Fountain la Vacluse

Did you ever come upon a town that was so nice you wondered how you had never heard of it? Fountain la Vacluse was like that. We started the day with a lovely picnic beside the fast-flowing Vacluse River. It's one of those clear, fresh waters that just invites one to sit. The WaterWheel attested to the river's history and usefulness. We also saw poles hanging above a section that we guessed was a course for kayak racing.
The town is full of restaurants and tourist boutiques as well as the well-deserved ice cream and slushies which we needed after our hike up to the castle.

The castle sits high above the town. Luckily friends had told us you could climb up to the castle. Good thing as there were absolutely NO signs to guide you. The Catalina flag flies over it which I always think is Spanish but flies over the SW of France too. The castle is actually just a ruin but was fun to use our imagination and wonder which room held the feasts and who might actually attend them. What battles were fought?

Le Grotte de Madeleine

In the gorges there were lots of caves. On a hot day it is a great place to go. The caves were well displayed with lights and the guide did a good job in English so that everyone could oooh and ahhh at the right moments. As caves go these were spectacular both in the formations and the different colors. The formations there were considered the "best in the world". The drapes of calcified (is that the word?) rock were huge.

The Gorges

The Ardèche is a very outdoorsy area. Kayaking and cycling are the 2 main sports. We went down the river a 2nd time. This time it was just the 4 of us. We were able to start from the top and go 6 km to the first take out spot. To go the other 2 distance you either had to start very early or plan on camping on the way. The youngest person allowed to go in a rental kayak was 7 so now if you ask Sam how old he is he says....in France I'm 7!

It was much more crowded with much less water so it was a different trip. And hot so taking a dip in the river was a welcome pleasure. From the photos you can see how deep the gorge is and then there is a view of the most famous feature the Pont d'Arc from the upstream and downstream side. I tried to catch the crowd of boats going down this river in the middle photo.

Lavender

When we arrived in May this was what fields of lavender looked like. I took this photo on the way home from a hike up to the Dent de Rez. I didn't realize that I would return to take a photo every month.

As we drove to our various destinations in early June we started to notice the purple haze on the fields.

Finally as we were packing up to leave the Ardèche the full impact of the lavender in this region was evident. As one looked over the surrounding hills it was a patchwork quilt of vineyards that continue to be green and the purple, blue and hues in-between of lavender.

Poppies

In Spring it was the Poppies that I fell in love with. And I must admit they still are my favourite. They are ubiquitous yet unique. Maybe it's all those Impressionists paintings that have enhanced their popularity.
They grow along the road sides and in the wheat fields. I wonder if the poppies make the wheat better or not. Once the wheat starts to turn golden the poppy's season is also over.

Boules Tournament

The older kids participated in a Boules Tournament sponsored by the "Over 50's"; although it looked to me like most members could have joined the "Over 70s" club. Each child was paired up with a clubmember and they played a round robin in the school yard. I have to say that Boules is a very fun game that every age can enjoy. The classic gravel/stone/sand surface exists in every hamlet and town. We have had a few games that have thrilled us by not always winning when we expected to and winning when we didn't. The couchonet - little pig - is the key target. It's a little ball about 1/3 the size of the balls of play. Buying extra couchonet or making-do with a pine cone was sometimes necessary. Josette was a member of the club. She was our lifesaver on several occasions as she organizes the house we rented. She knew the plumber and the electrician's phone number when each was needed!

The Larnas School

The school at Larnas was one classroom in this building. Across the road was a field full of goats; Down the road about 100 meters was an 11th century church. The school held the Kindergarten, first grade and second grade in one classroom with one teacher and an assistant. The kids took a bus to the school in the morning, back to St. Vincent (about 5 km) for lunch and at the end of the day.

The play ground was a small courtyard but the boys still managed to play soccer there EVERY chance they got. There's Sam with his red jacket in the thick of it. The kids did get one recess in a grassy area across from the church. They had a little walk to get there but it was worth it for the swings and grass field.

Sam and Claire were part of the Kindergarten class. Here's Claire holding Ouria's hand on the way back from their 'green' recess.

At their campout they did some water colour of their interpretation of the gorge at Ardeche. Sam is standing proudly under his.

