France

This Roman Amphitheater in Nimes is from the 1st century.

We then carried on to my father-in-law’s cousin’s home in the ‘middle-of-nowhere’ of southern France. It was quite secluded with little technology but very peaceful and beautiful. We stayed for two days in this guest house, which was built in the 1800s. It was nice just to sit and relax and hang out by the pool.



Window and door pics from France:
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We went to a very quaint restaurant (it only had three tables) and I was introduced to another new drink – Pastis. When absinthe was banned from France in 1915, the major producer, Pernod, reformulated the drink to make this one we are toasting with.

This is JP’s dad and his dad’s cousin. They actually hadn’t seen each other since they were about 10 years old.

Before leaving the South of France and going to Paris we stopped at the Pont du Gard. It is an ancient Roman aqueduct also built in the early 1st century.

Our trip to Paris coincided with Bastille Day on July 14th, which is celebrated as the national day of France. We went in the morning to the Champs d’Elysee for the military parade that began with several airplane fly-overs.


Then came the foot soldiers and the tanks…

At night we took a scenic boat ride on the River Seine to watch the Bastille Day fireworks. I love these images because I think they look like outer-space.


The following day we went with everyone to the Arc de Triumph.

Then to Montmartre to see the Basilica Sacré Cœur.

The Montmartre area is where a lot of artists gather to do portraits and many artists are actively painting and selling their work..

The Eiffel Tower was blue instead of its normal gold color we had seen on previous visits. It is blue because France is currently the head of the European Union. The stars on the monument represent the original countries that formed the EU.