From Becky: You don’t take Shami to a scruffy hostel, or indeed to a ski resort. So it was lucky that I found a great deal on laterooms.com for a 4-star hotel in the papal city of Avignon. We left the kids at home looking after Cara, Theo and Luca, and set off in the sun with Shami’s chill-out music playing.
It’s a beautiful drive all along the north side of the Luberon mountains (Peter Mayle country), and Avignon is a great city. You could easily fill several days there – we didn’t even start on the art galleries, boat trips or nearby vineyards (Chateauneuf du Pape being the most famous). But we did take a tour of the enormous and impressive Popes’ Palace, climb many steps for views across the city towards the mountains and try many lipsticks in Sephora, a renowned (according to Shami) makeup shop.
We also had a good Moroccan meal and sipped coffees in trendy pavement cafés, though not on the pavement as the mistral wind made it really chilly. We got back to our hotel after midnight – several hours after my bedtime - and I still managed a Baileys at the bar!
When we got home, the kitchen was tidy, there were flowers on the table, Luca had 2½ new teeth and Dave was teaching him to clap. I’ll have to start planning my next trip.
1 response so far ↓
Bea // 15 March 2007 at 10:17 am
Sephora is such a grotto of delight! But you never come out with any sense of smell left.
Luca looks like a boy! A real boy!