Avignon

From Moustiers we headed to Avignon. We found a campsite on the Ile De La Barthelasse, an island in the Rhone across from the city. This was a great location that gave a view of the city but gave breathing space away from it. We cycled into Avignon on the afternoon we arrived to get our bearings. We then cycled along the banks of the Rhone in the late afternoon, enjoying the late sun and the cool breeze. The next morning we were up early and cycled into the city, locking our bikes up at around 10am. We had a day touring the city (in a very strong wind !!), including the Palais Du Papes, Pont D’Arc etc, having lunch and then doing a walking tour from a tourist map around the oldest parts of the city.

We arrived back at the bike ramp at 3pm knackered to find the bike lock had been cropped and my bike had been stolen - it was attached to the other one but that was still there. The old man walked back to the campsite whilst I rode his bike through a street carnival procession to the police station to report the theft. I’m not sure that the French police do anything about such thefts, apart from give tourists a piece of paper to enable them to claim on insurance ( SO BE WARNED!!!). 

The next morning we went to the other side of the Rhone to Villeneuve D’Avignon, on what was the far side of the Pont D’Arc when it was built. We toured the fort there and walked around the village before setting off to find the Avignon North branch of Decathlon, to find me a new bike.

After a new bike was sourced and a humungous set of locks to avoid any repetition, we headed off to the Ardeche.