Into the Pyrennes

typical Andorran sidewalk

Andorra la Vella (week 25)

We decided to drive back to Puyloubier through the Pyrenees.  This course took us through Andorra.  The Spanish end was warm, +8 in the afternoon, so after an indoor picnic lunch we had a pleasant stroll through the capital of Andorra la Vella, and up along the Anella Verda.  This is the hiking path that rings the capital about half-way up the mountain, hard-surfaced and easy walking.  We encountered several locals walking their dogs and in one case wearing 3" spike heels (we would not choose to wear such footwear on an uneven path, but Andorrans are a hardy hiking lot).  Andorran towns are buried in the valleys, and the valleys are narrow, so its easy to understand why the population centres are so small (the population of the entire country is under 100,000).

We continued along the valleys and up (it's a steady uphill climb into the Pyrenees all the way to the French border).  Naturally, the amount of snow increased until we arrive in ski country.  We had been warned that the population of France goes skiing over the Christmas holiday, so we weren't surprised when traffic slowed to a crawl.  The northern part of the country is like a continuous string of Whistlers, so bottlenecks are caused by cars trying to find hotels, skiers in boots hobbling across the roads, etc.  The supposedly 30-minute trip from mid-way to the French border took 1.5 hours, plus another hour to get through Ax-les-Thermes (the delay in Ax was simply the mid-town roundabout, which was crawling with pedestrian skiers crossing the roads).

two views of Andorra, the same day: left is Andorra la Vella at the Spanish end, right is the French border

When we mentioned the traffic jams to the locals in Puyloubier, they offered an alternate explanation: French nationals were slipping over the border for cheap alcohol for New Year's Eve, since Andorra has no alcohol tax.  Regardless of the reason, the traffic meant it was a long night to get home, but we did find a restaurant in Avignonet-Lauragais that served traditional cassoulet, which is basically beans and weiners, with duck thrown in to make it truly French.

"Barça = football"

Basilica de la Sagrada Família

Barcelona (week 25)

Even in the last week of December, Barcelona is full of tourists.  We had planned for a morning outing to the Gaudí-designed basilica Sagrada Família, but the lineup was around the block by the time we got there just after 10 am.  So we just took in the exterior with a stroll around the church, which was very impressive in and of itself.  The cranes attest to the fact that even though construction started in 1882, the building is unfinished.  We then carried on to Camp Nou, the home field of FC Barcelona.  The club bills itself as the most successful in professional sports; even if Montréal Canadiens fans disagree, it's hard to argue when you walk through the trophy room and see their hardware.  The club is not just the soccer team - there is also professional basketball, handball, roller hockey (on old-style roller skates with field hockey sticks) and futsal (an indoor soccer variant).  They also run amateur teams in volleyball, ice hockey, wheelchair basketball, and various women's sports.

We took the stadium tour, which is quite comprehensive.  It starts in the Barça museum full of the aforementioned trophies and other memorabilia from shoes to videos of famous goals.  It continues into the stadium itself, visiting a locker room, press room (for press conferences), press booth (where the play-by-play announcers sit), etc.  You get to walk down the same tunnel as the players, past the very Catholic addition of a chapel on the way, and onto the sidelines (but not, naturally, onto the pitch itself).  It's also a good workout - at one point you have to hike all the way up from the pitch level to the press booth, which hangs from the roof.  Naturally you end up in the FCBotiga (botiga = boutique), a 3-level shop with probably the same area as a small Walmart.  For all its size, though, the selection is pretty limited, consisting of modern jerseys (three styles plus two goalie styles), soccer balls, jackets and other clothes, and various knickknacks like fridge magnets and water bottles.  It's not nearly as extensive as the gold standard of team stores - the Bruins shop in the TD Garden - because it has no historical items and no game-worn or signed memorabilia.

from left to right: the field-side bench, the chapel in the player's tunnel, the press booth above the stadium

Reefie revisited

fancy digs for a tourist bureau

Barcelona (week 25)

Barcelona's aquarium bills itself as the largest in Europe.  In terms of exhibit space, it doesn't seem bigger than Cité de la Mer, but then Cherbourg's aquarium has an entire ballistic missile nuclear submarine within its area.  On the other hand, l'Aquàrium de Barcelona has far more tanks and fish, so perhaps they have a point.  It's easy to see where the Ripley's Aquarium in Toronto got its inspiration - the layout, signage, and giant conveyor belt under the big tank were all pretty much the same between the two aquaria.  Andrew was glad to get reacquainted with the reef sharks (this time both black-tipped and white-tipped).

