July 14, 2022 - Avignon, France

So, first the good news.  I’m doing very well and had a fantastic visit with my friends in Auch, France; however, I thought they lived closer to Toulouse.  Auch is a small town about an hour and a half outside of Toulouse and my friend Thierry owns a chicken farm about half an hour outside of the city center of Auch.  However, the views from his home are spectacular.  Front the front you look out at the Great Pyrenees Mountains on the border between France and Spain and from the back you look over his extensive land, his parent’s old chateau and the towns in the distance.  The places he took me to visit were not on my radar, but they will be places I’ll never forget.  I’ll blog about those adventures tomorrow.  

For tonight, I’ll just chat for a moment about the bad news.  Avignon has been on my “radar” to visit since probably Junior High School.  I read about it in both fictional and historical accounts and each time a new reference to it would come up, the anticipation of going there heightened.  Before planning ANY of my trips, I went online and found an AirBnB in Avignon, but one that advertised that it was “tucked away outside of the city center in a private setting in a cottage surrounded by gardens”.  It sounded storybook perfect.  So, I booked it.  I had it booked even before airfares were booked.  I had it booked before I even knew where I was going to go.  I had it booked in my head as the most wonderful spot on the planet, having a week in the midst of my relentless travel, to reflect and perhaps do some writing.  I knew that I’d need a car, as it said it was off the beaten path outside of the city limits.  At first, I’d romanticized about renting a bike and biking into “town” for groceries, etc…, but then practicality made me make a reservation for a car - a tiny European car; the kind that looks like you might just have to pedal it, like a bicycle, anyway.

I arrived in Avignon.  Oh, by the way, today is Bastille Day.  Did anyone happen to mention that?  Nope.  Oh, did anyone mention that a there is a festival going on in Avignon this week?  Nope.  The trip from Toulouse to Avignon takes about 4 hours.  I stood for 3+ hours of that being jostled back and forth between everyone else who was standing on a train not meant for a standing room only crowd.  Once I got to Avignon, I looked for the AVIS car rental company via Google Maps.  The car rental company had told me that it was right across the street from the train station.  No AVIS.  I flagged down a taxi driver who said that the only AVIS office that would be open on Bastille Day would be the one at the airport.  So, he took me there - a $45 taxi ride.  I got out and gave them my reservation number.  Thankfully, they had all the information they needed and had my car ready in minutes.  On the phone, I had asked about a quote and was given a price of $500 dollars for their smallest economy car for the week.  That fit in my budget.  However, I was told in very choppy English, that because of the holiday they had rented all of their smallest cars and all they had left was a big SUV for $2000 for the week.  That does NOT fit in my budget.  I tried to speak to them about the quote I was given, the reservation I had made, etc….  I could either take the car or try someplace else.  Being at the mercy of not knowing enough information to make any other decision, I had to take the car.  It’s huge and I feel stupid in it as most cars in Europe are small - I feel like an American demanding a big car “like we drive”.  However, it’s manual.  I haven’t driven a manual in years.  But, it comes back easily enough.  I only stalled twice.  However, I got myself in a pickle where I needed to back up, having entered a one way street, the wrong way.  I tried to back up.  Nope.  Just further forward.  Tried pushing down on the stick.  Nope.  Further forward.  Tried pushing the button on the head of the stick.  Nope.  Further forward.  Pushed the stick hard to the left and up.  Nope.  Further forward and now in a really tight spot.  So, I got out and simply said loudly in English to everyone on the street who was now looking at me.  “I need some help.  I can’t put this car in reverse!”  Thankfully, a young guy came over, got in the front seat, and showed me that the gear shift had ridges on it (they looked like folds from the covering fabric), but you pulled it up and then put it in reverse.  He waited until I got in and did it myself!  Good to go!  But, as I mentioned, it’s National Bastille Day, so nothing is open and I can’t get groceries.  That puts a damper on having food!  In spite of the setbacks/confusion/misinformation/etc…, I finally arrived at my “cottage”.  It’s cute, but the shine of Avignon had already tarnished and I haven’t even seen it.  It’s half an hour car ride away, anyway!   I was so upset and flustered that I was seriously contemplating how to make plans tomorrow to go home.  My host greeted me with a smile and welcomed me to the cottage and realizing that I wasn’t able to go to the grocery store quickly put a basket of foods together from her own kitchen and garden so that I’d have something to “tide me over” until tomorrow.

Tonight I ate my meager meal of garden ripened tomatoes, local cheese, and homemade bread - gifts from a stranger -

with more gratitude than I’ve had for a long time.  Having filled my physical body, my spiritual body was filled as well, and I’m ready to continue the journey.  One little whoops is not going to send me home, even if I’ve got to figure some things out, budget-wise.  And maybe Avignon isn’t the bright shining wonder of my imagination, but it will still be a moment I won’t forget in the midst of a fantastic voyage!