For the weekend between Annette's and Lily's birthdays, we were scheduled for a couple nights in Avignon. I hear Avignon is a lovely city and it sure looked like it from the brief glimpses we got of it. In fact, the travel agent who booked our train tickets recommended it. But, we never got to visit this fine city.
My first hint that our visit to Avignon was going to be a challenge came when trying to make a reservation. Due to a nearly month long festival, no hotels had any rooms available rooms. I was finally able to find a room, but it was 7 miles out of town. We arrived at the Avignon train station at around 5:30 on Saturday night. After figuring out what bus to take, we were on our way to our hotel. Unfortunately, the driver told us the wrong stop to get off. Not seeing the hotel nearby, I ventured off with Sam to find the hotel by foot while Annette and Lily camped out on the side of the road waiting for us. We probably walked at least a mile to finally get our hotel. Rather than trudge back to Annette and Lily and then have to carry all our luggage that distance, I called for a taxi to go pick them up.
From the outside, our hotel, Novotel Nord, looked quite a bit like a prison. The building was rather drab and it was gated all around. Fortunately, the inside was quite nice and comfortable.
Our plans were to head back to Avignon proper on Sunday to do some sight-seeing. Sadly, the buses didn't run on Sunday. With taxis being about 30 euros each way, we decided to skip Avignon. Avignon Nord, the area where the hotel is situated, reminded me a lot of typical American suburbs, with malls and strip-malls and warehouse stores. Still, we thought we'd explore the area and see what the French suburbs were like. One difference we quickly discovered is that French malls (and grocery stores) close on Sunday. The only stores open were fast food restaurants (including McDonalds, KFC, and Europe's own Quickie). So, effectively, we were incarcerated in our hotel!
One bright spot is that we had our best meals yet on our trip at the hotel's restaurant. We also enjoyed the hotel's pool and tennis courts. Annette and I also had a nice walk around the area where we discovered an old monastery. Despite being confined to our hotel, we had a nice stay even if we didn't get to experience much of France.
In retrospect, I would've spent the money on taxis to see Avignon. I hope to have the chance to visit again.
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