France, 'bye for now!

We had a nice breakfast at the hotel. It was 8 euros each, but they serve such fresh, flaky croissants! We took a taxi to the airport, which was easier than driving ourselves and returning a rental car there. It was one less thing to worry about on departure day.

Thank goodness we had allowed well over 2 hours at the airport. Somehow, tickets for Ricardo and I didn't actually exist - at least for this leg of the trip. I should have called British Airways yesterday when I tried to check in online. I tried a few times, thinking there was some problem with my timing, and each time got a message saying that we'd need to check in at the airport. That's never happened before, but then we've never flown out of Marseilles. So, we blissfully got in line at the airport, and waited almost an hour before we were sent over to the customer service desk. At that point I was told, even though I had a copy of our confirmed itinerary, that we didn't actually have tickets. It was something about changing our departure city (many months ago) and our credit card expiring right when the airline tried to charge us the change fee (after our trip was underway). Tricky. I think it would have warranted a call or email to us.

Say what you will about customer service in France. I can attest to the fact that the gentleman helping us at the customer service desk did his utmost to resolve our problem and get us on the flight. It seemed like he was on the phone for 30 minutes, explaining our situation and getting our problem solved. He was unfailingly kind to us, and polite. He assured us all would be well, and it was!

Meanwhile Marco and Caterina were wondering where the heck we got off to. They were waiting at the gate, and by the time we got there it was time to board the plane. The flight from Marseilles to London was pretty bumpy. According to the captain we weren't allowed to fly at a higher altitude where it might have been smoother. We were left wondering why that was. Maybe there was too much traffic up there already? Or was air traffic control just being mean to us? At any rate, I was sorry I didn't bring my rosary along. Turbulence makes me nervous.

We landed at Heathrow in good shape, but I wish I hadn't been such a procrastinator getting souvenirs for the kids and grandkids. Hadn't we seen some wonderful miniature knights and horses in Sarlat? Some cute tee-shirts and purses in Venice? Some hats in Provence? Some Eiffel Towers in Paris? Did I buy any of them when I had the chance? No! So, of course, I had to look around the airport for some stuff to take home.

There was a lady at a small information desk outside the British Airways lounge. It must have said something about help with shopping on the sign. I stopped to ask her for some recommendations for shops that would have some good souvenirs. Lo and behold, she offered to take me around to some places that might have appropriate items. Heathrow is a gigantic airport, with so many stores and restaurants, spread over many acres. She targeted a handful of shops that she thought I might like. I found gifts for everyone, and in short order too. What a nice service!

Who wouldn't like souvenirs from the Harry Potter shop?

The flight from London to Seattle was smooth, and in the blink of an eye, we landed and were home. No more lovely breakfasts served on fine china and linen tablecloths. No more markets that delight with sights and sounds and smells. No more friendly French and Italian people trying to help us learn their languages. No more castles.

A lovely breakfast

A market that delights with sights and sounds and smells

A castle

Travel leaves a mark on me, for sure. The world is a jewel box, and a candy box too. I can't wait to see it, feel it and taste it again.

'Bye for now!

Finding the magic of Aix

On our last day in France, we needed to return the rental car. We decided to do that in Aix-en-Provence, a city that I'd visited a few times before. We were flying out of the Marseilles airport, located between Aix and Marseilles, the next day.

We headed south out of Sablet, and arrived in Aix shortly before 10, right when our car was due to be returned. The city streets were a mess of construction, but following the GPS on my phone we eventually arrived at the Hertz office. I had hoped to stop at our hotel first to drop our luggage, but the stress and confusion of just getting to the rental office made us rethink that idea. I knew our hotel wasn't far from the rental office, so it wasn't a bad walk, even dragging our bags.

Our little hotel, Hotel Cardinal, is on rue Cardinale, not far from the center of town, and just down the street from the Eglise Saint-Jean-de-Malte. It's an old hotel, reasonably priced, and it has a small lift. The breakfast room is charming, and breakfast is an extra 8 euros. I've stayed there a few times over the last 20 years, and always found it to be comfortable, and the employees to be friendly. I love the view of the church at the end of the street.

The church of Saint-Jean-de-Malte viewed at the end of the street

We got to the hotel at about 10:30, knowing that check-in wasn't for several hours. I thought maybe we could leave our luggage somewhere near the lobby and go look around town. We had a walking tour scheduled at 2:30, so we had some time to kill. The desk clerk checked our rooms, and said that since one of them was ready we could put our stuff in that room until check-in time for the other room. So nice! Oh, and Caterina's 5 kilos of clothes left in Sarlat had been delivered, so all was well!

