Amazing Golden Arches

---

September 2, 2009 - Provence, France

So instead of going thru the tiny roads of the Verdon (Grand Canyon of France) region, we went through the tiny roads of the Luberon National Park. Funny how fate leads you in a direction and boy was this direction scenic. What a beautiful drive through Provence. They must have just cut the lavenders back as we can see field after field of them but no purple flowers. Still, breathtaking.

We arrived in the “Venice” of France which was a village called L’Isle-s l’Sourge (you should hear Andrew try to pronounce this). The town is settled on the river with canals running throughout the town. Not really like Venice but stunning nonetheless. Antiques keep the town alive and it looked like they had some beautiful things - unfortunately we where only looking through the windows as everything was closed.

Here is the thing about Europe. Around 12:30pm everything closed and the streets literally clear. It’s like invasion of the body snatchers take over and we are left standing by ourselves in the middle of town alone. They must sneak off to fill themselves full of cheese, wine and pastry and take a long nap until about 3:30pm when everything slowly comes back to life. Now, those who know me understand my hobby of napping but this is very strange coming from America where I can get a good burrito and a Big Gulp anytime of day or night. We didn’t spend much time in L’Sourge but it looked lovely if you get their at the right time.

Our campground was just outside of Avignon right next to the Pont du Gard. It was a great spot surrounded by pine trees. There was a bit of sunlight left so we decided to walk over to the Pont du Gard and see it as sunset. 
Pont du Gard is a 2,000 year old Roman ruin. It looks like a massive stone bridge with 3 levels of arches standing over the river. It was built as an aqueduct to get water down to Nimes. They added a bridge so you could walk across it. It was in great condition for being so old. To think that each stone was hand cut and moved into place with such precision to hold for this long is really something. We walked all around it through the forest trails to get a look from every angle. It was really amazing and the best part of Provence for me.

The next morning we got up early and rode our bikes to the Pont du Gard to see it at sunrise when the light was better. It was completely empty so we had it to ourselves - the light was bathing the arches in a golden light. Even the birds living there seemed to be gazing at it’s beauty. It’s a very peaceful place.

---