On the second day of our vacation we decided to go to Avignon.
Probably one of the communes in Southern France most visited by tourists.
We always tried to leave as early as possible when going to the better known places.
Not just to find a good parking spot but also because of the heat during the day.
At 9:30 the temperature was already climbing to 30°C.
We arrived around 10 o'clock, it took us a while to find the underground parking we were looking for.
I was told the best place to park was at the Palais des Papes.
The parking spots are marked early, there are a lot of lanes leading to different places which made it a bit confusing trying to follow the parking signs.
In the end we found the parking and there were still a lot of free spots on the third level (P3).
Leaving the parking you walk right onto the Place du Palais des Papes, which is the nicest spot in Avignon.

I had found a little track which would introduce me to the most interesting sights in Avignon.

If you are interested in using this also, here is the link:

http://www.routeyou.com/route/view/247222/walking-and-hiking-route-avignon-introduction-walk.en

The walk starts at the Place du Palais des Papes and takes you up to the Rocher des Doms gardens.

From here you have an excellent view on the Pont d'Avignon and the river Rhone.

The next part of the walk leads us through many small streets near the commune wall.

Nothing really interesting was to be seen here (the smell wasn't always too good either).

There were a lot of posters everywhere for the festival d'Avignon, whichs runs every year throughout July.

During the festival a lot of theater shows are played by many different groups of performers.

Many of these groups can be seen throughout the day promoting their shows.

By the end of our walk we decided to stop for a drink and a bite at the Place de l'Horloge.

Here you can find a lot of cozy sidewalk cafes where you can take a break and find some shelter from the sun.

Besides the Palais des Papes there are a few other historic buildings worth visiting;

the Chappele des Pénitens Noirs, the Fondation Calvet, Aumônerie Générale and l'Hôtel des Monnaies.

After a couple of hours walking through Avignon we decided to head back to our house.

I had hoped to visit Villeneuve-Lès-Avignon the same day as it was so close by,

but it was getting a bit late and hot, so we decided a swim in the pool would be a better idea.

Here is a little blog I am writing about my two weeks of vacation in Remoulins.
Remoulins is a small commune about 22 km from Avignon and the same distance from Nimes.
It is best known for its ancient Roman aquaduct, the Pont du Gard.
Unfortunately these days you have to pay to visit the Pont, 10€ if you come on foot, 15€ if you come by bike or 18€ if you want to park your car.
Still, visiting the aquaduct is very much worth it, by night it is lit up in different colors.

I had brought my mountainbike and planned on doing several VTT tours in the surroundings.
So the first day I thought I'd start with one passing right next to the house where we were staying.
I left with my father and nephew around 8h in the morning and already it was getting pretty hot.
After a 20 mins climb we came to the top of the hill, where we had a great view of the "gorges" of the Gard.

We were already pretty exhausted at that time and it was only getting hotter.
Still I decided to keep going (the track was 40km and difficulty was black, which is harder than red).
It was very technical, going through small tracks, always turning, climbing, going down.
Around 9:30 I had done 7km and the temperature had reached around 30°C, my water bottle was running empty.
I decided I had done enough mountainbiking for one day and came back following the normal roads.
That was the last planned mountainbike track I did, though I did find a smaller, more enjoyable track on my own that I repeated several mornings.
Leaving at 7 in the morning the latest is the best idea if you are planning on cycling here.

Later that day we went to the Pont-du-Gard on foot.
Our house was one the street leading to the Pont and it was only a 20 mins walk there.
The Avenue du Pont du Gard is very nice to walk on aswell.

You can hear the cicadas chirping all the way walking in the shadow of the planetrees.
Like I said you will have to pay if you want to visit the Pont but you should if you are close.
We went up the Pont du Gard (where it was pretty crowded) and ate a refreshing ice cream there afterwards.