To get to the Aquarium, we came out of the Drassanes Metro stop and walked down past the tourist bureau, located in the base of the giant Mirador de Colom monument to Christopher Columbus, and over the Rambla de Mar bridge.  Catamarans for the 2-man-team around-the-world endurance race were moored at the harbour near the bridge.  The harbourfront was busy, even on a Sunday, as all the stores in the mall were open, and lots of people were going to the Aquarium and the movie theatre.  It's a vibrant and modern waterfront bordered by interesting buildings and not too marred by the industrial port facilities as you look seaward.

Leaving the Aquarium, we followed the roadway north-east until we came to the Parc de la Ciutaella, site of the Catalonian Parliament.  The park also hosts a population of wild parrots, the local zoo, and various other buildings.  We strolled along past orange trees and the big fountain (reminiscent of the Palais Longchamps in Marseille) and up the promenade to the Arc de Triomf that I mentioned in the previous post.  From there we caught the Metro back to our hotel.

Down the Via Domitia

Barcelona (week 25)

The reason the Romans settled Provence was to have a secure land route between Italy and Spain.  Thus, all along our drive from Puyloubier to Barcelona there were signs declaring that we were following the path of the Via Domitia Roman route.  We decided to come to Barcelona for our Christmas holiday.  To emphasize the old Roman connection, there is a large Arc de Triomf in the extended garden surrounding the Catalonian parliament building.  Like in Paris, this is not an actual Roman structure, but instead was built for the 1888 World's Fair.  Interestingly, the outside is brick-covered, as you can see in the picture.
  
The Catalonians are certainly in the Christmas spirit, with a skating rink covering most of the Plaça de Catalunya and festive lights adorning the main streets.  The ice was actually quite good in spite of the 10+ degrees temperature, since the rink was covered and perhaps also air-conditioned.  Craig, Andrew, and David went for a skate (no helmets required for those over 8!); they also had Wii U consoles set up, a hockey-shooting area reminiscent of the Hockey Hall of Fame, and video screens showing highlights of the Sochi Olympics (perhaps to support a fellow Olympic alumnus city).

We also took a stroll down La Rambla, checking out the market, which included a large fish market; stalls selling meats, candies, and fruit; and a "Dunkin' Coffee" (i.e. Dunkin' Donuts).

Christmas Day

Not exactly spontaneous Christmas picture

Puyloubier (week 25)

Joyeux Noël!

Christmas Day saw the boys hard at work on their respective Lego sets: David's that he bought at the JouéClub and Andrew's that he got from "Aunt" Jacki.  As was the tradition in Craig's household, the boys were allowed to choose one present to open Christmas Eve.  The great thing about Lego is that it will keep them busy for hours - allowing their parents to sleep in if they so choose.  We eventually all got ourselves moving and got our Christmas presents opened.  We had a very small tree, but a real one (and it was big enough to fit all our presents under).  Yolanda and Craig agreed not to get anything that wasn't consumable, so we wouldn't have to ship back even more stuff.

Miscellaneous: Turkey is expensive here, as is most meat (except pork), so we're having chicken instead; the small size of European ovens limits the size of bird that can be easily cooked anyways.   The English-language movie channel did not show any Christmas films.  The boulangeries in town were open this morning (closed tomorrow) because the thing to have for dessert is bûche de Noël - a Yule log - that you buy fresh that morning; everything else is closed but open tomorrow (they don't have Boxing Day).  The French equivalent of the Pot of Gold box of chocolates is the Lindt Champs-Élysées box, which we saw leaving the grocery store in pretty much every basket in the weeks before Christmas.

1993 Ferrari 456GT

 
P.S. If anyone wants to get Craig a last-minute gift, the used car dealer down the road in Rousset has this car for sale for a mere €38,500.

Christmas Eve

Les Pennes-Mirabeau and Trets (week 24)

We finally figured out where Marseille's box stores are: just north of the city, on the Aix-Marseille highway, there is a large complex of stores in Les Pennes-Mirabeau.  Probably the Aix people use it too when they aren't too snobby for such places.  We went there to visit JouéClub, the equivalent of Toys-R-Us, so David and Andrew could spend the money they've been saving (and receiving from relatives for Christmas gifts).  David picked up a large Lego Chima set (how are we going to get that home?) and Andrew splurged on ..... a Beanie Baby.  A single €6 Beanie Baby.  It is very cute, but there was no convincing him he could also buy more than that with his accumulated €100.  For dinner we discovered across from the JouéClub an honest-to-goodness Steak 'N Shake.  So to celebrate the Christmas spirit in the south of France, we grabbed burgers at the quintessential midwestern U.S. fast-food chain.

