Château des Baux de Provence

After lunch we drove to Châtau des Baux de Provence, a fortified castle built during the 10th century.  As we drove, suddenly some rocky mountains appeared.  These are the Alpilles (little Alps).  This photo is taken from above and makes the mountains look smaller than they really are. 

 Wikipedia says:

Although already inhabited in the Bronze Age, Les Baux-de-Provence did not really start growing until the medieval period. Built in the 10th century, the fortress and the small town it protects were ruled by the lords of Baux for five hundred years, in the thick of the ceaseless conflicts that ravaged Provence.
But it was also at Les Baux that the most famous minstrels and troubadours of the day sang songs of courtly love to the maidens of the House of Les Baux.
In the 15th century, the lords of Baux were superseded by the barons of the Masons des Comtes de Provence. This was a golden age for the Château, before it came under the control of the kings of France.
From the 16th century on, family feuds and wars of religion brought on the decline of the town until the fortress was pulled down in 1633 on the orders of Louis XIII.

 The medieval village is now filled with souvenir shops and restaurants.  It is a steep, charming walk on cobble stoned streets to reach the château.

 When you reach the top of the village and the château, there are beautiful views in every direction. 

 

There is a lot going on at the castle.  We watched part of a jousting match before watching the catapult demonstration.

This area at the foot of the castle was used for servants and workshops.

 While putting Lillian into the stocks, Pierre managed to give her a good clunk on the head.  Even in the stocks and with a bump on her head, she is still smiling.  

We climbed to the top of one of the towers.  The stairs were very worn from the steps of so many over so many years.  It was super windy--as you can see from the flag.

 

There was a fabulous catapult demonstrations.  The demonstrators were in medieval costumes and got the audience involved.  When they needed help cranking down one of the levers, which involved hard labor, they called for volunteers and some eager men got more of a workout than they were expecting.  They catapulted enormous balloons full of water or white powder.  The last and most powerful catapult sent it right over the edge!

Pierre had checked out a coffee table book from our library called Les Plus Beaux Villages de France .  Baux de Provence was among in the book and it was truly lovely.

Lots of beautiful flowers along the side of the road.  Here are some poppies near where we parked.

Pont du Gard

 

We walked to the Pont du Gard from our hotel.  Along the path were lots of flowers and the sun was shining.  There is a brand new museum with a great kids' area and then you take a lovely stroll to the actual aqueduct.  I was awe struck by the history, by the setting, and by the aqueduct itself.

 This is the tallest aqueduct in the Roman world.  Built in a mere 5 years!

 According to the Pont du Gard pamphlet:

Almost 2,000 years ago, this magnificent structure, inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1985, supplied the citizens of Nîmes with running water throughout five centuries.  Its stature; perfect preservation and soaring arches make the Pont du Gard the greates bridge ever built in Classical Times

(360 meters long, 50 meters high, on 3 levels). 

Pont du Gard models

 There is a lot of activity around the Pont du Gard; local residents walk and picnic, canoes and kayaks drift down the river, kids wade in the river, and there are lots of hiking trails.

 Our girls joined right in throwing rocks and wading into the river.

 No one got wetter than this happy puppy.

I highly recommend a trip to the Pont du Gard.

The museum (coming up) is also fantastic.

Le Pont D'Avignon and Le Palais des Pâpes

Before arriving at the bridge, we bumped into our NYC friends from school in Paris.  We knew that they had taken the same train trip a few days before.  The kids decided that a celebratory ice cream was in order.  Our friends warned us that the railings on the Pont d'Avignon  were a bit sketchy.

 These are not the railings I am talking about.

 Indeed just one monkey bar move or stumble and you would be in the Rhone or on the road, which the bridge also crosses.  There were many nervous adults clutching the hands of angry children.  I just read that France may soon adopt class action law suits.  I may join the traumatized parents sur le Pont d'Avignon.  Seriously, those railings need some work.

There are two chapels on what is left of the bridge.  The bridge is also called Pont Saint-Bénezet. 

According to Wikipedia:

The bridge's construction was inspired by Saint Bénézet, a local shepherd boy who (according to tradition) was commanded by angels to build a bridge across the river. Although he was ridiculed at first, he dramatically "proved" his divine inspiration by miraculously lifting a huge block of stone. He won support for his project from wealthy sponsors who formed themselves into a Bridge Brotherhood to fund its construction. After his death, he was interred on the bridge itself, in a small chapel standing on one of the bridge's surviving piers on the Avignon side.

 

The bridge spanned the Rhône River between Avignon and Villeneuve-lès-Avignon on the right bank. It was built between 1177 and 1185.  The bridge was damaged during the siege of Avignon by Louis VIII of France in 1226 but beginning in 1234 the bridge was rebuilt. The arches of the bridge often collapsed during floods and had to be rebuilt.

 

The bridge fell into a state of disrepair during the 17th century. By 1644 it was missing 4 arches and finally a catastrophic flood in 1669 swept away much of the structure. Since then, its surviving arches have successively collapsed or been demolished, and only four of the initial 22 arches remain intact today.

 The bridge had great strategic importance as when it was built it was the only fixed river crossing between Lyon and the Mediterranean Sea. It also formed the only river crossing between the Comtat Venaissin, an enclave controlled by the Pope, and France proper under the authority of the kings of France.

