Celebrating 10 Years!

Hola Amigos y Familia!

Julie & Michael Carr arrived from Washington, DC on Sunday morning May 25th to join us on a 10th anniversary trip to the south of France. They were married on May 23rd, 1998, and our wedding was 2 weeks later. After a big breakfast we all went to church and drove them around the sights of Barcelona (it was raining and they were jet-lagged anyway!) On Monday morning we left Grandma and the kids and went into Sitges to show them around our town. Julie and I are standing at the base of the church by the sea. Brian was trying to get us to stand there long enough to get splashed by a big wave.
One of our favorite streets in old town Sitges. After these two pictures it dawned on us that we should be taking pictures with our husbands and not each other since we were on an anniversary trip after all, ha!
From Sitges we drove to Tossa de Mar along the Costa Brava for lunch. This is a stop after Tossa looking back on the town, in front of someone else's convertible. Ha!


A better view of the old town in Tossa de Mar.
Our first destination was the Castell d'Emporda in La Bisbal d'Emporda between Palafrugell and Girona. We found this amazing castle on a tour of the Costa Brava with the twins, and I was so happy to go back! It is just gorgeous!
We relaxed by the pool for a while after we arrived, and then explored the grounds. Julie and I climbed the tower steps and found a terrace on the very top with amazing views.
We got dressed up and had a nice dinner at the castle restaurant. Here's a great picture of Julie & Michael.
Dinner at the castle. Everyone was so nice, and we just loved the atmosphere.

The next morning it was raining, so we packed up and headed toward France. These photos are taken in the hotel lobby.
Before we left I had some kind of allergy or infection in my eyes and so I had to wear my glasses the whole week. :(
After leaving the castle we stopped at another castle (they're everywhere!) with a quaint little village surrounding it.
Pretty flowers in the old village.
We then continued on, through the rain, to Avignon! We checked in at our inn at Villaneuve lez Avignon, and then headed into the medieval city for dinner.

We had a great dinner here, and realized that most of our time thus far had been spent sitting and eating! We always seemed to close the restaurants down at night. :)

On our way back to our hotel we drove around an old fort high up on a hill, fort Sant Andre I believe.
Our hotel in Villaneuve lez Avignon was in the old part of the town, which was very quaint.
Outside picture of our hotel.

We then drove back into Avignon to see the walled city and Pope's Palace. Here is a medieval bridge going out across the river Rhone.
The Pope's Palace in Avignon.
On the plaza by the Pope's Palace.
We then continued on across the French countryside of Provence to the French Riviera. Our first stop was for lunch at St. Raphael. And it was Julie's birthday!
The sun was ALMOST shining. :)

The drive from St. Raphael along the coast to Nice was very scenic and beautiful. There were so many amazing castles, homes, and coves.

Just beyond Nice was the peninsula Cap Ferrat, where we stayed. The entire peninsula was covered with beautiful old mansions.
A market in St-Jean-du-Cap-Ferrat, the harbor town on the peninsula.

Stopping for one of many photos!
I believe this is a cove on the way to the peninsula.
And this is the peninsula.
We stayed in a beautiful old mansion converted into a guest house.

View of the peninsula.
From our guest house we could walk into the harbor town, which is what we did for dinner that night.
Julie walking down the street in St-Jean-du-Cap-Ferrat.
View of the harbor...
and the town clock tower.

Photo by the port while looking for a place for dinner.
We ended up finding a great little place on the water for Julie's birthday dinner. Again, more time sitting and eating, and closing down the restaurant!
Happy Birthday to Julie!
The next morning we had a leisurely breakfast at the guest house (it was raining), and then continued up the coast toward Monaco. We figured we were so close we had to at least check it out!
Old castle along the Riviera.

Entrance to the grand casino in Monaco.
Brian and I in front of the Hotel Paris, just slightly upscale from the place we stayed. :)
View of the huge personal yachts in the harbor at Monaco.
One of the private yachts was leaving before the rain arrived, and the contrast between its size and the little speed boat going by was kind of funny!
View of the Prince's Palace across the harbor in Monaco.

After leaving Monaco we drove back across Provence to our next destination, the chateaux Domaine des Clos, near Arles. This place was awesome! The family bought it 10 years ago and have completely renovated the entire property, making it into a beautiful guest house and farm. They have fruit trees and make their own jams, along with other things.
The grassy area is kind of a courtyard with buildings surrounding it, and lots of great little outside living spaces.

We had two rooms with a shared living room, which was perfect.
After checking in we drove into the town of Beaucaire to a restaurant that was recommended by the owners of the chateaux. We had a GREAT dinner here, and as you can see we were the only ones there! We again closed down the place around 11pm. The wait staff was so friendly and helpful.

Julie and I ordered from a fixed menu, and one course was CHEESE! We got to choose from this whole table full of cheese. Some of it was stinky, and some of it was wonderful!
The chateaux had wi-fi, here's Brian checking in.
One of the outside living spaces.
Michael walking down the tree-lined path toward the pool. To the right was a large renovated barn where we had a very nice breakfast.
Boys lounging by the pool in the shade. We were so happy to have some sunshine, so we stayed by the pool until we were absolutely starving! I think we left around 3:30pm. We then drove into Arles to see some Roman ruins and find some lunch.

Old Roman amphitheatre.
Cute shop where we bought sandwiches and jewelry.
Sitting outside enjoying the day at a cafe by the amphitheatre.
We enjoyed our last leisurely lunch. I think we sat there until 6pm!
Lancaster Barnstormers shirt in Arles, France, I'm sure it was the only one around! :)

Walking down the street in Arles to do some last-minute shopping before heading back to Sitges.
Group photo by the Roman ruins.
Julie and I in front of the cafe where we ate lunch.
Cute cafe on the way out of town.
Last shot in the Doblo! It's appropriate that this is the last photo, because we spent so much time in the car, ha! But we had an awesome adventure, lots of great food and conversation, and really enjoyed celebrating our 10-year anniversaries together.

God bless you all, we are thinking of you all with lots of love.

Con mucho amor,

Tonya