We arrived in Avignon which is a beautiful picturesque french country town and hired a car! My husband had to navigate his way around driving on the opposite side of the road and opposite side of car!
We drove to a gorgeous little town called Gourdes.
Crepes and cafe au lait are a must when in France!
These ancient buildings with their blue shutters are so beautiful.
We stopped off in the town of Arles which dates back to 800 B.C! The magnificent Amphitheartre was but in 90 A.D. and was capable of seating over 20 0000 spectators. It was built to provide entertainment in the form of chariot races and hand to hand battles. Today it draws large crowds for bullfighting and plays and concerts in summer!
Crepes for lunch! My favourite lunch with cafe au lait!
We stayed in Avignon. Beautiful boutiques and old buildings and lots of art and museums. I loved stumbling upon a puppeteer in the street!
The Palais des Papes is one of the largest and most important medieval Gothic buildings in Europe! This building was the papal residence for Christianity in the 14 th century. Today it is a tourist attraction. It was so interesting walking around this ancient building and discovering old frescoes and reading fascinating facts about its history and the many Popes.
I was so excited when I found this beautiful "French Weimaraner! He was so similar to my weimaraner back home!
Le Pont du Gard was my husbands highlight. This magnificent Roman aqueduct is in a town nearby Avignon. It spans the Gardon river valley and is 275 metres long, 49 metres high, 6 metres wide at the base and 3 metres wide at the top. It has a total of 53 arches. It was built around 50- 60 A.D. It is now a Unesco World Heritage site - truly amazing experience to walk around this structure.
Creme brulee of course! French food is - magnificent!
There was always time to stop and relax, chat and have a cafe au lait!
We then drove down to the coast of France and stopped at St Tropez! It was so busy and the weather was beautiful so everyone was out in their luxurious boats on the Mediterranean!
We were told by friends to carry on along the coast to a beautiful seaside town called Cassis. Here we spent the afternoon in our costumes soaking up the warm sun. This was my favourite spot on the Med! The water was a little cold - similar to Cape Town water!
My favourite place in the french countryside - Roussillon! There are many shades of ochre on the houses of the village, taken from the palette of the old ochre quarry in the valley nearby. It is on a ridge of steep red cliff and at the top as you make your way up the narrow winding streets you get a wonderful panoramic view across the valley to the Grand Luberon, the slopes of Mount Ventoux and the picturesque town of Vaucluse. 
These colours are just beautiful.
Chatting with James and trying to find a creperie and cafe au lait! Or maybe a glass or two of wine!!
We took the fast train back to Paris for one last night and day before flying home! After supper we headed to explore Centre Pompidou.It is an amazing art museum with a beautiful restaurant on the roof with a look out deck. Here we watched the sunset and the Eiffel Tower light up in all her gold glory!
"La vie est belle." ( Life is beautiful)
Our last day in Paris we walked along the Seine and over the Love Lock bridges and did our last shopping and sipped our cafe au lait. How blessed we are and to have such a wonderful holiday together. Forever grateful for Paris and France and all her beauty and charm!
xxx
Oh my. I took the longest time on this post. I just truly enjoyed it. Thank you for sharing something I will most likely never experience in my life. What a pleasure!
ReplyDeleteWhat fabulous photos from your fabulous trip, Shirley--just loved reading about it and studying each one...
ReplyDeleteI didn't know you had a Weimaraner! My sister had one, too, for many years--just the sweetest dog!
Thanks Carol! It was so special and we have wonderful memories! My Weimaraner is just the most beautiful dog and sweet personality! I must send you a picture ;-))
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