing feat of architecture being designed to carry water to Nimes (the original aqueduct ran about 50 km). We walked across the bridge and enjoyed the beautiful National Park it is situated in. Then got back onto the A9 and headed towards Carcassone. The country-side is so reminiscent of the Barossa Valley, vineyards everywhere. The traffic was heavier with people returning home after the Easter week-end. Again fast traffic and people don't stay in the fast lane unless they are traveling at or more then 130 km/hr. Arrived in Carcassone about 5 and found our accommodation easily (less one-way streets). We unpacked and then went exploring. The old city is about 10 minutes walking from our accommodation. We walked around a park outside the city's walls and took photos in the sunset (it is light until about 8.30pm). Planning to walk inside the old city tomorrow. The kids had a swim in the hotel's pool. The weather has been sunny and warm. Au revoir from France.