Blois to Lorgues

We had a long 7.5hr drive from Blois to Carcassonne.  Along the way to break up the drive we went to Oradour-sur-Glane.  On 10th June 1944 SS Officers came through this town and for some unknown reason killed 642 people.  Only 100 or so people managed to escape or hide from the SS officers.  After the people were killed the town was set alight and razed to the ground and has been left that way ever since.  It is a very eerie place to visit. 
On arrival in Carcassonne we checked into our hotel and went out to explore the UNESCO protected walled city & castle of the old town.  It seemed very similar to Mt St Michel in terms of little narrow streets.

We had a very full on day on Monday with the first stop being the Pont du Gard Roman aqueduct.  It is another UNESCO protected sight. The bridge spans 55m, but is part of the Nimes aqueduct which is 50km long!! The bridge is really huge and it is mazing to think how it was built without modern technology. 

We had a lunch stop in a gorgeous town called Les Baux-de-Provence where we scoured shops for lavender products and olive oils.  We spent the night in Arles which is another old Roman town.  There is a big amphitheatre and forum which we looked at, and we ate our dinner under the forum ruins.  Van Gough lived in Arles and did lots of paintings of the country side, plus a painting in Arles itself, so we saw the actual garden he painted.
Today we spent the day in the car but only covered 200 miles (340km approx.).  We have been driving little country roads and getting stuck behind tractors and trucks.  In fairness we spent 30min just trying to drive into St Tropez this morning.  The buildings there were nice, but there was no beach close to the town and I cannot see what all the fuss is about.  In summer it would be madness trying to drive anywhere and why would you be bothered with that when you are on holiday!

St Tropez

We then visited many small towns and sights including Abbaye Thoronet, and the towns of Carces and Cotignac.  We walked to Sillans-la-Cacade (a waterfall) before ending up our ridiculously cute b&b in Lorgues for the night.  We are loving Provence.  It has a very Italian feel to it (obviously as it is so close to the boarder).  We have been having excellent weather and have had our white legs on show in our shorts! Tomorrow we are going to see more of the French Riviera.
We were real gutted to discover a black mark has appeared in all our photos from today.  We are not sure if its a hair or dust or even a crack in the lens, but we cant wipe it away and it seems to be there for good.  Looks like we will be buying a new camera when we return to London.

I love the shutters on all the buildings!