LightCentric Photography Blog: 18 Days In France - A New Adventure

Avignon, France
Copyright Andy Richards 2026 - All Rights Reserved

THIS TIME it was a river cruise - our first. Because we travel a lot these days, much of this blog is devoted to photos of our trips. Because those travels often involve cruises, coaches, and daytime excursions, the photographs are not always made in ideal conditions. But when you are someplace worth seeing, it still motivates me to make some memories. I made a few on this trip.

Nothing really much to look at in daylight, the Ferris Wheel was a pretty spectacular view from the top deck of our cruise ship at anchor in Avignon
Copyright Andy Richards 2026 - All Rights Reserved

THE ITINERARY was two back-to-back cruises on different Viking River Boats; one in Southern France along the Rhone River, and another on the Seine River, from Paris to Normandy and back. Back in college, I took courses in both European History and Art Appreciation. There was a healthy dose of both in this 18-day visit to France.

Lock and Hydro-power complex on the Rhone River (the railings are on our cruise ship)
Copyright Andy Richards 2026 - All Rights Reserved

THE RHONE River cruise began in Avignon and sailed up the river to Lyon. The headwaters of the Rhone are the Rhone Glacier in the Swiss Alps. The river is perhaps France's most powerful, and today is very different from its historical condition. Always a difficult waterway for navigation, its strong current and a wind condition the French call the "Mistral Winds" exacerbate the difficulty. Indeed, its very name, "Rhone," was given by early Gauls and means "rolling" or "running" current. In the early 20th century, France took on major project, constructing a series of 12 Locks between Arles and Lyon; 11 of them are also the sites of large hydroelectric power plants. The whole Rhone hydropower complex supplies 20% of France's electric power. The locks are a feat of engineering to behold and move ships up and down anywhere from about 20 feet to nearly 100 feet at its deepest lock! Most of them are just wide enough for our river cruise ship.

Actually moored across the Rhone from our Viking Ship, the smartass in me couldn't help sending this image to a couple of my cruising friends and suggesting it would be our floating home for the next week 😁
Copyright Andy Richards 2026 - All Rights Reserved

THE HEADWATERS of the Rhone is actually a glacier (The Rhone Glacier) in the Swiss Alps. From there it runs to Lyon, where the Saone River (originating some 300 miles north in the French Alps) joins it. The primary navigation route for River Cruises is the Rhone, from that confluence in Lyon south to Arles, near the mouth of the Rhone and the Mediterranean. The Rhone river has a bar at its southern end, just south of Arles, that is not navigable, and a shipping channel has been constructed, for shipping to access points south of Arles to the sea. The 12 locks are between Lyon and the canal.

Just steps away from our Avignon Hotel - the carousel on Place de l'Horloge is a center attraction - more spectacular when lit at dusk, with the famous clock tower in the background - Avignon, France
Copyright Andy Richards 2026 - All Rights Reserved

AS IS our general practice, we arrived in our embarkation cruise port city a couple days before our scheduled boarding and departure. As seems to be common these days, our trip over was a bit of an adventure. My travel logistics expert wife, had booked us flights from our nearby airport (Tampa - TPA) through Detroit and eventually to Paris' Charles de Gaulle (CDG). From there we had to find our way to the train to Avignon, which we had also pre-booked and paid for. Unfortunately, our international flight out of Detroit was delayed by nearly 2 hours, making our train connection impossible. We wouldn't know for sure what we would do or where we would spend our first night in France until we got there.

Handkerchiefs (a variation on the popular umbrella streets around the world) - Avignon, France
Copyright Andy Richards 2026 - All Rights Reserved

TRAINS ARE are major thing in Europe. I have always found it intriguing that they haven't endured in the U.S. We are, of course, the most "automobile-centric" country in the world, and with advent of air travel, train travel seems to have mostly gone away (with the possible exception of a single corridor alone the mid-south atlantic coast). In Europe, travel by train is common and can be relatively inexpensive. It can also be comfortable (though not always) and convenient. In the major cities (like Paris, though we also discovered this to be true in Barcelona, Lisbon, Porto and London) there are often multiple train stations. Because of the European Union's new EES system (we had read that the rollout has been rocky, often causing multiple-hour delays in processing travelers through customs) we had paid for an escort service through customs. That worked well and we got through quickly and our escort took us all the way to the CDG Train Ticketing Office, where we learned (to our relief) that we could simply change our tickets to a later train - at no cost). From there, we were directed to take the "city train" (really a subway) to the Gare Lyon (the train station in Paris where we would catch our express train to Avignon). Now that we have done it a couple times, we understand the system and it really is pretty easy once you get it down. But of course, the language issue is the biggest factor. We were in France, so predictably, everything was in French. We knew maybe 5 words of French 😓

