Finding History, Wine and Cheese in Avignon

Related: Read the Review of Our Wine Cruise on AmaKristina

By GERRY BARKER
Photos/Video by Gerry Barker

It's Day Three of our "Colors of Provence" cruise on the AmaKristina, and we are docked at the historic city of Avignon. In actuality, we are double-docked. As is sometimes the case on the Rhone River, we are sharing docking space with another ship, the Avalon Poetry, which means we'll walk through their lobby to shore. 

Avignon has a long and rich history, dating back to the Romans. In the 14th century, Pope Clement V moved the Papal seat from Rome to Avignon, and it came to be known as "The City of Popes." Here you'll find charming streets, an expansive town square and striking architecture. And don't miss the trompe l’oeil  (in French it means "deceives the eye") window paintings. You might mistake them for real people.

On our tour, we visited the Les Halles Gourmet Food Market, an indoor mecca of fresh fruits, vegetables, meat and food vendors. The entrance is marked by a massive wall of living plants. We got to sample wine and cheese, as well as some candied garlic (it wasn't bad). Afterwards, we visited a gourmet sweet shop and indulged our sweet tooth.

Then we had free time to explore on our own, which translates to shopping for Pam. On our way back to the ship, we stopped in the town square and satisfied our inner child by riding the carousel. Take a look: