Provence en été, partie 2

I took the TGV to Provence Wednesday afternoon, and arrived to a huge, warm, screaming, and hugging welcome by the one and only, Marie-Césare.  (Padi said he only wished he could be that excited about something these days....ha!)  I got to see her new glasses and how much she had grown in just 6 short weeks!  Wow! I felt as if she had grown a foot!  

I enjoyed getting to hear all about her adventures in Maillane, and at poney club, and re-learn my French a little bit.  Its amazing how several weeks of speaking only English will completely block my memory from another language!  The next day after breakfast (my favorite) of fresh bread with lots of seeds and grains in it and Padi's confiture (fig/honey and blackberry/apple-YUM) we got in the pool almost immediately.  She only likes to swim for short periods of time.  The water was pretty freezing as after all the high is only 85 or so in the afternoon so I didn't blame her.  She got some new water wings with Hello Kitty on them, and was proud to show them off.  That afternoon after lunch (guinea fowl with riz de camargue) we piled in the car and drove an hour a half to a small village, Aigues-Mortes.  Literally meaning, dead waters.  It is a small city surrounded by medieval castle walls which you can actually climb up and walk around to see on either side.  It was a safe place for protestants during 1575-1622 and actually has several visible prisons still intact today.  The little town is actually more bustling than you would think, and most of the commerce from this little town comes from inside the castle walls.  More people live in boats on the surrounding waterway and just outside in newly built homes.  

The streets of Aigues Mortes

The outside walls

Didou had read about a couple of stores she wanted to see on her visit (it was their first time too) so we found her places and then visited the boulangerie that was featured in her magazine.  It was so good we actually went back for more fougasse laced with orange oil.  

Delicious orange oil fougasse on the left and "summer" nougat on the right.

Meringue "pies" filled with good treats...oranges, nuts, chocolate....yum!

We climbed the Tour de Constance (built in 1248) which is the largest of the tours on the castle walls, and had an excellent view of what was one of the coolest things I have ever seen.  Salt.  Being manufactured...scooped up, poured into dump trucks, and then mounded into a huge, glistening, snowy mountain of salt.  They were massive!   And beautiful!!!  I couldn't wait to get a closer look.  

Tour de Constance in the distance

From the Tour de Constance overlooking the city of Aigues Mortes with the salt mounds in the background.

Do you notice the pink salt in this photo?

Didou and Marie-Césare

We went back down into the city, swung back by the boulangerie, and out one of the castle doors.  It was nearing dinner time and we still had an hour and a half's drive.  But not before I asked Padi to please get me closer to that salt!  haha....we drove down near the La Baleine factory where they produce La Baleine and Sel de Camargue brand.  I have both of those at my apartment right now!  That was fascinating.  They partition each part of the shallow sea water off until the water dries out and just like that, they can scoop up the salt off the ocean bottom.  There are about 26,700 acres that the salt is pulled from for just the one producer.  And France counts for about 3.33% of the worlds salt production.  Each year, Aigues Mortes produces 500,000 tons of salt.  It hardly ever rains, and the quick evaporating air makes Aigues Mortes a major player in salt production worldwide.  

Mounds and mounds of salt!  And here you can see the salt that has not yet been 'harvested.'

We couldn't get too close, and of course I didn't bring my other lens on this trip (naturally) but I could have sat and watched these men work for hours.  I guess I've never really thought about the process of salt production for it to fascinate me so much, but I will certainly think twice before I put it on my next tomato!  

Which by the way, the tomatoes were plentiful in Provence this summer.  There isn't a tomato in this world that could rival my Papaw's tomatoes, but they sure came close.  The next morning was spent in St. Remy just browsing and "tooling" around.  That afternoon Marie-Césare had her last class at the pony club and I just wrinkled up in the pool.  3 hours later Padi, Didou, and I went to pick her up from her class and they were still on their horses.  She looked like a professional up there with her new boots, pants, and hat her parents had given her for her birthday.  I can't wait until we start her classes on Wednesdays here in Paris...and so I can sit and watch!  

Saturday some distant cousins came for lunch (last minute visit) and they had kids Marie-Césare's age so it was a very relaxing day.  They were Padi's brother's children...with children of their own, and now live in Montpellier.  We were in and out of the pool, had a BBQ chicken for lunch, complete with any tomato you could ever desire, camembert with fig jam, and a gorgeous strawberry tart.  We rushed off in a hurry to catch our train and literally.....barely made it.  we hopped on just as the doors were closing, in fact I had to push Marie-Césare a little bit so I could get the suitcase in.  Our trip back was uneventful, and today I started back all day!  

We had an excellent day today.  I have realized how much she talks.  She talks all the time.  I have to tell her to "close her beak." (She loves to be compared to a petite oiseaux.)  She's at the age where she asks so many questions and wants to know how every little thing works.  It wears  me out!  This morning I did some major organizing in her room with her clothes.  Chloé asked me to go through and see if there was anything I though was too small for her and if so, put it in a pile.  I made Marie-Césare help by doing the same with her shoes....it took us all morning.  We went to Parc Monceau for the afternoon and made popsicles!  Pat bought her some new bateau popsicle molds that I brought back with me from the States and we made strawberry, and let them freeze then added a little bit of lemon to the very end.  They were absolutely delicious.  Not to mention she squealed with delight every time she took a bite of her boat. 

Her sailboat popsicle.

Showing off her new glasses

Tomorrow we have to find things to make Gaspard a birthday cake as we are celebrating his birthday Wednesday night when he gets back.  We are all going to a restaurant for dinner Wednesday night so I'm sure we'll make some pretty paintings and see if we can find something for Marie-Césare to give him.  I am meeting Laurent and Lila tomorrow at Parc Monceau and I will bring Lila back with us to spend the night (yes, it was my idea...).  I don't know why I had that split second of kindness in my heart, but I did, so hopefully it will be fun!  Lila is more into sports instead of dress-up so sometimes they have a conflict of interest...pray that I can keep a level playing field!!