The Mistal continued to blow as we caravanned to Glanum http://www.softseattravel.com/Glanum-Roman-Ruin-in-Provence.html the site of some fascinating Roman ruins that were buried for centuries then discovered in the 1920’s.
After strolling the ruins we walked to the nearby Asylum Saint Paul de Mausole where Vincent van Gogh was hospitalized for a year and where he painted some of his most famous paintings, including Starry Night. That was quite the depressing place! Blood-letting, ice baths and other treatments of that time were described. Makes getting a root canal without novacaine seem tame in comparison!
In the afternoon, Preston, Sarah and I navigated our way back to the train station in Avignon to pick up Sue who was just arriving. Her departure for France had to be delayed 2 days as she awaited the return of her husband from a 4-month stint in Iraq. I love Sue’s attitude. “Hi Honey, welcome home from the warzone . Here’s the kids – I’m off to France for a vacation. Have fun!”
Back to that navigation thing. Finding our way to the train station was definitely an adventure especially not understanding the road signs, the roundabouts (which we sometimes went around 2 or 3 times before figuring out which road to take) and the crazy drivers. A near miss with a vespa vs our bus, some dirty looks for the “American tourists” and we finally found the station….and Sue!
On the way back to Goult we stopped at the local wine cave (pronounced “kav”, meaning the wine cellar) to fill up on rosé. “Fill-up” literally. Check out the pictures!
That evening we took the first of several evening walks into the village of Goult that always ended at one of the village restaurants for a nightcap. In the village I discovered – guess what? Cats! No surprise there I’m sure to most anyone who knows me. Cats were snoozing on the sidewalks, in the streetside gardens, on the stone walls – kitties seemed to be in every corner. And, much to my relief they were almost all healthy, friendly kitties. And, yes, I immediately checked out the most important thing – nearly all were spayed or neutered! Whew! I would not have to stay behind when everyone went home to implement a French spay/neuter program! My camera started going crazy snapping pics of the kitties. More on the Cats of Goult to follow.
For pictures of today's adventure go to http://fieldhaven.phanfare.com/4165236#imageID=74092656
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