Today our tour is of Tarascon. It is a bus ride to the area and then a walking tour. We are in the blue group today. We have arranged with Vantage that the six of us will always be in the same group. The drive to Tarascon took about 30 minutes. Lots of fruit trees along the way.
We walked into this village. The first thing we saw was the castle. It is open to the public.
The front of the castle. It really is impressive to see how some people lived.
The moot used to be filled with water. Today, just grass and weeds.
The interior courtyard of the castle.
The Rhone river on the other side of the castle.
Next we visited the Royal Collegiate Church of Saint Martha. In about 48 AD Martha and her companion saints, left Palestine. Arriving by boat, they were cast up on the shores of Provence. When Martha arrived in Avignon, she was begged by the inhabitants of Tarascon to deliver them from a monster, the Tarasque, who devoured men and beasts. Martha led the monster in the name of Christ, to come with her back to the village where she led it to the people who killed it. Or so they say.
A stone statue of Tarasque. Looked like a giant turtle to us.
The church was built in the 13th and 14th century. During Allied bombings in 1944, the spire and belfry were destroyed. The spire was rebuilt to its 15th century state and the church exterior was restored.
After our walk we stopped and bought a bottle of wine and then a coffee and pastry for Bob. Then back to the bus for the ride back to Avignon.
Lunch with the gang and now nap time. Could not sleep. The cabin we have is on the upper deck and this area of France is very windy. So the chairs on the outside deck get blown around and we heard it in the cabin. So I got a cup of tea and worked on my cross stitch project.
They are having a French lesson this afternoon and then a talk on Avignon. Tomorrow we do a walking tour of Avignon. We were here several years ago. Looking forward to seeing it again.
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