Avignon, Eygalières and the 3.5 hour meal

We headed up to Avignon for a day of sightseeing around the Palais des Papes. We wandered around for a while, and visited the lovely gardens (Rocher des Doms) that are part of the whole complex. There were a number of grottoes there and great views over all of Avignon. It was a great place for kids and there seemed to be a number of French school children who were on field trips that day.

We traversed some steep stairs to get down to the road that runs alongside the Rhone, and headed to the Pont St. Benézet - the famous Avignon bridge that ends halfway in the Rhone. The bridge had been built in the 12th century and apparently there was a big flood in the 17th century that swept half the bridge away. Due to political and monetary reasons, it was never rebuilt. An audio guide was supplied as part of the entrance fees and the kids really enjoyed pressing the numbered buttons as they walked around. They also found the "half-bridge" quite fascinating.



We met our friends for lunch at the Place de l'Horloge, the main town square in Avignon. It was a long lunch - we have noticed that mealtimes are serious business here. Don't expect to spend less than 90 minutes on any meal, even if you think you're just having a simple lunch! No complaints though - sitting at a shady table in the heart of Avignon, across from the carousel and watching our kids laugh and play is an experience I would wish for everyone.

The kids rode the carousel three times and could have stayed on there all day if we'd let them. I think a daily diet of carousels and ice-cream will ensure happiness for all in our travelling party.

Avignon was on sale - we couldn't quite figure out if they arrange coordinated sale days for each town, but every shop there had the soldes sign in their window. After a profitable hour of shopping (it was all for the kids - really!) and a long ice-cream stop, we headed down to the small town of St. Remy for a quick visit. It seemed like a cute but touristy town with a maze of little streets -we got there rather late in the day, so most things were either closed or just shutting down.

Our dinner reservations were at Chez Bru in Eygalières, a restaurant recommended by Chef Ronald the prior evening, 10 km outside of St. Remy. I've found my new favorite Provençal village! Eygalières was parfait - I would love to rent a villa on the outskirts for our return visit to Provence. It was very small - but with the requisite boulangerie and of course, a place for ice cream and crepes. And a couple of lovely restaurants. The village was just charming. Our restaurant turned out to be an unexpectedly gourmet stop - we were possibly a little underdressed, we had 5 adults, 4 children and were somewhat grimy from a full day's sightseeing. Happily, we sat at a lovely table on the sidewalk, with the town's activity going on all around us.

Chez Bru will probably gain some Michelin attention shortly - the dining room was very elegant and the tasting menu was divine. They also made up special meals for the kids since we didn't think they'd appreciate the pig's feet or sweetbreads on the main menu! Of course, the kids didn't exactly suffer - they had grilled medallions of veal, with some very rich potato puree.

The adult menu was a little more sophisticated - to be honest, it was all very rich but I forget all the specifics. It involved lobster, some foie gras (of course!), a main course selection of either veal or monkfish and a lovely dessert of Creme Bru. Even the monkfish was amazingly rich. And we selected from a lovely cheese cart - I had some excellent Pont-l'Évêque. The whole meal took 3.5 hours - the kids had a good time, after they were done eating, they took little walks and played while the adults finished up their meals. 3.5 hours - see what I mean about leisurely dining?!