St. Remy de Provence/ Mt. Ventoux

Dear Family and Friends,

Our trip to Cinque Terre was too short and before we knew it, the kids were back in school and Joe resumed stressing over work. Nevertheless, we still had some time to spend with Joe's family and to take short trips around Provence.



Last Saturday, Joe, Julie, Ranee, and the kids took a drive to the village of St. Remy de Provence to see the Gallo-Roman ruins just south of the city. The area of Glanum was first inhabited by the Greeks from about the 7th century BC, but eventually was taken over by the Gallo-Romans beginning in around 150 BC. The archaeological site consists of ruins of temples, palaces, Roman baths, a triumphal arch, and a main road made of large stones runs that runs through the middle.



Nicolas, Elyse, Nathaniel and their counsin Lilia were given an activity book that kept them searching for clues throughout the ruins. It also helped them to better understand Roman life as they learned how the Roman baths were heated from beneath, how water was distributed throughout the city through special fresh-water drains, how waste was carried away through gutters beneath the road, and how the Romans solved a host of other engineering problems.



The insciptions on the stone markers near the sacred spring show the evolution of the town from worship of Glanum, for which the town was originally built, to the Roman gods of Hercules and Fortuna.

One of the most remarkable areas is the remains of a Roman temple. The carving on the pillars is intricate and well preserved despite being subjected to two millenia of Provence rain and wind.



Joe's favorite stone carving was the fountain for one of the Roman baths. It's fun to imagine that the sculptor who carved the face with a flowing beard must have had some sense of whimsy.




On one of our drives, we stopped in the lavender fields near Valensole. Even though the lavender is not in full bloom yet, it was still nice for Joe's parents and sister to walk up and down the endless rows.

This Saturday, we decided to drive up to the top of Mount Ventoux, the highest peak in Provence. Although technically part of the Alps, this mountain stands alone and therefore offers an amazing view of the region all the way to the Mediterraen. Unfortunately for us, we reached the top just as some clouds rolled in. This cooled us off a bit and reduced our visibility considerably.

Mount Ventoux is unique in several ways. First, the top two-thirds of the moutain is completely bare, giving the mountain the appearance of snow cover all year round. In fact, it is difficult to find grass anywhere among the rocks. Second, Mount Ventoux is a frequent host to the Tour de France. During what is probably the most grueling stage of the month-long race, bicyclists must climb approximately 6,000 feet up steep grades to reach the summit. As a result, the tight groupings that exist throughout the race are broken up and the space between winners and losers increases. In biking circles, climbing Mount Ventoux is similar to hiking Everest and bikers come from all around the world to earn an "I survived Ventoux" t-shirt.



After stopping in Sault for a diner of pizza and pasteries from the local boulangerie, we headed for home. About a half an hour into the drive, Joe started noticing small black objects all over the road. This was quite perplexing as both the olive and grape harvests are some months away. The mystery was solved minutes later when we came upon a flock of sheep that were being driven from one pasture to another.

In typical Provence fashion, no one, including the lazy sheepdog at the head of the flock, the shepherds driving slowly in the rear, or the shaggy-looking long-haired sheep which frequently stopped on the side of the road to munch on grass until they realized they had been left behind, appeared to be in any great hurry. As a result, we resigned ourselves to the extra drive time and gave the shepherds a very friendly wave when were finally able to pass about a half hour later. Anyway, the kids and adults loved watching the "sheep sheep, funny little sheep sheep."

Bonne Semaine!

Joe, Julie, Nicolas, Elyse, Nathaniel, and Grandpa & Grandma Onstott