This morning started out foggy and cool but it cleared by 10:00 and finally got to 25C.

We met our guide at the hotel and our tour started with a walk around the Palais des Papes . In the 14th C, Pope Clement moved the Church from Rome to Avignon and 9 Popes ruled from her for 70 years. The Cathedral adjacent to the Palais is from the 4th C but was rebuilt in the 12th. The medieval clock tower was the residence of a cardinal in the 15th C. In the tower of the Palace you could see 2 windows with crosses...one was the Popes' study, and one was the bedroom. Behind the Palace are the gardens overlooking the Rhone but we had no view because it was still foggy..

The Pont D'Avignon was made famous by the children's song which came to Canada with French immigrants and is still sung in Quebec. The bridge was built in the 12th C and had 22 arches but it was contantly destroyed by floods and it was not rebuilt after the 17th C. These few arches are all that remain. The island that is across from the bridge was not there when the original bridge was built.

Some of the buildings in the medieval town have 'blind' windows, meaning windows which have been covered over . This is because in the 19th C, taxes were levied based on the number of windows in the dwelling so people closed them off.

The cobblestones that we saw in all the old streets are a pretty orange colour, smooth and rounded. They are from the Rhone River.

St Peter's Square and Cathedral - we didn't go inside as it was closed, but the walnut doors were beautifully carved. Saints on the left and the Assumption on the right.

There is a small Jewish Ghetto from when the King took their possessions and expelled them from France. They were protected by the Pope in this area which was Papal land and not part of France.

The tour ended at a large indoor market that has a 'living' green wall. Here we met Chef Jean-Marc Larroue who gave us a talk on cheesemaking and then we followed him to a restaurant in the market for a wine and cheese tasting . We paired each type of cheese with a different type of bread ie. white country loaf with Roquefort and a salers (more like a stong gruyere) with a grain bread. The last was a brie with a bread that had red wine, raisins and walnuts. Also on the table were 2 types of olives, black and green, and marinated garlic clovers. We had a white viognier and a granache Cotes de Rhone. What a great experience. Needless to say, we didn't need lunch.

Later in the afternoon we walked back the Palais gardens to have another view when it wasn't foggy. What an amazing view since we were quite high up at this point and you can see out many kilometres and over the 2 branches of the Rhone. There is a cafe and a lovely pond with ducks and ducklings, and large goldfish.

In the evening we went to Chef Jean-Marc's restaurant. He gave us a demonstration on how to make Creme Brulee using lavender infused honey. Dorothy was his assistant, hat, apron and all! He is a really nice man, not egotistical like some chefs can be. He has had this restaurant for 26 years, and built it from an old industial building. He has kept the character and heritage of the building which was important to him personally, and I liked how he respected what had come before him. A lovely person.