Christmas Eve found us at l'Église Paroissiale de Notre Dame de Nazareth in Trets.  There are 3 churches that share a priest - in Trets (the largest), Puyloubier, and Rousset.  Therefore, the 7pm Christmas Eve mass is at the largest church.  Even so, it was bursting at the seams.  We found a spot in the back where we had a thin line-of-site to the alter.  The service started with a Provençal carol (at least, the words looked like they were in that language), led by Trets's medieval club, who we've seen before at the Medieval Fair and other celebrations.  They also used traditional instruments (wooden flutes/recorders and drums) rather than the organ for all the music.  We were unfamiliar with most of the tunes, except for Les anges dans nos campagnes, which we know as "Angels We Have Heard on High" (the translated lyrics in English are similar to the original French).




The big show, however, was just prior to the service, with a torchlight procession through the town.  Since they take such things literally in France, actual flaming torches were used.  The parade also included three donkeys, at least four goats, and a couple sheep.  The medieval club led the procession (and the animals) in their period costumes and played music, again we assumed they were traditional carols as we didn't recognize the tunes.  The pilgrims then doused their torches in the fountain beside the church before going inside.

"Sur le Pont d'Avignon, l'on y danse tous en rond"

Avignon (week 24)

David on the Pont Saint-Bénézet

The tourist office bills the Pont d'Avignon as the most famous bridge in the world.  I'm not sure about that, but just as everyone learns that "London Bridge is falling down" in the English-speaking world, tout le monde in the French world learns that "On Avignon Bridge, we all dance around in a ring".  Curiously, both London Bridge and Pont d'Avignon are anachronisms: the former London Bridge is in Arizona, and there is actually no such bridge as "Pont d'Avignon", its actual name is Pont Saint-Bénézet.  The legend goes that a shepherd named Bénézet received a vision from God instructing him to build a bridge across the Rhône at Avignon, hence the name.  Only 4/22 of the bridge remains, the rest having been destroyed and washed away by the periodic floods that the Rhône is known for.

Windy day atop the Palais des Papes

There is a chapel built into the bridge, dedicated to Saint Bénézet, now the patron saint of bargemen.  Unfortunately, the day was windy, so our dancing on the bridge was short.  The bridge (and chapel) is part of medieval Avignon's world heritage site.  Another part of the site is the Palais des Papes.  In 1309, Clement V moved the papacy to Avignon, then owned by the Western Catholic church (it remained part of the Papal States until the French Revolution).  Upon the palace's completion, it was apparently the largest building in the western world.  Avignon was the official seat of the papacy until 1377, and after that hosted a few anti-popes (challengers to the pope in Rome).

Visiting the palace is interesting, and is much like Mont Saint-Michel, another combination fortress-holy building.  Naturally the rooms are now unfurnished, so you have to imagine the grandeur of its heyday.  There are a few rooms where the walls, floors, and ceilings are fully restored - multi-coloured and decorated floor tiles, mosaics or patterns on the ceilings, and elaborate patterned paintings on the walls.  These 3 or 4 rooms are beautiful, but unfortunately picture-taking is strictly forbidden in them (and they have guides posted in these rooms to enforce the rule).

Incidentally, medieval Avignon is considered the top Provençal site by one of our guidebooks.

Andrew the Artiste

Puyloubier (week 23)

Andrew has taken up the mantle of creativity in the family.  One of his favourite activities is creating new lands, both in Minecraft and on paper.  This is a picture of one of his maps, about 3/4 done.  He makes up city and country names, and sometimes even has competitions between their soccer teams.  This particular land is his favourite world, Diyoza.

His most recent creation is this frozen dessert, which he has named "Micullanium".  It's basically a frozen pudding-pop with Oreos in the middle.  However, he came up with the concept and most of the recipe by himself.  As you can see, the result was a little messy, but very tasty!

Two Towers

Meyreuil (and Paris) and Marseille (week 23)

Pictured here are the two tallest man-made structures in France.  On the left is the taller one, possibly recognizable to you (hint: it is is Paris).  On the right is the second-tallest structure: the chimney of the the Provence Power Plant in Meyreuil.  It is visible from anywhere along the Mont Ste. Victoire south face (including from our terrace).  I have scaled the picture to give you a feel for their relative heights, i.e. the Tour Eiffel is only a few feet taller!  Just a little bit of trivia for your reading pleasure.

