Les Baux

We arrived at Les Baux after we left Cassis, though we did stop at Aix de Provence for about two hours. Les Baux is magical to me. There is nothing like it. It is a tiny town carved out of the mountainside with origins and ruins dating back to the 12th century.

Clouds had started to gather by the time we arrived; around six. After checking into our B&B, we ate dinner and wandered the now nearly vacant town (all the day trippers had left). The cobbled streets are very narrow and wind upward toasted the ruins of an old chateau that housed the barons or lords that were in power. The town was attacked several times in it's history due to it's excellent location atop a high hill as well as for limestone, bauxite and fertile green valleys it controlled.

We brought our tiny car into town after seven when it is allowed, and brought our bags in as you do not want to risk ruining them by bumping them along the uneven stones. James is very intrigued by how people built and modernized such medieval buildings.

A huge storm rolled in our first night and we were awakened by monstrously loud claps of thunder and blinding flashes of lightening. It went on and off for several hours making it hard to sleep. We could hear the deluge and saw the damage it made the next day when we visited nearby St Remy to try to do laundry. Many stores were mopping out and closed, including the one laundromat. We decided to try again the next day.

I will write more about Les Baux again when I have more time, but I will tease you by saying we didn't get much sleep the next night either.

Moving on to the French Hills of Provence

James got a little burned yesterday. I think he needed a couple of additional applications of sunscreen. He very proud of his international burn, and men says he "planned it".

We moved from our regular room to the suite for one night- sigh... very nice. We usually try to have one splurge night somewhere in the trip, and this is where it fit in.

We have gotten quite hot and tended to sweat more than we are used to, so whenever we found a cool breeze we would put our hands on our hips and make it look like we were having an animated argument. In reality we typically would be trying to decide in what flavor of gelato to try next, or what in the world to buy Ricky for a gift.

Yesterday there was some kind of regatta race in the little bay. There were 1, 2, & 4 person slender boats with the long oars that raced out to a large buoy and back for several laps. It seemed there were 2 separate races. Other than that the town was MUCH quitter on Sunday than it was on Saturday. The waterfront marina area with all the restaurants and shops was a throng of people.

We leave Cassis later today, but not until we take a boat ride along the rugged coastline first. This area has fjiord-like fingers if rocks jutting out into the sea that they call Calanques. We want to explore them some today.

Later we will head on to Les Baux, a tiny hill town that is very romantic and sill be our home base while we check out other towns and sights like Nimes, and the famous aqueduct called Pont du Gard.

I hope to finally get photos uploaded sometime during this portion of our trip.

Talk to you all soon!

Sent from my iPod

Cassis Part Deaux

My last blog post got sent in mid-sentence the mention my iTouch came into wireless range.

What I had been saying was that I did buy one pair of sandals in Venice. However, I was disappointed almost the minute I walked out the door because they looked so ordinary. Ordinary won't cut it. So the search was still on.

I found my "bling blings" in St Tropez where they have a noted style made famous by a leather artisan. They are called St Tropeziennes. They are like nothing I have ever had for sure.

Today we have rented chaises on the beach and will do nothing.

Sent from my iPod

Cassis

We rented our car in Nice and them headed for Grasse where I had some fragrance on order. Back in 2006, when Mandy and I were there, we crafted our own fragrances. I really liked Mandy's, so I ordered a bottle for myself. They had the day mixed up, so we had to kill some time while they made it up. We found the old town and toured Fragonard, a several hundred year old fragrance company which has been in the same family the entire time.

After going back and getting my perfume, we headed on to St Tropez. We watched massive yachts go in and out of the harbor while eating lunch. After some shopping, we were off to Cassis. I had heard of this harrowing cliffside road called Road de Cretes that had amazing views of the Mediterranean. We found the road and photos will not do it justice.

Cassis is a small fishing village that has become a destination for vacationers in the 20 years or so. James thinks it is romantic. We walked the marina area to find just the right spot for dinner, then sat near the water to watch the stars come out and a few fishermen cast their lines. I agree with James that it is very romantic.

Tomorrow is just a lazy day on the beach, shopping, and a boat ride.

Oh, I have to mention that I bought what I call my "bling bling" shoes. You have go buy shoes In Europe. I bought a pair in
Sent from my iPod

It has been quite warm each day; probably in the 80's. Monaco was quite an experience with the 100+ foot yachts, the exotic cars, and the very wealthy people coming out of shops like Chanel, Gucci, Ferragamo, Bruno Magli, and the like. I made sure to give them lots of elbow room on the sidewalk so they wouldn't be sullied. When we were at the marina one young woman (probably in her early 20's) had three or four Helpers carrying about five or six garment bags, each with several hangers, plus probably another dozen or more shopping bags, onto a huge yacht. Everyone took their shoes off before boarding the boat.

Today we rent a car and head off to Grasse to pick up fragrance I ordered, then St Tropez for lunch, then on to Cassis for the next 2 days.

Sent from my iPod