Bridges and Bonbons, Day Two in Provence

Today when we woke up, we took our time getting dressed and ready before heading downstairs for breakfast. We were at that time the only people staying at the b&b so we had it to ourselves. There was some bread, yogurt, eggs, milk, juice, tea, coffee, and Hot Chocolate. We ate a nice big breakfast and hit the road towards Avignon. When we arrived there, we started by going to the Papal Palace. We parked in the garage and headed towards the palace. This was, for about seventy years, the home to six popes. The french king once bribed all the cardinals to vote for a French pope, who the king bribed into leaving the Vatican City Rome and coming here to Avignon. During the time the Palace was used, they had a new pope in Rome too. There were rivaling popes! When we entered the palace we bought our tickets (for the palace and the Pont d'Avignon) and went inside. We were told not to take photos in any of the rooms in which there were remaining frescoes. It was built in the gothic style andd you could certainly tell. When it was originally built, it was just a little more then half its current size, but each pope built more onto the great palace. We saw studies and chapels, dining halls and kitchens, along with bedrooms, and private and council chambers. Many of the rooms were much barer then intended because of fires and sieges. there were also many some grand courtyards and a treasury. We looked at and read about the rooms and it was pretty cool. I think the treasury was my favorite, where there was a spot in the floor to lift up heavy stone slabs to go under the floor to the treasure. There were many coins that people had thrown in. We eventually left the palace and walked to the famous Pont d'Avignon, the bridge to nowhere. There was supposedly originally a wooden bridge there, which was later replaced with the current stone one. Originally it had 22 arches, but now it only has four and still spans most of the river, it amazes me to think how long it might have once been. Also on the bridge, there is a small chapel devoted to Saint Nicholas. It has a pretty statue of Mary inside it. We left the bridge and walked back to the parking garage where we parked. We got back in the car and went in the direction of the town of Uzes. The main sights there are the tower which is like the tower in Pisa but not leaning and not as tall. And the Duche's palace. Great name huh? I made a point of it to take photos of each thing that was named with the name Duche. We did not see the tower, but we did see the palace from the outside. But having just seen the popes palace it was small and not as spectacular. We went around and checked out some of the local shops. After we did so, we went to a little cafe for lunch. We each got a tasty sandwich and sat in the square in the middle of town. Afterwards we went out of town to the Musee de Bonbon, Haribo's French headquarters where they have a museum. Griffin was very excited. We first walked through a gate with a golden Haribo boy on it, then took pictures with the boy, bear, and other assorted gummies. We walked inside and bought our tickets and headed inside. When we got them, the people behind the counter gave mom and dad a huge hadful of gummie packets. We started on the top floor, where immediately upon entering we were given candy by a man at the door. We looked at Haribo ads and candies on this floor. We also saw old Haribo vending machines. We walked down to the next floor and learned about the different types of sugar, and saw a picture of the Haribo boy dancing with the sugar, he was on a big sugar rush. I also learned that gelatin comes form animals, mostly their fat. We walked into a room full of games that were supposed to show you how Haribo is made, though really they were just kind of strange. Trying to drive a virtual forklift, or pick up a little box with a mechanical arm. We left that room and went to the next floor and left the building. We crossed a bridge over a little stream and learned about the minty drink that they make. We saw workers making some and we saw a very big bottle. After that we went back to the main building and checked out some more stuff, were given some more candy and saw how Haribo got its name. It was founded by HAns RIegel in BOnn, Germany. Cool, huh? We theen went into the basement where we saw some old machines that were once used to make Haribo. We also got to see the packaging machine in action, we got some candy out of it! From both of the two machines, we got a total of 21 packs of candy. We left the museum and went into the Haribo store, where people were leaving with boxes full of candy. The prices there were fantastic! We got a few more bags of gummies to go with the free ones we had gotten, we also got a Haribo grocery bag to put them in. We then went into the parking lot where there were many inflatables, along with some trampolines. We had each gotten a ticket to do one at the museum, and it was a good chance for Griffin to get the energy out. Hailey and I did not want ours and so we gave them to another family when we left. We got back in the car and drove towards the famous Pont du Gard, and ancient Roman aqueduct that took water to the city of Nime. The bridge is still completely intact and until 1998, it was still used as a road bridge. We walked on tthe bridge and took pictures for a while then headed out. We stopped at the gift shop on the way out and I got a T-shirt to wear at the gift shop. We got back in the car and went back towards Avignon. We got back to our b&b and unloaded our candy. We went back to Saint Remy for dinner again and tried a different restaurant this time. I got a pasta with chicken. We had a tasty dinner and headed home for the night. I'll post again soon.

