Moustier & Castellane

Dear Family and Friends,

The last couple of weeks in France have dragged a bit. We have had to keep all of the shutters closed to keep the temperatures down during the day and the nights have not provided much relief. We have also been anticipating our trip home to the States, which has made time pass more slowly.

For his part, Nicolas has been attending a summer camp organized by the city of Pierrevert with his friend Joshua from England. He has enjoyed the activities such as painting, swimming, obstacle courses, and water balloons, but has not had as many good things to say about the lunch provided at the local cantine (cafeteria). Elyse has spent the last couple of weeks swimming, picking blackberries, and playing with her friends Maya and Suhyun. Nathaniel has accompanied mom on her walks to take Nicolas to summer camp, and other than falling out of bed and cutting his head at 2:00am, has had a good summer away from school.

This Saturday, we drove to Moustier Saint-Marie to pick up a few things for our trip home. While there, Joe persuaded everyone to ascend the stairs along the rocky cliffs that lead to a small chapel overlooking the city and valley.



Once at the top, we all took a well-deserved break in the shade before making the return trip down the slippery rock stairs. Everyone did very well on the short hike, including Nathaniel who walked the whole way.



After we did our shopping, we climbed back into the car and headed to the Gorges du-Verdon, or the Grand Canyon of the Verdon, in order to reach the city of Castellane on the other side.



The road through the canyon is very windy and narrow, but afforded some great views of the river below as well as of a few dwellings of farmers who dared to make their living on plateaus on the sides of the rocky mountains.



Along the way, we stopped briefly to cool our heels in the river and grab a bite to eat. Nicolas discovered that by digging into the gravel, he could create a small spring which he used to launch boats made of bark into the river. In true fashion, Nathaniel lost his balance while wading and ended up soaked from head to toe. After rolling in the dirt in his wet clothes, he was stripped down to his skivvies and spent the remainder of the journey dressed in a Elyse’s sweater and a safety vest.



We finally came to the end of our trek, the city of Castellane. Unfortunately, the city was so crowded with campers and vacationers, we decided not to stay for very long. Instead, we drove up the mountain, where we were able to get a very nice view of the Notre Dame du Roc chapel build on top of a hill overlooking the town below.



Our drive home took us by the unusual rock formations of Les Mees. The amber colored rocks are in stark contrast to the lush foliage that surrounds them.

We are looking forward to seeing everyone soon.

A toute a l’heure (goodbye for now),

Joe, Julie, Nicolas, Elyse, and Nathaniel