If I'm tired of cheese...

... it must be time to go home. Before Leo resigns. I am off to Paris tomorrow morning and will have an afternoon to spend in the museums before flying home. I am sad to leave such a beautiful place, but looking to forward to seeing all my beautiful boys. I'm also looking forward to some Mexican food and margaritas!

more big old rocks

To conclude the tale of the four-day road trip, when Mary and I left the beach we drove north to Nimes. We got caught in the French truck protest called "l'escargot".... the name evokes the result of the protest quite nicely. But we made it to Nimes just in time to meet my friends Nancy and Chris, whom Leo and I got to know in London several years ago. They have a house not far from Nimes, and I left Mary to spend the night there. I had a great time catching up with Nancy and Chris, and getting to know their friends Bella and Gigi, who were also visiting, as well as their lovely neighbor Jane. Jane has spent most of her life visiting that town and took us around to see some of the hidden sights, including the beautiful, sprawling farm house she stayed at as a child. To my delight, there was a little prehistoric menhir (remember the dolmen? a menhir is the dolmen's single friend) in the garden. Two megaliths in one trip. Doesn't get better than that.

Nancy and Chris very kindly drove me back to Menerbes the following day, stopping along the way to see a variety of interesting sites, mostly more big old rocks, my favorite kind of sight. We saw the Pont du Gard, which was as fabulous as I imagined, and also a very nice little triumphal arch near the Roman town of Glanum.

We have a winner!!

I have the answer to the reader's challenge, and we have a winner. First let me say that I approached this question like an archaeologist, and I failed. There are at least two other similar objects placed around the village of Menerbes, so I was certain that these were culturally-specific, functional objects. I peered at them, I studied them, I walked around them. I was totally frustrated that I couldn't figure them out. Anyway, I finally found someone today who knew the answer. Turns out, Monsieur Christian was correct: they are simply objets d'art. A local sculptor makes them. They are meant to resemble little chairs, which of course is why half of us thought of potty chairs. So Chris, you win a Fabulous Provencal Prize! I will try to find something more masculine than lavender soap.

NOT Barcelona

After leaving Niaux (see below) we were supposed to go to Barcelona. The plan was to park the car in Perpignan, a French city not far from the Spanish border, and take a train to Barcelona. We are not allowed to drive the car out of France, hence the complex plan.



Sadly, we missed our train by literally five seconds, and there were no more trains to Barcelona that night. By this point it was evening and we had no back-up plan. However, my clever friend Mary looked at the map and spotted Collioure nearby, on the Mediterranean coast. She said, "Matisse painted there. It must be nice." So off we went. We figured from there we could get to Barcelona in the morning.

And nice it was. I will post only a few pictures, but let me tell you, this place is heaven. Barcelona was forgotten very quickly as we parked ourselves next to the sea and basically stared at it for the next 24 hours.

Cave

Our roadtrip continued from Carcassonne (see below) to Niaux Cave, a cave in the Pyrenees with Paleolithic art. I've always wanted to see one of these caves, so this was very exciting for me. It was really incredible. You go in with a very small group and a guide and a few flashlights, and walk over a mile deep into the cave. After going through all these twisting passageways, you end up in an incredibly large vaulted space, and that's where the paintings are. Bison, horses, ibex, all drawn or painted as though they are floating through space. So incredible to think that they've been there for something like 14,000 years. The cave actually continues even further into the mountain, with more paintings deeper in, but visitors are not allowed any further. It's just as well, in a way, because it is somewhat frightening to be so deep in the cave. Someone in our group burst into tears at some point; it seems she started to fall behind the group and had a little panic attack or something. Anyway, it was amazing and made me want to see more cave art.

Carcassonne

I've just returned from a four-day road trip. I have so much to tell, I'm not sure where to start. I suppose I could tell you that you people in the US don't know from high gas prices, but nobody really wants to hear that. It's a good thing that the money here is this fake monopoly stuff called euros or I might really be stressed out about the prices.

Anyway, I went on a road trip with my housemate, Mary, who drove the Mercedes that belongs to this program we're part of. Not a bad way to travel, and Mary gets full marks for European driving skills. I get partial marks for navigation. Our first stop was Carcassonne, which is a medieval fortified town in the Cathar region of France, just north of Pyrenees. It's quite breathtaking. It has to be appreciated mainly as a 19th century endeavor since it was rebuilt rather fabulously by Viollet-le-Duc. He did a wonderful job but there is something rather Disney-esque about it, especially when the busloads of tourists start arriving. Luckily, we had arrived late in the evening and so got to the site first thing in the morning, before the other tourists, so it was enjoyable for a quick visit. The pointy, slate-covered turrets you'll see in the photo are a V-l-D confection. They may not be authentic, but you've got to give the man credit. They look good.

reader's challenge

I don't know if I actually have any readers, but if you're out there, this is your shot at glory. You have a chance to WIN a contest and a FABULOUS PROVENCAL PRIZE. I don't know what that is yet; probably lavender soap because that's the only souvenir I can find, but don't let that stop you from participating.

Here is the challenge. Above, I have posted a picture of an object found in this very house. What do you suppose it is? Leave your guess as a comment, below. A correct answer will win a Fabulous Prize. (full disclosure: I do not know what this object is. But I will find out).