May 4, 2019: Villeneuve-les-Avignon, town and fortified castle

I'm 8 days behind in blog posting. It's been busy here. I'll try to catch you up with our adventures. This is where we were on May 4.

Across from Avignon there is a hill with (of course) a castle on top. Our quest today is to check out Castle St. André and the old part of town that surrounds it. 

Fort St. André

We arrived and parked in a large lot at the lower end of the town. 

This painted garage was on the edge of the parking lot. You can find art everywhere in French towns!

The Saturday antique market was going on across the street and it was fun to wander the various tables to see what old junk people were selling. It all looked very French, naturellement.... 

The Fort and the antique market

view of antique market

Know what these are? Boules, the metal balls that are played the same as the Italian game of Bocci. Most people in this area play pétanque - same game, smaller balls, also of metal. There are clubs and gravel playing areas set aside in most of the places we visit.

Bargaining for a purchase. 

For my needlework friends, every color of DMC you can imagine. 50 cents each (seems pricey to me)

With maps from the tourist office in hand, we headed to the old part of town to follow the suggested tour which walked us by

...a restaurant for Judy 

Judy, your color!

...the church, Collegiale Notre Dame (closed, but the cloister was open) 

Église collegiale Notre Dame

cloister of church

Clark and Janis in the cloister

new statue in an old niche in the cloister reminds us that traditions continue today

...mansions used as summer homes by bishops of Avignon 

bishop's summer mansions near the church and along the main (one way) street

 

one of many beautiful doors along the summer mansion street

...chapel of the white penitents 

Janis in the courtyard of the chapel of the White Penitents

...the Carthusian monastery where we ate our lunch with this lovely sunny view. We didn't tour this monstrously large complex. It is still in use today as an artists' residency program. We did see several groups of students walking down the street with art supplies in hand, perhaps going to lunch after a class.  This is a very different use than originally chartered. When Pope Innocent VI was elected Pope in 1352, he donated his lands and residence in Villeneuve-les-Avignon as a monastery. It became richer and more influential over the years and then was broken up into parcels and sold in the Revolution. The monastery was severely damaged. Conservation and restoration efforts were begun in 1835 and continued through the early 20th century. One can tour (for a price) the buildings, but we chose to move onward to the castle, our primary target.  It would certainly be an interesting place to visit another time.

Our view at lunch is the beautiful gate to the walled monastery, looking back toward the main street.

Fort St. André belongs to the city of Villeneuve, but the remaining abbey buildings are now privately owned, restored, and documented. One can visit its garden and by separate ticket the ramparts. (We only bought the garden ticket.) There are fabulous views of Avignon across the river from everywhere outside and inside the castle gate. As well, the gardens are beautiful for strolling and sitting to enjoy the views. Built in the 13th century by Philip le Bel, Fort André protected the Abbey St. André (built in 1000 AD) atop Mont Andeon, controlled shipping on the Rhone, and kept an eye on the papal territory of Avignon across the river. The Rhone was then the dividing line between lands owned by the King of France and those of the Holy Roman Empire and the Papacy. Fort St. André was a strategic location and housed a garrison of soldiers until after the French Revolution. An agreement was made with the abbey to provide protection in return for building the fort on their lands. Once France extended its power farther east in the 15th century, the fort lost its defensive importance. The fort itself and the Philip le Bel tower await our exploration for another day.

entrance to Fort St. André

the gardens at Fort St. André

iris in the garden of Fort St. André

view from my bench in the park - that's Avignon in the distance. What a lovely place to do some needlework.

I had to walk to and from the garden because along the way through town, my chariot started acting up. It would just stop operating. Part way up the hill to the fort, it quit altogether, leaving us by the side of the road scratching our heads. 

We were almost to the castle and my chariot died

An amazing cab driver stopped to ask if we needed help. It turns out she lived down the driveway from where she had just emerged. She invited us to hide the scooter on her property and she drove me to the castle entrance. No charge, happy to do it. It was quite an imposition to her as we had to go a circular route through narrow streets in order to ascend the 100 yards between me and the castle. What a kind woman! Dave would later drive the car up to the fort entrance and pick me up, then drive down to pick up the chariot. We were nervous about whether my explorations were at an end for this trip.

Dave worked on the problem most of our evening and discovered that one of the battery connectors which was meant to be spring loaded would not push in when the battery was inserted, so it dislodged one of the battery terminals. A trip to the tool section of the grocery store and a lot of patience and Dave was able to get the battery to work again. 

Once in the garden, I spent a lovely hour sitting on a bench, doing some cross-stitch, with this view. Who wouldn't want to pause here to soak in the ambiance and the history of such sights. We certainly left some sights to be seen another time, but enjoyed wandering another historic and picturesque town. 

panoramic view toward Mont Ventoux 

my view from my park bench

Close-up of Avignon across the Rhone River

As usual, you can see Mont Ventoux from Villeneuve-les-Avignon. The view never disappoints.

Mont Ventoux

This town doesn't have the hustle and bustle, nor quite the historical story, as Avignon. But we enjoyed the quietness and local ambiance of this town without the hoards of people who undoubtedly descend in the summer. Is it age? or wisdom? Whatever, we're happy without the excitement. And to share our thoughts about the experience over aperos.