Provence, France

So depite the rain we did enjoy Provence. It is so different from Switzerland in terms of geography. The Mediterranean is amazing with it's rocky shoreline. Lots of cliffs, which Dan so graciously drove us through as I clung to the car door praying not to vomit. The kids couldn't quite understand that on the other side of the water was Africa. It was kinda hard for me to believe too!

On Friday was settled into our small apartment (cooking in is a lifesaver on these trips) and the kids went wild that there was an outdoor pool. The temperature when we arrived was probably high 60's and it was sunny so Dan let them put on their suits. Yeah the pool was closed. Only crazy Wisconsinites would actually want to swim in mid-April. They were SO disappointed. Instead we walked along the sea and marveled at the whipping wind that almost took Sam's baseball cap to Algeria.

Saturday we woke up to gray skies and drizzle. We loaded the raingear in the car and drove to Cassis. It is a cute port town on the sea. We strolled around and Dan appeared to be making it his mission to buy every local sweet made. I forgot to mention he made a special stop on Friday to the town that is famous for nougat. I must admit...awesome. This isn't your 3 Musketeer nougat. This is, "oh God just one more piece then I'll stop nougat" We stopped for an early lunch, very un-European of us, but after all it was pouring out. It was an Italian place so the kids and Dan had pizza and Ben and I shared a lasanga. Dan then drove us through the hills and stopped at EVERY overlook to take pictures...that you will NEVER see!
After dinner we walked around a small town near our hotel and found a carnival. I felt like I was at the Vilas County Fair. The kids went on some rides. We took lots of pictures because one of the cars was a Ferrari. Did I mention that Ben can say this word but he cannot say Sam. Anyway, this is the night we determined the camera got lost, probably as we were trying to get a screaming Ben into his carseat.

Sunday was Easter. The Easter Bunny found us in France after stopping at our house in Switzerland and grabbing the kids' Easter cards from their grandparents. That crazy Easter Bunny! He didn't have a whole lot of options for hiding baskets for the kids, nor did he have a lot of choices for candy. He better mail us some jelly beans and Reeses Peanut Butter Eggs next year. Believe it or not, some days Swiss Chocolate just won't do!

We headed to the town of Aix-en-Provence which was a delightful choice. There was a huge outdoor market and everything was open. (EVERYTHING closed in Switzerland on Friday, Sunday, AND Monday). We really enjoyed the market and bought lots of stuff. We usually don't do this on trips, but for some reason we kinda went nuts! We bought lavender sachets, jellies, spreads, pens, a vase, artwork. I am the biggest tightwad and Dan really was happy that I was actually buying stuff. For lunch we had a Roman flashback and ate slices of pizza as we walked. The rain lifted for a bit and then we drove to.....I don't remember. I believe some sort of argument ensued...I've blocked the rest of the day from my memory....hmmmmmm. I'm stumped.

Monday we awoke to sunshine....go figure. So we took the LONG way home (huge understatment) We left at 9:00 and didn't get home until 7:00 pm. But it was a beautiful drive. We went through the Gorges du Verdon and stopped in the town of Moustiers Ste.-Marie that has a gold star on a 227 m-long chain strung between the cliffs. We hiked here up to a chapel build into a mountain. Lots of rocky stairs that Ben did completely on his own! 22 months old and nobody is stopping him! We had fruit smoothies and beers at the bottom, bought some sandwiches and drove, and drove, and drove. It did get a bit much for the kids, but we all survived. I think we still have to download Zoe's pictures onto our camera and add them to flickr.

I hope someday we can go to Provence in August to see the field of lavender in bloom.