I need to make more train photos - the best I could do right now was this shot in the Sao Bento Train Station in Porto, Portugal. But it illustrates the point that trains are ubiquitous in Europe
Copyright Andy Richards 2022 All Rights Reserved

WE GOT lucky. Finding the train toward Gare Lyon was easy enough and because CDG was a termination point, the train was almost empty (that would change). As we boarded with our luggage, however, I started to look at the train map. I didn't yet understand the system and was not crystal clear on where we needed to get off. There were many stops before Gare Lyon. As I studied the map, a lady obviously French, but in excellent English) asked me if I needed help and where I was headed. Long story short, she was headed to Gare Lyon herself and she said just get off when I do. By the time we arrived at Gare Lyon, the train was packed - standing room only and we were separated by a couple seats. But at the preceeding station she rose and made sure both of us knew it was the next stop. We somehow made it off the car and onto the platform and then our new friend decided she would be our escort (her train left about 20 mins after ours) and she explained the system to us and sat in a restaurant with us where we had a bite to eat and a drink. She was delightful and friendly and walked us right to our platform before saying goodbye. Thank you to her!

Avignon, France
Copyright Andy Richards 2026 - All Rights Reserved

WE HAD an assigned car and seats and our train was direct (no stops) to Avignon. We arrived late afternoon and easily found the taxi stand. Our Avignon hotel was only 5 minutes from the station and we were able to check in and get situated. We would have the evening and 2 more days to explore. Our Hotel - it turns out - was right in the middle of the old city. That made it easy for me to get out and explore the Medieval/Rennaissance town which was, for nearly 100 years, the center of Christianity in Europe (more on that below).

Avignon City Hall - Place de l'Horloge -Avignon, France
I wasn't able to get the perspective I wanted on this - showing the Avignon Coat of Arms because of tables of the sidewalk cafes, and people wandering around, so I made a composite to show what it might look like had I been able to get back and close to the ground at the Coat of Arms. Also, note that this 19th Century, Neoclassical building is designated "H'otel de Ville." In French, "H'otel" can have several different meanings; one of which is a municipal building.
Copyright Andy Richards 2026 - All Rights Reserved

TO MY good fortune, I found that two of the major attractions in Avignon were just a 5 minute walk from the front door of our hotel, through what is perhaps the main square in the old town. The square, know as the Place de l'Horloge ("Clock Tower Square"), is formed by some significant and historical buildings flanking either side of the square. In the center, there are numerous "sidewalk cafe" style restaurants and at the northern end is a large, ornate carousel, making for a pretty touristy spot, but nonethelss charming and - for my purposes - photogenic.

Palais de Papes (Palace of The Popes) - Avignon, France
Copyright Andy Richards 2026 - All Rights Reserved

JUST BEYOND the square and the carousel, and backed up to the Place de l'Horloge, is the Palais de Papes ("Palace of the Popes"). Said to be the largest such palace in the world, the complex holds the palace itself (which dominates its own square), the adjacent, Romanesque Avignon Cathedral Cathédrale Notre-Dame des Doms d'Avignon) and other essentially "governmental" buildings (e.g., papal treasury), attendant to what was the kingdom of the Catholic Church (Avignon and surrounds) for nearly three quarters of a century during the early 12th Century. Pope Clement V moved the papacy to Avignon, where it remained for 7 successive Popes, until Gregory XI returned it to Rome at the end of his reign. For that period the church acquired and owned surround lands, imposed taxes on its inhabitants, and tolls and other fees on travelers, greatly increasing its wealth. I wandered around there on my first morning, and then again a few days later, when our cruise ship tour took us back there.

Basilique san Pierre (St. Peter's Basillica) adjacent to the Popes Palace - Avignon, France
Copyright Andy Richards 2026 - All Rights Reserved

ADJACENT TO the Popes' Palace, stands the originally 7th Century, Gothic, St. Peter's Basilica, which was rebuilt in the early 14th Century, and elevated to the status of Basilica only during the reign of Pope Benedict in the current century. Nonethless, it is an imposing piece of architecture.

