Kelly: This weekend we took a roadtrip to France. We drove to Lyon, which was actually quite charming. Lyon is a restaurant mecca. We enjoyed tasty food at one of the many cafes. We dined on the cobblestoned street, watching the business people and tourists mix as they shopped for a restaurant. We stayed in a woman's flat on the fifth floor....good thing I've converted to an ultra-light packer! We rose early the next morning, and it took both of us to figure out how to use the Nescafe coffee maker. After a quick espresso, we headed south. Unfortunately, we weren't going to make it to the Arles Saturday market by closing time, so instead we stopped in Avingon (not impressed) and then on to Aix-on-Provence (impressed). Aix (as the locals refer to it) is a charming cosmopolitan town replete with art and money...how could that be a bad thing? We then made our way to our home base for the night...Arles. We had gathered picnic fare in Aix and after checking in to our tiny but modern room, we picnicked by a Roman arena. Crazy. Then we strolled the streets for a gelato shop, stumbled across a local music fest complete with sod (in the middle of the city), and then made our way home...tipsy on wine and exhausted from a day on the road. Arles was an interesting mix of working class meets cutey shops meets tons of history. It falls into the category of "nice place to visit but I wouldn't want to live there" which falls in sharp contrast to our destination the next morning...Cassis, which fills the category "nice place to visit, don't want to leave, and how can I possibly live here?" It was a clean as a whistle glamorous fishing village nestled between some amazing glacier-formed cliffs. The Mediterrnaean was amazing...blue/green/clear all at the same time. I'm not a big beachy person, but I loved this beach. Cool breezes, no tourists plastered to cigarette butt covered sand...just white sand and small pebbles in a rugged but calm setting. Did I say I liked this place yet? Alas, we had more to see. We decided to forego the 2+ hour ride to Nice given that we really wouldn't have time to explore it well and still return home. So, we had to "settle" for wine-tasting in Provence. Bummer (dripping in sarcasm). We ended up in Gigondas...a delightful spec of a town with cute cafes and charming flower-box laden homes stacked on the hillside. We were disappointed to learn that the recommended cafe was closed for a party and the other alternatives had only daily menus that contained glutenous fare. But, all was not lost, as we left with two amazing bottles of wine (one of which is from Chateau du Montmirail and has caused me to believe there truly is a difference between 2 euro Aldi wine and this amazing grape blend). So, onward we venture, Samantha (our GPS) sent us the "short" way to the highway...one way streets, cow paths, and...lavendar fields...not quite in bloom (I will return one day to see that). After Sam finally led us to the highway, we stopped at a rest stop for lunch. You might be thinking "ugh...gross"...not so in France. I had a beautiful salad with local basil-infused olive oil. Matt had a chef's salad with the best smoked bacon he had ever tasted....at least the hefty tolls we were paying to drive on the roads were funding amazing food. As we neared Germany, the temperature dropped and the clouds rolled in...too predictable. The at-times torrential rainfall gave way to the most beautiful full rainbow we had ever seen. We returned tired and happy...eager to live in Europe but not Germany!
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