Le Pont du Gard

On our way home from le Midi we made a small detour off the autoroute to stretch our legs, let the blood flow back into my white-knuckled driving hands, and let the kids do what all small children love best - look at ancient Roman ruins!

The Pont du Gard is an absolute engineering marvel. It was part of a 50km aquaduct system that carried water from a spring to the Roman city of Nimes. It drops only 12m over that entire length - so the layout and building of the entire system had to be incredibly precise - which is impressive considering 1st Century building equipment.

We walked around a bit - wandered over to the other side - and then cooled off in the river, and the kids chased fish before we had to get back in the car to drive back home - as all three of the kids started school the next morning.

The South of France (part deux)

We went to the sea twice while we were there. Both days we waited until about 4pm or so, as it was easier on our pasty-white-children (although it still was 30* out).

The kids were pretty impressed with being able to pull over to the side of the road and instead of wheat or canola fields, there were grapes planted as far as you could see. Also the Palm, Fig and many other trees made it quite clear that we weren’t at home anymore (wherever that is)

One other great thing that we were able to do was meet a really interesting British couple who own a vineyard just outside of Caux called Mas Gabriel. They had a nice friendly cat to play with, and gave us a tour of their operation.

The South of France!

We decided to take a quick vacation last week since:

1. we had previously promised the kids a 3 month holiday which disappeared

2. they started school on Thursday

3.if we didn’t leave the Simoni house, it’s possible one of our kids or their stuff would end up in a 40ft sea container bound for the port of Dubai.

We were very fortunate to be able to stay in my uncle Milton & aunt Sharon’s place in Caux in the south of France (note: why I say “the south of France” but not “the west of Canada” is probably a bit odd.  Although if you say it with an Inspector Clouseau accent it seems to make more sense)

We had an absolutely great time.  We drove down on Monday morning - and the drive itself is actually quite impressive. In 3 hours we travelled from mid-elevation Alpine forrest to plains, from damp cool to very hot and dry, from Les Alpes to the Mediterranean Sea.

The town of Caux is amazing. The core of the town is built around/on/in/with/on-top-of the remains of a fortified city laid out in a 10th century circular pattern.  (the Ramparts defended the town well during the 100 Years War until it was taken in 1579 by those pesky Huguenots.)

We had a lot of fun just making meals together, hanging out and reading, and exploring the town.

« Joyeux anniversaire…a Micah » (part II)

 Susan baked a cake, Mary-Ellen cut it into shape, and Matea and I decorated it - and between the 4 of us it almost looked like what it was supposed to look like.

We had a great supper out on the patio - and of course - we had to do what we always do for a 4-year old’s birthday….fireworks.  Don’t worry -I helped the birthday boy light his - safety first (OK, again…fireworks first…but safety is at least still top 20)

By the time we ate, had cake, and blew up things it was well past bedtime (even for  here) - but it was a great birthday -for a great kid.

« Joyeux anniversaire…a Micah » (part I)

Our original plan for this summer had us spending a 4th birthday in Reykjavik, but very little this summer has followed our original plan.  We decided to bookmark his birthday doing what he really likes the best…trains.

Luckily Grenoble has trams as the backbone of the public transit system.  They go all over, they are many, and they are cheap.  We drove down to Grenoble and left the car at a park & ride (or “P & R” in French) which is at the very end of one of the tram lines.  From there we could pay our 2 Euro, and in return had a gated parking lot with an attendant, and 5 tickets for return trips on the Grenoble transit system.  Seriously - 5 return tickets and parking for less than $3CDN?? What the What?

We walked around Grenoble a bit - looked into a church and tried to explain to the kids how they built a church like that 500 years ago (answer: I have no idea)

Then we took “les boules” - the bubble-shaped cable car that runs up to the Bastille fort perched overlooking Grenoble and the valleys that meet here. They were built something like 70 years ago - a fact you try to forget when the doors don’t fully close and you are dangling over the river.

At the top we explored the fortress, walked through some tunnels cut through the side of the mountain -and then headed back down intro Grenoble.

Just enough time for a few popsicles and a rest in a shaded park before catching our return tram ride back to the car, and head back up to cooler altitudes for supper.