We headed out toward Cours Mirabeau, the main street in town. It was just a few blocks from our hotel and the outdoor market was in full swing. We saw lots of clothing and other home goods, and it was very busy. This was Saturday, after all, and the sun was out. We shopped around for a bit and then looked for a place to have lunch. Ricardo and Marco were drawn to an Irish pub, The Four Courts, since a beer sounded good right about then. They both had beer, and Caterina and I had a glass of local wine. We decided to have some lunch there, and actually the food was rather good. Burgers, fish and chips and salad were all tasty, and really not too expensive for a place right along the Cours Mirabeau, an area known for overpriced, mediocre food.

Is there an Irish pub in every town in the world?

At 2:30 we met our guide, Erin Jordan, of Aixploring Provence, in front of the Patisserie Bechard, the oldest and most venerated patisserie in Aix . One of their specialties is the famous calissons of Aix, an almond flavored marzipan candy, which is definitely an acquired taste.

The most famous patisserie in Aix

Erin is an expat American and personal tour guide, and can customize your walking tour of Aix to include your particular interests. We went on her general walking tour, which took about 2 hours. This is how we found the magic of Aix! I told her I'd been here a few times, and though I liked the city, and saw some pretty streets and fountains, I just didn't feel the spirit of the city, didn't see the magic. Two hours later, I can say that I know and love the city in a way I never would have on my own.

Here's Erin guiding another group through Aix. Photo courtesy of Aixploring Provence

What I thought was the "old" part of town, the part where our hotel was located, was not the old part at all. Known as the Mazarin Quarter, it was relatively old, but nowhere near the oldest. Erin walked us through the charming streets, pointing out museums that I didn't know about, and market squares "cours" in other parts of town, where the locals buy their fruits and vegetables. We went through leafy little squares where you could sit in the shade and have a drink or a meal. It was nothing like the busy Cours Mirabeau. We wound our way through the truly old part of town to the Cathedrale Saint-Sauveur, and even with a service in progress we were able to see the beautiful areas of this old church. Erin stopped at her favorite macaron shop and treated us each to the flavor of our choice. Delicious.

So many ornate buildings

Another fun statue in the old part of town

A little clock or two in the old part of town

According to Erin, we were lucky to have such nice weather in Aix. They'd had a very wet spring, like the rest of southern Europe, and this particular Saturday the whole town was out celebrating the beautiful weather. Our tour ended at the Fontaine de la Rotonde, which is currently surrounded by construction work. Next year it should be back to its wonderful self.

Fountain de la Rotunde in all its glory.
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Rainbow 0413

The Cours Mirabeau has several fountains lining the center of the street, dating back to the time when Romans settled there. We especially liked the ones that were like a big rock covered with moss. The water for these fountains comes from the thermal hot spring under the city.

One of the old fountains on the Cours Mirabeau

We wanted a special restaurant for our last dinner in France, and Erin had lots of suggestions. She made a reservation for us at Jardin Mazarin, just down the block from our hotel. We had a wonderful dinner there, treated by Marco and Caterina.

At Jardin Mazarin, scallops served with forbidden rice, and popcorn?

This has to be breast of duck, which Ricardo almost always orders in France!

Baba au Rhum for dessert. That little bubble-looking thing is actually a vial of rum, turned upside down so it drips into the cake.

Then back to our little hotel for our last night in France.

Séguret and Vaison la Romaine

After our visit to Séguret by car yesterday, Marco decided an early morning hike over there was in order. Our village of Sablet is about 2 miles from Séguret by road, and maybe a bit shorter by the trail that goes through the vineyards surrounding both villages. He set off about 8:30 in the beautiful sunshine. The rest of us were enjoying our coffee and tea at the house, still in our pajamas. Marco is a serious walker, having done the Camino de Santiago a few years ago. At his normal pace, he could have done it in a week, but in order to have anyone to talk to along the way he had to slow down to the pace of normal humans, and completed the entire walk in 5 weeks. Over 450 miles! He couldn't have really done it in a week, of course, but he does have a pretty fast pace.

Séguret, the next hill town over 

He walked over to the village, through the streets, and up the hill to the castle ruins at the top. The view was beautiful, but we could have seen the same thing using the drone I carry in my purse. Remember how I got through security at that castle? It's my old-lady act that lets me get away with carrying that drone around. Anyway, Marco returned to the house after his hike refreshed and happy. The only other people he had seen on the trail were the guys working in the vineyards, and they seemed surprised to see him hiking through.

