Life in France

Today was a rest day, as well as, laundry.  The washing machine is so small that you need to really stay on top of the situation, you can't just let things pile up like at home - it gets away from you.  I am in charge of running the washing machine and Larry is in charge of hanging it up to dry and bringing it in.  So far, so good.  That's a full load hehas hung up - a beach towel, a  couple of tops and two pair of shorts and even at that, I'm worried I'm putting too much in the machine at once.

When we are home in the house, we spend most of our time upstairs in the office and in the bedroom.  Larry uses the desk to study Spanish and I relax on the bed reading guide books and studying maps.  After dark we can open the metal shutters which cover the windows and get a little cool air in, but during the day we need to keep it shut up tight because of the heat.  By doing that we are able to keep it at 84 degrees inside when it is 97 outside, but it is kind of depressing - feels a bit like a cave.  We rarely open the shutters downstairs at all as the fans are upstairs and it is more comfortable up here. 

Today after chores (gas for the car, chocolate croissants (buy 3 get a fourth free!), groceries, and laundry) we drove into Avignon (25 minutes to the heart of town).  We parked (with difficulty) and take a lack luster

boat trip on the Rhone River.  The really good part about it was the view of the old town, the papal palace and the famous bridge at Avignon of nursery rhyme fame, as well as the cool breeze on the water.  It did cool us down, which we needed.  It was 98 again today.  It makes us both a little grumpy.

After the "cruise", Larry went for a ride on a huge ferris wheel (he called it the Big 'O') which afforded him

wonderful views of the town.  I didn't go as I really don't like the movement and the heights.  The picture of the ferris wheel doesn't look too impressive but it really was huge - one of the largest I have every seen.

Then we wandered around town, had a sandwich and an ice cream cone.  Larry discovered that they can make a Croque Monsieur (grilled ham and cheese sandwich) with blue cheese - so he was in heaven.

There are all sorts of street performers.  It really is a wild place.  I got these pictures of street statues.  They stand perfectly still until someone puts some money in their can.  They then come alive for a minute and salute you or wave or change positions.  It is great fun.  These guys were really good at standing perfectly still.  I swear they don't even blink.

Up in front of the papal palace there is also this really bizare statute of an elephant stnading on it's trunk.   Very strange indeed.  The people milling about there were watching some street performers demonstrating a duel.

We are getting very good at navigating around France.  Once you learn the geography enough to know what town you want to go towards, you've got it made.  Route numbers are interesting but not terribly helpful.  You really need to know if you want to go towards Avignon or Arles or Nimes or whatever.  We still get lost in our own little home town because the streets all seem to be circular which is confusing - even with a map in hand.

I am sorry to have to report that we haven't fared terribly well in the meals-out department.  We are finding it expensive and not terribly high quality nor interesting.  Last night's dinner even made me sick - I had the most severe stomache cramps for hours afte eating....not going to try the spagetti bolognese again soon.  When you go into the restaurants you generally have a choice of plates - like a steak with french fries and vegetables.  I've had lamb a couple times and it has been terrific - just small.  Larry has had some good tuna, but the great meals we were hoping for haven't materialized.  I think that when we get to Nice in 10 days or so, we will be happier in the restaurants - we certainly were when we lived there in 1998.  The food there is heavily influenced by Italy - which is literally right around the corner.   Here, however, the bread, the croissants, the wine and  the chocolate are all superb.  We are certainly not starving.

Tomorro, we have decided to go to the beach again - the only sane thing to do in this insane heat.  It is nice that it is only an hour away.  There is a boat ride that we might take into the Camargue (marsh/delta) - we'll see how the day goes.