30 June 2012 - Bauduen

Yesterday we blobbed out around the hotel pool until 4pm, then headed in Avignon hoping that the tourist masses would have reduced and the temperature would be lower.  Both proved right and we emerged from an underground carpark in front of the Papal Palace - a massive complex in excellent condition.

A wander down towards the river took us down small streets lined with tourist shops (and a bookshop with second hand books in English), through the massive city wall to the famous bridge - the Pont St Benezet.  Originally built through the fundraising talents of a local peasant Benezet in the 1100s, it has been destroyed by kings, floods and other effects and rebuilt several times.  Only 4 of the original 22 spans remain, but it is still an amazing monument to what must have been an immense task when it was first built.  We walked out to the end in a strong wind, then retreated to the square in from of the Papal palace for an excellent dinner.  Apparently in the middle ages Avignon was second only to Paris in size in France and there are many signs of the affluence of the times.

 Pont St Benezet in rush hour traffic

 The Papal Palace from Pont St Benezet

Today was a day of colours.  We drove across Provence to my cousin's house on Lac Sainte Croix du Verdun at Bauduen.  We passed fields of lavender amid the rather arid vegetation in white stoney soil and drove through villages painted in pastel colours rather than the usual French stone grey.

Lavender fields

On first sight of the lake the colour of the water was a bright blue.  I can only imagine that it is a combination of the bright sun and the depth of the lake, but the photos really do not do it justice.

The exit point of Lac Sainte Croix du Verdun just above the dam.

The lake is behind a hydro dam with a retained depth of 95m feeding an underground power station.

We finally reached our destination - a delightful 4 storey house looking out across the lakefront,  very comfortable with several cafes and restaurants within 2 minutes walk.  The rest of the day again spent lolling around in the heat (around 35C).