7/12 Cassis, or Mama Said There'd Be Days Like This

 Our day trip to the oceanside town of Cassis had been highly anticipated by members of our party. Even my brother, who was not on the trip, had been regularly accosted at the gym by a man who insisted that we visit Les Calanques (the cliffs). So we set out early in hopes of finding parking, which was brutal--worse than Wrightsville beach on a summer day.

We wanted to see the calanques by kayak, so we headed out to on foot to Calanque de Porte Miou, about a half-hour's walk. We'd been warned that the water was rough, but by the time we arrived, the kayak rentals had closed. We were disappointed, but looking at the water, I was relieved not to be in a kayak in those waves.

As we sat by the water, we watched a couple jump off the rocks nearby. I feared they'd need rescuing when they tried to climb out, but they got out OK, and then they jumped again. Ah, youth! We, however, were not so brave, so we trudged back down to Cassis, past the fancy houses, hotels, and private beach clubs. This one on the right was called "Same Same Beach."

At lunch, we applauded Ethan for trying steak tartare, and he did a credible job with it. We sat right by the harbor and gazed at the boats. It was very picturesque, but we were a little downtrodden from our futile trek to Porte Miou, and our feet hurt, and we weren't sure what else to do with our time in Cassis. Maybe we had expected too much? By the way, if you ever want to kayak in Porte Miou, there's plenty of parking.

We had our bathing suits, so we decided we'd better spend some time on the beach. After all, we were already there. It seemed proper to find a small square, spread out our towels, and observe just how small and rocky the beach was, how many people crowded around us, and how rough the water was--truthfully, I spent a few moments remembering the NC beaches and feeling amazed and grateful at how beautiful they are in their own right.

Others in our party were lost in their own reveries; Keith went for a swim, Matthew was miserable and Mindy managed to stay cheerful through it all. She kept us all afloat that day!

After a suitable amount of time missing home, we went in search of the Route des Crêtes, a road that took us to the highest seaside cliffs in the Mediterranean. Somehow, we found the right way and drove way up to the high, windy and desolate cliffsides.  It was so windy that even driving freaked me out. But looking down, we saw Cassis with the harbor and everywhere we'd just been, which was a nice conclusion to the day.

7/11 Ansouis

On Saturday morning, we went for a hike to the end of our road, which turns into a dirt road and then a footpath that you could take across the entire country. But we around after an hour. Rotting melons were arranged at a clearing, which smelled to high heaven. Someone told us later that the melons were probably bait for wild boars.

That afternoon, we went to Ansouis, a small village about 10 miles from Lourmarin with a winery, Chateau St. Estève de Neri, recommended by the owners of our house. We wandered around Ansouis and poked our noses everywhere. It was a warm day, but there weren't many people out so we felt slightly less like tourists. Mindy took another of her signature "light in the darkness" shots.

What's this? An exhibition of paintings at the "Presbytere?" France isn't exactly full of Presbyterian churches, despite the Hugenots. We loved the paintings but never got the story on the Presbytere.

Next to the church were incredible views of the Luberon valley and we could see Lourmarin from there. I could have gazed at that landscape for hours.

Le Museé Extraordinaire took us back around 5,000 or so years ago when the Luberon was under the ocean. Although trés charmante, it  seemed like something we might see in Carrboro.

And by the time we got to the winery, we forgot to take more pictures . . . too thirsty. We'd hoped to meet the owners, but they were out, so we had a nice chat with the woman working there -- she spoke excellent English, so I didn't have to pretend I understood everything she said.

7/10: Water Wheels and a Special Dinner

We had a special day planned for Mary Ellen's birthday, starting with the market at L'Isle Sur La Sorgue. The town was too crowded, so we continued on to Fontaine-de-Vaucluse. Here's the birthday girl in town.

We visited the source of the Sorgue river; two people were diving and lots more were exploring the caves. We had a lovely lunch and on the way home, we stopped by the Abbaye de Senanque, a Cistercian abbey outside of Gordes.

Matthew looks a bit uncertain, but the rest of us were very excited about dinner at Auberge La Feniere, the best restaurant in Lourmarin. We ate outside the old barn in the bistro. It was the best combination of yummy and rustic ever. The official dinner photo looks like a pseudo-family but actually, none of them are related. Missing: Julia, due to an allergy attack and Matt, due to refusal to pose for photos.

Keith took some beautiful shots of the farm as we were leaving. Thanks, Mary Ellen, for celebrating your birthday at this amazing restaurant.

7/8: Forte de Buoux and Lourmarin Market

Forte de Buoux is a 12th-century Roman settlement high on a mountain not far from our house. We hiked up  to the "front gate," and looked over to the next hill, and there was the rest of the fort.

It seemed to go on forever, and the views were amazing. The fort had houses and all kinds of structures. We loved the remains of the church (left). At the far end of the forte, the "hidden staircase" led down to a secluded lookout point.

On Friday mornings, the Lourmarin market is packed. Everything is stunningly beautiful and it all seems to cost 3 euros.

These people got us hooked on their tapenade, pesto and pepper spreads. Thank goodness we didn't taste any of the cookies.

We succumbed to the nougat booth, and we weren't sorry.  And berries, of course, are so healthy.

The flowers were all too beautiful to choose, but we made good progress at the knicknack shop. One local vigneron told us, "Everyone in this town wants to have a shop in the village--no one wants to work."

7/7: Geocaching and Popes

If you've never seen geocaching, it looks like this: someone has a GPS and a map, and someone else is waiting. Looks the same in France but more picturesque.

This shot was taken near the Forte de Buoux, which we all visited later. Under this huge rock, we felt like ants about to get smushed. Keith and Ethan discovered an old roman bridge not far from our house.

Benoit insisted on visiting the Palais du Papes in Avignon. Huge and rambling, it provided lots of photo ops.

Mindy captured the stairs to the pope's bedroom, although I don't remember it looking this amazing in real life. Inexplicably, there was an exhibition of modern photos and prints on the way out.

The summer festival gave Avignon a carnival-like atmosphere, with  posters everywhere and performers hawking their shows. We saw a bear!

Mary Ellen waited patiently while the rest of us traipsed around hither and yon.  Mindy, this guy was looking for you so I gave him your email address.

7/5: Amphitheatres, Alyscamps, and Architecture in Arles

Alyscamps is a Roman burial ground filled with ancient tombs just outside Arles. Turns out that having fancy graves and monuments on the outskirts of town was a sign of prosperity. We thought it was beautiful and creepy.

Our resident docent, Mary Ellen, schooled us in archeology and art history. Van Gogh lived in Arles for 15 months, although they weren't quite so welcoming back then.

The amphitheatre in Arles was a favorite with the guys and there was lots to explore. Ethan found his way onto the roof.

We were there just as the gladiators changed shifts. "Goodnight, Sam." "Night, Fred."

Mindy looked gorgeous by the fountain, and she took so many amazing shots like this "keyhole" scene.

We tried to steer her away from depictions of Christians getting eaten by lions, and ancient football games, but she claimed she'd seen worse.