Campanile - Salon-De-Provence

... present was some cereal and kidney beans from Amy...we're waiting to experience her famous chilli con carne (hint hint). However, the French don't really 'do' birthday cakes in the same way that we do, so, instead of spending 15€ on an admitttedly beautiful patisserie cake, we've been sticking candles in madeleines and such like, so not all of our birthday traditions are lost!

As well as some of this quite blatant indulgement, we've also been immersing ...

... the wind to walk across the bridge in the evening to Avignon for dinner. This morning we went on a wine tour (I know, but it is too hard to resist) around the Cotes du Rhone with Phillipe, a very competant and helpful local guide. We ended up at Chateauneuf du Pape drinking wonderful reds which has been a wine hightlight of the trip - the village has the most amazing view of Provence ...

... yesterday, Saturday, and it is cooler but still nice. The trip here was spectacular with many olive groves and big mountains. Today we went on a tour to Les Beax - another medieval town with a castle - poor Graham and on his birthday too. Then we went winetasting and to the premier olive oil producers in France. The Mistrql was blowing on the tour and it was very cold but warmer back here in the camp. Tomorrow we explore Aix on foot then we go to Avignon.

... I have to spend $8 for a sandwich and bad coffee- like Maxwell House espresso or something- to find out whether their WiFi’s up and running, then that won’t work. I’ve got about one more place to try, and then I’ll have no other option but funky cyber-cafes. Welcome to 1999. I like my room, though. The French have just about perfected the combo bed/bathroom, which allows them to save dirty face ...

... and i haven't been in touch, but i'm here now.....i think i will just need to have jason drive me there before i loose my nerve....

so i was told at dinner that the ******* had plateaued off today as i did not feed him any salad. i think thats a bit of a misnomer, as plateau seems to imply level off to normal levels, but in this case, its like level off at 80% instead of 120%. so basically, i am destined to a life ...

... of star fruit. It was lovely. Mine looked a little like breakfast cereal, but it was wonderful: chocolate raviolis in a white chocolate sauce with flambeed banana ice cream served on the side. The raviolis were garnished with petit strawberry and a yellow raspberry. It was all just perfect and a superb choice for our big dinner out. Recommend highly! At $27 Euro each, it was a steal compared to every place around it.

... to the Cathedral is a public garden which also offers beautiful views, primarily of the Rhone and Villeneuve-les-Avignon. It has a grotto, plenty of olive trees, a small playground and grass which may be walked on, but not used for a picnic (don't ask me why).

Those are the three things we did in the afternoon. In the morning we drove across the Rhone bridge to Villeneuve to see their market and to visit the tourist ...

Believe me you don't want the story but here are a few photos and videos of what was a wonderful adventure for the most part.

The bull running was a random and free event - just next to lovely beach. Camargue horses are breathtakingly beautiful in the wild.

Unfortunately no photos of characterful and cultural city of Arles because only took the camera out one day - the day we went to The Camargue obviously.

... after a pleasant one hours driving we arrived in his beautiful village Oulx. He offered to cook me lunch in his home which I was glad to accept considering I hadnt eaten that morning and I seemed to be ahead of time. We stopped to say hello to some of his friends and then arrived home where upon he began to prepare the meal. They had a pet rabbit in the home. After one hour had passed in preperation for the meal I realised that it ...

... drove up to the amphitheater and looked for a parking place, but this being school vacation time there were none. As I followed all the one-way signs I ended up taking an unplanned tour of old Arles, driving down streets that have changed little in 2000 years. They weren't constructed with automobiles in mind. The cobblestone streets were so narrow that as I drove by, pedestrians sometime had to step into doorways to let me pass. One corner was sharp and narrow ...