We’d purchased TGV tickets to Avignon for 10am Tuesday morning, back when we were planning the trip, based on the assumption we’d have three solid days in Paris, not a day and a half. But our hotel only had rooms with twin beds available for the night, and purchasing new TGV tickets for the following day cost around 75€ each, compared to the 30 we’d already paid (and would be throwing away to leave later).

So… we decided to suck it up and get to the Gare de Lyon on Tuesday morning after a very short time in Paris. I was a little exhausted from being up early and out late the night before, so I dozed off shortly after the train reached top speed. Vacations are hard work!

Two and a half hours later we were in Avignon, with two minutes to get off the train and let the new passengers on. First thoughts: the soil beneath the grass was limestone white like in Texas. And it was very windy! We took a bus from the TGV Gare d’Avignon outside the city, to the historic city center, and quickly decided on a nearby hotel.

After a brief respite, we went out in search of food, which turned out to be pizza at a place I think was called Brasserie des Arts. I was very excited about eating French pizza in France, having attempted a rendition based on Stephanie’s memory on several occasions.

I learned that most French pizzerias offer a standard selection of pizzas with the same names (and similar toppings) from place to place. So I had the La Reine, which had ham and mushrooms and Stephanie had the 4 Saisons (seasons), which had artichoke hearts, mushrooms, and olives. They were excellent, even better with a few drops of hot pepper olive oil.