Avignon, France

Bon Jour, welcome to France. Another train ride from Barcelona, Spain to Avignon, France. It was several hours and there were multiple stops along the way. At each stop, they make the stop announcement in French, Spanish, and English. It was a very long train and we were in the 18th car. This is significant because there is a story.

We know we're getting close to Nimes (a transfer point) when the conductor announces there will be a stop so they can connect two trains together but for everyone to stay in their seats. It took several minutes and the train continued on for several more minutes. Then it stopped again but there was only a French announcement. We had a bit of a discussion if this was our stop, but we couldn't see the station, or the walkway (because we were on the other side of the car, and so far back), and the train was fifteen minutes ahead of schedule. We thought they were still working on the train connection so we stayed seated and no one in our car left. The next announcement was the doors were going to close, and it was made in all three languages. We asked someone sitting next to us if this was Nimes, and they said yes. What!!! We were on the upper level of the train, so we scrambled for our luggage, dashed down the stairs and out the door, just as they were closing. Whew! We really didn't want to go to Paris and then have to turn around and come back. We caught our connecting train and were in Avignon within an hour. That was a very close call.

After disembarking, we walked the 20+ minutes to our apartment, dragging our luggage across the cobblestone streets. It was the heat of the day and it felt like we were walking (dragging) for miles. Gratefully, our host met us as we arrived and led us up to our apartment… up 4 stories … up 72 stairs. It was time for a nap!

This is totally out of our character, but I loved this little Bohemian apartment on AirBnb - and we weren't disappointed. We were surrounded with color and craziness.

We found a square near the apartment and enjoyed something light for dinner, watching the surroundings. Travel days are always a little bit tough as you learn and aclimate to a new community and hope there aren't any issues along the way. We have been very blessed and know the Father is watching over us, and we are thankful.

Day two was exploring, visiting the castle, napping, and enjoying the surroundings.