DAY 6: MORE OF PROVENCE

Some of us had dinner in the Restaurante Napoleon, named after the street it was on. This was away from the waterfront, in Cassis, so it was cheaper. I got just about all I could eat, seafood & other things, for E14.00, including desert. This is a photo of Don & the chef. If you ever go to Cassis, walk up about 2 blocks from the harbour, and you will get a great lunch here!



We were in a small boat for the Calanques, and the water was rough, so i did not get a lot of good photos. this one shows Bridget, hanging on for ddear life, and some of the other folks in the background. It was rough!



The Calanques are a series of 3 fijord-type inlets just west of Marseilles. The boat trip starts in Cassis. this is one of the pieces of rocky shoreline we saw, but it was too rough to really enjoy the ride.

DAY 6: IN PROVENCE

On the Cassis waterfront (right next to the public restrooms!) is this old tree. I got 2 of our young ones to pose on it. Here is Simone!



The other poser on the old tree was Dee. It does improve the view.



Here are Guy & Shirley, with the old Cassis castle in the background. of course, it would have been a monestary, not sure.



Mark & Lula decided to pose for me. This is in the middle of Cassis, in Provence, and I believe it is the castle in the background. We soon went out on the water to visit the Calanques. Those photos are next.

DAY 5: A PHOTO STUDY OF PONT DU GARD, PART 1

You can just see the rock sides of the old channel as it goes into the dirt. The tunnel on the right was cut in 1865 to access the other parts of the aqueduct, fort tourists, I guess.



Looking under one of the arches, you can see the strip of grass & rocks where we had our picnic lunch on our visit.



Another close look at the construction of the aqueduct.



Another angle and a close look shows just how well it was constructed.

DAY 5: A PHOTO STUDY OF PONT DU GARD, PART 1 (It reads backwards, sorry!)

Here is a view of the whole Pont, taken from the overlook on the hill above it. This aqueduct brought water in from fairly far away, and may be one of the most perfect examples left.



Here we are looking from the bottom, where tourists walk across. There is no access to walk across the top.



This view of the bottom shows you some of the construction. Remember, this is 2000+ years old and originally was built without mortar, I believe.



Another view of the Pont, from the trail that goes up to the top, where you can see the channel that leads into it.

DAY 5: RANDOM SHOTS.

In front of the Pope's Palace in Anignon was this interesting Statue of an elephant standing on it"s trunk. It was so unusual that I wondered a couple of things: 1. was this an advertising ploy by the Republican party to get American tourists interested in the party or, 2: Is it an allegory of what the Tea Party has done to the GOP lately? I guess I may never know.



Also this day, in Nimes, we took a walking tour, and Jeff told us about how the crocodile was the symbol of Nimes, and while he ws speaking, one tried to sneak up on Simone. Luckily, we saved her!



Here is a full side view of the Roman Temple in Nimes. All the other shots were only of parts & people.

DAY 5, MANY THINGS TO SEE & DO:ROMAN RUINS IN NIMES, THE PONT DU GARD, & AVIGNON

The very first group shot I was able to get on this trip was at the Pont du Gard, an old Roman aqueduct bridge over the Gard River in Provence. It is even more lovely in person! A photo study shortly!



In our last photo of the Amphitheater, Mark & Lula help me show you some of the inside of this magnificent structure. Thanks, guys!

Day 5, MANY THINGS TO SEE & DO:ROMAN RUINS IN NIMES, THE PONT DU GARD, & AVIGNON

Lula & Mark climbed all the way to the top of the Nimes Roman amphitheater with me so I could get this photo.



This shows the inside oval floor of the amphitheater. You can even see very little people sitting around it.



I got this shot of Sam holding up one side of the building.



Nimes Roman amphitheater if one of the best preserved coluseum-type amphitheaters in the world. They still use it for bull fights & concerts.



Lula & Jeffrey both like this statue of a matador, which stands in front of the Nimes amphitheater.

