Festival in Annot

Sunday 27 May 2012

We headed to the neighboring village of Annot.  They were celebrating their patron saint's feast day - St. Fortunat.  I'm not sure why he is their patron, but it was interesting to see how they celebrated his feast day.

Poster for the week's festivities

  A parade was scheduled to start at 9:30, but as we gathered along the parade route, we noticed that we were the only ones.  Very unlike the typical parade in America where people line up for hours before to ensure they get a good spot.  It seemed as if no one was particularly worried about this.  The parade consisted of a fabulous marching band followed by some men in traditional military uniforms of the Napoleonic era and women, also in traditional dress bringing up the rear.

Me and some soldiers :)

The parade continued into the old part of the village and into the church for mass.  I also attended, arriving after all the parade members were settled but before the band finished and the service started.  For the most part of I was able to follow along - combination of poor French language skills and being a life long Catholic.    It is really hard to think/respond in English while everyone else is speaking French.  I missed that the prayer books were at the back of the church and not in the pews.  Communion was the most haphazard I have ever experienced in a Catholic Church - instead of nice orderly lines, everyone went up when they were ready.  Not sure if this was normal or due to the fact the church was added onto at one point that there was no center isle anymore.  The band ended the service with the most moving rendition of "You Are My Sunshine" that I have ever heard.  I'm not even sure how to describe what made it so good- perhaps the amazing talent of the band itself combined with the fact that I recognized the song and could join in with a group of people I had been struggling to understand for the last hour.  Not that anyone was actually singing . . .

Check out this video of the parade - the band was amazing!

Following mass the parade reformed and processed back to the main square where the statue commemorating the war dead was located.  All the speeches were in French without any translations - this was to be expected since it was a celebration for the people of Annot by the people of Annot.  During the ceremony, some of the women in costume placed a bouquet of flowers on the monument and the soldiers were subjected to an inspection by the mayor and the leader of their unit and ended with a salut of arms, firing rounds in unison with their guns and cannon.

Note: Memorial to the right, Mayor wearing the banner just to its left.

The band and reenactors paraded out and it was time for the apéritif- apparently free drinks draws a crowd, including us.  We enjoyed whiskey and Pastis before catching the bus back to Vergons.

Lines for the apertif

Back in Vergons we headed to Gilbert's (pronounced Gee-bear) house for lunch.  We made sandwiches out of tuna, eggs, olives, etc.  Very different, but very good.  Laughter and drinks made for a good start to the afternoon.  After lunch, I headed back to the Gite to read and take a nap only to wake up to a huge crack of thunder.  A few more games of Carassonne before dinner, our last in Vergons.  The restaurant owners out did themselves with a wonderful roasted pig.  It tasted amazing, as always.  They even put a candle in Tim's dessert since it was his birthday and as a result of all of this we were the built in entertainment for all the other patrons of the restaurant that evening.  Very much a bettersweet feeling packing and preparing to leave Vergons for the next leg of our journey.

For more photographs click here.

Moustiers-Sainte-Marie

Saturday 26 May 2012 Continued

When we entered the village of Moustiers-Sainte-Marie (pronouced Moos-Tee-Ay Sant Marie) we immediately began looking for bathrooms and a place for lunch.  We found a nice looking pizza place.  Before arriving in the South of France, I never would have guessed that there would be so much good pizza available - it's not what I think of when I think of French food.  The waitress go a little snippy at us - Marissa and David just ordered drinks and she reminded us that it was a restaurant and not a cafe.  The rest of us were planning on eating, so it all turned out okay, but it did sour the experience.  Cindy and I split a wonderful Hawaiian pizza - it was just the right amount for lunch.  

View of the Village

Following lunch we headed our separate ways to do some shopping and poking about.  It wasn't until David and I were looking at postcards (I swear I had about $30 in postcards by the end of the trip) that I realized this was the city with the star suspended above.  It took us a little longer to realize that we were standing right underneath it.

The Star Hanging Above the City

Legend has it that the star was placed there by the Duke of Blacas, a warrior taken prisoner by the Saracens during the Crusades, after his release.  Of course the star has been replaced since it was first hung, but it is still pretty neat.  The chain the star hangs upon is 227 meters and weighs 400 kg, the star itself is 80 cm in diameter and has ten points/rays.

David and I did try to find a couple of geocaches, but no luck.  One was way up on the cliff and the other very tiny in a very public area.  I didn't really feel like trying to explain the game with my limited French, and I had forgotten to pack a brochure about in French to show people if they did ask me what I was doing.

Bryce walking through my photo opp of the WWI Memorial

Near where we met the bus was the village's WWI memorial.  This was was unique and featured a woman next to the tablet type stone listing all the names of the dead (18 in all) with "1914-1918" on the bottowm.  There was also a small plaque for a man killed in Indo-Chine in 1947, but no memorial for WWII.  I wonder if I just missed it or if no one from Moustiers was killed during that war.

L-R: Bryce, Minda, Tim, David, Cindy, and Erica

Back home to Vergons for more games of Carassonne.  Bryce and David each won a game.  I'm glad I brought it along - who knows what we would have done without it!

For more photographs from our time in Moustiers click here.

Les Gorges du Verdon

Saturday 26 May 2012

This was our day to tour the Gorges du Verdon - the Grand Canyon of western Europe   Starting near Castellane, the gorge was formed by the Verdon River and ends with the Lac Sainte Croix.  The first thing that struck me about the gorge was its colors - blue, green, and grey.  So many have compared it to the the United States' Grand Canyon I had subconsciously expected the desert color pallet to go with it.  Frankly I like the Verdon's colors better. :)

We saw tourists everywhere - hiking, participating in water sports, driving fancy cars, and taking scenic photographs.  Amazing to think that this place was only "discovered" 106 years ago.  I guess that really didn't surprise me when you factor in the roads.  They make a challenging drive - narrow and right next to the edge at many locations.  They must have taken years to care out, and at great expense!

Cindy and Me

We stopped at a scenic location by the Tunnel de Gloige (at least that is where I think we were).  Dr. O'Brien let us borrow her flashlight so we could explore the tunnel.  Several of us went in together as a group.  We had to be careful as part of the tunnel floor were covered with about two inches of water in some spots due to the recent rain.  We made it to the first couple of windows without needing a flashlight too much, as those openings provided fairly good light.  

L-R: Muaamar, Cindy, Tim, Erica, Minda, Michel

Some of the group wished to go beyond the second window with the flashlights, so I joined them.  I'm not a huge fan of the dark and underground, but with a group it was fun.  My feet got a little wet, but not too bad.  When we got to another window, I stopped to enjoy the view.  Alas, I was promptly left behind without a flashlight.  Thanks guys.  Bryce, Minda, and Erica caught up to me, as they too were left behind in the dark when David went on a head without them.  Decision time - stay and wait for them to come back or start wandering along in the dark.  There was no way to get lost - the tunnel was straight, but plenty of little holes to trip on.  After a brief discussion, the four of us decided to head back in the dark.  Amazingly we did make it - some nice French hikers helped us get through on large puddle (and probably thought we were crazy without a light).  

Point Sublime

As we continued to drive, it was one amazing view after another.  We even saw some people rock climbing - something I'm sure my brother, sister, and brother-in-law would love to have a chance at.

Climber in Red on the Right

The road back down the other side of the mountain ridge made me thankful for good breaks and Stephinie's good driving skills - again narrow roads, few guard rails, and several steep drops.  We saw le Lac Sainte Croix du Verdon as we decended the mountains and entered the village of Moustiers Sainte-Marie in the early afternoon.  More on that village in my next post!

For more photographs of Les Gorges du Verdon click here.