Today took us from Antibes on the French Riviera northwest to Arles in Provence. We had a much shorter travel day today than the previous two, which was very nice. A portion of our trip was along tree-shaded rural roads where we saw LOTS of bicyclists. I'm guessing this is probably the kind of roads we'll be traveling on our bicycle tour.
The terrain is changing significantly. Interestingly, our travels are just now taking us through some of France's vineyards. Up until today, we had seen fruit orchards (apricots, peaches, etc.) and sunflower fields, but no vineyards. The countryside is beautiful and the B&B we're staying at for the next two nights is right in the heart of this bucolic setting. It's an old manor house with lots of old-world charm, and is owned and run by two displaced Americans.
We took a detour on our way to Arles to stop at an old medieval town called Les Baux. For those of you who have been to Italy, it reminded us a little of San Gimignano, but without the towers. The chateau/castle ruins at the top of the hill were amazing. This town has been here since the middle ages. It sits high atop a craggy mountain and, in its time, was very well fortified. The chateau/castle was actually built right into the rock. We spent @ 2 hours wandering through the ruins, most of it out in the blistering heat, with the sun radiating off the rocks ("mad dogs and Englishmen, out in the noonday sun" as Rich would say).
It was nice to reach our lodging and kick back and relax.
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