I started my day by wandering around town and going into Les Halls. This is a large market similar to the street markets but this one is permanent and happens every day except Monday.

It was kind of empty and that made it nice to really look at what was being offered. There were stalls with cheese, mainly goat cheese, meats and olives. Other stands had garlic hanging from the top of their stall. They had all sorts of fish, vegetables and pastries. It’s a place where you could grab a sandwich or slice of quiche. There were even a few small counters and restaurant tables to eat at.

After lunch I headed to the first museum of my trip. A lot of the museums in Avignon are free. Musée Lapidaire started as an old church used to house extra Roman artifacts that weren’t being shown at the Musée Calvet. It was later opened to the public to explore. Some parts are still set up as storage, like an assortment of columns. The rest of the museum is filled with statues and pottery.

After the museum I took a walk down the street that smelled of lavender. All the stores had lavender souvenirs: Sachets and soaps, lavender scented teddy bears and oils. The stores also had a large assortment of dish towels, olive oil containers, olive dishes and garlic graters.

At the bottom of the street there is an amazing soap store, floor to ceiling covered in all scents of soap. I knew they would make wonderful souvenirs for my family and friends.

• 

• 

Not far from the bottom of the lavender street was the wall around the old town. There was a turret with a staircase and I figured why not. Two flights of spiral stairs later and I found myself at the top. You could walk across the top of the rampart which led to more stairs, and before I knew it I was at the highest point of the town with amazing views of the Rhône and the famous Avignon bridge. After taking a bunch of photos I walked around the park and took more pictures. This time of flowers, baby ducks and the side of the old church next to the Palais of Papes.

Later that night a new light show was opening inside the courtyard of the Palais des Papes: “Vibrations”. There was a huge gathering of people in front of the palace, it really gave perspective to the size of the building. Below, the excited people looked so tiny waiting to go in. Once inside the courtyard everyone tried to figure out where to look first. As it turns out the show was on all 4 walls in a 360 degree splendor of lights and music. The images projected highlighted all the amazing things the area of Provence had to offer. Everything from the lavender fields to Van Gogh (who lived in Provence before his death) and the Roman architecture that filled the area. After the show I headed home to get some sleep before my exciting next day.