Absinthe and Ancelle

Friday we did some quick exploring in Venelles, we had heard that there was a store, called the Liquoristorie which specializes in revival of traditional drinks, sounds good... turns out they have some very interesting beverages on offer.  One of these is absinthe.  Absinthe is made from herbs, and other botanicals, of which Provence abounds.  Absinthe was a very popular drink in the early 1900s, especially in Paris, too popular, as it was eventually banned in 1915 and all sorts of ills were attributed to it.  The Liquoristorie in Venelles,(http://liquoristerie-provence.fr/ ) was one of the first distillers to bring Absinthe back to France.  Like any good banned product there is a bit of ritual involved in the preparation of the drink.  One pours some Absinthe in a glass, balances a perforated "spoon" on the glass, and then drips ice-cold water on a sugar cube which has been placed on the spoon.  When the water hits the absinthe, much like Pernod and Pastis, the liquid turns cloudy white.  Absinthe tastes initially of anise, but is a very complex mix of anise, fennel, thyme and other botanicals...yummy so we bought some.

They also had some very yummy liquors, this one is melon flavoured, and when mixed with a champagne, or other sparkling wine is perfect for summer on the west terrace...hopefully you can stop by for a drink.

The rest of the kit, our spoon, and the fountain (which we did not get, Christine says that a separatory funnel is just fine, and she has lots...I hope she gives them a good wash first)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absinthe

Saturday took us to Ancelle, about 2hrs drive away for a taste of skiing in the Alps.  Below is the town of Gap, located, you guessed it in a valley a.k.a. gap in the mountains.  Gap is the jumping off point for all things skiing, all vehicles have roof racks loaded with skis or Thules hiding skis within.

Here we are at the ski resort in Ancelle, all geared up and ready to go.  Yup all ski accommodation looks very much the same.  This could be Blue Mountain.

about 1/2 way down our first run, we take a break and a photo op.

The clouds were running mid-mountain that day, making the views of the distant peaks difficult to capture, but making some interesting effects on the lift.

Hey...look up in the sky, its a ... mountain.

Next scheduled ski trip is end of Februrary, we will turn right at Gap and head to Briancon and the Serre-Chevalier ski area!

Wednesday - Castle tour

So it looks like Wednesdays are turning into castle days...we hop in the car, and drive to the various villages to check out their castles.  Here is  a selection from the 25th.
First stop was just across the Durance river, in Pertuis, we didn't even know that they had some cool towers to look at, but apparently yes...  These pictures are all of the St. Jacques tower, one of the towers that stood guard as part of the old city walls of Pertuis.

Now down the road to the village of La Tour D'Aigues.  This we learned before hand had a cool 16th century chateau, or at least what remains of it.  It was built by the local Barron. It is an example of  a Renaissance style Chateau.

Just like any house, renovations are on-going.

 Christine standing on the draw-bridge, which doesn't draw any more, and the moat is empty..but still cool.

 Detail of the portico.

 Every grand chateau must have a sundial - these are the remains of the markings for the dial.

 Happy happy cherubs.

 The side of the chateau is now used as the playground for the local school.  I love how things get re-used / continue to be used.

 The view approaching the town on the level of the grape vines.

Next stop on the excursion is the village of Mirabeau.  Mirabeau used to control the crossing of the Durance river.  At first view, the Chateau commands the country side and says, hey, I'm a chateau, and there are people living here, and they very likely have pointed sticks, so look out !

 A nice building we saw when we parked, not sure who lives there but they a) have a very good gardener, and b) are not currently home (thus the shuttered windows)

 We climb higher towards the Chateau

 The fountain.  If you are a village without a fountain, you are nothing.

 We climb higher, finding more cool looking buildings and streets.

 Hey, these people look familiar.

 Now we are definitely getting somewhere.

 There must be a way in around here somewhere....

 In fact the main gate was just ahead, complete with a sign that essentially says, in the 1500s we didn't want you stinky peasants around here, and we still don't so go away.  Otherwise known as propriete privee.  So we leave, and use our fancy 21st century camera gear to try to see in the windows.

 The clock tower / bell tower of the local church.

 View from the church back to the chateau.

 we descend the village roads, and the girls find a park to play in.  I think this shot should be called 21st century siege of the chateau.  The siege engine just needs some wheels and some slaves, and we are all set.

 WHhhheeeeeeeeeeeee

 The Pont Mirabeau, the old bridge across the Durance, looking from one tower to the other.

Aqueducts and Ampitheaters

On Jan 20, Christine and I went to Ventabren in search of the Roquefavour aqueduct.  The Roquefavour aqueduct is the largest stone aqueduct in the world.  Seeing as we have not been having great luck with Aqueducts, we thought we'd try again, but with an in-service, big aqueduct...surely we would find that..

After finding a parking place to wedge the car into we walked to the top of the ventabren hill, and found the city centre, with a lovely old church and a coblestone square.

Around the corner from the church cemetery are the remains of a castle that used to be home to the Count of Provence, which dates from 980 AD.  I like the arrow slits to keep the travelling salesmen away!

Lovely view from the castle, looking down on the church, and the valley below.

Aqueduct? is that you? Nope TGV line ... modern day peopleduct.

A picturesque little building on the main square.  Lets see if Ken the GPS knows where this largest in the world aqueduct is.  On a side note, if you have something really big, and you need to hide it....give the good people of Ventabren a call I am sure they can help.

Et Voila, put it behind some trees did you...
The Roquefavour aqueduct is a triple arch affair, 400m long, and 83m high.  While not a Roman construction, it is still older than Canada, built between 1841 and 1847, the aqueduct is still in service, bringing water from the Durance river to Marseille.

Closer....

Look up, look waaayyy up.

On Saturday the whole gang headed off to Nimes.  Nimes was founded in about 28BC (at least as a colony of Rome), and represents our first trip to the Languedoc region of France.  The coat of arms of Nimes is a crocodile chained to a palm tree, representing Rome's conquest of Egypt.  Apparently if you were a lucky enough to live long enough to retire from the Roman legions (15 yrs service) Julius Caesar would grant you a plot of land in Nimes.  The croc below is on a bollard on the sidewalk (used to keep the cars from parking there)

Nimes has a very beautiful main water course, a statue of Augustus at one end, and spring-fed fountains and gardens at the other end.

One of the main attractions that we came to see if the very well preserved 1st century AD coliseum. This thing was much easier to find than the aqueduct.  The coliseum is still in use today for various activities from concerts to bull fighting.

Looking down from the nose-bleed section to the arena below - can you see the gladiators?

Our two gladiators..

The coliseum is very  impressive.

From the car window with the late afternoon sun

One of the clock towers in Nimes, as seen through a window/portal of the coliseum.

The Maison Carree (Lit Square House) a roman temple, from 19BC, originally dedicated to sons of Augustus.

On top of a hill stands the remnants of a stone tower called the Tour Magne.  The tower originally formed part of the walls of the city and served as a watch-tower / look at how powerful we Romans are tower.
You can go up inside the tower and reach an observation platform at the top.

Below the tower are the public gardens and fountains, laid out in the mid 1700s.  The vegetation includes lots of palm trees, but alas, no crocodiles.

more of the gardens.

To the side of one of the gardens is the temple of Diana.

OK MOM AND DAD, I'm hungry.  We find a small street vendor of crepes and frites and refill prior to the drive home