When trying to decide what to do today, we thought about taking it easy and going to the reservior again. But I felt like since we are on this crazy vacation that we should push ourselves and our kids and do another bigger day trip. So we(I) decided to go to Avignon. Avignon was probably first made into an oppidum(hill fort) by a Celtic tribe. Then during the Roman empire it became a major city in the area.
In 1309(when the Popes were kicked out of Rome) they moved the Papacy to Avignon. Here they built some amazing stuff.
The Notre Dame des Domes
It's a bit hard to see in this picture, but one of the things that is so amazing about this cathedral is the fact that they put a gilded statue of Mary on the top.
The Palais de Papes
To get the kids excited about going on another day trip I told them that we were going to the Popes palace. While technically true, I'm not sure that they were all that excited when they found out what we were really going to see. (They asked if they could sign in the descendancy book. Haha!)
The wind was crazy and I couldn't keep my hair out of my face.
A view from the rock outcropping that the Celtic tribe first built on.
Woof-woof climbing the rock.
The Little One enjoying her first lollipop.
A playground!
After playing we took the Palais tour.
A view of one of the cloisters.
Sweetie got a head of us on the tour, of which produced this great picture!
More tour. Okay, it was long for the kids.
(As you can see Woof-woof had already given up her audio guide.)
The entry to one of the main rooms. If you look carefully at the statues surrounding the door you can see that they don't have any heads. They were broken off during the French revolution(or it might of been WWII - I can't remember now).
Woof-woof and I having a girls moment on the stairs. Woof-woof was practicing her best modeling skills.
After such a long tour we got lunch and then let the kids ride the carousel.
We walked to the Pont Saint-Benezet.
One of the things that I loved about Avignon is that it still has it's city wall around the whole city. Here's a picture of some of it.
At the wall.
We decided that before we headed home we'd get some ice cream. The next five minutes ended up being one of the funniest five minutes of my life. I couldn't stop laughing(and taking pictures). (Weston was laughing too - he said that this five minutes might have been his highlight of our trip to visit them.)
Sweetie with his ice cream cone.
Sweetie's ice cream on the ground after one lick.
And do you see Woof-woof crying. We told her that she had to take Dramamine before she could have her ice cream(she get's REALLY carsick) and she was crying about having to take her medicine.
Sweetie crying over his lost ice cream and Woof-woof gagging on her medicine and/or ice cream(we could never quite tell what she said was so disgusting).
The Guy trying to get someone to eat the ice cream before it melted all over him. (Sweetie wouldn't eat it because it wasn't the flavor he wanted and Woof-woof wouldn't eat it because she was still mad about the medicine.)
A really big bite of ice cream!
Finally Woof-woof took the ice cream and ate it. Sweetie didn't get a replacement cone. And then we headed for home(with West and I giggling the whole way!).
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