We decided to spent a couple of days in this area to see more sites.  It turned out to be a good decision – Holden’s sickness got worse and he spent the better half of the day in his room, on his bed, trying to get away from the heat and to keep his food down.  We made several trips back and forth to the Carrefour (grocery) to get goods to cover us all for breakfast and snacks.

Then, my GPS up and died on me.  It had been acting a little weird on and off during the whole trip – but it finally wouldn’t respond for us at all.  We headed back to the store and we purchased a new unit (cheaper, not as good) that we hoped would have a control setting to change the speech to English (it does, but in a strange sing-songy voice).

Finally, Brenda decided it would be best if she stayed at the hotel with Holden and the three of us tried to make something of the day. We headed off to Pont du Gard, one of the sites that I had wanted to see in the area. The girls were not too excited, but it turned out to be a lot more fun for them than they had imagined.

Pont du Gard:  Roman aqueduct constructed in the 1st Century AD over the Gardon river.  The lower level was a bridge for traffic, the 2nd level transported water.  The structure itself drops about 56 feet over the length of the river, while the aqueduct only drops 1″ over the same length, indicating the incredible skill in engineering they had.

Fun for the girls – playing in the river right below the bridge. They chased tadpoles and smaller fish for about 1/2 an hour. It killed them that they didn’t think to bring their swimsuits.

Isabella on the bridge.

After lunch, we hung out at the hotel room and rested. Holden thought he was feeling a bit better and Brenda was anxious to get out and see something of the day, so we headed to another nearby town, Tarascon, where I had read that they had a neat castle/keep.

Holden in front of the castle, on the drawbridge.  This castle’s construction started in 1401 and completed in 1449 by Louis II and Louis III of Anjou. This was when Provence was its own Kingdom, prior to uniting with La France to the north.  It was turned into a military prison in the 17th century.  What made this castle great (for us) was the complete access it provided… no guided tours, no blocked off areas. We could wander about from room to room, with hardly anyone else there, and get a real sense of how these buildings functioned.

Isabella in the garden outside of the castle area where they kept the kitchens.

Holden starting to feel not so good again, after walking up too many steps.

On the roof of the castle, over looking the Rhone river and Castle Beaucaire on the other side. Gorgeous!

View of the town below.