The picture of the power plant is from the car travelling along the D6 highway, which we take to get to Marseille and the TGV station.  This week we had to go into Marseille to the OFII (Office of Immigration) to have our physicals for our long-term visa validation.  A Canadian passport is sufficient for multi-entry to a maximum of 90 days in the Shengen border-control area.  However, since we're staying longer than that, if we want to re-enter the Shengen zone (say, if we had to go to Canada, the U.K., or Andorra) after leaving it, we needed our visa validated.  As far as we can tell, it's main purpose is to keep tuberculosis out of the country - we had to have a medical that was a chest X-ray, a doctor listening to our breathing for 2 minutes, and a few desultory questions about whether we had daily medications.  They didn't seem to care if we had AIDS, SARS, or ebola.

A skating rink in the palms

Toulon (week 23)

The city of Toulon is undergoing an urban renewal, which appears much further advanced than Marseille's.  In the areas around the harbour, maybe 1/3 of the facades on the old row houses have been recently redone and another 1/3 are covered in scaffolding to allow their work to be done.  The activity, cleanliness, and wider and straighter streets combine to make Toulon quite pleasant for a tourist.  When we surfaced from the underground carpark, we emerged into the middle of their Marché de Noël.  Spread over several squares around the naval base, it included a weird animatronic elves' village, a forest of fake snow-coated Christmas trees, "log cabin" stalls selling jewelry and food, and a real skating rink.  The ice wasn't great since it was 16C when we were there, but there were many intrepid skaters trying it out (based on the skill level of some, they must have been expats from colder climes).  The cathedral was also in on the act, filling one of its bays with an elaborate nativity scene.  The Virgin who is normally the central figure was forced to peep over the backdrop sheet to look at the lights on the Christmas tree.


We went to the Musée national de la Marine, a naval museum next to the naval base.  It is quite small, and is mostly models, paintings, and videos - there are very few actual relics and no museum ships.  Compared to, say, the Maritime Museum in Halifax, or even the Fisheries Museum in Lunenburg, the exhibits are sparse.  There are some interesting actual ship figureheads, and two of the models are enormous - including the masts they would measure 15' high.  I also thought it was strangely emotionless, perhaps because the French have no particular defining naval moment - no Trafalgar or Spanish Armada.  In fact, the longest video dealt with the scuttling of the Vichy fleet in 1942, hardly a high-water mark for a navy!

Third sister

Le Thoronet (week 22)

The third Cistercian abbey in Provence is Le Thoronet.  It is almost identical to Silvacane in layout, right down to the size and shape of the church, the chapter house, and the cloister.  However, it seems like the restoration work is more advanced (or perhaps it hadn't deteriorated as much) in the church and cloister areas.  More outbuildings were open as well, and included a few relics such as one of the old olive oil/wine presses.  They are also doing a lot of work outside, expanding the parking lot and adding what looks like an aire (rest stop).  The forest was also alive with the sound of chainsaws as workmen were thinning out the surrounding wood.

In addition to the press, highlights include the gatehouse with a turret and bridge, a damaged but still colourful mural on the apse ceiling, the covered well in the cloister, and the scrollwork on the pillars in the chapter house, which appears to be more ornate than in the other Cistercian abbeys we've seen (or perhaps it is just in better condition).

Vichy's contribution to the Shoah

Les Milles (Week 21)

The village of Les Milles is best known today as being the site of Aix's box stores (it reminds me of Crowfoot Crossing in Calgary).  On the other side of town is a factory complex that, for about 70 of its 75 years, made clay tiles (ubiquitous in Provençal architecture).  For the other four years, in the midst of WWII, it was the site of an internment camp for Jews, Gypsies, and others considered undesirable to the Nazi (and therefore Vichy) regime.  The prisoners were arrested throughout Provence and collected here prior to their deportation to Drancy and thence to Auschwitz, Ravensbrück, et al.

the 1st-floor kiln room, with art on the pillars

The site was eventually turned into the Site-Mémorial du Camps des Milles.  Visitors can tour the space; it now includes interpretive signage although the camp itself hasn't been recreated per se.  In a way, the open, bare-walled spaces are more effective at communicating the dehumanization of the concentration camp system.  Most evocative are the graffiti and decorative paintings scattered throughout the living areas - many of the Jewish artistic and intellectual elite of Germany had fled the Nazis and ended up in Provence, so they were caught in the French collapse of 1940 along with the French Jews.  Thus, a large number of artists were interned here, and they expressed themselves in the Camp by writing verses on the walls or creating friezes on the concrete beams.  Unfortunately, because the living quarters were in the tile kilns, they were mostly lost when the kilns went back into use after the war.

