Geo: 43.216, 5.53863With all the beautiful sunny weather we have been having, it was time to head for the ocean, to see if the Mediterranean really was blue in colour. It was. We decided to go to Cassis, a little town near Marseilles. It was one of those post card Mediterranean villages, which you will see from the photos. Our first activity was to take a boat cruise to see the Calanques, a series of white cliffs and secluded inlets that Cassis is famous for. The cruise took one and a half hours and was great. The water was as blue as blue. After the cruise, we walked around the town and had some lunch. The water was too tempting so we went back to the car and changed for a swim. The water was just ... read more

Geo: 43.5249, 5.45414We had to be up early today to drive to Aix-en-Provence to drop off the "Bus" at the TGV (Very Fast Train) Station. We had hired a Peugeot Megane for the next three weeks, however, when we arrived at Avis we were given a Citroen C5, a luxury vehicle which retails for around $70,000 in Australia, for the same outlay. I I could get used to driving a car like this to work each day. Aix-en-Provence was originally founded under the Roman Emperor Augustus. Aix came to prominence in the 15th Century under the reign of Good King Rene, and that prosperity continues today. Paul Cezanne, the famous painter grew up in Aix, and his presence is displayed around the city. After driving into Aix, we found a parking station for the car and ... read more

Geo: 43.7885, 4.83167 First up, we went for a drive to Saint-Remy-de-Provence. A beautiful old city which started off as an ancient Roman city. The city was sacked by the Goths in AD 480. Vincent Van Gogh lived in the town for one year and in that time, he produced 150 works. Saint-Remy is also the birthplace of Nostradamus, and the town is full of signs depicting his life. We also visited the Abbey of Saint Therese in the town, founded in 1330. The church was in a poor state of repair, but was still fascinating to see an old church in an unrestored state. The girls made the the most of the shopping in Saint Remy, and us guys displayed the "patience of the saints" in waiting outside many a shop. After lunch, we visited ... read more

Geo: 43.8114, 4.63547Drove to the town of Carcassonne today, a medieval town two and a half hours towards the border of France and Spain. The castle overlooks the town, being situated on the crest of the hill. It is a massive structure. The town was originally settled in the 2nd Century BC by the Romans. The Castle was placed under seige by the order of Pope Leo in the 12th Century, and many citizens were killed as a result. The castle has been painstakingly restored over the past few hundred years. It was interesting to hear the history of the castle as ownership shifted between various tribes and nations. It was also interesting to hear a non-english centric view of the Crusades, with the Crusaders being basically plunderers and thieves, rather than heroic conquerors. I had ... read more

Geo: 43.8114, 4.63547 Today we left Clavieres and travelled the scenic route to our next stopover, Beaucaire. We travelled via the Gorges du Tarn, stopping off at the town of La Canourgue for a coffee and walk around the town. Kim and I ran into a friendly old guy, who talked to us for quite a while in broken English. After we asked him for a photo in front of his fourteenth century built house, he invited us in to see his home. His wife had died 12 years ago and I think he was appreciative of someone to talk to. His family had lived in the home for four hundred years. He showed us a large book in his house commemorating the inauguration of one of the Kings of France, the book being several hundred ... read more