Northward

We were heading north, final destination Paris, but would be stopping for the night (France is pretty big, and Paris is more northern than I had in my head). We timed nicely an organ concert in the basilica of Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume.









It was nice to hear some music, especially the kind that reverberates for seconds through the building and allows your eyes to wander all around.





We completed the scenic drive, passing fields of sunflowers and lavender, to a castle house in Arpaillargues-et-Aureillac, where we had a very nice dinner and spent the night after walking around for a bit.







The following day, we went on a nice little run outside of town before breakfast. It took us by grape, olive, and lavender fields, and it was nice to use the legs after walking so much every day in Italy and being unused to sitting in a car.



We were on the road before noon for the long drive up to Paris. Before too long, we made a stop in the small town of Florac for lunch, where the driving was pretty curvy and mountainous.



Before too long, we were off, but not before picking up some local honey. Elton John kept us good company, and the scenery was very pretty. We made it through a good amount of France just in that drive, passing through mountains, gorges, plateaus, and fields.



We reached the outskirts of Paris close to ten, got situated at our hotel, and had dinner nearby. With only two fulls days in Paris, the next day would be back to Italy-style tourism, so we needed all the sleep we could get.