A Well Kept Man

My cousin Joel arrived in Switzerland as we were completing our Provence vacation, so for a day and half Chez Seeber had two guests (thankfully my dad and Joel have no problem getting along, and neither really complained about having to share a bedroom...although for some strange reason the couch had what appeared to be an imprint of a full grown male in the cushions). I opted to take the two of them on the standard Switzerland visitor tour, which included walking through the streets of Lausanne to show everyone where we live, followed by a trip up to Gruyeres for lunch, then the chocolate factory for treats. After the chocolate buzz wore off we drove back into Lausanne and made a stop at Lac Sauvabelin, which is basically a park in the city with farm animals, a lake, and a wooden tower that overlooks the city.

Nobody seemed to be impressed by the animals (although I suppose the park caters more to those under the age of 12), but the view afforded by the tower provided ample photo opportunities. Surprisingly the highlight of the day wasn't any of these things, nor was it the field of cows that they begged me to stop at for pictures...instead the memory burned in my head of that day will forever be a fire hydrant along the road near Bulle. Why? Because it was painted like Harry Potter, that's why! The remainder of the day was devoted to my version of a Swiss dinner on our terrace (basically a few different blocks of Swiss cheeses, fruits, veggies, dried meats, baguettes, bread, wine, and mineral water) and a walk down by the lake. Our visitor overlap sadly ended the next day when my dad returned to the States and Joel and I were left to cause trouble on our own.

As we usually do when we have guests, here is a picture of our traveling companion from our trip to Provence. It's my Dad for those of you who don't recognize him (usually he has on a black shirt with one of those white collar thingies that pastors wear...sorry Dad if I ruined your secret identity). I don't really have anything witty to say about the photo except that if it weren't for him holding the camera, I might not recognize him (saying he enjoys photography is like saying I miss the United States).

Interesting fact: My dad is the record holder for most pictures (1,366 photos), as well as the per day record holder (171 photos per day) by a visitor of ours to Switzerland.

Our final stop in Provence was the town of Avignon, which from the early 14th to the early 15th century was the de facto center of the Catholic church (think Vatican City, but in France). Apparently things in Italy were getting a little rough during this time so the Pope decided to pack up and move to a less hectic place. As a result, Avignon became the center of the Catholic church and was until in the end of the 1300s when the Pope returned to Rome causing the Great Schism. From 1378 to 1415 there were actually two Popes, one in Avignon and one in Rome (although the Avignon Pope wasn't officially recognized as Pope by the Roman Catholic Church). History lesson over.

The Palace of the Popes is the main attraction in Avignon (a rather large city actually) and was the main reason for our visit. It is quite the impressive structure, and contains many unique items which assist in retelling the story of Papal Avignon. The Palace takes about two hours or so to walk through, and when you add in the adjoining church and gardens expect to spend about three hours. We all decided to stop for a treat as well (one of us had a crepe, one had ice cream, and the other had Diet Coke...guess which one had which) which allowed us to enjoy the garden a little longer (wouldn't want to drip ice cream inside the church now would we?). We then spent the remainder of our time walking through the streets of Avignon making our legs extraordinarily tired, one of us throwing a temper tantrum (yea, that would be me...I was hungry, exhausted, and tired of being the Official Translator of the Lutheran Emissary from Michigan, USA and his daughter-in-law...but I eventually quit being a grouse and we managed to enjoy the rest of the time in Avignon), and ending the evening with a nice meal while watching yet another deluge outside. We managed to stay mostly dry although we had umbrellas so that helped (although the streets resembled small rivers so I can't say our feet made it out unscathed).

In summary, Avignon is a large town with a big castle built for the Popes. It is well worth the time to stop and check it out, but stay outside of the city (or in nearby Arles) if you ever plan on visiting this area. (For some reason this blog is starting to sound more like a travel book...intriguing idea, but then I'd have to actually edit my entries and add more details, which is something I won't have time to do once my time as a man of leisure expires in a few weeks).

A unique feature in this part of Provence are the hill towns which are basically fortified villages built in the hills to enable the villagers to see the bad guys coming. This makes perfect strategic sense as you will always be aware of what is going on before it happens. Les Baux spent the better part of hundreds of years building this fortress and developing the community within. We were somewhat amused at how they seemed to think of everything to protect themselves except for the small item of food, as most of the fields and livestock were kept in the valleys below. Basically, the village had about a month (maybe a month and a half) of reserves so if they were attacked, all the enemy had to do was wait them out until they were so hungry they just gave up. This only happened once (at least that is what the audio tour said) but the village survived other invaders for the better part of 300 years.

The fortress had a display of medieval siege machines (catapults and trebuchets), and we were able to watch them fire water balloons across using some of them (it would have been more fun if they used pumpkins, but since a major road runs below the hill, they were probably worried about hitting a passing car). At its peak, the village housed over 4,000 people but apparently that population is now below 30. Its jagged rocks below the plateau are said to have inspired Dante's description of Purgatory in the Inferno. The stop was completed with some fresh baguette sandwiches from the city, which we ate a turnout alongside the cliffs which provided a dramatic view of Les Baux from below.

