Avignon, Food and Jazz

An early morning start leaving Nice meant that we arrived in Avignon around lunchtime. We endured the tedious process of checking into our hostel with the lady that refused to speak English. We eventually found our rooms, which were separate male and female dorms. I questioned her after our check in and pointed to my ring finger and Rick’s ring finger. She shook her head furiously and walked away.  Definitely why we got married, so we could stay in separate dorms, right?

So, we grabbed lunch and headed down by the Rhone River to eat lunch in the shade of a tree, along with two young lads playing some incredible guitar.  We read our books and had a lazy afternoon and were serenaded to sleep by the two guitarists.

That evening, after the intense heat had subsided, we ventured into the walled city of Avignon, a UNESCO world heritage site, with some serious charm and character. We wandered the streets, and did away with the map and stumbled upon the most typically French area, untouched by the swarms of tourists and Irish pubs. We couldn’t really negotiate the menu’s at the restaurants, so we decided it was the perfect place to eat.

We sat down and ordered, Rick the Beouf Tartare and the Chevre Quiche for myself. Well I was just beside myself; with tears overflowing and my eyes tightly shut I was sure that I had just tasted heaven… incredible flavours, and the most perfect combination of ingredients. All the while the owner/ operator is having a ciggie with the owner of the restaurant next door.

When we left, Rick spied a sign next door with “live Jazz”, we made plans to return the following night. The girls in my dorm came with us the next night and we went to the same restaurant. All of us were melting with the delicious food that was served to us. Post dinner we went to see the jazz band who had set up on the curb, and we downed a few ‘desperado’s’. The perfect night and one of the highlights of our trip, Avignon will always have a special place in our heart.

Oh and for the record, Rick never had any room mates, so they put a married couple in separate dorms, even though one dorm was completely empty? Needless to say I sneaked in on the last night!

Xx Jaz