This building housed up to 3000 internees. The suicide window is the open window on the second floor at the centre of the picture.  The infirm were housed on the 1st floor, able-bodied men on the 2nd floor, women and children on the 3rd.

there is a Star of David on the door

All the signage is in English and French.  There are a number of surprising tidbits, including the 2nd-floor "suicide window" from where inmates who wanted to try to kill themselves would jump.  We also saw the back-side skylight where the teenagers would climb up to the roof to hide when they were gathering people to put on the trains, the pathetically inadequate latrines, and an Auschwitz "cattle-car" sitting on the actual railway siding where they would load deportees.

mural in the guards' canteen

The best preserved prisoner art is in the former guards' canteen.  The artists managed to inject some ironic humour into the art, including the message, Si vos assiettes ne sont pas très garnies, puissent nos dessins vous calmer l'appétit ("If your plates aren't full enough, let our drawings curb your appetite").  One of the strangest things about the site is the level of security - the entrance checkpoint is more secure than an airport, with metal detectors and an "airlock" system that visitors have to be buzzed into and out of.

Marseille - MuCEM

view from the ramparts of Fort Saint-Jean

Marseille (week 21)

We were back in Marseille to see the "jewel of the new waterfront": the Musée des civilisations de l'Europe et de la Méditerranée, abbreviated "MuCEM".  It is in a modern (a few years old) building on the waterfront, surrounded by what Yolanda called the largest pétanque field in Provence.  The city clearly leveled a swath of the old waterfront and now the area only holds the museum and an underground parking garage, the latter covered over by the aforementioned gravel park (it's actually more aesthetically pleasing than it sounds, with nice views of the Med, benches, some trees, etc.).  The MuCEM proper (called the J4 building - whatever that means) is attached by a pedestrian overpass (over a water channel) to Fort Saint-Jean (built by Louis XIV in 1660, although you can still see parts of the old 12th century Hospitaller fort that were incorporated into the structure).  Although the fort is at the entrance to the harbour, it's guns were pointed inland, for guarding the King's interests from the local population rather than from attack by sea-borne invaders (too bad the French didn't apply this lesson to the Fortress of Louisbourg).  Several buildings within the walls of the Fort also contain exhibits, and you can climb the Tour du Roi René for a panoramic view of the MuCEM, fort, city, and marina.  The kids enjoyed running around the ramparts and climbing the various viewpoints.  They didn't so much enjoy the creepy circus diorama (about 30' of painted cardboard cutouts) or the even creepier marionette exhibit, both located in former Fort buildings (the old chapel and officer's quarters, respectively).

this is made entirely of bread!

As for the museum itself, it is airy and uncluttered ... but somewhat underwhelming, at least compared to, say, the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Ottawa (which apparently has a new name, but it's still a civilization museum).  The permanent exhibits feature agricultural artifacts from across the Mediterranean, but they are mostly small items and models.  Another permanent exhibit, on the Holy Land, is largely told through models and videos, rather than artifacts or recreated rooms and buildings.  There is also a very large area for temporary exhibits, currently featuring an interesting collection from photojournalist Raymond Depardon.  There was also an exhibit on food-related art that we didn't visit. 

"It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas"

Puyloubier and Rians (week 20)

Just as in North America, the Christmas season gets underway in earnest right after Armistice Day.  This past weekend was the Marché de Noël Artisanal, featuring food and Christmas crafts.  Unlike the Christmas Bazaars that we're familiar with - such as those hosted as fundraisers for churches - the vendors were mostly professionals.  On our visit to Rians (below), the tourist bureau had a neat display of Advent calendars, e.g. made of wood with little drawers to pull out (candy not included)).

The village has also put up and turned on its Christmas lights (note to the Downtown Halifax Business Commission - they waited until after Nov. 11!).   Of course, the weather isn't very Christmassy compared to home: the daytime highs still hover around the +15C mark.  The days are short, though - sunset is officially just after 5pm, but the sun goes behind the mountains sooner than that.  So the cheery white lights are welcome, even if there isn't snow on the ground.  All things considered, we're happy enough for it to be +15C.

the 12th-century tower is on the left

Our weekend trip did not take us far, just to the village of Rians, around the corner of Mont Ste-Victoire (in Var).  Its church has two steeples (perhaps more accurately: bell towers), neither of which is directly attached to the church.  I gather it was not uncommon to have the bell tower separated from the sanctuary, but this is the first in-use church we've seen with this configuration.  As for Rians specifically one tower is actually used as the church bell, the other is the restored 12th-century town's tower.