Our sightseeing trip today was Vaison la Romaine, not far from our home base of Sablet. It's a bigger town than Sablet, and has some amazing Roman ruins. The Romans loved Provence as much as I do, I think. We stuck to the more modern part of town, the lower part, which contains the ruins. The car-free medieval hill town is quite an uphill hike, so we'll save that for another visit. We parked on the banks of the Ouvèze River, within sight of the old Roman bridge.

Marco looking at the old Roman bridge over the River Ouvèze

The car-free upper part of Vaison seemed like too much of a hike today

The Roman ruins were extensive. Vaison had a prosperous farming economy during Roman times, and the population was estimated to be about 6,000 then.  The current population is back up to about the same, Vaison having gone through a tough time when the barbarians blew into town and scared everyone else away many centuries ago.

Part of the extensive Roman ruins in Vaison la Romaine. That must be the public lavatory.

I'm surprised the pillars weren't all re-purposed by the locals

The highlight of the Roman ruins was the theater, which seats 6,000. It's been refurbished, and is still in use. The old forum is still buried under the city.

They've done lots of restoration of the theater

We stopped for lunch at a cafe on the central plane-tree-shaded Place Montfort, and had a good meal. I notice on our bill that my Coca Zero cost 3,30 euros, and Caterina's glass of rosé cost 1,60 euros. Jeez.

After lunch we headed to the Notre-Dame de Nazareth Cathedral, walking past the other half of the Roman ruins. We elected not to go into this other part of the exhibit and saw almost everything from outside of the fence that we would have seen inside. The cathedral dates from the 12th century, with later additions.  It's built in the Provençal Romanesque style and included a beautiful cloister. Thick stone walls made the inside of the cathedral nice and cool, and there was definitely a feeling of an ancient building in the church. We noticed pieces or blocks of Roman columns used in the foundation of the cathedral.

Inside the 12th century church. This part was probably the baptistry

The cloister next to the church

I guess the locals did indeed re-purpose some of the Roman columns

We headed back to Sablet for our last night in our house. We had leftover spaghetti, garlic bread and salad for dinner. We needed to pack for our early departure the next morning, but couldn't resist one more walk around the village as the sun went down.

We segue to Séguret again!

The kitchen at our rental house is wonderful, and stocked with not only all manner of pots and pans, but also a nice selection of cookbooks in English. Food is a priority here!

Rick made a great breakfast of local sausage and an omelet, and, as usual, fresh bread from the bakery. We're still in the process of doing laundry after staying in B&Bs for a week while we were on the road. We should have taken advantage of a laundry service in one of those towns. We've done this on some previous travels, where a local laundromat will wash, dry and fold your laundry, and in some cases deliver it to you at your B&B. In other places, they have it ready for you to pick up at the end of the day. The cost is usually nominal, and allows you to spend your valuable vacation time seeing the sights, rather than watching your clothes spin in the machines.

So, we're still doing laundry. The French machine at the house is no less confusing than the Italian ones were, except that there doesn't seem to be a water reservoir to empty out after each load.  And, since our host is American, there are step-by-step instructions written in English for us to follow. There's no dryer here, so a day or two is needed for that part of the process.

We decided to visit the hill town next door, Séguret. (See my previous post about Séguret.) Ricardo and I had been there on a previous visit, and remembered it to be a charming jumble of cobblestone streets, most too narrow for a car. We saw the ancient archway at one end of town, and the remnants of a heavy wooden gate at the other end of town. The name Séguret comes from the Latin word securitas, and the village was truly a fortress for hundreds of years. Today it's listed as one of the Plus Beaux Villages de France - the most beautiful villages of France! In between the two entrances we saw the community bread oven and the ancient clock tower. The communal washbasins are located just outside of the gate, and were in use up until World War II. Walking up the streets to the top of the village you can see the 12th-century church, at least from the outside. From the wall near the church there is a great territorial view, and nice view of our little village of Sablet next door.

A view past the old washing area to the ancient gate to Séguret from the parking lot under a canopy of trees

A close-up of one of the ancient gates, still hanging at the entrance to Séguret

The communal washbasins, just outside the gate, were still in use well into the 20th century

The community bread oven, open to the street, is still in use

The single-handed clock dating from 1680

I'd love to see the inside of this holiday rental!

That's me going down one of the many cute lanes through town

We ate a late lunch outside at the Côté Terrasse. Every main dish included a generous dessert. I opted for the lemon meringue, which was very good.

Salad with sliced duck breast and foie gras with walnuts for lunch at Côté Terrasse

A little lemon meringue cup for dessert

Lunch was very good, and quite filling. Dinner must have been something light. I can't remember.

