This morning
we grabbed breakfast at a patisserie inside our walled medieval city
Carcassonne, then called for the porter to pick us up. He had to drive us (and
our bags) through the cobblestone lanes, over the drawbridge, outside the
walls, and over to where our car was parked (in what used to be the moat).
During the ride, he asked where we were from and I said, “Los Angeles.” He lit
up and said, “My favorite band is from Los Angeles!!” I started running through
possibilities in my mind, but he blurted out, “Toto!” I shot M a sideways glance but she just
stared back blankly, obviously having no clue who Toto is. The driver went on,
and on, and on… “Their new album is fantastique! I drove all the way to
Barcelona to see them live once. Have you ever run into them in LA?” This was
more conversation about Toto than I ever have had, or wanted to have, in my
life. FINALLY, we reached the car. He said, “Thanks for visiting Europe’s largest
walled city!” Having been to both Lucca and Dubrovnik, I thought about
correcting him – but then decided not to bother debating with a guy whose
favorite band in the world is Toto.
About half an
hour down the road, I was flipping through French radio stations and heard, “I
bless the rains down in Africa….” I turned to M and said, “OMG!! It is
Toto!” We both busted out laughing.
Maybe it is a French thing?
Before long,
we reached Pont du Gard, our fourth UNESCO world heritage site of the trip. This
2000-year-old structure is the highest bridge ever built by the Romans. How
they stacked giant blocks of stone 16 stories high in the year 19 BC is beyond me! Each stone weighs
4 to 6 tons! It was constructed with no mortar at all. The arches are made strong
only by gravity.
The bridge was
actually an aqueduct that carried water for 31 miles from the foothills of the
Alps to Nimes. It had to be carefully constructed so that the elevation dropped
(water flows downhill on its own), but not too much (it couldn’t become raging)
– so they engineered it to decline so gradually that it drops only 4 feet over
31 miles!!
We hiked over
the bridge and waved at the kayakers below. It was very hot, so we grabbed some
gelato at a stand and headed for Provence, in search of lavender.
Gordes, France
Near Gordes,
we hit the jackpot. This is the Abbaye de Senanque, occupied by monks.
You can
wander the property, but have to do so in complete silence. Try that with a
chatty 12 year old that has a ton of questions about why monks take a vow of
silence!
She occupied herself by
photographing butterflies. These were 2 of her best shots:
When we got
back in the car, she burst. She said, “I would make a terrible monk. But I
think you would make a good monk, Mom.” Very observant, dear child. Now be
quiet and let mommy drive in silence.
Next on our
itinerary was Aix en Provence, but we found it to be a nightmare. Traffic was
TERRIBLE. There were people everywhere, and it wasn’t particularly scenic or
historic – just large and very crowded. The best thing I saw was the Apple
Store. We had intended to do some shopping, but didn’t even get out of the car.
This wasn’t the peaceful Provence I was looking for.
Our hotel for
the night is in Marseille, which is the second largest city in France. However,
it honestly feels smaller than Aix en Provence did. Hotel 96 is an absolute
oasis, tucked away in a quiet corner of town. The hotel is ranked #1 out of 127
Marseille hotels on Trip Advisor, and now I understand why. This pool is right
outside the door of our room, and an herb garden is located outside the back
patio sliding door.
A friendly dog even visited our room to say hello.
We drove
3km to the beach just to take a quick peek, picked up a pizza for dinner, then retired to the hotel so
M could swim and I could blog.
Tomorrow: We
do our best Brigitte Bardot imitations as we roam the Riviera.
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