DAY 5, MANY THINGS TO SEE & DO:ROMAN RUINS IN NIMES, THE PONT DU GARD, & AVIGNON

Just to show you how large the roman temple in Nimes is, look at Don & Christine up by the columns. Also, compare it with the surrounding buildings.



Here is a good photo of Susan Hester at the roman temple in Nimes.



R, Sketch is trying to recreate her famous Sampson Act. Go Sketch!



Of course, here are our DSA Girlz at the Roman Temple in Nimes.



I call this bunch the "DSA Gang", not to be mistaken for the DSA Girlz. They are a pretty motley bunch, do not you agree?

DAY 4, NOT MANY PHOTOS. LOUVRE & THE TRAIN TO THE SOUTH

I am not sure what happened, maybe Lula just likes uniforms, but here she is with a French? (looks vaguely eastern european to me) Railway guard at the Gar de Lyon in Paris, before we got on our train.



This is the pyramid entrance to the Louvre in Paris. we came in from the bus garage, but look how many folks are waiting to get in! Crowded!



Did not get many photos at the Louvre museum in Paris, it was so crowded, and all the folks were scattered, but I did get this one of Mark & Lula, in that famous spot from the Divinci Code.

A LITTLE BIT OF MR. DU BOSE ON TOUR.

Mr. D is stepping out of Rodin's famous "Burghers of Calais", gotta get on with the tour.



Girls, Mr. D is thinking about it.



Mr. D has his photo taken in front of the Invalides as well.



Here Mr. D is in the back garden of Versailles, just outside the Hall or Mirrors.

THIS SHOULD BE A WHOLE PAGE OF MELTONS, SO LOOK SHARP, LULA & BIG MARK!

After the Invalids Palace photo & a relaxing sit-down, we all went to the Rodin Museum & toured the gardens. Even though I warned Lula about it, she still leaned too hard against that statue. I hope she did jot break it!



I do not remember the name of this door, but it is a spectacular Rodin, and Lula thought so as well, Unfortunately, it is not for sale. Sorry, Lula!



Of course, his most famous Sculpture is "The Thinker", at least we all thought so!

SOME PHOTOS WILL BE OUT OF ORDER, BUT HERE IS ONE OF SUSAN HESTER OUT BY A POOL IN THE VERSAILLES GARDEN, AND A FEW FROM THE INVALIDS.

The Invalides is both a french veteran's Hospital, and the tomb of Napoleon the 1st. Here I got the Williams (Don Christine, & Megan) to pose across the street. It was a bit shady, so this photo & the next 2 are not that good. Sorry.



I got Guy & Shirley to pose as well. Same spot, same problem.



I had all three Meltons. Big Mark, Little Mark, & Lula in the sam spot Hi Meltons.



I do not get many photos of Susan, but here she is in the Garden in front of Versailles. Thanks, SH!

PHOTOS FROM DAY THREE, VERSAILLES & THE INVALIDES. WE POSED A LOT OF FOLKS IN FRONT OF THE VERSAILLES PALACE FROINT GATE.

Here we have Priscilla Trotter & her son Max, in front of the Versailles Fence. Looking sharp guys!



Of course, we cannot get rid of those "camera hogs", Mirta & Brianka Rainford. Luckily we really like them, and they make a great photo!



Lula & Big Mark Melton were nice enough to pose for me. We had a fair long wait to get our group in, and took up some of that time with photo ops.



Of course, we got hold of the DSA Girlz, and had them pose for us again. They always class up the blog!

HERE IS ONE THAT I FORGOT TO PUT IN THE LAST POST. SORRY, GIRLS!

Here are some of our DSA beauties, hanging out together in front of Notre Dame, in Paris, of course!

HERE IS AN OLDER ONE & A NEWER ONE! ENJOY!

I took this photo of Simone in one of our airport stops the first day, but had to work it over before putting it up. Hi Simone!



This time I got Bridget, Annie Norris, & Rebecca sketch in one photo, taken at the Trocadero, with the Eiffel Tower in the back ground.