It must be an election year

Puyloubier (week 19)

Over the course of 2 days, the town became covered with construction signs.  They are reminiscent of the "Canada's Action Plan" signs (although without the same level of graphic design), announcing how much is being funded by the government.  As you can see from the pictures, they are doing work on the church, the school, the library, and paving some roads.  They are also upgrading the fresh water pipes along several streets, improving the slope (drainage) on the soccer field, paving some of the common parking lots, working on restoration of the medieval church ruins, and building several ramps (I assume for accessibility - they say "rampes pour PMR" on the signs).

It might be hard to tell from the pictures, but these are large signs - the big ones are over four feet square.  When all these signs suddenly appeared, I assumed 2014 must be an election year - and it is.  However, I read on Wikipedia that the municipal elections were in March, and the Senate elections were in September, so I'm not sure what has spawned this outpouring of tax-dollar spending.

Speak!

La Barben (week 19)

Apparently they don't have the same substitute-teacher infrastructure here as they do at home: David's teacher was "away" today, so David had the morning off school (they don't have school on Wednesday afternoon anyways).  Andrew was swimming, as his class does each Wednesday, so there wasn't any new homework to be done today!

To celebrate, we visited the Parc Zoologique de la Barben.  It is situated between Aix and Salon, so within easy driving distance.  It is a private zoo, so a little pricey (€16 for adults, €10 for children), but it was a pretty good place.  They had the typical suite of animals - lions, tigers, and bears (oh my!) - just enough exhibits for an afternoon visit.  They also had some new animals we had never seen before: European grey wolves, European lynxes, meerkats, and the highlight for Craig, a capybara, the world's largest rodent (for an explanation of the last, you would need to know that the superhero The Tick has a capybara for a pet, named "Speak").  There was also a reptile vivarium containing lots of snakes, crocodiles, and turtles.  Another highlight was the talkative macaw - he said hello and also had a very human-like "laugh".

At this time of year, the place was almost deserted, only a dozen or so cars were in the parking lot.  However, it was a nice day (the high was ~15C), so the animals were quite animated and visible, unlike the really hot summer days when they hunker down in whatever shade they can find at the corners of their enclosure.

"You're a wonderful loveable rodent! And there's nothing wrong with that! No, if that's your lifestyle choice then we'll stand behind you all the way."

Look Ma - no guardrails!

Buoux (week 19)

Many minor lords and their medieval towns were founded up hillsides and on top of mountains for defense.  Some of these forts became virtual impregnable - the Château-des-Baux, which we visited a couple months ago, has been well-developed as a tourist attraction.  The Fort de Buoux is another example, and much less well developed.  The entrance is well outside the current town of Buoux, with a lone caretaker living on site to take admission and to warn you to be careful.  There is also a helpful sign that warns you that "the cliff is dangerous".  And, indeed, there is a beautiful set of ruins atop the cliffs ..... and nothing else.  No guardrails, no fences, and, when we were there at least, no other people.

l: the main fortress wall (the cliff is 2 metres to Yolanda's right, the dip on her left is one of the moats); r: the hidden stairs (the wall to the right blends in to the rock as seen from below)

Located in the Luberon, Buoux a little less accessible than Les Baux - both in terms of driving there and in terms of getting to the fort from the parking lot.  There are also no artifacts, no costumed performers, and no crossbows to play with.  The ruins themselves are just as interesting, however, with multiple partly intact curtain walls, two obvious fossés (defensive ditches), and the bottom half of the church still well laid out.  There are also some neat "houses" carved out of the rock, you can see the arrow slits in the curtain and fort walls, and you get to go down the escalier dérobé (hidden staircase).  This last is the back door into the fort (perhaps serving as a sally port) carved into the rock; from the bottom of the mountain all you can see when you look back at it is a rock face (except where the outside wall has now collapsed).

Mont Ste.-Victoire - 2nd hike(s)

Puyloubier (week 19)

The boys have repeatedly informed us that they are not hikers.  In an attempt to subversively acclimatize them, Craig has been taking them a little way along the Puyloubier trailhead up Montagne Sainte-Victoire "just to see where it goes".  Twice over the last week, they have taken it into their heads that they can go just a little higher, now understanding that the view is worth the effort.  So in the last week, Craig, David, and Andrew have made what could be considered to be two real (if short) hikes.

The first real distance the boys travelled  was along an unlabelled part of the trail (although with a look-off a little way along).  It was a little challenging for the boys, especially for Andrew with his shorter legs.  We didn't quite make it to the top of the first plateau (about halfway up), but did get some nice views looking back down on the village.  For the second hike, we followed the GR9 trail.  It had rained most of the day, so we didn't get started until 4pm (sunset is 5:30), but we managed to make it to the top of the plateau.  Craig thought that following the trail would be easier than the random ramblings of the first hike, but that assumption was quickly dashed as there were a couple of scrambles along the official trail.  Nonetheless, the boys persevered (and, of course, crawling over rocks is one of the funnest things a boy can do!) and we made it to the top of the plateau.  We even made it back down before the sun set.

