Well, time seems to be flying...

Well, time seems to be flying as we continue to explore the Dordogne , Provence , and the Cotes d Azure of France. We will have stayed in gites for 4 weeks in beautiful places close enough to the historical tourist sites but far enough away that we don't have to be stressed out driving, with quiet, relaxing places to sleep, and small villages nearby to explore and buy our groceries. We are finishing our week near Marseilles. We are a few steps from the bright blue Mediterranian----disappointed that it is a very cool 17 degrees but so beautiful. There is a hking trail along the calanques (fiords) all the 42 km to Marseilles---we did a 3 hour hike which was superb. Kids are kind of home bodies some days and have taken a couple days to lounge around, swim, read or just play cards and explore the beach. Mike and I , regretfully left them behind (celebrated?) on our own excursions to Avignon, hiking through the roman arena, exploring the markets etc; and then yesterday we took the train to Marseilles for the day. Today we drove to Arles and will be exploring the salt flats in Camargue with a large flamingo, wild horse and boar population. Tonite is the new Indiana Jones movie in french.

A highlight for the kids this week was of course Marineland in Antibes. Killer whales, dolphins etc brought them back to their love of the Galapagos. I always wonder about the educational value versus the removal of these magnificent creatures from their habitat.

The Cannes film fest and the Nice Grand Prix is on now so we were lucky to get a place for next week near Nice. We will be exploring the Grand Canyon of France -- the Canyon du Verdun, and driving into the mountains too.

For the first time on our trip we have no firm plans for the first week of June. We are heading to Italy along the Italian riviera and then into the Italian Alps--hopefully we will find some English speakers because Mike cannot bail us out there. Flight home has been booked ----- June 14th is the end of our adventures abroad but never the end of adventuring.... Gail

Perpignon, then Narbonne to pick up our Volkswagon Passat hatchback, deisel,,,thank goodness with the price of gas $1.65 for gas and $1.32 for deisel. We then spent three nights in a hostel inside the castle of Carcasonne. It was a very basic accom but we could cook our own meals and there were three different school groups from France and Spain staying there for the kids to interact with. They are trying out more and more of their french as we travel and they understand a lot of what they hear in the markets, cafes; hostels etc.It was great exploring the castle with its medeival feel, drawbridge, cemetary and all the innovations to repel all attackers; We visited the museum of torture, ---- Dylan was our tour guide describing each form of torture which was realistically displayed and used during the Inquisition____ he remembered the models from his SS 8 and the real torture devices were as fascinating as they were horrific. We all had the same question --- who could inflict those tortures to another human being! We cycled one day down the canal and beside all the locks used by the river boats------ Justin was not impressed with a 3 hour bike ride to celebrate his 12th birthday----again he picked the wrong parents ! We did cook lasagna and choc cake so he went to bed less miffed. Next stop was Toulousse where Mike studied for one year at the U of Toulousse 30 years ago. Such a beautiful big city. Very pedestrian friendly, and bike rentals for 1 euro for the day! Bottle of wine, a baguette, cheese, couple of salads and you are set to sit by the river at night with the locals and tourists and enjoy a picnic or wander through the main square to listen to great music and check out the market for a wide variety of ocal produce or wares from morrocco.

We then headed to Les Ezies in the Dordogne region. We had a beautifully restored 2 bedroom farmhouse gite for a week complete with a huge grass field for petangue and a pool. It is by fqr the cheapest and the most comfortable way to stay in France. We easily settled into cooking all our meals and packing picnics for each of our day trips to the local caves, museums and castles. This is the region where the skeleton of Cro magnen man was discovered and also hundreds of original caveman drawings and artifacts dating back to Cro magnen times. The caves were large enough to travel 6 km by tiny train then to walk or go deep underground by boat. The more we saw, the more questions and fascination we had with the history of man and with the many inhabitants of the castles. Kids gravitated to the mammoth and giant rhino skeletons They are hooked on anything involving wildlife. The castles had many of the historical replicas of the weapons including great catapults, armour, etc.

Long driving day from Les Ezies to Avignon. We are in another gites. This time our one week stay is in a 500 year old former flour mill currently owned by a baron. Another place with so much character yet modern comforts too. We spent our first day travelling to the famous Roman aqueduct built in 54 AD called Pont De Gard. What an incredible engineering feat that still proudly stands over the Gardom river. It transported water to the Roman city of Nimes 30 miles away by dropping 1 inch every 350 feet.

No return ticket yet but still lots to do....... Bye for now Gail