WEDNESDAY 4th April

This morning, we packed up and left the wild Camargue for Beaumes-de-Venise, a small town northeast of Avignon, at the base of the Dentelles de Montmirail. First, though, I needed to get my Roman ruin fix. We drove about an hour north to Pont du Gard. Built to allow the Nîmes aqueduct to cross the Gard River, it is almost 50 metres high. We did a guided tour to learn more about the site, and this also allowed us to walk through the third level, where the aqueduct was.

After this we drove to Orange to see the Roman Theatre. It was pretty impressive, I do love visiting very old things!

Then we headed to our accommodation for the next two nights in Beaumes-de-Venise. It was quintessential Provence with bright blue shutters and doors. The town was charming. During our stay, we enjoyed exploring the tiny streets and wandering up to the boulangerie each morning for our pastries.

THURSDAY 5th April

S and I started the morning with a walk up to the 12C Chapel Notre-Dame d’Aubune, perched on the hill above town. The walk took us through vineyards and offered views over the town and countryside.

Once back in town we got G and headed off to a local rail trail for a run. This was G’s second last run before the Paris Marathon and he wanted to be mainly off his feet until the race on Sunday.

Now that we had worked up an appetite, we went and showered, ready for our fancy lunch at L’Oustelet in Gigondas. Gigondas is one of a number of pretty hill towns in the area. For lunch, we chose the three-course menu, and I had the matched wines. The food and wine were fabulous. G declared our prawn entree the best prawns he had ever eaten.

Then in the interests of keeping G off his feet, we went for a scenic drive around the Dentelles de Montmirail with S and I hopping out at a number of the towns to have a look.

Do you find ruins and relics from ancient cultures fascinating? What are your favourite things to do when you travel?