Day 11 Goodbye Alsace and cold and rain, Hello Provence and Sunshine!!

We left the rain and cold and took a 5 hour train ride and walked out to sunshine!!  We arrived in Avignon, our home base for Provence around 2:30 our time. First thing we did was go to our favorite bakery, that happens to have an outlet in the Avignon train station and bought the best Financiers I've ever had!  They're just as good as I remembered!  I really want to make them just like this!  That's my project this winter!  We were met at the train station by the woman who owns the Airbnb we are staying in for the second year in a row!  Building relationships here in France is a really special thing for Emily and I. We both love people and when you connect with people, especially this far away, it's awesome!  We got to the apartment and she showed us some options she has for us when we come back next year, hopefully with a group of people. GREAT options!  Very exciting!!!  We are in this cool city and our apartment is about a quarter of a block away from the city's main square and 2 blocks from the city's main attraction, the Palace of the Popes!  I KNOW you all know about the Great Schism in the 1200s where the French King and the French Pope decided to move the Vatican to this small town in the south of France! LOL. Well, it put Avignon on the map and it's pretty much been on it ever since!  There's also a broken bridge over the Rhone river that is the subject of a very famous nursery rhyme that all French kids know. Sur la Pont de Avignon... it's a really cool place, we sure love it here! It feels like home to us!  Anyway, we went on a nice long walk through the back streets of this city and saw so many cool things!  This place really charms us and I'm sure it would you too!  Back to building relationships. We had dinner at a restaurant we went to last year. We loved the restaurant and we really loved the couple that owns and runs it! It was as good, if not better than last year!  We had a long talk with the wife about what they do and how they do it. Building relationships!!  It makes these experiences even better!  We are back at our Avignon home and ready for bed. Now, on to the TRAVEL TIPS!!

First of all, get a good guide book that you know and trust. We are big fans of Rick Steves and think his guidebooks are really fantastic!  We use them as our bible!  Always start with one of his city tours, they really give you a feel for the city and what you need to see. Having already been here, we decided to do the backstreet tour which gave us even more depth to the city. Another thing, you NEED to stay hydrated!  It's very important when you do as much walking as you do in Europe. The best advice for doing that is go to a local market, like a supermarket but much smaller. Somehow they fit as much stuff in them though. And the stuff is a lot better typically. We always stop and get a bottle of water, they're 1.5 liter, which is a lot!  They cost around $0.25!!!  How crazy is that?  How much would that cost in America??  We also pick up a liter or 2 of apple or orange juice.  Emily and I love juice, especially apple juice, but we drink it too fast, so why spend American prices for a bottle of juice that'll be gone by the end of the day?  But here in Europe, a liter of juice is just over $1!!!!!  How do they do it????  And it's amazing!  Even Tropicana juice and Evian water for the same prices. Check out what that would cost you at the store. Anyway, those are a couple of good tips to get started with. We will have more tomorrow. Emily will show you ladies how to pack only a carry-on and make it work for a whole month!  Have a great day!  We are getting a car tomorrow!! YES!!!!!  Stay tuned!  We will have some great pics tomorrow!