Day 8-Goodbye Provence, Hello Alps

We're still alive, but we've been off the grid for a few days. There's no cell service when you're high in the Alps, and the wifi and internet in our hotel only seem to work in the lobby.

After another fabulous breakfast at Le Mas Perreal, we said sadly said goodbye to our gracious hosts Kevin and Elisabeth and drove to Avignon, our only stop before our final destination for today, Grenoble.

In Avignon we skipped a coffee, it was 97°, and opted for a cool Perrier at Lou Mistou Cafe and enjoyed the continuous parade of tourists and theatre performers.  It's festival month in Avignon and the performers of all the shows have to walk the streets and stir up business.  

Le Palais du Pape, built for the popes when Avignon was the center of the Catholic church

One of the many gates in the Roman wall that surrounds the city.

Leaving Avignon around 1:00 PM, we headed north to Grenoble, which was an easy two hour drive.  Navigating the streets and parking garage in any European city is a challenge, but we managed.  We checked into our hotel and unpacked as we watched the final hour of stage 10 of the Tour de France.  We will be watching stage 11 in person tomorrow, and we'll be leaving our hotel by 4:30 AM in order to get a prime viewing spot before the roads close.  So we spent time rearranging our tour watching gear.

For dinner we walked to the nearby Place St. Andre, returning to the Table Ronde, which was established in 1792.  The menu is very traditional, probably hasn't changed in 50 years, but that was exactly what we wanted.  

The view from our hotel room.

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