Ciao, ch-ciao, ciao Italy - Bonjour France!

We love to hear an Italian person on the phone.

Every call ends with a litany of "Ciao ch ciao ch ciao ciao."

It was so awesome that when we reached the border of France we yelled a chorus

of the appropriate, elongated, less charming with our accents, fond farewells to Italy.

Our end goal today was the Verdon Gorge, but the boy's humored me in a quick detour to

one of my favorite french villages, St. Paul de Vence.

They don't get very excited about "quaint" - but the crepes were wonderful and this was an ideal

stop for lunch and for a quick mom moment.  I smiled when we stopped at the crepe stand just inside the entrance and saw the same woman I took a picture of when I was here with Sissy a few years ago.  

In a rush to take a quick picture on my phone, the picture ended up blurry so I won't post it.

I'll just send it to Sissy.  It will still make her smile.

NoFear did find something irresistible in this quaint village...

The Verdon Gorge was recommended to us as a place where we could relax for a few days

and find some boy adventure.  Our plans changed in the midst of this trip so I planned

to see these sights again and didn't stop to get pictures the first time.  Big mistake!

These are pulled from the internet.

The Verdon Gorge...

...that flows into the beautiful Lac de Sainte Croix

Our apartment this time was in the village, Moustiers Sainte Marie.

It is considered one of the most beautiful villages in France.

It was beyond all our expectations!

The entire village is built on limestone platforms dug out of the mountain.

It is a region famous for its beautiful water and also its beautiful pottery.

We were excited to pick out the perfect piece to take home with us.

Our amazing apartment was built right at the base of the mountain.

An open window filled our ears with sounds of the rushing stream and waterfall outside.

Our window is right under the sign on the right.

Our view across the stream.  So charming!

There is an amazing chapel built at the top of the mountain just overhead.

Notre Dame de Belvoir dates back to the 10th century, but is built on an earlier 5th century site.

It nestles between two great cliffs.  In between these cliffs there is a star suspended on a wire.

Legend has it that a knight from the area who was taken prisoner by the Saracens during the Crusades, vowed that if he ever returned, he would hang a star in honor of the Virgin Mary.

It is a beautiful hike up ancient steps to reach the chapel.

We were even greeted by a local.  Look carefully....

The chapel Notre Dame de Belvoir

As usual, the boys found a more interesting way back down.

Of all the areas we hope to revisit, this one would rank near the top.  

We had originally planned for several days here and the area certainly merits it.

However, Dr. Voice made his university choir and had a big concert coming up.

We all voted to change our plans and head home early to surprise him at his performance.

We can hardly wait to see his face!

In order to do that, we had only one night in the area, but will definitely be back!