today was an optional day - the option of a fast and furious 60 km ride with several hills before one in the afternoon, or a nice, leisurely day exploring vaison la romaine and all of the roman and medieval remnants around town, and then a quick jaunt out to séguret, a village touted as one of the most beautiful cities in all of france. it is even certified as such by whomever certifies such things in france. now that would be a job worth having, official beautiful city inspector. i wonder what the pay is?
E and i opted for the leisurely day. we visited the ruins of puymin, which is what the romans called the town where vaison la romaine now stands. th are ruins of a huge roman villa there. the size of the courtyard alone is bigger than my own apartment. there is also a amphitheatre there as well as other gardens and buildings. it was spectacular. i feel that as an architect i have finally seen some of my roots. not that i was ever roman, but architecture is somehow always tied back to the ancient world, when it was glorious.
the trip to séguret was literally a leisurely stroll. only nine km from vaison, out through the vinyards, an then up a steep hill to the cité of the village. the restaurant where we all met up for lunch was spectacular, as it overlooked all of the plain of vinyards in the surrounding area. we went there because guide E recommended it, and it was the only michelin-rated [one star] restaurant we have come across thus far that was also accessible. i had the €30 menu, which was presented so beautifully i almost didn't want to eat it, but look at it instead. almost. for dessert i had some sort of milkshake that was heavily spiked with rum. added to the wine i consumed, i was probably too drunk to drive my bike back, but i did it anyway. you only live once, right?
we had dinner at a local bistro. E and i had dinner with B, the german, his husband A, and the government agent from dc, B. there was a large group of american tourists [damn, they can be so damn loud!] inside the restaurant so we sat in their outdoor seats which were really placed in the street. we had a few drinks at the gay café next door to the hotel before bedtime. i love this lifestyle already. tomorrow we had back to avignon, on our final day of biking.
bonne nuit.
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