The weather was lousy. Tour guide said this is the coldest April day they've had in ages. The wind was howling and it was in the 50's, so we were really glad to get inside that palace and out of the cold. In fact, since we'd already seen the rest of Avignon, we sat down on a bench in the Pope's dining hall and ate a sandwich...and we stayed there until it was time to hook up with the rest of the group.
Although impressive from the outside, there's not much inside the palace, save for well-preserved statues and frescoes. I guess they sent all the opulent stuff back to the Vatican when it was safe for old Clement and his staff to go home. It's an interesting place, just the same.
On the way back, we stopped in a really cute little walled town called Le Baux. If it hadn't been so cold, it would have been fun to explore the town further, but we did walk up and down the main street and check out the shops.
On to Barcelona. It was a beautiful day and we set out for Corte Ingles (needed saffron), Desigual (needed to shop), Decathlon (more Kalenji clothes), and the market (needed dried figs and Marcona almonds). Mission accomplished, we skipped the wait for the shuttle bus and walked back to the ship. Most people would never walk that far, but we did pass several crew members who were shocked to see us walking the distance.
Next stop, Gibraltar!