a do not enter man in the parking garage

the popes palace

more popes palace

griffin outside the popes palace

in the palace courtyard

a wall of the palace

cool window at the palace

the other courtyard

a model of the palace

an oven near the treasury

ceiling of the treasury

window in the treasury

the slabs covering the treasure

the fireplace in the dining hall

the ceiling in the dining hall

tall spire in the kitchen where meats were once stored

former entrance to a private bridge for the pope only

in the chapel

entrance to chapel

cool window

plaque recognizing the king's visit to the palace

the pont d'Avignon

the chapel on the bridge

view of the palace from the bridge

duche

more duché

even more duche

pain pastries

le bistrot du duché

uzes central square

lunch

the palace du duché

hey look more duchy

the golden gate of Haribo

the boy (with a random person in front of it)

CANDY!!!!!!

a map of Haribo's factories in Europe

Haribo clothes?

vending machines

sugar rush!!!!!!!!!

giant mint drink bottle

candy machines

the machine that gave us lots of candy

the Haribo store with good prices

goodbye Haribo

the amazing pont du gard

a cool tree outside the pont du Gard

Welcome to Provence

Today (thursday) was our first day in the Provence region of France. But it was a long drive away. Today we decided to take it slow and we just spent the day driving until we got there. we went through lots of big tunnels, including one just after we crossed into France that was huge. We drove in the direction of Avignon until we saw signs for the small town of Rognonas, outside of which we would bee staying. We drove till we found our street, Rue Mas de Ray, and went towards the b&b where we would stay. When we got there, there was an empty pool, an old trampoline, and foosball and ping pong tables in bad repair. There was also no one currently there but the three dogs. We played ping pong until dad called the owner to come and let us in. We waited until he came and showed us our rooms, one for the kids and one for Mom and Dad. We put away our things and went back downstairs and outside. Hailey, Griffin, and I jumped on the trampoline for a while until we were called by Mom and Dad to say that we were going to dinner in the nearby town of Saint Remy de Provence. We would learn that this cute little town was once the home and inspiration for the famous artist Vincent Van Gogh. We walked around town looking at the cute shops, and then found a place to eat. The food there was really good. Mom and Dad got Beef Stew, Hailey got pasta, I got ravioli, and Griffin got some chicken nuggets. Everything was really good, and I was glad that we had little trouble ordering even though none of us knows much French. After our nice dinner, we headed back to the car and drove home to the b&b for the night.

You cant read it here but it says 700 elves 

Avignon

Our first full day in Provence started out in Avignon with a visit to the Palais des Papes and le Pont d'Avignon Saint-Benezet. Yeah, a mouthful. We saw the palace and bridge.


Having just seen palaces in Italy (especially Venice) the papal palace seemed far less grand. Big, yes. But colder, more fortress-y. Not nearly as impressive even as the many Savoy palaces we've been seeing in Torino. (Which are, admittedly, newer, and some done in the baroque style.) Griffin enjoyed it because it was more 'castle-y' than others that we'd seen. And he liked the idea of treasure locked up in the tower -actually hidden under heavy slabs in the tower floor.


After the palace, we walked the half-bridge. I guess all French kids know about this bridge because its a popular nursery song...kinda like we know about London bridge and how it's falling down :)

A short drive west and we were in Uzes, just about the sweetest village you can imagine. I'll post about it tomorrow.

