DAY7: STILL CARCASSONE

Naturally, we had to wait a bit for everyone to gather after our free time in the beautiful walled city of Carcassone, and we were waiting in the rain. Here are some of us, waiting, wet!



Charlotte had a good time, or at least she is smiling! She was well-dressed for the weather. Unfortunately, I left my umbrella on the bus!



The outside of the Cathedral was gothic, but sort of massive. Notice the umbrellas at the bottom, A very nice church, anyway.

Day7: LEAVING PROVENCE FOR SPAIN! STOP IN CARCASSONE

The cathedral in Carcassone was dark, a bit dank, and beautiful. It is hard to get a photo of a rose window, but this is what I got.



The Cathedral door was no Notre Dame, but was quite nice. Inside, however, was the real treat.there were 5 men singing Gregorian chants. They were good, and the acoustics of the church were wonderful. I only heard them sing 2, but it was a highlight of the trip.



The walls at Carcassone reminded me of Toledo, though it is a bit smaller. It was restored about 100+ years ago, and they did a good job. To live there, you need to have a unique craft, and apply for permission & a license. Of course, you can live outside the walls, and many do. The unfortunate thing about our visit was the rain. It did let up a little, but it would have been better to have sunshine!



On our way from France to Spain, we stopped to make sure we were heading the correct way. I had to check it out, personally!

DAY 6: AIX AU PROVENCE.

Cezanne has been gone a long time, but he was from Aix au Provence, and they have this nice little statue, just about where we picked up our bus. Big Mark Melton was our largest person, but the statue is still bigger! Thanks, Mark.



I love doorways in Europe, especially those that are really old, or those that look Art Neaveau like this one in Aix au provence. Sorry, no folks standing in front of it, but a nice doorway anyway.



This tower, I believe, is part of the city hall in Aux au Provence. We did a very quick walking tour, then had an hour or so for shopping, relaxing, or just looking around. we timed it perfectly, as it started raining as we were walking to the bus. as with most small, medieval towns, the bus had to let us off on one side, and pick us up on the other. I just love the little, narrow streets we find there.

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.