In this episode, Jenny and Patrick bicycle across the not so bicycle friendly Pont-Saint-Esprit bridge and finally meet up again with the Via Rhona, Eurovelo 17 bicycle route. The bicycle route takes them right up to the banks of the Rhone River across from the city of Avignon. They take a passenger ferry to the walled city and enter through the ramparts. Avignon was the home of the papacy in the 1300s. While in Avignon they visit the Palace of the Popes, which was quite a fortress. They spend 4 nights in Avignon and take day excursions to surrounding points of interests. On one excursion they visit Saint Remy de Provence to see the psychiatric hospital that Vincent Van Gogh lived in for a year. They then walk to the archaeological site of Glanum. On another day excursion, Jenny gets a flat tire. Luckily, Patrick finds the leak and they carry on with their excursion. They take a train to Beaucaire and then ride their bikes 13 miles to the Pont du Gard, the Roman aqueduct.
Oh, where you going? I don’t know. >> Okay, keep going straight. Just keep going. Pull off in this driveway near the dog poop. In today’s episode, we begin our cycling day in Pont St. a spree and bicycle along the Varona to Avignon, a total of 35 miles or 56 km. We base ourselves in Avenueon for four nights and take day excursions. On one excursion, we take a train to Bokehare and from there ride our bikes to the Pont Guard, a total of 13 miles by bike or 20 km. On another day, we take a bus to St. Remy de Provence and visit Glanom to see uh the archeological site. >> Okay, I got you, Jenny. >> Have no fear. Okay. >> On the last day of September, Patrick and I woke up to wind, packed our purselves to ride our bikes over the historic half a mile bridge to leave Pont St. Aspree. There was no shoulder for bicycles with cars driving in both directions. It was a bridge built for wagons in the 1200s. When we finally got across, we did not know which exit to take off the roundabout and ended up, as you saw earlier, being fiercely barked at by the group of ferocious dogs. But ah, back in the countryside. Let the music begin. Uh, I’m going to talk really loud because of the wind. >> You know what’s nice about the wind? >> It’s pizza day. We had pizza last night, so we’re having that for lunch. Patrick, can you talk loud and say what you thought of the trail? Oh, the trail was uh smooth. I don’t know what else to say about it. It was a little dull, but it was uh very smooth. We made really good times, so that was good. >> And what town are we having lunch in? >> We don’t know. >> Karus. >> Okay. >> Near Shatanu pop. A little bit north of Ainong. >> Awesome. Hallelujah. Yeah. Yeah. Here we are waiting to take a little foot passenger ferry across the Rome to the historic town of Aignome. What a great way to arrive to Avenueon. The ferry drops you off right outside the walled city. The wall was commissioned by Pope Innocent V 6 in 1355. The ramp parts are now a UNESCO World Heritage site. This is one entrance into the walled city of Aignon. Cars use this entrance uh but it was the one that was closest for us, so we used it, too. Hi, Patrick. >> Hi. >> Where are we? >> Ain, >> where are we sitting? >> We’re at the uh it’s a place called Home Bar. Ooh, >> on a little square some place on the plast. >> Okay. During the 1300s, Aignon became the home of the papacy. Seven popes resided behind this huge fortress. They must have felt very safe behind these massive walls. In fact, the papacy controlled Aignon all the way up to the French Revolution when Aignon finally became part of France. Are we just strolling on an evening in Avenue? >> Um, yes, we are strolling on an evening in Avenue. Oh, trick. >> Hi. >> That looks like a bus behind us. What is that? What What’s going on? >> We’re at the Garier, the bus station, taking a train or taking a bus to uh Sani on Provence. It’s a there’s a strike, a national strike today and we’re worried that the trains to Arl would be affected. So, we’re taking a bus to San Remi instead. >> Oh, cuz we were going to go to Arl. >> Yeah. >> And um is Gosh, I think this is our third strike. >> I think so. It is our third strike. Yes. >> Okay. So, uh looks like the buses might be running. >> Yes, I think so. >> Hi, Jenny. Where are we? >> We are at a a place where Vincent Van Go lived for a year um when he cut off his ear in Arl. He was put into a home here uh mental for his mental well-being and he lived here for a year and it was some of his most prolific painting. So