Did You Know?

At times I feel a little guilty that my children are not in school, practicing fractions and first grade printing. However, it is places like Avignon, France that remind me of the amount of new information that is swirling around in their heads and hopefully creating a foundation for more ideas to build upon. Did you know that the Papacy did not always reside in the Vatican? In 1305, the entire Papal court pulled up stakes and moved to the South of France. There was so much fighting in Rome over the church and state, and each sides' supporters, that it was no longer safe for the Pope to be in Italy. Clement V chose France in which to settle because it was the center of the Christian world, with Spain to the west and Italy to the east, and it would align the Pope with the powerful French king. For 67 years seven popes led the church from Provence. The Pope's Palace still stands, in asture beauty.

We held audio guides to our ear and followed the younger ones around. There was nothing they could break and other tourists had not arrived for the season, so we got along just fine.

Before the sun dipped below the horizon, we hurried over to the Pont Saint-Benezet.

This bridge is best known for the children's song, Sur le pont d'Avignon, which is about gentlemen and dames dancing on the bridge. I wished that I knew the French lyrics to the song to sing with my children, as the site would have been more meaningful. The sun was going down, so we took a quick look and headed to our hotel in Arles.