Looking out over the valley from Séguret

A visit to Pont du Gard

For breakfast, we had bread and pastries from our favorite little boulangerie, where madame speaks no English at all.  Luckily, we can just point at what we want, and indicate how many we'd like. I asked her if she had any chouquettes (little puff pastries sprinkled with pearl sugar), and I think she said she only has them for the weekend. Too bad for me, since we'll be gone by then. I'll have to time our next visit accordingly! When it's time to pay for our purchases, we hold out a handful of money and madame very cheerfully helps us count out what we owe. No English is not really a problem.

Inside le Pain Médiéval Boulangerie in Sablet

A major attraction in Provence, and one that we never tire of seeing, is the Pont du Gard. We headed out to see it after breakfast. The drive from Sablet was about an hour, and the weather was warm and sunny. The visitor center has evolved greatly since my first visit 21 years ago. The museum is very informative, and not to be missed, in my opinion.

The Pont du Gard is part of an aqueduct system built in about 1 A.D. In its heyday it was 30 miles long, mostly underground, and it supplied 9 million gallons of water per day to the city of Nîmes. This feat was accomplished by sloping the channel one inch for every 350 feet - for 30 miles. Yikes.

Walking out toward the Gardon river, you get your first view of the magnificent structure. Like a supermodel, it's photogenic from every angle. My favorite view of it is from the hill above, on the opposite side of the river. If you pay extra for a tour of the second level, that's the side you'd enter from also.

A thousand-year-old olive tree near the Pont du Gard

Caterina and Marco with the world's second highest standing Roman structure behind them. The Colosseum in Rome is only 6 feet taller.

A great view of the Pont du Gard from above

The carving looks professionally done. Whatever it says, it's lasted almost 200 hundred years already!

After walking around for a while, we had lunch at the cafeteria there. They had a good selection of choices for lunch, both hot and cold, and none were expensive.

The cash machine in Sablet had been broken for two days, and we were getting low on cash. We hoped there'd be an ATM at the Pont du Gard, but no such luck. One of the disgruntled locals in Sablet told me that there was no ATM in Séguret, the town next door, either. Séguret, as you'll read later, is one of the Plus Beaux Villages de Provence. Beauty trumps practicality, apparently.

Even though we could have stopped in some other town on the way back to Sablet, we decided to go beyond Sablet to Vaison la Romaine to get some cash. We followed the GPS on my phone, and located a machine in town without too much bumbling around. There was a nice gentleman, maybe in his 30s, at the cash machine when we approached. He said he was from Czechoslovakia, and spoke very good English. He invited Marco and Ricardo to go have a beer with him, and when I tried to answer for them, he said he wasn't talking to me! just the men! They couldn't go either though. We were on our way back to our house.

When we got back to the house, we decided to make hamburgers for dinner. We didn't have any ketchup, so I went down to the little general store, and as I was walking out empty-handed, the proprietor asked if he could help me find something. I said I needed ketchup, but not the big bottle they had. He was sorry they didn't have anything smaller. I said maybe I'd go ask Bruno, at the bar, if I could take some. We both laughed. I was just kidding, but the hamburgers we had that night, even with sliced tomatoes and onions, but without ketchup, were below the norm for us. I was kicking myself that we didn't stop at McD's and grab a few packets.

After dinner we watched Russell Crowe in A Good Year, a fun movie with some great shots of Provence.

The church bells ring in Sablet every hour, and then sometimes a few minutes later, and sometimes several minutes later. They start at 7 a.m., but luckily our house has good windows. After a few days we didn't even hear them.

Carcassonne to Sablet

We left our lovely B&B in Carcassonne after a great breakfast. Our rooms, including breakfast, were 100 euros each. We'd love to visit again, when the weather is warmer, so we could enjoy the beautiful garden and pool.

Caterina was worried about an armload of clothes she left somewhere, and we were calling, texting and emailing our previous accommodations to see where they might have been left.

We stopped in a little town called Villetelle for a lunch of tapas and pizza at a wine bar/restaurant called Les Copains. Lunch was tasty, and was served quickly, and we were back on the road. The drive from Carcassonne to Sablet took about 3 hours, and we spent about 22 euros on tolls on the A9 highway. It might seem kind of expensive, but it was an easier drive than all the little backroads of a few days ago.

The hill town of Sablet, in the Vaucluse area of Provence

When we arrived in Sablet, we called the property manager to let us into the house. She suggested we have a drink at Bruno's, which is the Café des Sports, the only bar in town. It's right on the main square of Sablet, so it's a great place to watch the world go by.

