I’ve been in Avignon for several weeks now, going for walks most days, studying some French, hiding from the late afternoon sun sometimes and generally keeping ‘busy’.

Everyday that I go into the city centre I walk along Avenue Saint-Ruf, through Porte Saint-Michel and along Rue Saint-Michel towards Les Halles or Place de l’Horloge, depending on the ‘mission’. Today I was trying to find some minced beef, similar to what I would be able to buy in many shops in Australia, there was not much joy so in the end I bought some small patties that I could pull apart to make the basis for tonight’s dinner.

I had also decided that today I was going to practice my French and get a haircut. Having done the ‘gathering’ bit (there was certainly not much hunting involved) I stopped at J-L Gauthier, an artisanal coiffeur. It was clear from the start that my French was going to be inadequate, but we established that a) a good trim was in order, b) that I was from Australia, and c) that I should sit in the chair. Monsieur G worked away with various pairs of scissors, copious amounts of hair fell to the floor, and the new me emerged, looking much more presentable.

All for what I thought was a very reasonable €18 …

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