Carcassonne, Arles, Saint Paul de Vence, Nice, & Éze, France | August 22-25, 2019
Southern France brought us a fairytale dream, an artist’s passion, a show of lights, and a taste of home. Southern France treated us much better than northern France as the views were incredible and the people were lovely. We got in some awesome family bonding and saw a lot of neat things along the way!
Our first stop, the city of Carcassonne, France was like stepping into a fairytale! This medieval city has tons of history mixed in with a mystical charm. There were shops with dragons, knights, and fairies and then structures with gargoyles! The family got to sleep inside the protection of the city walls, while Ben and I slept near the quiet canal just outside the city.
We toured the old castle for a small price and got to walk atop the surrounding walls. The tour actually consisted of mostly the structure’s war history. They educated us on how they defended the castle by dropping rocks onto the heads of their enemies and setting them on fire. But we don’t have to get into all that. Their chapel was beautiful, their crepes got an A+, and the shops were really cool!
Our next stop was another medieval city, actually one of the oldest in the French Riviera. This was one of my personal favorites because it has so mush charm and is well kept. The streets are narrow but polished and the local shops have more artwork than you could ever dream. The buildings were covered in vines and plants, giving the old stone pops of color. Cassie was in heaven and Benjamin even bought a little painting for himself. We had lunch at a small cafe right outside the city and then topped the experience off with some delicious gelato.
After this we booked it to Arles to try and catch the Van Gogh Museum before it closed. Cassie is studying art in school, so this was something she really wanted to do. We got to see where Van Gogh’s “Yellow House” stood and Cass made it just in the nick of time to get into the museum. Benjamin described it as “quite moving” and Cassie was so happy she got to see the work of such a famous artist. After this, we opted to drive through the night and sleep in the car near Cannes.
We found a nice spot on top of a hill where everyone snuggled together in the car and made the best of the situation haha. Everyone was slightly grumpy the next morning from the hot, uncomfortable night so we thought there would be no better way to start the day than with a swim! We lounged on the beach and swam to a nearby rock where we were able to jump off. We worked on our diving skills and the beautiful day lightened our mood.
After this, we drove to Nice and checked into a hotel right away so we could all take naps before touring the big city. Nice was lively with concerts and other happenings. We walked along the beach and saw the main plaza. We also got a little taste of home by eating at the Hard Rock Cafe; we had some good old fashion burgers and steak! Ben and I did not want to sleep in the car in the city, so we decided to drive ahead and check out the city of Éze while the rest of the family spent some more time in Nice.
It was already dark by the time we got to Éze. But that didn’t stop us from hiking the steep hill to see the old town. As we walked around, we heard loud music coming from a church nearby. We couldn’t find our way and had to stop to try and get our bearings. At this moment, a woman approached us asking for help. She said that her brother was in a wheelchair and needed some help getting to the light show. We concluded that his must be where the music was coming from and explained that would love to help and see the show too.
As she directed us to her house, she walked briskly and rounded a very dark corner. This caused us to hesitate because of all the stories we’d heard of people getting tricked with schemes like this. Not wanting to get mugged, we proceeded with caution and slowly rounded the corner. We felt silly after we saw her brother was waiting patiently to be escorted down the hill. Ben did most of the hard labor while we chatted about our backgrounds. Their names were Dominique and Jean Marie. Jean Marie kept asking about Montana and said, “I have never been there, but I love to learn!” With a cigarette hanging out the side of his mouth.
When we got to the church, they thanked us right as the light show began. We watched with delight as it wasn’t just lights flashing to music, but that it also consisted of projected patterns on the church, bringing the old structure to life. We were so happy to have stumbled upon this on a whim. After the show, we helped the two back up to their home and said our goodbyes. They insisted on buying us food or drinks, but we politely declined saying we had to hit the road again. We drove through the French Alps to find a quiet parking spot near an old fortress.
Our drive through the Alps was beautiful that next morning, but definitely made me a little car sick! Ben described the area as, “Glacier National Park on steroids”. It was beautiful! We had taken the long way through the Alps, but easily met up with the rest of the family in Italy where we ended our road trip and settled into a wonderful Airbnb! Stay tuned!
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