Provence

Our drive over from Carcassonne we visited the Pont du Gard, the second highest existing Roman structure (#1 is the Coliseum in Rome, which is just 6 feet higher). This bridge was part of a 30 mile long aquaduct that carried 9 million gallons of water per day to Nimes. Given that it was built almost 2000 years ago in the middle of the first century, it's condition and scale are remarkable. It was a hot day when we visited, and the water looked extremely inviting - the river was clear and not muddy like the Dordogne and Loire had been.

By the way, speaking of Nimes trivia, the word "denim" comes from Nimes - the people who made that blue jean material were from Nimes, or "d'Nimes" in French.

We spent the night in a really relaxing hotel in Fontvieville, near Arles. This place had everything for kids (and adults), including a nice big pool, and huge sized chess set. Luckily for me - actually for the kids - my baggy American swimsuit is acceptable at hotel pools. If this were a public pool though, I would be forced to adopt the tight European style. We stopped to shop for swimsuits, and I nearly bought one just to embarrass Marie totally.

We've been sticking mainly to bistros, but this hotel had a restaurant so we went a bit more upscale. Trish seems to be grooving on the duck dishes over here. Noelle once again found a way to order plain noodles, even at this fancier eatery.

Saturday we drove towards our villa, with a stop at the Cathedrale d'Images near Les Baux, which turned out to be an unexpectedly amazing experience. Basically this is an old underground stone quarry. Given that nature of the remains of the quarry, with vertical white walls several stories high, they have adapted this space for multimedia shows. In our case, this was on Vincent Van Gogh's paintings. Stepping into this was like stepping right into this paintings. Whole and parts of various paintings were projected on the walls and floor as a soundtrack played (amazing acoustics in this space). The layout of the walls is more interesting than just one big open space, and they used this so that depending on where in this large cavern you stood, you would get a different view of a different set of projections. Beyond that it is tough to describe, but it was a truly special experience for Trish, I and Sophie (not so much for Marie and Noelle, who said it was too cold and vamoosed in just a few minutes).

Since we've been at the villa (arrived Saturday) we've slowed down on the sightseeing a bit to relax and enjoy the place. Although we have really enjoyed the food here, being able to have a small meal at home and not spend 2-3 hours and 90 euros eating supper is sort of a nice change of pace. There's a wonderful bakery just a block or two away were Marie goes to get us our baguettes and other pastries each morning.

We visited the very crowded Sunday market in Isle-sur-la-Sorge, a neat little town formed where the Sorgue River splits into a bunch of different branches, with the effect that you have several small rivers running through town, giving it a slightly Venetian feel.

Monday we took in Avignon. Parts of the town we walked through were a little too urban-feeling for me, probably given the small towns we had been frequenting, but that changed once we got to the main streets with the shops and to the Papal Palace area. The Pope, Clement V from Bordeaux, moved the papacy here for 80 years or so starting from 1350 (actually for the last bunch of those years there were two popes, one in Avignon and one in Rome). The Palace was quite an impressive structure, also a little bare on the inside, so one had to use a combination of audioguide and imagination to figure out what it was like back then. Avignon was Marie's favorite town when she visited France with her school group a year ago, and she enjoyed returning. We of course took in the Bridge at Avignon, the subject of the famous children's song. This was the only bridge over the Rhone during the Middle Ages, which is part of what made it and Avignon so strategically important. Now the part of the bridge that's left goes about 2/3 of the way across the river. Music boxes with the tune are omnipresent at gift shops and it takes a minimum of 12 hours to get the tune out of your head.

I got the chance to take the bike out the last couple of days. Despite the same narrow roads as other parts of France, there are a few more bikes on the road and there is generally lighter traffic, so it's a little less worrisome. Oddly enough I find the really small roads - the bi-directional 1 1/4 lane jobs - feel safer than the 2 lane roads, because cars cannot try and get by a bike and a car going the other way at the same time - it's just too narrow, even if the bike wasn't there. Not so the case on the two laners, where some drivers have no problem trying to fit themselves, a car going the the other way, and yours truly on a bike on the same road, despite a total lack of shoulder. Still, the peaceful rides through the vineyards, up country roads and into the hills makes it worth it. Like hiking, cycling is a way to really get a feel for the land - the sounds, the temperatures, the elevation changes, the details, that one zips by in a car.

We'll be doing a few other day trips this week, but we're not sure what those will be yet - we're just taking it easy.



Pete at the Pont du Gard - the water actually ran over the bridge in a tunnel at the very top of the bridge

Trish and Sophie at the Pont du Gard

Noelle and Marie watch the cute and stupid boys cliff-dive into the river at the Pont du Gard. Some people have actually jumped from the bridge into the river, but it's windy enough that belly flops happen, and from that height that's very bad news.

The Cathedrale d'Images, amazing multimedia show inside an old stone quarry

The girls at an external part of the Cathedrale d'Images quarry, just to give you the sense of scale of the place

The town of Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, with the branches of the river running all through town and multitudes of riverside restaurants - also the biggest market in Provence on Sunday mornings

Marie and Noelle on the carousel in Avignon

Marie and Sophie inside the Papal Palace - the main chapelle

Sophie, Marie, and Tarrence the elephant on the Bridge at Avignon - this isn't the best place to bring little kids as those railings behind the girls are all that's between them and a 30 foot drop into the Rhone River. Europe, the land without lawyers. Although you need to be on guard a bit more here, it's refreshing to be in a place where you're expected to use common sense and not be protected from every possible harm.

Pete and the girls cooling off in the pool in the yard of the villa

The one and only actual bike lane I've seen in France, about 2 km worth on the climb into Gordes, Provence.