"Le Bleuet de France"

the mayor and local children lay the Commune's wreath

Puyloubier (week 18)

Although 8 May 1945 is celebrated throughout France as a street name in pretty much every city, they still have a statutory holiday on 11 November.  We decided to participate in the local commemoration event, which went as follows:

Everyone met at the Mairie and followed the veterans (carrying a variety of martial flags) to the cemetery, where there is a cenotaph listing the names of all the natives of Puyloubier who morts pour la France.  The veterans' association circulates and hands out stickers with bleuets on them (see picture), which is their equivalent of poppies.  At the cemetery we were met by the honour guard (7 active-duty soldiers from the Marseille garrison).  There followed some speeches (the mayor, the head of the veteran's association), then wreath-laying, then children from the school read the names of all the local boys who were killed in WWI and WWII.

The cemetery was well-decorated, with fresh flowers adorning most of the graves.  If there's one thing the French take seriously, it is the appearance of their cemeteries.

Happy birthday, Andrew!

Puyloubier (week 17)

Andrew has started a diary (on the computer, Doogie Howser-style).  Here is an excerpt describing his birthday:

novembre  3^rd  2014, 

my  birthday

We go to school on weeks, not on weekends though. I had music today, then i came home and had lunch and that’s all you need to know. It was really raining about 10 minutes ago. Mom’s going to go get some presents. Dad was using the computer and then he let me use it. 12:28  PM. I just love cold pizza and that’s what we had for lunch. AND I JUST LOVE PIZZA!,PAIN AU CHOCOLATS AND ORANGE!!!.........what did i  say?, forget  it. We come home for lunch, ok.

I can’t believe that mom isn’t home yet, and i can’t believe that David is in a bunch of islands with sheep on it. Gray sheep. David spawned on an island, he called a cave a tave, and there’s 2 zombies that he cannot find, DUNGEON!!! 5%  ZOMBIE!!!!!!! MOMMY I  HATE  IT!!!!!!! 100%  FULL!!!!!!  Right now the clouds look VERY like creepers in armour.

I have to stay at school for 3h and in the afternoon i have to stay there for an hour and a half! My birthday cake was epic. I got lots of Minecraft presents for some  reason. We’re making a Minecraft movie with them. So weird. I SAID SO WEIRD!!! It was really raining again but now it’s just drissaling, so weird. I mean literally so weird, now drissaling, do you believe  me?, i geuss so. Do you?, please answer some time else. Like in 10 minutes or so. 12:55  PM. Has that been 10 minutes? David is playing NHL 2K11 he likes playing that and he made a new trade. He is just addicted to that game, also me but not as much as him, because my favourite game on there is Minecraft.

Ifo hyugtole boregtyo marplez dite vek? that’s danzanish, a language from danzana, and that is a country from my made up planet, diyoza. FINALLY, THE END OF THIS CHAPTER!!!!!!!!

Yolanda's birthday present

Paris (week 16)

The timing of our trip to Paris was to coincide with the last tennis tournament of the ATP calendar - the BNP Paribas Masters.  We all went on Tuesday (the second day of the tournament) and got to see one Canadian (Pospisil, who lost) and the world #1 (Djokovic, who won).  The facility is indoors, with 3 courts.  The main court has reserved seating (but is small enough to see everything - sort of like the lower bowl of the Metro Centre in Halifax), while Courts 1 (singles) and 2 (doubles) are very small and first-come, first-served.  So we were only 2 rows back courtside for Pospisil's match.

At left is Canada's Milos Raonic (7), who defeated Berdych (5) and Federer (2) before losing to Djokovic (1) in the final

Yolanda went by herself the next day, which we've been calling her birthday present.  She had the chance to see pretty much all the rest of the top-10 ranked male players (except Nadal, who is injured), as well as Daniel Nestor in doubles action.

Of course, going to Paris for a birthday present is more impressive if you aren't already in France, but she'll take what she can get.

"Either this wallpaper goes or I do"

Paris (week 16)

Even in Paris, posted store opening hours are mere suggestions.  The boulangerie across the street opened 20 minutes late one day, and the grocer was over an hour late the next morning.  Granted, both those days were on the weekend, but it's still frustrating when you're waiting to buy bread or milk for breakfast for your children!  If anything, it seems worse here than in Provence.  In contrast, the tourist attractions operate with a military precision.

