Provence - Pont du Gard

An easy train trip from Paris to Avignon, collected our car, out came the sat nav and ... oops - somehow in the journey i must have lent o the bag and cracked the screen of our new Garmin which we were relying on... On with the show we found our way to our B&B at Pont du Gard using an avis map and well marked signs.

Straight to the pool set amongst the beautiful landscape to refresh before a meal and bed.

Woke with a relaxed breakfast (it was so nice not to organise and have to clean up for a change), before walking up the road to the Pont du Gard a 50km aquaduct built by the romans in first centuray (100 AD).  Whan an amazing historic view.

We then took a short drive to Castillon du Gard walked the quiet streets and had lunch (although the kids were tired and ratty), so a rash decision to head for a longer drive to allow the kids to have a sleep... so we headed to Nimes.

Nimes was a beautiful town with some unexpected attractions including the collesium - which was currently holding the Nimes music festival (what a line up).  A pleasant afternoon having ice cream sundaes and milkshakes listening to the warmup music in the sun with the collesium back drop.

Early picnic dinner at our private river bank beach.

The next morning we set off to Uzes on the way stopping off at Haribo  Bon Bon (lollies) museum for the kids.

Uzes is renowned for its markets.  We decided to miss the chaos of the main Saturday market and visit the smaller Friday market mentioned in the tourist information ... oops this was actually 5km out of Uzes which we didnt find out until we were in the town.  We still enjoyed walking through the quaint fortress town and having lunch in the main piazza.

Returning late afternoon for a pool swim before heading back to Pont du Gard for a picnic dinner on the 'Rendez Vous' river bank.  The kids loved throwing rocks into the water with daddy and exploring in the shallows, while Noah and I watched from our pontoon with the magnificent scenic backdrop of the Pont du Gad bridge - C'est la Vie

We were heading to Mount Ventoux (most of you will know this from previous tour de france courses) - on that note HOW GOOD IS CADEL :).  Although no map in tow so dropped into Avignon to pick one up... in the process got lost and had another lovely walk through the crazy town as we were in amongst their arts/theatre festival.

The journey continued as we summitted Mount Ventoux..................................... with spectacular views.

On the way home we stopped into one of France's top 100 (belle ville) most beautiful villages - Seguret. Lunch overlooking vinyards before cruising teh pebbled lined streets.  We purchases a beautiful handmade christmas fairy to become part of or annual christmas tree display for the top.  Our challenge is now getting the delicate angel home.

Back to our abode for another picnic on the river before packing to make our journey to the alps tomorrow.

A milestone for the minnsmob is that Noah has crawled a little, however spends more time in down face dog growling rather than moving.

A plus tard

MinnsMob

Coming Up: Chamonix for a week :)

Paris cont.

Bonjour DISNEYLAND!

The day exceeded ALL of our expectations.  Paris put on a gorgeous 24 degree sunny day.

We started with 'Buzz Light Year' for Hudson 'we helped Buzz shoot Zurg' and Hudson got his own space ranger laser blast - so watch out when we get home.

'Peter Pan and 'It's a Small World' were also on the top of our priority list.  We actually found we were able to go on many more rides than we anticipated including; tea cups, fairytale boat cruise, roller coaster, Alice in Wonderland fortress, Snow white, Pirates of the Carribean plus others.

Our longest queue was waiting for a PHOTO with 'Princess Tiana (from Princess and the Frog)' and once we started in the queue we were unable to leave (or there would have been tears).

Princess Tiana (above) was the first of many autographs and photos including;

• Cinderella and Prince Charming
• Ariel and Eric
• Sleeping Beauty (Princess Aurora)
• Wendy and Peter Pan
• Micky Mouse
• Pluto
• Goofy
• Daisy Duck and 
• Jessie (from Toy Story 2)

The moment with 'Jessie (from Toy Story 2)' was truly amazing as Jessie spent a good deal of time 1:1 with Madeleine dancing and cuddling her as Maddie openly responded.  Hudson was tired and grumpy in the Pram (can you spot him in the photos with his hands behind his head?) although he scored a kiss from 'Princess Tiana (Princess and the Frog)' and 'Wendy (Peter Pan)' earlier.

The kids also enjoyed the 'Peter Pan Pirate Show' which was followed by Madeleine and I running around Sleeping Beauty's castle before sitting on the curb in prime position for the 'Disney Fantasy Parade' which was spellbinding for all of us (sorry Iphone photo - will have better ones back in Aus from Bev).  

We grabbed one more car racing ride (I am glad Madeleine is not on the roads as we were in fits of laughter as she bumped her way through the course) before heading home after a 15 hour day.  Unfortunately my battery died so awaiting our return to download Bev's photos so stay tuned...

How lucky we are to have had the opportunity to experience this with our children and Bev.

____________________

The next day we were all tired and took it easy.  The cool weather hit (not a typical Summer in Paris) with rain so we rested in our apartment and took a cruise around our local 'Place des Vosges', viewing; the abode of Victor Hugo maison (house), who was not only a writer (Les Miserables, Hunch Back of Notre Dame to name a couple) but a poet, artist and politician. We viewed the other art galleries that line the bordering corridors and enjoyed a coffee in the ambience of the chilly day and music in the background.

The next day we took to the Paris tourist sites again, this time by cruise down the Seine which was lovely.  We walked the Champs Elysees and viewed the Arc de Triomphe.  Trav also walked through the opening of 'Abercrombie and Fitch' store which was palacial - the security guards were male models and once through the golden gates the models had shirts off mmmm.

Today we took the metro to Sacre Coeur (the connections were flawless today), a lovely chapel with an amazing view.  The kids were amazing walking ALL the steps while Trav hoisted Noah in the pram up the ramp.  After all that walking we were hungry and enjoyed a scenic lunch in the Jardin des Tuileries which leads to the Louvre.

Coming Up: Aurevoir Paris, Arevoire Bevie, Bonjour Avignon