Just a quick look at their classroom. Annie and Madeleine enjoyed the Open House to view their siblings artwork and displays of what they had been learning.

The DADS

Just in case you think that it's the moms & kids that have all the fun living the high life in France. There is some fun being had in Bellevue too. Here are Dan and Ron preparing for a sail on lovely Lake Washington!

A Chance Meeting

Ok so this may not be very exciting to all of you but it was the "law of coincidences"that got me so I had to report this.

Elisabeth, shown here, our dear friend from Paris is working much too much for the French arm of the World Cup of Rugby. She was "forced" to go to a team building exercise a bus ride from Grenoble. She has already been working 70+ hours per week and this involved being away until late Saturday night.

Ron was flying from Seattle to London, TGV via Lille to Lyon where he was going to arrive 10 minutes after the rental place closed. So I volunteered to take the 2 hour train from Pierrelatte so that we could get the rental that we wanted. Sam decided he wanted to come with me although later he wondered why as we had to do a lot of waiting.

We disembarked last from the train as we had lots of time to kill and this was the trains last stop. I looked left, looked right and looked left again. Why? Because something I saw wasn't right OR in fact, was very right but so hard to believe. If I had been 30 seconds earlier or later I would have missed Elisabeth. What were the chances?

Elisabeth told me that it was just a chance she was on the platform as her train didn't go for another half hour but she had decided against a drink with her friends. Instead we had a lovely, unexpected chat for 30 minutes. At which time Sam was so bored we had to gros bisous et partir!

Pont du Gard

This week on our Wednesday - NO School Day - we went southwest about an hour and saw the 5th most visited site in France. It is an amazing 3-tiered aqueduct that was built almost 2,000 years ago by the Romans to carry water to their city of Nîmes. The museum emphasizes how much the Romans liked their water with their public baths, flush toilets and associated transportation. I also thought the Kid's Museum was one of the best but maybe I'm not kid enough to judge. There was a goofy film too.

It was a very hot day so once we had done the museum we actually saw the incredible structure. And the swimming was great. There were rapids. The current was quite strong.

There was also a float in the middle of the river just below the Pont that I am guessing was put there to add an attraction beyond jumping off the Pont and the cliffs.

People continue to jump and with no respect to how far the jump is. You can see that the floats were very entertaining too.

The kids saw where different trades had carved their initials in the rock. As well they had taken enough history to appreciate that the Romans had ruled a large empire.

The end of the day. You can see the grandeur of the bridge. The stones butting out were left by the engineers for maintenance. The artists didn't get a vote.

But this photographer tried to get a different parting shot.

Carcassonne

This incredible walled town dates to the 12th century and before. It was recreated in the 1830's amid lots of controversy. "Was the architect true to the times". Probably the best money the town ever spent as now it's a huge tourist mecca. So photogenic that one understands well why all the people come. The double wall around the city and the Castle are amazing. The history involves Muslims and Christians. One thinks of France as so catholic and yet there was/is lots of protestant and other religious strife too.

The audio guide kept the kids and adults interested and informed but also lead to frustration as each mom had to find their own key as well as 2 kids. It was ok. Luckily the Castle is pretty wide-open and we got there early so there was no fear of us disturbing the true historians. We'll see, a month from now, what we all remember of the Carcas!

The streets were full of touristy stores both in keeping with the theme of medieval town and NOT. Candy stores abounded as did ice cream ones. So we spent our obligatory amounts and enjoyed the sensation. As well we did the train circuit of the town. A bit of a waste as the inside streets are so narrow, no train, let alone all the cars allow can pass through them.

So the ride was outside the city walls and through the Base Village. Thought it would be fun...wasn't. The Avignon town train is much better.

And Finally the swords, medieval armour, masks, guns, dragons and paraphernalia had this 6 year old mesmerised. How does a mom explain that no he cannot buy a 20" steel shafted sword without sounding like an ogre? Imagine the airlines reaction trying to explain that carry on item.

My dad used to have a letter opener in the shape of a sword so the concession was to advice that he could probably inherit that sword! But now I'm being bugged everyday whether Nana has sent the sword or not. Sam does have the largest sword collection that I know of. For all of technology though I'm kind of glad that a sword still thrills him.