After leaving the Pont du Gard, we headed to the city of Nîmes which is very similar to Arles in terms of architecture and feel. Nîmes however, has many more Roman buildings which are in much better condition. The arena (colosseum) in Nîmes was more complete than the arena in Arles, and Nîmes also has an ancient Roman temple, a Pantheon-like structure, a tower, and the remains of gate that marked the entrance to the city which dates from sometime in the early first century BC.

There are also canals running through the city which begin near the Roman Temple of Diane as a result of a naturally occurring spring. The exact purpose of this temple is unknown, but the ruins are part of what was most likely a much larger area of buildings, gardens, and monuments. Seeing such ancient buildings truly makes you stop and ponder just how long people have been running around on Earth.

As we sat in a park outside the arena eating some market food (hot sausages on a baguette for the boys, Mediterranean salad for the lady), we marveled at the awesome events that must have transpired within the arches of the arena (not the actual arches, I'm just attempting to wow you with my poetic skills). We were able to see a few more churches as well as more old stuff as we walked through the city on a pleasant Sunday afternoon (which meant pretty much everything was closed so all of our activities occurred outside). Although the picture doesn't do the scene justice, there was this dog resting his head on a window sill in one of Nîmes' squares. It just seemed to capture the mood of the day, a lazy Sunday in Spring. Our favorite sights here were the gardens (where the Temple of Diane and the Great Tower reside), as well as the arena/amphitheatre (at least from the outside it looked good...kind of hard to justify spending money to go into another arena when you were just in one the day before). Next stop, Avignon...

What trip to Provence wouldn't be complete without a stop at an engineering marvel? So to make sure our trip was complete, we took a morning to go check out this Roman aqueduct from the 1st century AD (although this is slightly disputed, it could have been built earlier). This aqueduct was built without mortar, which is fairly impressive considering it is still standing (although some of the largest stones weigh around 6 tons a piece, so it would take quite the effort to move this monumental structure). It is the second highest standing Roman structure remaining besides the Colosseum in Rome. It's largest arch is 22 m high (just over 72 feet), which means you could drive somewhere between five and six semi trucks stacked on top of each other through the arch (except they'd need pontoons or something to float them as trucks don't drive too well on water). The Pont du Gard was designed as a piece of a greater aqueduct to help ferry water some 50 km (31 miles give or take), with the Pont carrying the water about 275 m (~300 yards) of the way (about 5 million gallons of water made it over the Pont du Gard each day). The level of the river below it was fairly insignificant, but that is not always the case as it has seen several major floods that have tested its abilities (and thankfully survived). Parts of the aqueduct on either end have been pillaged over the years to help build other structures, but the central span still remains and now will stand unharmed (except for the occasional graphic artist) as it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

We stayed just outside of Arles in the town of Barbegal for three nights to finish our trip in Provence. Our lodging was a working farm about ten minutes from the city, which had plenty of chickens and feral cats (well, at the beginning of the stay there were plenty of chickens, by the end the cats decided there were too many). The city of Arles was settled by the Greeks in the 6th century BC, before being taken over by the Romans in 2nd century BC. We arrived on market day and wandered around seeing the various sights while snacking on some fresh strawberries from the market. Some of the more noteworthy sights include the Colosseum and the amphitheater; the former which remains one of the best preserved in Europe, the latter which has been ravaged by time but still evokes a picture of the greatness of Rome.

As luck would have it, we were able to get into the arena free of charge as they were practicing for a bullfight later that evening. It was interesting watching the matador dance with the young bull (probably no more than a year old), and thankfully, they were just practicing so there was no sad ending (although later that night, we caught a glimpse of the real thing through the open arches and decided that bullfights weren't really our thing). A funny item of interest was it was fairly evident when the matador did something well as the crowd's cheers were easily heard in the streets around the arena, which elicited cheers from passerbys as well. We laughed a bit when two ladies who obviously could not see a single thing other than the wall of the arena applauded with great fervor at the sound of the cheering crowd inside (¡Olé!).

Arles narrow streets had many vibrantly colored homes and storefronts, and provided a wonderful sensory experience. The main square is home to a cloister and the St. Trophime Church, with a fine example of Romanesque sculpture on the portal entrance. Nearby to Arles are various other sights, such as Daudet's windmill, and an abbey up in the hills. The fields surrounding Arles are mostly utilized for olive and grapes, although lavender is grown here as well. Arles is a very quaint city, and small enough to provide ample respite for those searching for a quiet adventure.

One of the obligations of a pastor is tending to his sheep no matter where they happen to be...in this case, the town of Aix-en-Provence. After much debate as to the pronunciation of Aix (without resolution as far as I can tell...is the "x" pronounced or not??), we headed off to this university town (no less than 15 universities here) to meet up with a family from my dad's congregation that happened to be in Aix while we were touring through Provence. The objective was to meet up with them for dinner at a local French restaurant, but the objective was complicated due to a precipitation event (also known as heavy rain). We arrived early to check out the town as we otherwise would not have seen this place. Aix is a university town which reminded me a lot of Boulder, Colorado, but without the mountains and hippies. As we were walking around waiting to meet up with our French connection we decided to dive inside a hotel bar next to the rendezvous point to avoid what began as a sprinkle and turned into a two hour deluge. While consuming our pre-dinner drinks, the roof in the bar began leaking water onto an unsuspecting patron (which was somewhat humorous I guess), but I was quickly repaid for my schadenfreude. While waiting outside for the rain to let up, an elderly French woman berated me for failing to go inside the hotel and call a taxi for her (I tried to explain to her my French wasn't that good, but she didn't seem to care...but then she went back out in the rain and walked away, so maybe she didn't really want a taxi and my French really is that bad).

