I enjoyed very much this journey in Avignon: so many nice places (the Papal Palace, the Saint Bénézet bridge, Gigondas and the Dentelles de Montmirail, the Rhone River and the island of the Barthelasse).
The Rhone River is a good place for rowing: Adeline Mendoza-Capian is training every day on this river and now the schools are promoting this sport.
Then we visit the island of the Barthelasse with Gilles Blanc, the naturalist: we discover the great forest and the birds like the grey heron which are living in the Rhone river.
The Chartreuse of Villeneuve-lès-Avignon, a former monastery, has become le Centre National des écritures du spectacle: Barbara Metais-Chastanier, a writer , enjoys this inspiring place full of quietness.
The Chapel of Saint-Ponce has been transformed into an employement agency (Pôle Emploi) .
Another church has been transformed into a restaurant (Le Potard).
Besides the Chapel Saint-Antoine has been transformed into a luxury hotel and American tourists enjoy this historical place.
I enjoyed also the excursion to Piolenc: there the brotherhood of the garlic is promoting the garlic, heritage of this village ( 500 tons every year , about 10 % of the French production of garlic): besides the brotherhood organizes every year a competition of the best aioli.
At the canyon of Vercol Eric Leininger and his son Valentin are organizing canyoning: also Eric has installed a via ferrata on the limestone cliffs.
The students of the secondary school learn natural sciences visiting a cave with the help of speleologists.
The mistral wind (which comes from the north), makes crazy the people of Avignon and the Rhone Valley,but this stormy wind is usefull (wind turbines) and Daniel Coulon, a wine maker of the Domaine de Beaurenard (organic farm) explains that the mistral protects the vineyards taking away the humidity and so he can produce very good wines.
Avignon is famous for this Festival: there is the main spectacle at the square of the Papal Palace , but also many other spectacles in the town, Frédéric, a man born in Avignon,is receiving artists in his house for theater spectacles.
I enjoyed the encounters of Tiga with Laurence Belvisi (the beautiful guesthose), with Jérémie Le Rallier, the guide at the Papal palace, with Thierry Azzolin , the beekeeper at the Saint-Laurent tower, with Séverine Sagnet, with Numa Cappeau, the farmer of the island of Barthelasse, with Régis Leroy (the climbing of the Dentelles de Montmirail), with Michel Barruol, the wine maker at the Château de Saint Côsme, with André Gabriel the musician and Luc Antonini the organist, with the manager of Volomax (the tornado wind tunnel), with Brune Passini (the soap producer) and with the parachute jumpers: very nice encounters with kind French men and women.