Avignon - Dance!

In the old city of Avignon, the home of the Palace of the Popes, we were told one thing repeatedly, and so I feel I should begin this blog entry with it: ready? are you sure? OK, here we go... in the classic folk song "Sur le pont d'Avignon", they sing about dancing on the bridge, when, in fact, they danced beneath the bridge!

Sur le pont d'Avignon
L'on y danse, l'on y danse
Sur le pont d'Avignon
L'on y danse tous en rond
Les beaux messieurs font comm' ça
Et puis encore comm' ça

So it should have been sous le pont. Haha! Good times.

The Pont d'Avignon (Pont Saint-Bénezet) was a 22-arch bridge crossing the mighty Rhône River. Built in the 12th centure, it was the only fixed Rhône River crossing between Lyon and the Mediterranean Sea. Thanks to this bridge, Avignon became a very important town. The bridge was destroyed by a flood in the 17th century, and only four arches remain. The chapel built into the bridge is still there too.

What's even more interesting is how it was built: a shepherd boy came into town one day and said, "Ye, Avignonians, listen to whast I bespeak! Angels hath bespokenth to me and I've gotta build a friggin bridge!" Of course the townspeople though he was crazy, so the priest (it was a Mass he interrupted with his announcement), leaned down and said, "What sayeth you, shepherd boy? Arst though mad? If what ye say be trueth, picketh upeth that massiveth boulder and layeth the firsteth stone!" With that, the shepherd, Bénezet was his name, picked up the boulder, which was on the floor of the church for some reason, and carried it down to the shores of the river. Then they built a bridge. Maybe some details have been lost over time, but it is an incredible story!

Avignon was also home to the popes for a while. Rome was in political turmoil in the beginning of the 14th century, so they set up shop in Avignon and lived in the Palais des Papes (Palace of the Popes) for about a hundred years. This was also the home of two renegade popes (antipopes) during the Papal Schism at the turn of the coming century. The building is beautiful and the audio tour is very informative. A must stop if you're in Provence.

Photos we took.