We finally got to the Palais des Papes in Avignon yesterday. We've been waiting for the "right" time to go and I didn't want to have to rush the visit. We spent a couple of hours wandering around with our audioguides glued to our heads. It's an impressive building and there was a lot of information to listen to. I tend to switch off after a while and start daydreaming about other things. I'm not sure if that means I'm really not interested or just that it's too much to absorb in one trip. Also alot of the building has been restored/renovated/altered over the years. I like the idea that I'm looking at something that has lasted hundreds of years not something that has been redone to look old. Many of the beautiful murals and decorative features were destroyed when they were covered up by people using the palace after the time of the French revolution.
http://www.palais-des-papes.com/anglais/pdphistoire.html
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
ahhh, palais des papes. my first trip to France included a TGV jaunt to Avignon. I fell deeply in love with PdP, not because of any tour but because I sat, in December, and regarded those ancient cobblestones ... those timeworn stone stairs ground crooked from the thousands of steps of the faithful ... my imagination set free as imagined robes flapping in the winds, hushed murmurs and as I wandered through the Palais and gazed at the intricate designs on the tile floors and felt the cold whoosh of air travelling up those incredibly high ceilings... I pictured the centuries of history, of intrigue, of lives lived and tales told .... all creating the delicate lacy web that is my France.
What a lovely description of your visit to pdp. I wish I could relax enough to enjoy things in that way.
Post a Comment