Bulldozer day

When I picked up up Mike from work today, we had to go by our friend Sergei's house to check on his septic tank construction, as we said we'd do that whilst he's out of town.
He house is surrounded by Lilac shrubs, and in a really nice part of Vinon, so we brought a picnic. We watched the sunset, ate bread & cheese while gliders soared overhead... and after a couple of beers, we found that the bulldozer was left unlocked... hehehehe.

Vinon Market

We finally made it to the Vinon Market... we bought spices, and watched people play boules (basically like bocce).
We walked around town and went down to the Vinon river where there is a kayak course, and watched while discussing whether or not it was possible to jump off the bridge.

Châteauneuf-du-Pape

So, the best French wine we have had whilst in France is from a Region called Châteauneuf-du-Pape. After the hiking, we decided to head on up there.
It was a lovely drive, as all the flowers here are coming alive. Tulips, wisteria, lilac, exploding all over.
We got to Châteauneuf-du-Pape and stopped at the Castle. We had some lovely wine and purchased some truffle oil... Mmmmm...
Then it was off to the town square, where we found a lovely little cave, drank some more delicious wine, and had a fantastic time with a French lady who spoke as much english as we spoke french... HA!
On the way to the car, we saw a bottle shape we recognized and stopped into one last place... we were chatting with this woman, and drinking wine, and we fully intendaded to purchase one from her... until she told us that the one we liked was 180 Euro...
I'm not sure if that was the actual price or the stupid american price... but she was trying to offer us some special deal of 80 Euro for another of the wines we liked...

She obviously has never met us, because I'm fairly certain that paying 30 bucks for a bottle of wine makes me kinda nauseous... as much as I enjoy wine... to put it eloquently... there was no frickin way...
We felt bad that we had drank lots of wine, but it didn't appear that she was getting the hint that we were looking for something more reasonably priced... so, Mike said we had to think about it... and that it was getting late... she asked if were were staying in town, and Mike said we were not sure... so she WALKED US TO A HOTEL behind her shop...
At which point we almost got stuck... once the lady left, we explained to the nice couple that we didn't need the room, and promptly ran away.

La Sentier des Ocres

Mmmm.... Coffee, breakfast, and off to Roussillon to explore the Ochre mines. It was lovely. We also tried to stop at Versinthe Absinthe Distillery, but we keep going there when it's closed... why would someplace be open at noon on a Saturday?
Pretty Ochre Canyon!
We hiked it for a bit, stopped and had a picnic, and didn't take any samples of ochre for painting... nope... cause you're not supposed to... we later found out we weren't supposed to picnic either... C'est la Vie.

Don't read this posting.

I told you not to... you're going to regret it.
Pubic restrooms in France... I do not recommend them.
Why? you ask...
Well, my friends... because, they are a hole in the ground.
Yep. A hole.
If you're a dude... no worries.
Actually, if you're a dude, it is sort of an unspoken law that you can pretty much pee anywhere. Anytime you see a car pulled over on the side of the road, it is almost a certainty that there will be a dude peeing not far from it... or in the park... hey look... there is guy peeing on a tree!
But should you ever be playing Boules, or on a roadtrip... and finding yourself in need of a restroom... and happen to not be a guy...
A hole in the ground.
If you'd like to see a picture, google image it... but I don't recommend it.
Ew.

"Royal with Cheese"

This post if mostly for the Carters, as we once discussed the actuality of the Royal with Cheese...Actually the" McRoyal"
And yes... that is a Burger for 6.25 Euro... =$8.37

Last day in Spain

Alrighty... so... we went to the beach, drank Sangria, toured the city by bus, ate local food, looked at the Picasso Museum, saw all things Gaudi, found some local hotspots, found a few irish pubs, drank a lot of mojitos, beers, and Cava... walked and walked and walked...
The last day in Barcelona was a chance to have one last pop at the city.
There was an Antique place we wanted to go, as we are planning on finding my engagement ring here. We went to about 8 vintage jewelry stores, and found nothing we liked. We went to one modern jewelry store and found one we liked, but we didn't like the setting.
We went in a few stores, and then it was off to the Place we both wanted to explore the most. La Sagrada Família.




They started building this crazy place in 1895. They are STILL BUILDING IT. Just look at the pretty pictures.
We took at elevator all the way to the top... then walked down the longest, tiniest, spiral staircase.
It is even prettier and bigger than I thought it would be.

Every major tourist city has it... the double decker bus you can hop on and off all day. That was the plan for today. We woke up at the crack of 10, and decided to forgo the luxuries of coffee, and head straight for more bocadillos. We caught the bus, and got a nice overview of all things Gaudi :-)

It is such a beautiful city. It got pretty cold today, but we toughed it out on the top of the bus anyhow. Last night we saw the small Gaudi church... and it was lovely. Today, we saw the Sangrada Familia... which made me get kinda weepy, as I've stared at it in history books countless times. We are going to explore it more tomorrow.
We also saw the Casa Batlló and Casa Milà.
We walked on the beach, and sampled a few sangria's. Mine are better :-)
We walked home through the streets and found a Tea shop. We sniffed and sampled teas, and found one that was very unique.
Dinner tonight was wonderful.
We had heard about a place called Los Caracoles. I read up on it, and then a group that was stranded in Spain because if the Volcano also recommended it. You enter it through the bar, then you walk through this fantastic kitchen. The restaurant kinda reminded me of Buca de Bepo... except that it's about 200 years old. We both had Paella and Cava Sangria, which I will make for you when you visit.
We made friends with the Norwegian tourists, also stuck in Spain, and they shared their very fancy red wine with us, and introduced us to Klaus. (You'll have to ask me about Klaus. Also a very funny Barcelona story.)
We had planned on cheese for a last course, but we were full and they kicked us out, as us and the rowdy Norwegians were the last people in the place.
We got home early tonight... 1am.
Sooo Sleepy.

