Mediterranean Traditions: June 30th at the Rhone American Cemetery and the Papal Palace

Today was a day of history!

We drove on the first leg of our coach ride to the town of Draguignan. to the Rhone American Memorial Cemetery. We met Bruce Malone, the superintendent of the cemetery and memorial. He's retired from the army...originally from Pennsylvania...and has lived in Draguignan for about 18 months now. He's working on his second masters...this one in military history.

He gave us a 'tour'...unlike any tour I've ever been on. His way of doing this was to tell us the stories of different soldiers...stories he had researched or heard from family members. It made the entire experience come alive for our students...made it so much more personal. At Rhone, there are 861 American soldiers buried who were killed in WWII. The white crosses are marble, like the ones at Arlington National Cemetery...and others.

Back on the coach, we headed toward Avignon. What a great little town! Provence...the region of Provence...known for it's lavender...beautiful lavender! When we first arrived, we went straight to lunch (we were s-t-a-r-v-i-n-g) in a very quaint little restaurant. Amir said he felt very 'french'...that this restaurant was his image of the typical french restaurant. (The food was delicious too...a quiche or a frittata)

Sweet little restaurant in Avignon... 'Little' is the key word! Amir said he felt very French here...that this was his image of a typical French restaurant.

From lunch, we headed to the Papal Palace ... the Palais des Papes ... I had never even heard of this incredible place! The Papal Palace was built between 1335 and 1352 mostly by Pope Benedict XII and Pope Clement VI. During the 14th century, 9 popes lived there which made this the center of Christianity.

This window is where the popes used to give their welcomes...

Since 1947, the courtyard has hosted performances for Avignon's Theatre Festival. This year starts July 5th. This is one of the main venues because the acoustics are perfect. In case you want to go to ths festival...it costs 20 euros. The Papal Palace is also the biggest Gothic palace in all of Europe...and it's also one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

After our audio tour of the Palace (everyone could go at their own pace with an audio guide), we had about an hour and a half of free time...free time to explore the sweet city of Avignon...