We wandered around the Cimetière du Père Lachaise in the afternoon after dropping Nana off at the airport.  It has surprisingly good views of the city (for example, the Eiffel tower can be seen from the central chapel - provided the Seine mist has cleared).  We all took a walk through the front end, the only famous tomb we saw wasn't even occupied any more - Rossini's remains were moved to Florence, but the empty tomb was left as a memorial.  We then got kicked out at closing time.

Craig went back the next morning to see some of the cemetery's other famous residents, including Oscar Wilde (who supplied the subject quote), Edith Piaf, Jim Morrison, Bizet, Molière, various Napoleonic generals, and the deportation memorials (one for each death camp that deportees from Drancy were taken to).  Mostly, though, he spent his time trying to find the grave of Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac, one of France's most famous and influential chemists.  It took three visits, consulting online pictures and three maps of the cemetery to find it - probably 45 minutes of searching - and he's right on one of the roads, just the other side of the section from where the maps show him.  I guess the moral of the story is if you want your tomb to be left alone, become a chemist.

l to r: Honoré de Balzac; Frédéric Chopin; and Grand Admiral Joachim Murat

Craig, David, and Andrew had a day on the town while Yolanda was at the tennis matches.  They went up to the top of the Arc de Triomphe (something Craig has wanted to do since 1986 - when it was closed for restoration) and visited the Salon du Chocolate (a food fair dedicated to chocolate).  The convention centre was also hosting a gaming expo at the same time, but the boys chose the chocolate show.

Nana's last day in France

Paris (week 16)

One more packed day of site-seeing before Nana heads home.  On this day we started out where we left off - on the Île de la Cité - visiting Notre Dame de Paris.  It being Sunday, mass was being held when we were there, so we got to see the priests and organ in action.  They still allow tours around the periphery, so we could still see all the chapels, the rose windows, etc.  Again, it was very busy but since the cathedral is so much larger than Sacré Cœer, there was room to move around and ponder if you wished.

After lunch at a café next to the cathedral, and some time for souvenir shopping, we made our way to the Eiffel Tower.  It was also swamped with tourists, even the lines to walk up to the second stage were long.  So we walked around and had a nice snack across the river by the fountains of the Jardins du Trocadéro, eating cupcakes we bought on a side street on the Île de la Cité.

For our final stage, we travelled to the Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile.  We were there as the sun was setting, so we got to see the west-facing wall turn orange in the light, as well as the rekindling ceremony at the tomb of the unknown soldier.  We then ate dinner on the Champs-Élysées lucking out by getting a table with a view of the Arc de Triomphe.

The next day, we all travelled up to CDG airport to see Nana off. 

In Paris with Nana

Paris (week 16)

Sacré-Cœur

After a day of rest and packing, we all made our way to Paris for Nana's trip to the Big City (the one in France, not Caledonia).  We caught the TGV at Aix station, then used the Metro to get into the city from the Terminal 2-TGV station in CDG airport.  We are staying a stone's throw away from the Saint-Maur station in the mostly residential onzième arrondissement.  The closest big landmarks are the Bastille square (you probably know that the Bastille itself no longer exists) and the Père Lachaise (the latter is actually in the 20^e).  We used airbnb to find our apartment in Paris - Craig finds it easier to use than vrbo (a.k.a. homeaway) because the airbnb site facilitates payment (i.e. you can use a credit card). 

UPDATE: we will no longer use airbnb.  Since they have instituted "online and offline personal verification" requirements, they require extremely invasive personal identification requirements, such as scanning government ID and then correlating it with a Facebook page.... and even if you accept that (which we held our noses and tried), the verification fails.  Apparently 7 years of Facebook activity is "not sufficient" for their purposes.  Oh, you could also use gmail if you're willing to let them have access to all your Googledrive files and address books.

The first day of site-seeing took us up to Sacré-Cœur.  As you can see in the picture, the hillside was hopping with tourists, it being a weekend and during the local school break.  That made the tour through the cathedral itself a conveyor-belt affair, without much time to reflect on each chapel or statue.  The kids prefer it that way, I suppose, since they are growing tired of seeing cathedrals that all look the same to them.  It started to thin out when it started to rain....

that's the Louvre in behind

In the afternoon we made our way down to the Seine.  We wandered the grounds around the Louvre (without going in as it was close to closing time) and along a few of the bridges, before boarding the Seine boat cruise (we went with the Vedettes tour since it was at an easily-found location (at the Pont Neuf bridge right at the tip of the Île de la Cité) and they had flexible ticketing.  It was dark by 7 pm when the boat left, so we got to see the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, etc. lit up.