Being Tourists in Avignon

This is Ian and Eileen's first trip to this town so we had the opportunity to see some things we've already seen with new eyes and even something unique to us.

We returned to the Lapidary Museum to ogle the Greek, Roman, Gallo-Roman and Paleo-Christian collections, and to take some fun photos.





Okay, this cracks me up as Steve has removed our legs and we are literally heads on a platter. Ian is a good sport.
A first for us was the Muséum Requien. Its creator Esprit Requien (1788 - 1851) bequeathed his collections and library to the Calvet Museum. Esprit Requien devoted himself very early to botany then to malacology and paleontology.
The current exhibit was showcasing Jean-Henri Casimir Fabre (1823 –1915), a French naturalist, entomologist, and author known for the lively style of his popular books on the lives of insects.

But first a stop to ogle a T-rex.
And to confirm the hypothesis that bears are more similar to humans, skeletonally speaking, than any other species.
Having the comparison right there was pretty exciting. Who knew?
Back to Fabre. This man is the subject of so many statues around France. I need to learn more. What I do know is he was a popular teacher, physicist, chemist and botanist. However, he is probably best known for his findings in the field of entomology, the study of insects, and is considered by many to be the father of modern entomology. Much of his enduring popularity is due to his marvelous teaching ability and his manner of writing about the lives of insects in biographical form, which he preferred to a clinically detached, journalistic mode of recording. In doing so he combined what he called "my passion for scientific truth" with keen observations and an engaging, colloquial style of writing. Neat, right?

Lunch was a return to Rocher des Doms Park.


Everything in the historic center is very close so a brief stop, here and there, gives one the opportunity to see what Avignon has to offer.




Check out the little 'dots' above Steve and Ian's head.
People were repelling down the Palace's walls. Oh man. We had to watch but at the same time didn't want to watch. WOW.

We returned to tour the Palace of the Popes but this time we were armed with a very cool tool: a HistoPad.
Cécile Helle, the Mayor of Avignon, wrote about this learning aid, “Today, nowhere else in the world can we find a solution that brings together so many functionalities on a single medium for the benefit of all audiences. The HistoPad is the complete means to successfully popularize modern and effective knowledge. We are proud today to be the first to make it available to everyone, in the service of a cultural policy that is as demanding as it is generous”.
"The HistoPad allows you to make a virtual visit of 9 main rooms of the palace which have been re-imagined thanks to augmented reality in their decorations of the 14th century. Audio commentaries enriched with musical illustrations present the places and their functions, text labels come to describe in addition the pieces of furniture, works of art and reconstructed decorative elements. Users can zoom in on objects and scenery to discover the finest details. 360° views allow close-up views of certain rooms with fragile painted decorations to which public access is limited. A film retraces the history of the construction of the Palace thanks to images reconstructed in 3D."





I found it super handy when wanting to capture images of rooms where photography was forbidden. Clever!
Something new I discovered were several of these ancient signs explaining the room, in which I was in, in beautifully calligraphed Latin. How long has this place been a tourist destination?





The Place de l'Horloge (Clock Tower Square) is the main square and heart of Avignon.  Buildings located on this square include Avignon's 19th century City Hall and opera. Ironically, the famous clock, after which the square is named, is barely visible from Place de l'Horloge. Ian and Eileen are staying in the Hotel Place de l'Horloge and it wasn't until we looked from a distance that we spotted the namesake. And it wasn't until I photographed it with my 'real' camera that we saw the man and woman within.
What fun to discover new and old things with dear friends. This stay in Avignon is an amazing opportunity for reconnections and unforgettable memories.

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