Hello!
My Mam and Granma's stay in Avignon was going really well. One thing we decided to do together was go the Les Halles, the famous indoor market by Place Pie.
First, however, we popped into a chocolate shop. It was Leonidas, which also exists in Ireland, where my Granma lives. However, she said there were differences between the products available there and here - which is understandable, as I've noticed myself that the French taste in chocolate differs generally from that in other places.
We had a great time admiring the chocolates as well as the shop's lovely autumn displays.
You could get a cute little box with three chocolates of your choice, so I selected a ganache, a hazelnut praline and a Josephine, which is shaped like a coffee bean and has a very strong coffee taste
Needless to say, they were all delicious! I especially like the Josephine, though, and I'm not normally a big coffee person.
We crossed Place Pie to get to Les Halles. There was another outdoor market there, with some interesting trinkets. There were Smurf figurines on more than one stall!
Owl alert
We finally got through the market and arrived at Les Halles. On entering we found an amazing bakery. As well as having a wide range of products, it offered free samples, which are always appreciated! The lighting was pleasant and made for some nice bread-y and cake-y photos.
We moved on through Les Halles, passing a fruit stall with some mouth-watering blueberries, redcurrants and blackberries. I always find forest fruits to be the most photogenic - the colours go together so well.
We passed a stall with sweets and candied fruit.
We eventually settled in a cafe area where the owner lets people eat their own food as long as they buy a drink from him. I think this is a great system: we were able to enjoy some of the things we'd bought from the bakery, while relaxing with tea and hot chocolate.
The next day, we decided to go to Nîmes on the train. It was a lovely, sunny day as we walked through Avignon to the station. We stopped for a look at the botanical gardens, which were full of bright flowers and... an old-style phone box?
My Mam was trying to discreetly draw my attention to something and I finally realised there was a gorgeous dragonfly perched on one of the railings. Talking photos without scaring it away was a challenge, but I'm pleased with the results. I love the contrast between the beauty and perfection of the creature and the rusty railing.
We strolled on down the Rue de la République, which is one of the main shopping streets in Avignon and leads to the station.
Every French city seems to have an "Irish" pub! Perpignan has at least two, and there is one in Montpellier
A very familiar sight in France - people walking their tiny dogs
We entered the station and bought our tickets to Nîmes. I'll tell the story of our trip there in the next post. Watch this space!
Thanks for reading,
Liz x
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