uphill

Yesterday my housemate and I went hiking. I discovered something fascinating... in places other than Houston, hiking can involve hills. I knew this once, but the six or so years that we've lived in an incredibly flat landscape allowed me to forget. We've actually changed our vocabulary about the activity, taking the kids on "nature walks" rather than hikes, since I guess, unconsciously, traipsing across a flat coastal prairie at the slow pace demanded by short toddler legs just didn't feel like hiking.

Well, anyway, yesterday I HIKED! Up a hill. Then down again. It was kind of steep. Are you getting how novel this was? Not only the activity, but the scenery, which was mountainous. I must say, I totally get why people vacation in Provence. This place is really, really pretty. It's kind of absurd. We drove out to the trailhead, passing an aqueduct (!) and a series of quite picturesque stone house with pretty shutters. After hiking up then down the large hill, we decided to walk into town, to see where all the tourists parked near us were going. Yeah, duh. Because we just happened to be at the absolute prettiest place in all of Provence, Fontaine de Vaucluse. There is a spring there, set in a deep pocket of the mountain, which sends a beautiful, rushing stream through a valley, past more picturesque stone houses, a Romanesque church, a ruined Medieval castle. Because it's been such a rainy spring, I guess, the whole affair was practically bursting its banks. I took about 100 pictures because I've really never seen such a pretty place.