Traveling abroad tends to have a lot of ups and downs, but we have found that taking the time to make unique memories has made this adventure all the better. We had a great time visiting with the Jenkins family and are very thankful to them for giving us a taste of their experiences as well. Plus, I think my dad can now deduct the expenses of his trip as work-related (just kidding, although if he could I'm sure he would encourage his congregation to include him in their travel plans more often).

(If you've noticed I was able to snap a couple photos before it started to rain, but unfortunately I didn't manage to take any after that, so you'll just have to imagine the rain looked like...)

The next stop on our Southern France vacation took us along the coast to the small fishing village of Sanary-sur-Mer (Sanary on the Sea). This most beautiful city in Provence was one of our favorites. The boat lined harbor provided ample photo opportunities, and the quaint streets housed little shops (I think this is where my dad declared he could live on French baguettes for all of his meals...they were certainly tasty, but perhaps not inhabitable...). Anyway, we walked up to top of the city for a tremendous view of the harbor and town below, wandered through a 16th century seaside church, and strolled through the weekend market where we purchased some delicious cheese to go with our sandwiches from the bakery (most of the time a bakery will have sandwiches, but they are seldom adorned with much besides a few slices of ham and some butter).

After leaving Sanary, we headed to a series of geologic formations made of limestone called Les Calanques. These inlets from the sea are basically high cliff walls that go down into the sea and are remnants of ancient river mouths that were further "enhanced" by passing glaciers (the water level, not the land), thus creating deep valleys. The Calanques are very well known along this stretch of French coastline roughly between Cassis and Marseilles, and provided a nice stopping point for us to enjoy the scenery, get some exercise, and take in the warm spring day. It was somewhat peculiar to see trees basically growing out of rocks, but apparently these trees have quite the root system that dives down deep into the various cracks and crevasses to find the water it needs to survive.

From here we continued to Marseilles where we would stay for two nights. Marseilles is the oldest city in France (most populous after Paris), and its history dates back over 30,000 years (it was founded in 600 BC by the Greeks, but paintings in underwater caves date it between 27,000 and 19,000 BC). This coastal town has a huge harbor which is flanked on either side by a fortress, one of which is now a history museum, and the other was under construction so who knows what it inside. Every morning the harbor hosts the morning fish market that starts around 7 am and runs until the catch of the day are sold (usually around noon). The fishermen were exactly how I imagined them: rough, salty, and sun-wrinkled. I think we all enjoyed this experience immensely (although it did start to get a bit smelly once the sun started to beat down on the dying fish).

Throughout the city were many ancient churches (at least 50, probably many, many more), and I don't have an exact tally but I am pretty sure we went inside roughly 63% of them (did you know 82% of all statistics are made up?). The sea-faring heart of this town was evident in many churches as they were decorated with nautical themes, anchors, boats, fish, etc. The most overt was one of the most opulent, the Basilica of Notre Dame de la Garde, a 19th century church which towers about 200m above the city (1/8 of a mile). A statue of the Virgin Mary watches the sea, protecting (at least in theory) the sailors as they go out to earn their living on the mighty waters of the Mediterranean. Inside little boat ornaments and paintings of ships remind the parishioners of the men and women at sea providing for their families. The massive Saint Marie Majeure (originally built in the 4th century, enlarged in the 11th century, and completely rebuilt in the 19th century) provided another stunning example of Roman architecture. There is also an old abbey, as well as a newer Gothic style churches (newer meaning 17th and 18th century).

We stayed in a newly renovated bed and breakfast in the city which looked like a rural farmhouse on the inside (exposed wood beam ceilings, hand-cut stone wash basins and showers, country style furniture - un Mas en ville). The city of Marseilles is very big (about 2 million people in the metro area...about the size and feel of Baltimore, MD) and the inhabitants seem to be on the go all the time. The city is quite loud and chaotic (we even saw a traditional French workers protest) but offers a lot of charm and warmth if you are able to get passed the noise. We enjoyed people watching from street-side cafes, and managed to avoid getting totally soaked in a downpour (although if the restaurants would open for dinner before 7 pm, this wouldn't have been a problem as we were ready to eat at 5 pm and the rain didn't start until 7:30 or so...). It was a wonderful stop as we had the opportunity to see a different side of France, yet still felt like we weren't in a gigantic place (Marseilles is very walkable, in fact, I recommend you avoid driving once in the city as it will have you trying to rip off your steering wheel and throw it at someone). If you've been to Paris but are looking for something a bit different, I suggest Marseilles as a nice change of pace (plus you'll be close to the southern coast which is never a bad thing).