In with a squirt: Pippa welcomes our Bay Area friends to Paris, and France, and Europe by squirting them from our balcony with a water gun upon their arrival one hot afternoon. James and Trina dub it the "Best Welcome Ever," but, alas, Pippa is to hold the crown for less than 24 hours.
In with a bang: The morning after their arrival, we train down to Avignon together, where we will be staying as the guests at the rather wonderful villa of James and Trina's business associates/new friends. We arrive not only to a beautiful villa with a swimming pool, but also to three succulent chickens roasting on the grill, served with some great local cheeses and wine and sparkling conversation. After dinner, the villa's owners drive away, leaving us as kings of the castle. It's heaven and, upon reflection, slightly outshines a water gun and a fold-out sofa bed.
In with a thwack: From the villa, it's a quick drive to the medieval Château des Baux, where we all try shooting crossbows. The arrows go in with a satisfying thwack, and nearly all of us at least hit the target.
In with a clang: After the château, we continue our day of testosterone at the 2000 year-old Roman arena in Arles, where the clanging and grunting and sweating (and even occasional bleeding) of gladiators is alive and well. It's fun to think that this was already a thousand year old ruin when the thousand year old château was just being built.
In with a splash: 2000 years ago, while gladiators were battling it out in the arena, the Romans also built this amazing aqueduct, the Pont du Gard. The engineering is impressive for any era: It is the highest of all existing Roman aqueducts. It drops 2.5cm, or just under one inch, over the span of the bridge, and just 17m (56ft) over the entire span from neighboring village Uzès to its ultimate goal in Nîmes about 50km (31 miles) away.
The bridge was built to bring water to the people, but two millennia later, it's bringing people to the water. Besides boatloads of kayakers -- both literally and figuratively -- there are also swimmers and cliff-jumpers. It's hard to beat this as a backdrop for a place to cool off in a heat wave. I wonder what the Romans would think of it all?
In with a bang: The morning after their arrival, we train down to Avignon together, where we will be staying as the guests at the rather wonderful villa of James and Trina's business associates/new friends. We arrive not only to a beautiful villa with a swimming pool, but also to three succulent chickens roasting on the grill, served with some great local cheeses and wine and sparkling conversation. After dinner, the villa's owners drive away, leaving us as kings of the castle. It's heaven and, upon reflection, slightly outshines a water gun and a fold-out sofa bed.
In with a thwack: From the villa, it's a quick drive to the medieval Château des Baux, where we all try shooting crossbows. The arrows go in with a satisfying thwack, and nearly all of us at least hit the target.
Out with a bang: At the 1100 year-old château, James gets to help wind up the second largest trebuchet in the world (the first being by Loch Ness in Scotland) and then be the one to pull the "trigger" rope, sending a volleyball to its untimely and rather explosive end. He volunteers extremely enthusiastically -- and explains medieval armature to Trina, myself, and the children in such detail -- that I am once again reminded of the difference between boys and girls. As with Anthony in la Dordogne last year, it's also fun to see James' 12-year old self emerge at the prospect of a day spent as a knight.
In with a clang: After the château, we continue our day of testosterone at the 2000 year-old Roman arena in Arles, where the clanging and grunting and sweating (and even occasional bleeding) of gladiators is alive and well. It's fun to think that this was already a thousand year old ruin when the thousand year old château was just being built.
While there are no deaths, we do notice at the meet-and-greet-and-try-on-equipment afterwards that the main gladiator (the guy holding the pitchfork in the photo) has a mangled, swollen, and bloody hand. All of them have battle scars on their backs, legs, and arms. They take this seriously.
In with a splash: 2000 years ago, while gladiators were battling it out in the arena, the Romans also built this amazing aqueduct, the Pont du Gard. The engineering is impressive for any era: It is the highest of all existing Roman aqueducts. It drops 2.5cm, or just under one inch, over the span of the bridge, and just 17m (56ft) over the entire span from neighboring village Uzès to its ultimate goal in Nîmes about 50km (31 miles) away.
The bridge was built to bring water to the people, but two millennia later, it's bringing people to the water. Besides boatloads of kayakers -- both literally and figuratively -- there are also swimmers and cliff-jumpers. It's hard to beat this as a backdrop for a place to cool off in a heat wave. I wonder what the Romans would think of it all?
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