We did not actually go inside the Palais des Pâpes, but we walked around the surrounding plaza and checked out the scene.  It was just about aperitif time and there were lots of people enjoying a drink on various patios and plazas. 

The Palais des Papes (lo Palais dei Papas in Occitan) is a historical palace in Avignon, southern France, one of the largest and most important medieval Gothic buildings in Europe. One time fortress and palace, the papal residence was the seat of Western Christianity during the 14th century. Six papal conclaves were held in the Palais, leading to the elections of Benedict XII in 1334, Clement VI in 1342, Innocent VI in 1352, Urban V in 1362, Gregory XI in 1370 and Antipope Benedict XIII in 1394.

Papal Palace

or

Merry-go-round?

 The girls were on the second story on a bench swing that they could swing with a rope.

 This theatre was right next to the merry-go-round and the opera of Romeo and Juliet was playing.  We could hear them practicing.  Maybe my in-laws would like to visit this area--wine and opera!



Oui Go South

We have just returned from a lovely May Break.  Yes, we just had a two week March break.  Isn't France fabulous?  Instead of plunging right in to our adventures, I will first give you the nitty-gritty travel details.  Pierre found some train tickets to Avignon.  There was a deal that if you were willing to leave from a really inconvenient train station, then your kids could ride for 5 Euros.  It was a fast train and, once we boarded the train, it only took 3 hours.  I think it would take about six to drive there.  We took a OuiGo Train. 

 First we took the bus from our house to L'Arc de Triomphe.  There we got on the commuter train and went to the end of the line.

 The end of the line was Euro Disney.  You could actually see it out of the train station windows.  At first the girls thought we were taking them to Disney and had surprised them, but then they quickly realized that Pierre and I were still their parents and that they were headed to Avignon.

Sylvia and Pierre played a fierce game of "Spot It" on the commuter train.

Aunt Grace gave us this game...or at least suggested it and it is great.

 All aboard!  The OuiGo employees got to wear turquoise fleeces with pink circles on them saying "OUI GO." It is good that French men are not threatened by turquoise fleeces, skinny jeans, scarves, or the like.

 This nearly 9 year old was a great traveler.

 

Soon after we got out of Paris, the canola fields began.  I miss green space and it was nice to have so much of it out my window.  We even passed some small mountains.  The yellow rape fields and the green grass and trees created a pretty patchwork.

 This 7 year old did a fabulous job.  Her dad planned the entire trip and kept her entertained.

The Avignon train station is big and looks new.  Out front is a lot of fancy landscaping, including some very pretty goldfish.  The girls were entertained by the fish while Pierre got our rental car. Pierre was too busy to check out the fish, so I was forced by the girls to take this picture to show him "the one that looked like a cow" and "the pretty white one." 

We found parking in Avignon and began our adventure.  Yes, the bridge really did fall down.  However, you can still walk on part of it.

Always good to know you are on the

Here level.
The girls woke up this morning excited to return to school.  Things are so much easier than they were a year ago.  While walking home for lunch today, Lillian asked Sylvia if she and her friends would be puppies in the play Lillian and her friends are writing at recess time.  I hope I get to see the final production.

Centre Pompidou with Cousins

 The ride up the escalator provides a fabulous view of the area.

We started out by visiting an exhibit of Venezuelan artist Jesus Raphael Soto.  There was a warning that people who have epilepsy should avoid the exhibit.  Much of the art made your eyes go crazy and your head hurt.  You could even walk through one of the pieces.   

 We saw all sorts of amazing and strange art.  One of my favorite artists is Kandinsky.

 Sylvia was excited to find Bleu de Ciel (1940) by Vassily Kandinsky because they had talked about it in art class.

La Tour Eiffel (1926) by Robert Delaunay

Dhôtel nuancé d'abricot (1947) by Jean Dubuffet

 A book that I had checked out in the library had this painting of André in it.  The kids thought that it was hilarious that the portrait had the same name as their uncle.  We made sure that we found the real painting at the museum.

 Little did we know that André would be next to a portrait of Pierre. 

Pierre Matisse (son of Henri and art dealer to Chagall) 

 The kids' area had brand new stuff since our last visit.  The girls made clay puppies.

These photos were at the entrance to the kids' area.  

On our way to Centre Pompidou

Before heading to Centre Pompidou, we had to head to the market to eat some more crepes.

White asparagus is everywhere.  This NY Times article makes me think that we should try it.

Pierre's Dad hates parsnips.  We took this photo especially for Pépé.

Pierre found a restaurant for us on La Fourchette, where there are some deals to be had.  We walked through the 3rd arrondissement to the restaurant.

 The LeBlanc brothers made inkwells and holy water holders...I think.

 Styling suits

 

We stopped for a play in the Square du Temple 

 

Long ago,the Knights Templar had a fortress here (around 1300).  During the Revolution the prison that was here (1792-1808) was the last home of Louis XVI and the Dauphin Louis XVII.
There is a memorial in the park remembering all of the young children from this neighborhood who were deported to and killed at Auschwitz.
 

 We enjoyed a yummy Italian lunch and my sister-in-law made us very popular by speaking Italian and French. 

Riding Velibs near Le Centre Pompidou