Back in Provence

I am back in Provence and today...the 26th is our 42 wedding anniversary! That means I must be older than 42 although that does not really seem possible to me!!

It is very nice and sunny today in Pernes but....once again the Mistral has decided we are going to have several days of wind. It is hard to sit outside in the sun when your hair is standing straight up on your head!

I took the TGV from the Gare de Lyon to come back to Avignon. The new Hall2 in the train station is quite lovely with  glass rooftop and a new cafe/restaurant ( Le Premier) and a sitting area which gives you a total overview of that part of the station and the trains.

There is even a piano provided for people to play and there was quite a concert going on when I waited for my train.

I have just a few more photos of what I did in Paris and I do have to say that the weather really cooperated so I only had to use the umbrella once and only for about 30 minutes! Parfait!

This café was the setting for the Audrey Tautou movie "Amélie"...it is in Montmartre on the way down to Abbesses.

This café is right beside the Louis Philippe bridge on the edge of the Marais and we frequently seem to end up here...this time after we discovered the Village St. Paul which is hidden within streets of the Marais.

In the métro at Bastille there is actually a remnant of the ancient wall of the prison...I think it is so fantastic that it has been preserved like this.

At the Comédie Française these glass balls create the entrance to the métro. I liked the contrast between motorcycles...tough and the glass...delicate. Photo taken from the bus window!

Near the Bon Marché this building is being cleaned. I love the "trompe l'oeil" of the "wrap around" poster...so much nicer than ugly scaffolding and machines. Everything from the top of the building to the bottom is "fake."

  The Fragonard perfume store on a corner in the Marais...also taken from the bus window. This shop just smells marvelous when you step inside. They make their perfumes in Grasse and I have visited the perfume museum there.

The Centre Pompidou Beaubourg as seen from our table in this café (Café Beaubourg of course!)...this was when we began to get our umbrellas ready....

Here is a view inside the train as I headed back south...I had a nice single seat and before I realized it we had arrived in Avignon. This particular train was one of the older ones and it does have a certain "air" about it that says "ancien!"

Saturday was swimming lesson day and we took along Souris Rose to watch Maya perfect her technique in the great Carpentras (indoor) pool!

On Sunday we hit the walking trail with Maya on her bike and JC, me and Anton pushing the buggy with Oscar who slept through the whole afternoon! I thought this field of poppies and plantings looked like a piece of striped provençal fabric.

 We went later to have ice cream (yum) and then checked out the "brocante" market (antiques and...junk) in Carpentras. Later in the early evening JC and I went up to Venasque where the cherries are ready to buy. This view of the church is from the gate of the farmer's house. The cherries were good but I think we get better ones in Oregon!!!