Tuesday, 19 May, 2015:
DAY XV OF THE CIRCUMNAVIGATION
OF THE IBERIAN PENINSULA
First sighting of Aigues-Mortes
That is one BIG wall
What wonders lie inside the walls?
Reflections
Hard to penetrate these walls
An entrance
Sturdy
Our entrance
Stairs to the ramparts
Busy Medieval streets
OH, let's visit this store!
They sell COOKIES . . .
. . . and CANDIES . . .
. . . and lots of olive oil too
Across the street
DANGER!!!!!!!
Notre Dame-des-Sablons
Interesting interior
How did this get into a Medieval church?
Our Lady of Lourdes
St. Louis, a.k.a.,
King Louis IX of France
St. Louis is BIG in Aigues-Mortes
Why not?
Getting hungry
Really hungry
The Republique
St. Louis yet again
This looked ok to me for lunch
Old
A tailor at work
Lots of blue in Aigues-Mortes
Colorful storefronts are the norm
Homey but closed for lunch
Not enough people to warrant our trust
Interesting cartel
Award winning but only open for dinner
Nice home
Blue again
Just to drive Brian FitzGerald
a little crazy
Chapelle des Penitents Gris
Nice inside
How did they do this back in the day?
Laurie liked the basket
No, seriously, we have to
have lunch, SOON!
Blue is the IN color
Cool toy cars
Colorful toys
Olé!
Yet another colorful storefront
Tribute to the Huguenots
What a woman!
If we get separated, at 1:00 p.m.,
meet at the corner of . . .
LUNCH AT LAST!!!
Rain wreaking havoc with the menu
Water and wine were good bets
So were the desserts
A baguette for the road
No chili peppers though
I had not had a haircut in over a month
and was feeling a tad shaggy
The barber had lots of tricks in
these drawers
Shaving the neck to finish the haircut
and beard trim
She was AWESOME and funny too!
Chapelle des Penitents Blanche
I don't think that we want to sample
this particular vintage
The required municipal carousel
Meanwhile . . .
Traditional fishing boats
Traditional local's meeting spot
The Sun was finally out and
so were these folks
Fishing boat returning
Lots of fishing boats in the harbor
The old VW van of years ago
The beach at Le-Grau-du-Roi
Someone used their beach day well
Sweet ride
They are accordion connoisseurs
We are gelato connoisseurs
Are Le-Grau-du-Roi and Aigues-Mortes
in this region . . .
The weather would just not cooperate with our vacation plans in the beach resort of Le-Grau-du-Roi.
We awoke to overcast skies that threatened to rain making our desire to laze on the Med's shore out of the question.
Fortunately for us, Olivier Rival who has recently been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site for his amazing knowledge of all things French, came through for us again.
He had mentioned that if we had the chance to visit the 13th century, Medieval walled city of Aigues-Mortes, we should do so.
As luck would have it on this non-beach day, Aigues-Mortes was only a ten minute drive from our hotel in Le-Grau-du-Roi!
The name Aigues-Mortes comes from the surrounding swampland that was in the 13th century considered "dead waters."
The name Aigues-Mortes comes from the surrounding swampland that was in the 13th century considered "dead waters."
We're still in France, after all.
King Louis IX of France
Actually, he is big in all of France.
He is special here because he pushed hard for the building of this fortified city. It was the launching point for two Crusades, one in 1240, the Seventh Crusade to Jerusalem, and again in 1248, the Eighth Crusade to Tunisia, which the good king led at the request of Pope Innocent IV.
I would guess that about one half to one third of the walled city is still homes, not businesses related to the tourist trade.
a little crazy
have lunch, SOON!
They were French Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who left predominantly Catholic France for their health.
An inner wall
meet at the corner of . . .
Between, our salads and meat inspired main dishes were wondrous.
and was feeling a tad shaggy
these drawers
and beard trim
I felt like a new man.
this particular vintage
It seems that the French love them as we see one in practically every French city that we visit.
After several splendid hours in Aigues-Mortes thanks to Olivier Rival, we returned to our address for the day to see a bit more of this city.
so were these folks
in this region . . .
. . . or this one?
Only Olivier Rival knows for sure.
Plan B turned out to be a wonderful alternative!
Next Circumnavigation Tour Stop: Tarragona, Spain
2 comments:
the answer to the question is : Languedoc as they are west of the Rhone river.
Merci Olivier!
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