“Mommy, the Romans didn’t have train tracks, right?” “No.” “Okay, but they did have bridges, right?” “Yes, remember the big one we went to in France?” “Not really.” Quick internet search for photo. “Oh, yeah, I remember that place!” (Whew.)
Between this exchange, which happened two minutes ago, and having recently read Great Kid Trip in Provence: Pont du Gard, I was dreaming of Pont du Gard today.
I know I’m remembering our visit there through rose-colored glasses; we had driven all day from near Switzerland, toured the theater in Orange, and still didn’t have a place to stay for the night. The tourist office at Pont du Gard was not very helpful. Finding a “family room” nearby proved to be impossible. The cafe was wiped out of food, but we were ravenous. My leg hurt from not having “Minded the Gap”.
BUT, we were there…. There! And we did our best to make the most of it! After all the effort, I admit, I’m a little sad that Chloe doesn’t have a stronger memory of being there. I’d love to go back sometime when we have a little more time. When the kids can go swimming instead of just dipping their feet. When we can explore a little more. When I’m feeling up to taking better photos.
Chloe is still sitting in the living room, building a coliseum out of wooden blocks. I’ll have to assume that she’s making the connections, somewhere, somehow, and that our travels will help her make more sense of geography and history as she grows older.
This is an entry for Mondays are For Dreaming at Mother of All Trips.
No rose colored glasses needed when you visit the Pont du Gard. It is one of my favorite places here in Provence – especially with the kids. I figure if the bridge has stood for this long they won’t ruin it by touching the odd stone so don’t have to yell at them.
Hope you get back some day – love the color blue of the sky in your picture.