France, Uncategorized EUROTRIP: SIGHTSEEING AROUND AVIGNON 30 August 2010

It was stinking hot in Avignon when we were there! No one warned us that the South of France is about 5 degrees warmer than Paris πŸ˜‰ And so, to escape the heat, we went to check out the Palais des Papes, a huge church built in 1335 and housed 9 popes in the 14th century. It’s said to be one of the largest and most important medieval Gothic buildings in Europe.

Made out of stone, it provided cool respite and also gave us a very interesting account of the history of the area. The place is massive!! And very high, with a whole ton of stairs. Very cool, though.


The outside of Palais des Papes

Love this pic πŸ˜‰

Umm it looks like I’m holding a beer bottle, but it’s an audio guide thing!

The internal courtyard, for when they felt like playing football (or something)

Up the top!

Overlooking the city of Avignon

Lots of wee people

A much-deserved ice cream πŸ˜›

Chilling out at a pond in a park to relax

There’s another famous landmark in Avignon, the Pont Saint-BΓ©nezet aka Pont d’Avignon. It’s a medieval bridge built between 1171 and 1185 and was originally almost 1KM long, but much of it collapsed due to floods. There’s a very interesting story of how and why it was built, you can click on the link above to read about it if you’re interested.


Perfecting my pregnancy-pose πŸ˜‰

Pont Saint-BΓ©nezet aka Pont d’Avignon.

Standing at the drawbridge

Imagine the effort in building these stone walls!

Dinner was a casual one at L’hermitage, also in Avignon city. We’d passed by at lunch time and they were packed out, so we were keen to try it for dinner. They’re tucked into a little corner and you can eat al fresco, which is lovely when the sun sets and weather cools.

The dishes were thoughtfully presented and had lovely fresh ingredients…. BUT were heavily salted! We noticed this at many restaurants around France – often they put SO much salt in their food that we couldn’t stomach the dish. So strange, because I thought the French take pride in their food and would let the natural flavours come through? At this particular restaurant, they went a little wild and even dumped tons of sea salt on the salads… rendering them quite inedible.

A shame, because we could tell that without the copious amount of salt, the food would otherwise be incredible. Fortunately, the meat wasn’t doused in salt so it was delicious!! Just that the starters and sides were wasted πŸ™ We didn’t have dessert because we were worried they’d throw on a ton of salt onto the cakes or something, haha πŸ˜‰


Relaxing for dinner at L’hermitage

Checking out the menu

Tomato and mozzarella salad – delicious and fresh, except the sprinkled a ton of sea salt on it!

Fries with mayo, special request by yours truly πŸ˜›

Duck breast with gingerbread sauce, mashed potatoes flavoured with goose fat and veggies
OUTSTANDING. This was cooked perfectly. Except the veggies were SO salty they were inedible.

Cotelettes d’agneau creme au thyn, haricots poele salade
The lambchops were delicious, but both the greens were waaaaay too salted


Let’s Chat!




Let's Chat!

I didn’t as I wasn’t sure if it was considered rude to do that, and most of the time the salt was already cooked into the dish! And each time, I just thought it was that particular restaurant.. didn’t realise it was so prevalent in France, doh!

I came back from South of France last month. We went to Nice, Saint Paul De Vence and Antibes, the weather was extremely hot!! I normally love warm weather and sun, but I gotta admit that it was way too hot for me, and I had to take siesta everyday while we were there! πŸ™‚

You’re starting to show!

It’s like watching a kid grow! When will you be back? Missing the Burgesses already =)

Re: You’re starting to show!

Well, technically there’s a kid in there so I guess that’s true, heh! Don’t think we’ll be back in AU this year tho πŸ™

Re: You’re starting to show!

We’ll be seeing you soon enough. I forgot to say it was me… Li Wen

Lol,I noticed in almost every post you’ve managed to sneak some foie gras!

Re: You're starting to show!

OH hahaha I thought you were my French girl friend πŸ˜›

Ya I snuck a bite of foie gras about 3 times during our Eurotrip.. whoops!

I didn’t as I wasn’t sure if it was considered rude to do that, and most of the time the salt was already cooked into the dish! And each time, I just thought it was that particular restaurant.. didn’t realise it was so prevalent in France, doh!

babes…
i’m loving all your food posts around Paris and now in Avignon.

and what do you know?
the hubs and i will be heading down there too! after Paris, that is.
i’m so going to be quoting “this is where Beverly and Chris ate…” and “this is what Beverly and Chris suggest…” from now to him. hahahaha…. πŸ˜‰

can’t wait to see where you’re going next!

Ooo lucky you! You’ll have heaps of fun. we did a TON of research on the places with the best food so hopefully you like em too, but really, all the food in Paris is so good anyway, lol

I came back from South of France last month. We went to Nice, Saint Paul De Vence and Antibes, the weather was extremely hot!! I normally love warm weather and sun, but I gotta admit that it was way too hot for me, and I had to take siesta everyday while we were there! πŸ™‚

Gingerbread sauce?! That sounds amazing! I’m a fan of salty foods, but there is obviously such thing as oversaltation. You look lovely in that dress hon πŸ™‚

You’re starting to show!

It’s like watching a kid grow! When will you be back? Missing the Burgesses already =)

Re: You’re starting to show!

Well, technically there’s a kid in there so I guess that’s true, heh! Don’t think we’ll be back in AU this year tho πŸ™

Re: You’re starting to show!

We’ll be seeing you soon enough. I forgot to say it was me… Li Wen

Lol,I noticed in almost every post you’ve managed to sneak some foie gras!

Re: You're starting to show!

OH hahaha I thought you were my French girl friend πŸ˜›

Ya I snuck a bite of foie gras about 3 times during our Eurotrip.. whoops!

babes…
i’m loving all your food posts around Paris and now in Avignon.

and what do you know?
the hubs and i will be heading down there too! after Paris, that is.
i’m so going to be quoting “this is where Beverly and Chris ate…” and “this is what Beverly and Chris suggest…” from now to him. hahahaha…. πŸ˜‰

can’t wait to see where you’re going next!

Ooo lucky you! You’ll have heaps of fun. we did a TON of research on the places with the best food so hopefully you like em too, but really, all the food in Paris is so good anyway, lol

Gingerbread sauce?! That sounds amazing! I’m a fan of salty foods, but there is obviously such thing as oversaltation. You look lovely in that dress hon πŸ™‚