Thursday, October 19, 2006
Fri 13/10 Paris to Avignon
Caught the train this morning and before I knew it I had travelled the length of France and was wandering into this old walled village. Jumped on a local bus, fronted the hostel and within the hour had a clean bed, a base for the week and was walking back to the village to explore.
Got my bearings this afternoon, and found a cafe (of the 100's here on the main street) to sit and plan my exploration. And have discovered how to order in French the sort of coffee I like to drink. The French like strong sweet black espresso and they assume we all like our coffee like the yanks - made on milk and sweet. But now I know I want a 'un cafe double petit lait, sil vous plait' and I get a double shot of espresso with a small amount of hot milk served on the side...Perfect...Merci Monsuier.
Avignon was actually 'Rome' back in the 1300's as the Pope moved his base here and where the Pope was automatically became 'Rome'. So Avignon has been an important trading and political post for centuries. For me it is a perfect base to explore Provence. On the main train and bus routes, small and comfortable and popular enough among tourists that a reasonable amount of people speak some english too.
Caught the train this morning and before I knew it I had travelled the length of France and was wandering into this old walled village. Jumped on a local bus, fronted the hostel and within the hour had a clean bed, a base for the week and was walking back to the village to explore.
Got my bearings this afternoon, and found a cafe (of the 100's here on the main street) to sit and plan my exploration. And have discovered how to order in French the sort of coffee I like to drink. The French like strong sweet black espresso and they assume we all like our coffee like the yanks - made on milk and sweet. But now I know I want a 'un cafe double petit lait, sil vous plait' and I get a double shot of espresso with a small amount of hot milk served on the side...Perfect...Merci Monsuier.
Avignon was actually 'Rome' back in the 1300's as the Pope moved his base here and where the Pope was automatically became 'Rome'. So Avignon has been an important trading and political post for centuries. For me it is a perfect base to explore Provence. On the main train and bus routes, small and comfortable and popular enough among tourists that a reasonable amount of people speak some english too.
# posted by The Essence of Good Taste @ 5:42 AM 
