It is 8:12PM on Thursday 9/1/11 (11:12AM back in Beaverton) and we have been up since 3:30AM on Wednesday (about 32 hours) with very little sleep. Our flights were near-perfect. We decided to pay for the Premier Line and was it worth it. Went right to the ticket counter (bypassed a long line there), went flying through security (bypassed another long line there) and got to board early so we had a place to stow our bags (just did carry-on - no checked bags). We were about 45 minutes late out of Washington DC/Dulles (they had to replace a light bulb socket on the wing) but they were able to make up for it and we landed on time at 6:55AM Paris time.
Zipped through immigration (Steve finally got a stamp in his passport!), got some euros at the ATM and headed into Paris on the RER about 8:15AM. The train got very crowded as we got closer to the city (it was obviously the height of the commute) but managed to work our way through the crowded train to get off at Gare de Lyon, where we caught the TGV (high-speed train) to Avignon. We got to the city so quickly we had to kill about 2 hours so we walked around and sat a bit. Train was on time - we covered 430 miles in about 2 hours and 40 minutes - smooth, fast and quiet. Charlotte slept a little bit and Steve dozed off once.
We arrived in Avignon to warm weather (upper 80's). Took the shuttle bus to the city center and walked a few blocks to the hotel (http://www.lecolbert-hotel.com/). The owner was very warm, welcoming and helpful. Spent a few minutes freshening up and then headed into the old part of town and towards the Palais Des Papes (Palace of the Popes). We took a 40 minute tour on a tram and saw most of the sights in a quick fashion. We will take most of the day tomorrow to visit the main sites in more detail.
Had a great dinner at a small, out-of-the-way restaurant (Fou de Fafa - https://www.facebook.com/pages/Restaurant-Fou-de-Fafa/169519143081071) recommend by the hotel owner Patrice. Charlotte had a pounded chicken breast with cous-cous, spices and mozarella cheese and Steve had sea bream (a Mediterraean white fish) on safron rice. Followed by dessert of course.
So it is now 8:30PM local time and we are going to get some much needed rest. Still excited about being here but we are sure fatigue will be setting in shortly. Au revoir for now.
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