Villeneuve lez Avignon. Part 2

It has suddenly turned into autumn:  27 degrees  (around 84 degrees) on tuesday and down to 14 tops (around 58) today.  And super windy!  A mistral, perhaps!! Nonetheless we bundled up and took the bus across the Rhone and back to Villeneuve lez Avignon.  I wanted to see the gardens at the Abbey that is within the walls of the Fort Saint Andre.  I confess I didn't go into the Fort, I was much more interested in the gardens.  And even though it is the end of the season, they did not disappoint.

Sorry, the order is all weird, but I'll try and walk you through it.

 The is the 17th Century Abbatial Palace.

Vaults supporting the monastery. 17th Century

This is a view of the Fort Saint Andre that I took a few weeks ago, seen from the Rocher des Domes at the Palais des Papes in Avignon.  The Abbey and gardens are to the right of the two towers.

This pic, because I am hopeless at getting the order of things correct, is the entrance/exit to the gardens seen from within the Abbey walls.

There are olives groves on either side of the pathway leading up to the 11th century chapel built above the cave where Saint Casarie lived.

This is the little 11th century chapel of Saint Casarie, that was restored by Roseline Bacou, who inherited the Abbey of Saint-Andre in 1951.  She moved there permanently in 1991 where she devoted the rest of her life, until her death in 2013, to the continuing restoration of the Abbey, a process that has in fact been going on for over 100 years.  Bacou passed the Abbey on to her two nephews who today continue with the renovations.

This is a view of the Palais des Papes seen from the walls that go around the Fort, and that also encompass the Abbey.

This is a vew of the Colline des Mourges and the Tower of Philippe the Bel, taken during today's walk up to the Abbey.  The last time we came to Villeneuve lez Avignon we walked up and around that opposite part of this lovely little town.

Tomorrow I am going to try and perform the super human task of packing way too much stuff into my suitcase.  I expect I may have to pay extra (and I didn't even buy any books) but so be it!  I will take my extra art supplies and donate them to the art supply store across the road (I know they also give classes there) and so at least I won't be throwing away a large container of gesso, matte medium and so forth.  They  didn't seem to have small containers for purchase and I did need them whilst here....so what's a girl to do....

So, packing tomorrow,  I won't be showing you any pictures of that adventure!!  Then it's off to Paris for three nights.  I know, honestly, how lucky am I????

I'll be back....