An Offer We Could Not Refuse
Part III

Avignon, Lyon and A Return to Paris

by Rick Brown

( Read Part I)
(Read Part II)

It was a wise decision to sleep in a bit and have Mike drive us to Avignon rather than take an early train. The drive was pleasant and we got to spend more time with our friends. Until we got to Avignon that is. Yvonne and I had reservations at a small guesthouse within the walls of the old city. Driving…and I was certainly happy I was not at the wheel…is a nightmare here on medieval “streets”. But eventually we found a place for the car and we transferred our frustrations to walking around a medieval city with suitcases looking for a guesthouse that turned out to not have any visible sign to speak of. Fortunately I had stuck my head into a restaurant and asked a guy behind the counter about directions. I thought he looked like he spoke English and luckily, my hunch turned out to be true.

La Banasterie turned out to be a delightful place, even more charming than the website shows. And hosts Françoise and Jean-Michel Brochet were wonderful…as was there little dog whose name now escapes me. Yvonne and I had decided to splurge a little so we got a suite that had a delightful second story patio. Unfortunately, the chill in the air proved too much in the early evening to relax or eat there.

We threw down our bags and went sightseeing with Phoebe and Mike. Buried deep beneath its’ streets lay the remnants of Roman culture. But very little is evident. But there is the Palace of the Popes where during the 14th Century the pope found sanctuary. Apparently Rome was dealing with a lot of corruption and the pope fled to the South of France. Avignon was for a while under the papacy and not the French crown. The palace is the world’s largest Gothic edifice.

The other main historic attraction is the Pont d’Avagnon. Originally built as a bridge over the Rhone during the Middle Ages, predating the Papacy, it now stands as a kind of ancient pier. Apparently not all workmanship in antiquity was good enough to stand the test of time and the bridge collapsed. What is left is more or less an ancient pier if you will. Now it’s a bridge to nowhere. Consequently our group decided to merely take a picture of what’s left rather than pay admission to walk to the precipice of a bridge that collapsed years ago.

After exploring the old city we made our way to a British style restaurant for a very late lunch…an English Tea Room. The place is called Le Simple Simon and we had a wonderful and unique late lunch.

We then bid adieu to Mike and Phoebe and spent the rest of the late afternoon to early evening wandering the streets of Avignon aimlessly. And because we had eaten so late we picked up a couple bottles of wine, some cheeses and a baguette and ate in our delightful suite.

On to Lyon for a short but enjoyable stay. Lyon is very reminiscent of Paris. While Avignon had a lot of traffic, Lyon is a major city in itself claiming to be the gastronomical capital of all of France. That’s quite a bragging statement really. We stayed at the Mercure Lyon Beaux-Arts, which is a hotel in the Mercure chain.

It was pleasant enough and the staff was more than friendly. Nice lobby and hotel bar as well. The best part was it was right down the street from the Musee de Beaux Arts. Since we had so little time (our final days were more than a little whirlwind) we lingered mostly in this delightful museum, had crepes for lunch and took the concierge’s advice for dinner.

Wandering through Lyon made me pine for Paris, where we would have one final night. And every French city seems to have a carousel. Both Avignon and Lyon did as well, but if Paris has one it has eluded me thus far.

We ate an incredible seafood dinner…including escargot…at a place called Chez Moss. While we never had a mediocre meal the entire trip, Chez Moss most certainly rivaled Paris’s Fish La Boissonnerie…that because of our very limited time for our last vacation evening is where we headed once we got back into the City of Lights. The Chez Moss website is in French…and you might as well get comfortable with that because no one here spoke English.

While our last three days were a little rushed, Yvonne and I experienced some new sights, sounds and tastes nonetheless. And that’s what travel is all about right? Getting out of your element and taking some risks. Otherwise I would advise you to pack up the car and go to Epcot. Me? I’ll take France any day…Paris in particular…and the familiarity of the Hotel de Danube!

Special thanks to Mike and Phoebe Toth for making us an offer we could not refuse!