Inter-Hotel Lou Paradou Greoux les Bains

... 8217;ll mean I get a better mark! Migration was an interesting topic, and the next is feminism, which I believe many encourage some very biased debating as
there are no males in the class whatsoever!

Have finally received my CAF (basically a benefit from the government, as their university system isn’t quite up to the standard it should be, especially with regard to university residences), which is a great help towards rent and in the end was ...

Late start today but I managed a quick refreshing dip in the river before we set off. I said to Kim give me 5 minutes she reckoned I would only need 2! She was right. Easy drive to Lac du Ste-Croix which is a huge blue lake. We found a fantastic park overlooking the lake, alongside several ...

... English in the entire town. We found our hostel super late at night (and they don't make hostels in France like they did in Spain... no more free internet!). The next morning, we walked into town not really knowing what to see or do. But as we were looking for a quick Petit Dejuner (breakfast) we stumbled upon the Saturday market. We sat at a cafe on the square and had the most amazing breakfast 5 euro can buy if you ...

... full of huge luxury yachts. No sign of Jonny Wilkinson though...maybe next weekend! The mountain area was also very pretty, definitely motorbike/cycling country (Dad, you'd love it, Eileen, the bends and drops are scary!), but although pretty, I still find the landscape up there quite arid and hostile...wouldn't feel quite as comfortable peeing in a bush up there as I would in a gorse bush on Exmoor (don't look like that, needs must)!

And now a little bit about ...

... 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.

It was quite a study in contrasts moving from the bright, festive colors of Roussillon to the severely plain, unadorned walls of this medieval Cistercian Abbey. We originally sought out the Abbey, in part, because in most of the pictures of it, it is surrounded by lavender fields which the monks tend to support their order. Alas, it is too late for lavender! Still, the building is very majestic and sits alone in the bottom ...

... look lovely in the sun and really set off the colors of the flowers in the boxes. We were lucky enough to arrive before they closed up the flower market and the fruit/vegetable market for the day. We didn't have long, but we were able to appreciate the riot of colors and smells. The mint was very powerful in the veg. market.

Highlights:
Lucy read to me about a scandalous murder that took place on the Cours Mirabeau and then bought me a Provencal treat ...

... Eureka - success and all similar words - I was "en route" travelling easily downhill towards the Val de l'Arc. Headed right from le Pont de l'Arc, which was a mistake - too much traffic and noise from the motorway. Turned round and came back to the Relais Krypton (Park and Ride) where I thought there might be a return stand for the bike. No sign of one but this was the first designated cycle route I met ...

... No kidding, they were really good! Their music was jazz à la Django Reinhart but with words like "vegetables are really yummy and chocolate doesn't make a good meal"--I even bought the CD! And the guitar player was a looker. Nice shoulders. (European guys tend to be really skinny. I'm not a fan of their build, in general.) 11. Hiked to an archeological museum. There were really cool pieces of "natural" installation art that you ...

... hallway between. I hiked the gorge bottom with the fun, older German couple who'd picked me up. There was a feeling of power there: power in the mountains, power in the trees, power in the clear-green river that augmented during our rain-soaked hike. The last French person to give me a ride was Ervet. He was thirty-something, he wore a cool pink jacket, and he managed a dance company. He was married to a fashion designer. He'd met nice people while ...