Avignon

Where the Golden Hour Unveils Gothic Grandeur and a Touch of Vietnamese Soul

7:30 it was. In Vietnam, it would be dark; here, it is merely late afternoon and the sun is still shining. The heavens is a high blue with lazy white or pink clouds. The place is airy; the air is fresh. Like a small dot of dust in the huge sky and ground.

Now the temperature is far more bearable than the sweltering heat of 36–38°C during the day. Our moods were more relaxed to appreciate the ancient citadel’s magnificence without the stifling heat.

Before us is the palace of the popes; it seems even more grand under the golden light of the late afternoon sun. Designed by Pope Benedict XII in 1334, it was not finished until thirty years later thanks to the work of his predecessors.

For the popes, the 11,000 square meter fortress with its distinct Gothic architecture cost rather a lot of money. Designed by architects Pierre Feysson and Jean du Louvre, this remains the biggest Gothic-style castle in the world until today, with pointed arches and many big windows.

One may observe a golden monument throwing a shadow against the sky just beside the papal palace. Older than the papal residence itself, that is the Virgin Mary monument housed in the basilica.

Built in Romanesque architecture in the 12th century, the basilica was meant to show the might of God. Later it blended with the papal residence nearby. Roman culture previously shaped Avignon; now, Italy still has impact on it. Two languages are used by the residents: French and Italian.

Additionally inscribed in these two languages are the street names.

And I remember Hanoi in the old city of Avignon. Of course in French, simply because some of the streets here bear names like those of some streets in Vietnamese in Hanoi.

We strolled along streets bearing names like Dyer, Silversmith, Fan Street… Too fortuitous. Alternatively were the 36 streets and alleyways of Hanoi named by the people of Avignon during the French colonial period, or did the people of Avignon adopt the names of Hanoi streets and apply them to some of their own streets?

I asked by letter to Mr. Jean Claude Bressieux, an elderly teacher residing close to Avignon. He said it appears several street names in Avignon “come from the merchants, those who practiced such trades and lived there, like the Dyeworkers’ Street, for example.” Regarding the Clock Square, the name comes from the big clock everyone can see there.

Actually, Rue des Teinturiers, where we leased a property during our days in Avignon, has just little restaurants, clearly intended for visitors, not any dyers or fabric stores. The 36 streets and alleyways of old Hanoi are now the same; they are not “original” anymore!

Particularly in the old town, most Avignon residents get their income from tourism. Nevertheless, both old and modern Avignon are like a vast market with somewhat expensive costs. Parisian pricing are far more fair in comparison. Bread in Paris cost two euros at that period; in Avignon, the same weight bread cost three euros.

It was dark already when the small train journey ended. We headed to Thợ Bạc Street as a Vietnamese restaurant called “Sài Gòn” there offered pho, hu tieu, nem lui… Each bowl costs 10 euros, roughly 250,000 dong at Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City; the special bowl of pho is twice the size of a standard bowl here. Too big: my wife and I had to split the pho bowl.

Avignon is also connected to Vietnam for still another reason. Avignon is not only a tourist city with historical monuments but also connected with many famous people, including one affiliated with Vietnam. Born here in 1591, it is Alexandre de Rhodes.

Published in the Vatican in 1651, this Jesuit priest gathered the “Vietnamese-Portuguese-Latin Dictionary”. Though he was not the one who totally produced Vietnamese transcription. But with that dictionary, he improved and standardized the transcription of Vietnamese – that is, Quốc ngữ – using the Latin alphabet.

He died in Ispahan, Persia (now Iran) in 1660 and was buried there.