Here, There and Ireland, too!: Pont D'Avignon and other sights

I left Aix pretty early. Not my favorite stop. I took my time making it to Avignon. On the way I stopped at Isle de la Sorgue. I nice little town criss-crossed by river. Here they have used water wheels for power. There were 10 of them around the village. The place was very crowded. It also had a baroque church that was also nice. I had lunch and then I moved on.
I finally made it to Avignon. It is smaller than I thought it would be . Actually the traffic was not as bad as Aix. I found my hotel with the help of a gracious and helpful citizen. There was not really a good place to park the car so I returned it and I am glad that it is off my mind.

Avignon is a walled city that was inhabited by the Romans. Eventually in the 1300's, there was trouble in Rome and Pope Clement V (A Frenchman) moved the papacy to Avignon. Eventually as the popes will, they built a huge palace and headquarters for the Catholic Church. It was Pope Benoit XII(Benedict-Something about the name) that began the current structure. They remained here for about 70 until Pope Gregory XII (an Italian) took the show back to Rome. Avignon tried to hold on by electing its own Pope but by 1417, they gave it up.
The weather here is on the cold and windy side. I ate outside last night but I was cold. It is a very vibrant city. More working class than Nice or any place else I have been on this trip. This is the heart of Provence. More locals out and food is very much dictated by what is grown locally.

These are pictures for Isle de la Sorgue