Geo: 43.9486, 4.80597I'm so sad that I didn't bring my camera to our special "splurge" belated birthday dinner. It was so beautifully presented! We went to a hole-in-the-wall place with 8 tables that came highly recommended. Those people were right. It was a world-class meal and exceptionally reasonably priced by French standards. I'm not sure how he's paying the bills with only 8 tables, but my hat is off to the chef/owner. It's a good thing we made reservations because we saw more than one couple turned away tonight. In fact, when we asked if we needed reservations, the owner said, "Oh yeah!"Lucy started with the trio of salmon: mousse, tartare and smoked. I had a vegetable terrine with parmesan cheese and tandoori flavor with parmesan cheese ice cream. The tandoori flavor was very subtle and ... read more

Geo: 43.8232, 5.30819It was quite a study in contrasts moving from the bright, festive colors of Roussillon to the severely plain, unadorned walls of this medieval Cistercian Abbey. We originally sought out the Abbey, in part, because in most of the pictures of it, it is surrounded by lavender fields which the monks tend to support their order. Alas, it is too late for lavender! Still, the building is very majestic and sits alone in the bottom of a narrow valley with high cliffs on either side. The Abbey was founded in 1148 and construction and growth continued into the 13th century. It is still in use today, it's brothers having celebrated the 850th anniversary back in 1988. We took a very quiet tour of the Abbey. Silence is demanded as that is one of the ... read more

Geo: 43.9112, 5.20109This was a long and eventful day, so I've broken it up into separate entries to make it more manageable. We headed toward the village of Gordes, on the recommendation of our French friends. Our struggle with the GPS continued, but today it worked to our advantage. After we missed our turn we stumbled on a Lavender museum established and run by one of the top lavender producers in the world. It turns out that the lavender we have at home isn't actually lavender, but lavendin, a cross between true lavender and spike lavender (or aspic). True lavender is only grown here and in a limited area due to its fickle nature. We saw how the plant is sown, grown and harvested and then distilled for its essential oils. Then we hit the gift ... read more

Geo: 43.8346, 4.36086This was a long and eventful day. Je suis tres fatigue, so this will be an abbreviated entry for the time being.We got up and went out in search of food and to give Lucy a glimpse of Avignon before setting off. I had pan au chocolate, she had brioche. Everyone was happy. On the way back we looked around a Carmelite cloister that was built around the 14th century, I believe. We grabbed our stuff and headed to Pont du Gard, long considered one of the wonders of the Ancient World. It is the largest of Rome's aquaducts and quite a show piece. It's in amazing condition and spans the river Gard. It's a very friendly attraction. There are hiking trails and we saw people swimming and kayaking nearby in the river.From Pont ... read more

Geo: 43.9486, 4.80597It was a little too quiet this morning with no children greeting me with birthday wishes. I consoled myself with bread, chocolate and tea while contemplating my options for the day. I haven't heard from Lucy, but according to the car rental contract, she arrives in Marseille around 5. I think that will put her here around 7, but I'm not sure. I don't want to do everything fun in Avignon without her so I settled on swinging by the tourist info place to pick up the discount pass and walking along the Rhone along the wall outside the city.It's a very pleasant walk. On the far side of the river I could see some sort of event going on which involved boats and jet skis and balloons. All things considered, the Rhone is ... read more