Tues Oct 17

Time to forgo the Roman sites now and get back to the Middle Ages. This day we would explore the medieval castle and town of Les Baux. Whereas the Romans built their cities with trade in mind, feudal society was more concerned with defense. So this mountain redoubt northeast of Arles would dominate the lower Rhone valley for most of the Middle Ages. The village is a "frozen in time" kind of place with all the buildings many hundreds of years old. The castle was as much dug out of the mountain as built on it. There is enough of it left to get the feel for life in a medieval stronghold. During the religious wars of the 17th century Protestant rebels took over the then vacant fortress, against the wishes of the villagers, and had to be extracted by force. The villagers then petitioned the king to have the castle walls demolished. They were blown down from the inside with gunpower. Had they no idea they were on a gold mine of a tourist attraction!!?

First though, the drive over. We crossed the Rhone at the town of Beaucaire. They too, have a castle. We just grabbed a few shots as we passed through. 

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As we arrived at Les Baux it began to rain so we decided to retreat to Saint-Remy and find some lunch. A creperie promptly presented itself. Just what we wanted. These creperies are one of the French versions of fast food. They are very quick and soooo much better. 

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We then walked around the town a little just to check it out. This store was pushing some kind of bear theme. We like bears.

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_8509514 So very French:

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Jeanne Marie is widely revered here, as she is everywhere.

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Finally the rain started lifting so we headed back to Les Baux.

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Walking around these quaint little places can really pull one back in time. 

_8509567 Above is a trebuchet, a siege machine for slinging large boulders.

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The view from the top. Above, of the fortress, below, of the valley beyond the walls.  _8509705-Pano

You think our schools are tough? These French kids didn't do their homework! _8509734

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We were wise to retreat from the rain earlier. It turned into a gorgeous day.