The Youth Hostel/Auberege de Jeunesse

This Auberge has got to take the prize for the best location. It is just beside the Castle. And it's had this prime real estate for many years. Jean stayed her 24 years ago!

The price was right while staying within the walls of the medieval city was incredible. We were so close to the castle that at opening time we were the first to enter. The room was 3 sets of bunk beds with 2 sinks and a shower room.

The bathroom being down the hall while not convenient wasn't a big deal except when Sam got locked in. French toilets are located behind floor to ceiling door so there's no climbing under. I had a few anxious minutes but good old Sam was cool-as-a-cucumber. Guess he's not a claustrophobiac!

The Magician

This guy had a way! He first appeared at the Hostel where we stayed. Walked into the lobby and had the kids mezmerised. He had that personality that just drew you in and sly smile that made you wonder what mischief he was up to. Have you ever seen kids so enraptured. He had them eating out of his hand. The trouble is I think Madeleine actually figured out a couple of his tricks which takes all the fun out of it. She was really watching!

He had the perfect head for a crystal ball too. He could walk perfectly normally with it balanced on his head.

La Dauphiné

Today we went to the market in Nyons..great market. We chose today as it was the day that the Dauphiné comes closest to us. The Dauphiné is a minor Tour de France, I think. I'm not enough of a follower of sports to really define it. Basically it's a bike race that takes place over a number of days by a group of 150 world class cyclists.

For the spectator, it is a lot of waiting then the leaders, some more waiting and the huge group of riders. The waiting is punctuated with gendarmes on motorcycles, gendarmes in cars, team cars with bicycles on top, team cars, official cars and other cars. You really see riders for less than 1 minute and then more cars!

We arrived in Chamaret about 1:30 p.m. thinking the riders would come through between 2 and 2:20... It was more like 2:45. Windier than they expected maybe and to think they still had to get to Mt. Ventaux. We were going to go to Grignan but it felt like we would be following the race instead of meeting it. So we found this crossroads of a village. The gendarmes wouldn't have let us through if we wanted to go ...luckily this was where we were happy to be. Nice police...they explained to us what was happening in nice, slow French. Then made sure we understood and that we wouldn't drive the car until five minutes after the last car passed. We were double checking on what the "last car" would look like and they smiled and said "We'll come and tell you when you can leave". And true to their word...as we sat in our car, they came back and told us "you can leave in 5 minutes".

The yellow jersey, Vinokourov would not be maintained today. #11 Moreau won it. This group at this point is 11 minutes behind the first 4 riders.

There wasn't a huge crowd and one young guy offered to be our interpreter. They were friendly and we chatted a bit in pretty simple french. Fun event to have found even if there was more waiting than seeing!

Markets and Shopping

Isn't this the classic French photo? A bicycle with a bagette attached. We saw this on one of our first Market days. It was Suze la Rousse where there is..of all things...a Univerisity of Wine. And for all you chemical engineers they had identified the chemical that, for example, made wine taste or smell like melon. They had a sniffing bar too! Some markets really are just fruit, vegetables, meat, cheese and fish. Those are the small ones with a "mattress salesman" thrown in for interest?!

The big markets are all the household goods you could want from local specialities like tableclothes in Provence, olive wood handicrafts to junk toys that some guy imported cheaply from China.

These are the really interesting booths. We realize how limited we are in the US for REAL choice. There was one meat vendor who had so many types of saucissons that I would never be able to choose....just "donnez-moi trois".

We have made friends of some of the Vendors. We see them on Tuesday in Viviers and Friday in Pierrelatte. For me, it's the best. The chance to talk french and find out more about their lives. This guy sells meat just for the joy of getting out and going to markets. We've met him several times and have now exchanged phone numbers if we need him to help us helpless American women!
On that first holiday..a Wednesday in May..quelle surprise every week in May has a holiday, when we could find NOTHING open to buy basic groceries, we were befriended by a wine guy in Bourg. He happened to own the restaurant next door so sold us some of his bread. That's happened 2 or 3 times. Proof that the french are extremely generous souls for the most part.

The wine here is local Côte de Rhône and we like it. But I haven't found many wines I don't like!

Another day, another store. Madeleine threw this beret on and it was so classic French little girl that I couldn't resist..taking the photo!..No I didn't buy the beret!