Nadia, the house manager, met us at Bruno's, and walked us over to the house to let us in. Ricardo and I had stayed there before, so we were familiar with the layout. Our House in Provence is located in the little hill town of Sablet, about halfway up the hill. I suppose we could drive almost up to the door, but there's no place to park, so we left our car a few blocks down, right in front of Le Pain Médiéval Boulangerie (what luck!). The house is owned by a charming American couple from California, Michel and Shirley. Michel writes a great blog about the area too at Sablet House.blogspot.com.

A little, winding lane in the hill town of Sablet

We got situated, and walked down the few short blocks to the little grocery store, Votre Marché, owned by Mimi and Alain. It carried everything we might need, but the selection of meats and poultry was limited. I suppose most of the locals get those things at the weekly market here or in surrounding villages. The closest supermarket was a few towns away, but we never felt the need to venture that far for food.

We got a message from the B&B in Sarlat, saying that Caterina's clothes had been found in the closet there. Chris, our host, agreed to mail them to our last stop, Aix-en-Provence. He went out of his way to check the price of two different mailing options, and suggested that we use a more expensive private company, rather than the Post Office, to ensure that the package would arrive before we left for home in the U.S. (The package weighed 5 kilos, Chris said, and oddly, the only thing I've ever heard weighed this way in the U.S. is cocaine, so I guess I know how heavy a 5 kilo package of cocaine feels now.) We were relieved, and grateful for Chris' prompt assistance.

Dinner was spaghetti, with Ricardo's homemade sauce, and some brown and serve baguettes that were just great, considering that the boulangerie was closed by the time we got to town, so no fresh bread was available.

Ricardo cooking in the wonderful kitchen at our house in Sablet

Santons above the stove

I love the collection of santons displayed above the stove in the house. Santons are handmade figures depicting the inhabitants of the village, and are part of the traditional nativity scene in Provence. They come in all sizes and are sold all over Provence.

Marco beneath the bell tower of the church at the top of the hill in Sablet

After dinner Marco, Ricardo and I walked to the town wall, overlooking the valley below, to watch the sun go down. The green vineyards below us stretched off to the horizon and beyond.

The view from the wall in Sablet

Sarlat to Carcassonne

We left Sarlat after breakfast, sad to leave Les Cordeliers. The place is charming. The rooms are comfortable, and the breakfast is great. The pantry in a little nook on a landing was a nice addition, with a fancy espresso machine, fridge full of beverages, little snacks, peanuts and cookies, for guests to enjoy at any hour. And its proximity to the old part of town made it the perfect place to stay.

Les Cordeliers is the blue-shuttered building beyond this lovely garden

Chris suggested we stop at the village of Domme on our way out of the area. From the hill top town there was a great view over the Dordogne River and valley. We spent a few minutes walking around admiring the place before we headed down the road.

Marco checking out the Domme sign

Caterina and Katia, with the scenic valley below Domme behind us

The view of the Dordogne River from cliff-capping Domme

We stopped for lunch at a truck stop along the A10, and had decent baguette sandwiches. Ricardo had a good croque monsieur. They offered lots of hot lunch choices too. A truck stop isn't a bad place to eat in France.

Lunch at a truck stop along the A10

Then we were back on the road to Carcassonne.

We checked into our B&B, Le Jardin de la Cite, after some stressful driving. The B&B was located just a few blocks from the walled city of Carcassonne, but the streets were confusing, even with the GPS. Our rooms were in a separate building next to the main house, and were small, but nicely decorated and clean. Air fresheners were kind of overpowering, but we wondered if they were necessary to cover up the "closed-up" smell of the winter months.

Daytime view of Carcassonne from our B&B

Our hostess, Danielle,  recommended a few places in the walled city to have dinner, and we headed off to see the sights. By then it was sprinkling, and not too crowded this late in the afternoon. We peeked in some shop windows, but didn't go in to the obviously touristy shops. There were lots of candy stores, for some reason.

The moat around Carcassonne. Not so effective without water!

For a few more pictures, and the legend of Carcassonne, click here for my blog post from 2012.

We found a bar to stop for a drink while we waited for the restaurant to open.

We had some local wine at a bar before dinner

Adelaide was one of the places Danielle had recommended, and we had great cassoulet there, a thick stew made with confit of duck leg, pork sausage and beans.

Cassoulet made with duck confit, pork sausage and white beans

By the time we were done eating, the rain had stopped. We walked back through town a different way, all but Ricardo, who headed off on his own. Ricardo ended up exiting the city on the far side from our B&B, and had a long walk around to get to the right street. Luckily, he called me to see where we were, and we eventually met up.

From the garden of our B&B we had a great view of the city, all lit up. It was magical.

Carcassonne at night