Day one.

Driving Driving Driving. We woke up early and drove from Provence to Barcelona, which we reveled in saying properly (like a very very gay man... say it with me "barth-a-loena")
It was a lovley drive along the Mediterranean sea, however, people here have been saying it's a "short drive"... it is a 4 hour drive if you don't stop... we stopped twice and it took us five...
We stopped once for a picnic and once at Empuriabrava... a dropzone we have read about many many many time. It is a kick-ass dropzone. We do not have our gear yet, but we will be back there. Tell Stinky that that there is NO AGE REQUIREMENTS FOR JUMPING TANDAM HERE!!! We saw an 8 year old kid jump!
We continued on to find our Hotel, which was fairly easy... except... we couldn't drive to our hotel... there were no car roads that accessed it. Awesome. So, Mike got as close as we could to it, I ran out and asked about parking.
She practically laughed at me. She said I'd have to go and find a lot. Thanks for the help, honey.
So, I went out, and we drove around looking for the best price at one of the public lots we found... the first one was 50 euro a day... that's almost 70 dollars!
We found one very close to the hotel that I haggled down to 20 euro a day.
Our Hotel was right next to the Arch De Triumph. :-)
As soon as we checked in, we raced across the city to make it in time to the "Magic fountain"... which was pretty cool and easy to check off the list of stuff to see in Barcelona.
After the fancy fountain show, which was set to music, we walked at a more leisurely pace back to the hotel... along the way, we stopped for beer, tapas and bocadillos. Yum.
We went back to the hotel and deposited my camera, as I didn't bring any little easy cameras.. only the big huge "I'm a tourist, rob me SLR camera.
The Plan for the evening was El Born, which is the gaslamp quarter of Barcelona. It was interesting, and at 3am, we were still on the street drinking beer, and people watching. I also have a fantastic story that you'll have to ask me about. It's my favorite Barcelona story.
It's 4am... I'm going to bed now.

Ah, Spain!

Before I begin... let me share a few things about Barcelona;
1. Do not drive to Barcelona. Driving in Barcelona sucks, but parking in Barcelona sucks MORE.
2. It is a beautiful as is it malodorous.
3. Sangria is for tourists. It's Delicious, but hard to find stuff that's not just grocery store Sangria. Mine's better.
4. Food... Good.
5. Do not plan on sleeping here... cause the good stuff happens at night.

Au Revoir France... Buenos Dias Spain!

I spent today making cassoulet & researching our weekend activity... a road trip to Barcelona!
Very excited.
Not much else to report.
Be back on Tuesday :-)

I feel much better.

Goodness. SO sick yesterday.
Did nothing all day.
Well... I walked to the store, did one load of laundry, and made dinner.
But that was it. It rained all day.
We finished our taxes (sent them both in electronically.) and had dinner by the fire.
Today I have the car. I went to the big market in Manosque and pre shopped for appliances. Managed to find a sales girl that spoke english (yay!) and then found an art store where I bought a sketchpad & a watercolor pad.
Lasagna for dinner tonight.
Today's picture is from a quick drive out to Greoux. I think it's an inn, but I'm not sure if it's still in business... so pretty, though.

The best laid plans.

Ah, Sunday.
We slept in. We drank coffee. We watched a movie. We drank Bellini's. We made potatoes & fried eggs.
We had planned on going to the market in Vinon, which happens every Sunday (yay!)... but unfortunately, we know know it ends at noon, because when we got there at 12:30, everyone was packing up. (Boo.)
So, we drove to our new house to skulk around it in a non-creepy way, and discovered it had a side yard which is perfect for a vegetable garden (double yay!)
We walked down to the creek behind it, and found a park.
Everything is closed on Sunday's, so, we were going to just drive home.
Then... we saw a sign.
The sign said, "Brocante"... I knew this word. It's like a flea market.
I was giddy that Mike agreed to go.
LOTS of cool stuff. Copper pots, knick knacks... limoges!
We found 2 things, neither of them antiques, but cool none-the-less.
I found curlers.
Mike found a new coffee pot with a timer.
We got both for 15 euro.
I shall now wash my hair and take it out of this bun, as my last fork hairclip has broken.
Things I miss back home... gummie vitamins, as we are almost out.
A store that sells fork hairclips.

Mary's House

Today we drove out past Saint-Maximin, where we went the day after I arrived. We drove past the Basilica, and up the scariest road yet, (I believe I actually turned white & made an imprint in the door handle) to the village of Sainte-Baume. Not so much a village as it is a few buildings and a park. There is a place to stay there, run by nuns, and it's suppose to be rather nice, and very cheap.
But we went there to hike to the top of the cliff and see grotto of Mary Magdalene.





One of the coolest places I have been so far.
You hike through a beautiful forrest. Up some steep trails to this Abby built into the side of a cliff. We walked around and lit 2 candles. Then a monk asked us if you could please leave, as they were about to begin their daily prayer. So, we went outside to take some pictures, and then... the monks started chanting. It was surreal.
The hike down was easy, and then we went home & had a beer taste testing.
Mmmmmmm.
Beer.