St. Benezet Bridge (Bridge of Avignon) - Avignon, Franc
Copyright Andy Richards 2026 - All Rights Reserved

A FEW short steps beyond the Palais de Papes, you reach the river, and the remains of a historically significant and important bridge: The Saint Benezet Bridge. Originally built at the beginning of the 10th Century, the bridge was the only means (other than treacherous crossings by boat) to cross the Rhone from the west bank (French territory) to Avignon. In the early 11th Century, the French King, Louis VIII laid seige on Avignon, and the bridge was substantially destroyed. Rebuilt a few years later, by the 17 Century, Avignon no longer had the economic means to maintain the bridge and a series of strong floods over a period of years destroyed most of the arches. What remains today has been designated as a UNESCO Heritage Site. I arrived before the morning sun rose too high and found some nice lighting on the structure. I think it is a photogenic spot. The bridge is also famous for the little ditty that French children learn very young; and which has been translated to English and also taught to us here in the U.S. as young children, about dancing on the bridge. In reality, it is likely that any dance was actually done under the bridge, where at one time way back in history, and Inn stood.

Saint Benezet Bridge (Bridge of Avignon) - Avignon, France
Copyright Andy Richards 2026 - All Rights Reserved

IN THE opposite direction from our hotel, in a couple short blocks south along the Rue de la Republic (a main street in old Avignon), you reach the Saint Didier Cathedral, and Place you reach a pretty, tranquil park with lots of space for sitting and just enjoying a nice day (Square Agricol Perdiguier).

Square Agricol Perdiguier - Steeple of Saint Didier Cathedral in the Background - Avignon, France
Copyright Andy Richards 2026 - All Rights Reserved

BEHIND THE square and to the east, there is another stately Gothic Church (St. Didier). Just beyond the church is another small, but lively square: La Place Didier. Our Hotel attendant directed us there for a nice place to have dinner outdoors on our first night.

The little street cafe we ate at on our first night
La Place Saint Didier - Avignon, France
Copyright Andy Richards 2026 - All Rights Reserved

THE NEXT morning, I walked a loop around that area and back up a couple of the quiet, side streets, on my way back to the Hotel. I generally enjoy these wanderings. I find stuff to shoot that isn't really anything about anything that I know about. But there are just some subjects and scenes that draw my eye. Without labeling them as such, it might be hard to know they are images of Avignon.

I FOUND this little cafe just a few steps up the street, before I reached the Clock Tower Square. It became my morning routine to sit here and have a cappuchino.

ON OUR last night in Avignon before boarding our Cruise Ship, the weather was gorgeous and we felt the urge to spend one more evening outdoors, sipping a drink (and in my case, puffing on a nice cigar). We wandered into this neighborhood setting and had the perfect ending to our short, but delightful stay in Avignon. I would go back for sure!

WE WERE scheduled to board the first of our Viking Ships, The Viking Lofn the following day. Viking wasn't very forthcoming (IMO) about its boarding process (saying "around" 12:00), and we were to be out of our hotel by 9:00 a.m.
We weren't weren't thrilled about the hotel's process for holding bags (very insecure), so we decided to "go for broke" and just head over to the cruise port. We hired a taxi to drive us the very short distance to the cruise port. After walking aound Avignon for several days, I realized that the port was probably about a 10 - minute walk from the hotel. But with luggage, it would have been a long 10 minutes! Most of our trip would be north - upriver - but there was one nearby, "not-to-miss" town that was a few miles south: Arles). The itinerary called for us to sail south to Arles that evening, and then back to Avignon the next day for an additional day in Avignon. However, due to mechanical issues, we were unable to sail that evening. Instead, we stayed at our mooring in Avignon and additional day, and we were bussed to Arles the next morning. A short ride and no big deal. Glad we didn't miss Arles altogether (but more on that next).

FOR NOW, we settled in on the Lofn. We were early, but they boarded us and we were among the first to board. Exploring the ship took all of about 5 minutes. Compared to any ocean cruise ship we have been on, riverboats are tiny! They had a nice buffet lunch for early boarders/late disembarkers, and I discovered the cigar smoking area and started things off right!

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Saturday, August 22, 2026

18 Days In France - A New Adventure - Avignon

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