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At the end of our seven nights of telescope time, we’d had five and half clear nights – not bad going for February. Satisfied, we packed up and headed for Avignon to catch the train back to London. I wondered if I would ever be back here again.

We got to Avignon with some time to kill, and a few of us visited the Palais des Papes. From the windows of the lavish former residence of the popes, there were good views over the river, the bridge and the city. It was a warm day, much warmer here than at the observatory, 600m above sea level. We knew that back in London it would be cold again, and so we reluctantly boarded the TGV to Lille, and headed home. It had been a very successful trip.