The trek back to Paris and a stop in Vezelay

Probably our last post for this trip. Drove from Lyon to Paris with a stop in Vezelay in between. Vezelay is an amazingly beautiful Cistercian abbey. It's very simple inside, devoid of any real ornamentation other than the striped stones used in the barrel arches in the ceiling. It sprinkled on us a little while there, but really it was quite pleasant. The cloud cover made for uniform light that created a surreal atmosphere in the woodlands surrounding the abbey. We'd actually been to Vezelay some time ago but it just didn't look familiar on the drive there. We'd thought the abbey was in more of a flat environment and perched on a hill and that we'd approached it from more an autoroute. This time we approached from another side, through some beautiful villages set in the rolling hills surrounding the abbey and it wasn't until we practically got to the front door of the abbey that we really recognized it.

 

Tomorrow we'll go to Disneyland again. Sophie's been counting down the days. So have I. We're just hoping the rains hold off. Just saw on the news that it's been the coldest Spring in 50 years in the UK. Doesn't surprise me when we think that we've had two days of full sun on this trip and two days of full, hard, relentless rain, and every other day has been off and on rain. Essentially there's been a low pressure system just parked over France since we got here. Sucks. So, again, hoping for better weather tomorrow. We'll see.

 

 

St Remy

This may be our last post until we get home, tomorrow we make the 5-6 hour drive back to Paris, we may stop along the way if we see something cool. Then Friday is Disneyland and we fly home Saturday. Anyway today we spent most of the day in St Remy, there was another market going on and we saw a few of the same vendors. Picked up some more fruit to eat along the way and explored the town. Then on to Rousillion where we explored for an hour then the rain started so we got in the car and drove 2 hours to our hotel. Anyway here are some pictures from the day.

Another day, another rainstorm...

 

 

Woke up to cloudy skies which was a portent of things to come. Undaunted we headed out to a village of Roman origin, 'course what's not of Roman origin in France in terms of villages? Anyways, we went to Vaison la Romaine, just perhaps a half hours drive from Avignon, to go to their Tuesday market. Our guidebook says it's one of the best in the country and it did not disappoint. It was probably 3 or 4 times larger than the Salt Lake farmers market and was spread out all over the center of town on a network of tiny streets and plazas. About the only thing you couldn't buy were car parts but you could buy anything else. It was fantastic. It sprinkled a little on us towards the end of it and then turned into outright rain as we got back to our car. But we got to see it all and enjoy the experience. It fosters a certain jealousy about these communities more simple lifestyle where everything isn't pre-packaged and over-commercialized. The fruit and vegetables look so appealing, makes the average bloke feel like they could be Julia Child. Or Jules Child I guess if your a boy. It was great. We'd hoped to stick around and see the excavations of the Roman village and the 6000 seat Roman theater but it really started raining so we opted out. We decided to just turn the day into a road tour of little Provencal villages. We ended up in a place called Gordes. It's like the Beverly Hills of villages. Seriously, all it's little stone houses have been bought up by wealthy jet-set folks who've erected beautiful stone walls around their homes with large wrought iron gates and 10 foot tall hedges. We're guessing the houses look amazing since we've seen a lot of "ruins" and their easy to envision as beautifully restored homes. The little town is perched on a cliff overlooking a verdant valley full of cherry orchards, strawberry fields, vineyards and olive trees. My pictures don't do it justice. The damper was the weather. We wanted to wander around the little village more, but it was off and on raining and all of us were losing our patience with it. To cap off the day we drove to a Cistercian monastery famous for being photographed with its rows of lavender in full bloom in the fields surrounding it. It was familiar from the countless images of it we've seen in the past. Though gray, rainy and overcast, it was still amazing to see it in real life and to envision what the fields of lavender look like when they do bloom (We're a month too early to see that). It was a good end to a decent day, despite the weather.

 

Oh Revwar till tomorrow.

 

 

 We try to keep Sophie in high spirits by finding parks for her to play in. It makes traveling with her a breeze. She can be cooped up in the car for hours and as long as she gets a chance to run and play she's OK.

 The Beverly Hills of Provencal villages - Gordes. Perhaps they should call it Beverly Gordes, but that doesn't sound too classy. Just plain Gordes doesn't sound too classy. Cool place nonetheless.

 

 Our trusty steed - the Ford C Max

 That lavender field monastery I mentioned. Looks familiar, right?

Avignon, what our vacation was supposed to be all along

What a great day. Outside of having to get up early (9:15am) and chase down a Laundromat a few miles away, it was an outstanding day. Sun was out, mild breeze, perfect temperature, great company, wonderful sites all making for a perfect day to stroll.

Avignon was as interesting and beautiful today as it was over ten years ago when we were here last. We did a walking tour that encompassed much of the historic part of the city center. We toured the Palace of the Popes, the "other" headquarters of the Catholic church for around a hundred years during the 1300's. It's sparse inside but your imagination needn't roam too far to appreciate how grand and lavish the place was during its prime. One thing I've noticed on this trip is how many buildings were either garrisons for soldiers or prisons during the Napoleonic years. The Palace of the Popes became a garrison.

The girls were great today. We stopped at a park this afternoon so Soph could play. She made instant friends with a couple of little kids there and played with them for some time. She was on one end of a teeter totter and the little boy was at the other and she was talking to him and I said, "Soph, they don't speak English." Then the little boys mom spoke to him and he replied in English. It was embarrassing. She also made instant friends with a little boy at the carousel in the main square. It makes you realize that if the world had the innocent view of a child that someone else is just the half that makes the teeter - totter, we'd all get along peacefully.

All in all it was just a spectacular day. Everything I hope for when I come here.

Soph having her 2nd ice cream of the day, chilling in front of the Palace of the Popes

 

Hangin' out 

 

 Found a street musician she liked, so, dropped a Euro in... 

 

 And sat back and enjoyed. This guy was playing "Spanish fusion" guitar. It was beautiful and I too sat mesmerized listening to it. I bought his CD and I'm sure like other times I've purchased a street vendors music, it will provide instant memories every time it's played.

 

 There was a guy making huge bubbles and Soph was enthralled in it. The guy was super friendly and encouraged her to come try.  

 

 Soph's instant new friends at the park

 Content little Lil with a full belly.  

  On a section of the city ramparts 

Soph's other friend she met at the carousel. They were cute chasing each other around and playing tag.

 

 Bought some art, as I'm known to do. These will be prized possessions 

Toured the Palace of the Popes. This is the "old palace", which of course means it wasn't big or good enough, so they had to build a new one next to it. There's a lot of indulgences in them there walls! 

 

 Frescoes in the papal apartments

 

 The view from on top 

This is our hotel were staying at. It's over the top. Has been a hotel for centuries.

 

Just kidding on the hotel. That place is like 600 bucks a night. We're staying in a sterile Novotel outside of town... 

Wrapping up a great day with some noodles.

 See you tomorrow!

 Chris, Anneka, Sophie and Lily