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.