After six days of riding we decided to take the day off and do a "drive about". Our first destination was the city of Orange. Thursday is market day which was an incentive to make this pick.
It should not be a surprise to know that the Romans were here. They did get around in this area and fulfilled their compulsion to build baby build.
They left behind this coliseum style structure which is closer to an amphitheater than fighting arena. It still operates as an open air theater but was not open for a tour of the interior.
It is vital that when you go to market you have a mission. As in past visits Kim wanted to purchase some lightweight scarves which are inexpensive and easy to pack for the trip back home. Of course this expansive market space covering the interior of the town offered the traditional variety of food, and inedible fare seem at most flea markets in the states.
Besides needing a day off from riding the wind was predicted to be howling - and it did not disappoint. We were able to find a partly sunny spot that was well protected to partake in our morning ritual. Notice the warmer jacket which was needed on this chilly windy day.
The morning pastry was a winner. Flakey dough combined with an excessive amount of chocolate. Of course it was preceded by hunk of bread as an starter.
Having OD'd on the market and way too early for lunch we decided to move along to another bastion of Roman ruins - Vaison La Romaine.
We stumbled upon the other side of this site from a few days ago where some of the Roman artifacts were not pilfered or layered over by later civilizations. This town is no different from places in Israel and throughout the Mediterranean where each succeeding civilization built over the remains of the last.
This area has been excavated and preserved to show what was here before.
This is a statue of Claude. Who was Claude you might ask but without a further explanation (not even in French) who knows. His likeness and name live on but his story is lost.
Well we killed enough time getting here and walking about that the lunch hour was upon us. This outdoor restaurant on the central square provided enough warmth and protection from the wind to make this outdoor dining experience pleasant
As a change of pace I ordered the fish and frites...
And Kim relied on the French staple - a burger "blue" (rare). Whoa that is a lot of frites. Next time we will split the burger and just order a side of frites. That way we can be just like all the other diners around us and finish all the food on our plates and not leave with a "dogless" doggie bag. Take away is not common so getting the remains wrapped to go can be challenging. No sense asking for a "to go" box even if we knew how to say it in French. Plastic wrap will have to do when foil is nowhere to be found.
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