we are at a uh what is a hospital that is now I think the whole thing’s a tourist site but I’m not sure. Um, but it’s been dedic it’s dedicated to mental health. And uh, we’re going to go and look and see some of the things where the I think the bedroom that Vincent Veno slept in. I >> think those without a lot of money slept here. Um, the socially destitute is what my the piece of paper I have says. Um, but Vince Van Go um had his own private room cuz his brother Theo paid for it. Van Go’s bedroom. This is the asylum that Vincent Van Go stayed in. And this is the garden that looked out from his studio. Van Go painted this uh scene of olive trees with white clouds and a background of mountains. And here it is Patrick Where are we? >> We are at the Roman ruins of the city of Galanum. It’s a site. >> It’s a site. >> It’s a site. It’s an archaeological site. And this is a mausoleum >> where we’re standing. >> Yeah. By a family. And then just behind you here, >> who how old is this mausoleum? It was from um 20 or 30 BC. >> Wow. And why was it built? It >> was built by a family to honor their deceased father, I believe, and other members of the family. >> Patrick, what are we looking at here? We’re in the uh Roman the ruins of the Roman city of Galanum and it’s really gorgeous. Um there’s this rocky cliff area up above us that you can see in the video there and then you have this kind of valley running down the hillside. >> And why did they settle here? >> It was a a spring, a natural spring >> that the Gauls had found. Then the Golic tribe was living here and then the Romans came and were like, “We like this place too. We want to live here.” >> Patrick, I have another question for you. Um, have we have people always been able to see these ancient ruins just sitting here? >> No. No. Up until 1920, it was completely covered by an olive grove, an olive farm. And in fact, >> yeah. Yeah, >> Vincent Van Go who was uh hospitalized nearby >> next right next door to this >> next door. He would come up here and he would actually he painted this very olive grove and now it’s been removed and excavated. >> Wow. That’s that’s fascinating. Mhm. >> Mhm. >> Patrick, looks like our bikes are upright. >> We must be on a >> We’re on a train. It’s true. >> Where are we headed? >> We are headed to a town called Vocare. Um, and from there we think there’s a bike path that is going to lead us up to the old Roman aqueduct called the Pontuka. >> Ah, so we’re just doing a little day trip on our bikes. >> Just a little day trip. And you can see we don’t really have much on our bikes. Um, just a just a rain jacket and a picnic. >> But we have a problem with my bike. What’s the problem? Well, the front tire uh went flat when we went out to get it this morning. It was totally flat. So, I swapped out the tube for a brand new tube, but that pumped it up and then it went completely flat again. >> So, a flat tire. >> So, we think maybe there’s something lodged in there like a thorn in the tire that is going to uh puncture any new tire, any new tube that we put in there. That’s the working theory at this point. >> All right. Well, we may not make it to the pulp to guard the aqueduct. >> Oh, our return train leaves at 6:08. So, that’s pretty good. >> Okay. >> It gives us a lot of time in Yeah. >> All right. >> I think it’s dry enough. >> Hopefully, >> it had >> There was a little thorn in the outer rim. Patrick found it. Pulled it out. Found the puncture on that. So, he’s going to put a little >> These are also really old on there. This on the hole. And >> hopefully that’ll fix it. >> New fangled stickers that are supposed to be automatic. >> Automatic. >> Automatic. >> Okay. Heat. Heat. Patrick, >> where are we having our lunch today? >> We are having our lunch today at the K Dugard. >> Wow. What is it? What is that thing? Uh, it was engineered by the Romans in the first century. >> Yeah, it’s still standing. It’s incredible. It’s um three tiered arches, three stories. >> I can kind of see the bottom. >> Yeah. >> Um, >> and it was built to take water to the city of Nims. Did I pronounce that right? >> Nim. >> Nim. To the city of Nim. >> And it’s So, it’s an aqueduct. It’s an aqueduct. Yeah, >> very sweet. >> It is incredible. We’ll have to go check it out after we finish eating our delicious lunch. >> We took a walk over the Pont Guard and were amazed by Roman ingenuity. These stone blocks that you can see were cut precisely from limestone blocks and fitted together without mortar. Wow.