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 Finally, the day has come... |
 We grab a pretzel while we wait... |
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 We take off late afternoon... |
 and fly into the night... |
 and arrive in Paris mid-morning. |
 We are "just a little jet-lagged". |
 We head to a little bistro... |
 and find the mirrored ceiling to be disorienting... |
 Ah... comfort food... croque madame. |
 We walk the streets... |
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 It begins to rain... |
 we grab our "para-pluie". |
 The next morning we head to Gare Lyon. |
 We are early. |
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 Palm trees in the train station? Pourquoi? |
 Watching you... |
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 I love the train... |
 especially when I get to be engineer! |
 Let's take it out for a spin... |
 The TGV goes fast! |
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 All aboard! |
 We arrive in Avignon and pick up our rental car... |
 We drive to St. Remy and stay at Hotel du Soleil. |
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 Welcome to St. Remy |
 A quick look and off to the market we go... |
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 Watch out! |
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 We wander along the streets... |
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 Luscious strawberries tucked in pink tissue paper. |
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 Mmmmmm... cherries! |
 Melons |
 So which would you like? |
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 So many olives... |
 so little time... |
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 Would you like to try some tapenade? Oui! |
 An olive tree grows nearby... |
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 I never met... |
 a tomato... |
 I didn't like! |
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 So simple... so satisfying! |
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 The singing chef... |
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 With this clock... time really does stand still! |
 A charming restaurant... Bistrot de Marie |
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 Art for sale... |
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 Do not drink the water... |
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 La nuit etoilee by Vincent van Gogh |
 My attempt... in the style of van Gogh |
 We leave St. Remy ... |
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 Time for lunch... |
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 Please... come sit down. |
 Bon appetit! |
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 Gone to Spain? (please read) |
 Is our luck changing? |
 The hotel cat... mean or just a little odd? |
 So... we head on down the road toward the Camargue, our ultimate destination. |
 The famous white horses of the Camargue |
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 We find a place to stay not far from the Camargue... Le Petit Mas des Barres |
 Lucky #7 |
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 During breakfast... |
 the local cat keeps an eye on us from the reed roof... |
 He gets bored and wanders off. |
 We head to the Camargue in search of flamingos and wildlife. |
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 Coming in for a landing... |
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 We leave the Camargue and head on down the road... |
 "Drive-by shooting" |
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 We arrive in Menerbes. |
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 Time for lunch... |
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 How to garden on a steep, narrow hillside... |
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 Castle ruins of the Marquis de Sade in LaCoste |
 Who is this lone wanderer and his dog? |
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 Coquelicot |
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 The stones we walk on... |
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 With many thanks to my husband for these photos of me in France! |
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 We leave LaCoste and travel to the village of... |
 The village of Lourmarin |
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 We arrive at Mas de Foncaudette |
 We are warmly welcomed by Aline and Frank. |
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 We sit on the porch and relax. |
 This is a perfect time to catch up on some reading... |
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 Throughout the house are small sculptures by this artist. |
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 It is all the little touches that make this place so special... |
 Serenity... Simplicity... |
 Remembrance... |
 Original painting... |
 Tapenade |
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 Outside: cold and rainy. Inside: warm and cozy. |
 The castle at night... |
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 Le petit dejeuner... |
 The view from our window... a huge fig tree. |
 A special thank you... |
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 Before it starts raining, we go to the market in Lourmarin. |
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 We arrive at the castle and find an art exhibit... |
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 The view from the castle... |
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 The castle garden... |
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 Cheers! |
 We leave Lourmarin... |
 but must choose another route to Saignon.... |
 We arrive in Saignon in a downpour of rain... |
 Our room... "Rouge" |
 The view from our room... |
 A painting of the room "Rouge" |
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 We grab our umbrella and walk to the pastry shop... |
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