Chateauneuf du Pape and the Last Day in Avignon

On our second last day we drove down to Chateauneuf du Pape to taste some of the more famous wines of the region. The town was charming, and well prepared for wine tourists. Armed with a map from the tourist office, we visited probably 7 or 8 different houses.



We took a break for a picnic lunch and visited the chateau neuf, which wasn't looking so new anymore.



We just couldn't escape from the great views!




So much wine!

Our last day in Avignon started at the local market where we decided to buy a picnic lunch to enjoy on the island across the Rhone.


Erik and I joined the locals for a glass of wine inside the market. Steve and Yoshimi thought that 11am was too early, but that didn't seem to be stopping anyone!



Boarding the water shuttle to take us to picnic land. It was HOT this day, and after lunch and a nap we wandered down to a little cafe on the edge of the water for cool drinks. We spent the rest of the afternoon in the musee du Palais enjoying religious art and sculpture. We had dinner at an Italian restaurant before racing to get our train back to Paris. After a nice nap on the train, we rolled into Gare de Lyon at 2am on a Sunday night, well after the end of the metro service. A full TGV full of people headed straight for the taxi queue, and there didn't seem to be any taxis. We ended up walking almost all the way home with our suitcases, it wasn't until we got close to the place de Nation that we were finally able to get a cab to stop for us. A very unpleasant end to our four wonderful days in the south of France.