Uzes, Provence

Ok. So this feels like a photo-dump, but really! I mean, look at this village! Unbearably cute. And the boutiques were fabulous. The prices were too high (ugh - darn you, euro!!) but the shops were charming. There was a florist with such a great selection of goodies - tiny olive trees, ropes of air plants, armloads of pussywillows and the most gorgeous local terra cotta pots - with rope impressions inside and stamped with the brand and location on the outside. Boy did I wanna slip some of those into my luggage! The best ones were about 4' tall. Sigh... Another amazing shop was an independent women's wear designer. I got one photo snapped before I was given a stern "non, non, non!" Get this - the floor was all sand! White, powdery sand! So fabulous. The clothes were amazing too - just the kind of pale -flowery -ruffle stuff I'm drawn to (which I could neeever pull off, but love anyway). Griffin was loving a shop display of pedal cars - pretty cute. Most of the owners had artfully mixed brocante (vintage goodies) in with their displays. Everyone knows I'm a sucker for Good Junk!
All these shops surrounded a sweet shaded courtyard with cafes and a fountain. Oh, so very French.

Dinner in St Remy de Provence

After a drive through the Alps, including several looooong tunnels (one had a toll of 41 euro!) we arrived in Provence and began the search for our b&b. Todd eventually found it (and the owner eventually came home - not a great sign) and we settled in.

About 15 minutes south of our b&b is the charming village of St Remy de Provence. (One of the villages that Van Gogh lived and painted in.). We had dinner here all three nights of our stay. Everyone was so kind and the food was fabulous (we tried two different restaurants over the three nights). The first meal Todd and I had was the 'plat du grand mere'. Or, grandma's cooking. It was beef cheeks, carrots, potatoes, onions and mushrooms that had been simmered in red wine for hours. It was brought to the table in a la creuset dutch oven with a big spoon sticking out. Oh heaven. Woulda taken a picture but I was too busy eating!

In St Remy, we also did a bit of shopping, including buying a big bag of lavender to make into sachets and a string of (heehee!) mushroom lights!

The last photo is of Griffin drooling on a patisserie window...

Saturday in the Ivrea countryside

Today (saturday) we went to visit my Dad's friend Yon Christof in the Ivrea countryside. Ivrea is about and hour train ride from Turin, and we had no trouble getting there. Once we got to the station though, we were looking around for Yon Christof, who was meeting us there. But we walked around a bit and found him in a few minutes. We got into his car (me in the trunk, only 6 seats), and headed in the direction of the famous Ivrea market. When we got there we found a parking spot and walked in. We bought vegetables, fruits, some fish, and ravioli, among other things. After that we walked through the area of the market for other things. We saw hardware and clothes primarily, but a few other things. We got back in the car and drove up the road (mostly one laned) and arrived at his home. He invited us inside and we met his wife Margareet and his kids Anita and Alexander. Yon Christof and Margareet made us a nice lunch with some tasty ravioli. We also had some salad. We talked for a while until we decided to go on a little walk around the area. We first saw some of their chickens and geese and then went down to the road to walk. We walked down a nice and beautiful road until we saw an old and abandoned looking house. We walked up and checked it out, even though it belonged to some neighbors. We saw that it was really old and it seems pretty unused. We left and headed further down the road but we soon went back. We hung out for a while then went on another walk. We walked on a path this time and it was pretty cool. At one point we had an amazing view of the valley. We walked onwards and had to go around a fallen tree. Mom tried to grab one to steady herself when going down a slope and took the tree with her. It was really funny. We went back home and saw Margareet's art studio where we saw some of her sculptures made of fabric. It was really cool and unique. We saw a lot of cool old advertising posters, and Yon Christof even gave us one for Olivetti Typewriters with a big bird on it. We put it in a holder and hung out and played with his baby twins for a while. We had a good time. We went to see the cheese cave on his property and it was cool. It was flooded though. We went up his hill and saw his apple trees. We walked back and looked at the garden. We went back inside but we had wet feet. Yon Christof was so nice, he gave us socks to wear instead of our wet ones. I was the only one who did not need it. We hung out until about seven and then headed to the train station. We made it just in time for the seven twenty-eight train and got on and headed home. I'll post again soon.