Tarascon

     Last weekend we drove to the town of Tarascon (near Arles) for a small girls' soccer jamboree of sorts:

"Small Girls" -- Get It?

     It was too cold and windy for Averil, Ford and Ed to watch, but we were with Asha in spirit.  While she played, we went on a walk through town to stay warm.

     The walk was totally boring.  So we decided to spice up our visit by buying three French lottery tickets (1 Euro each).  It was fun to go into the tabac (tobacco store) and practice French on the semi-exasperated cashier.  Ed:  "I would like to see the green one please?  I would like to see the red one please?  I would like to see the blue one please?"  But it was so exciting to scratch our tickets!

Imagine If We Had Won!

     Tarascon is on the banks of the Rhone river.  Right across the Rhone is the neighboring town of Beaucaire.  We drove across the bridge to check it out.

     Beaucaire:

     We decided to find a place for lunch using the time-tested technique of eenie-meenie-minie-moe on three adjacent restaurants.  We lucked out.  Our choice turned out to provide one of the best meals we have had since we've been in France!

     Everyone was reading about the big news in France that day:

That's Right!  Jane Fonda is Getting Better With Age!

     Then we went back across the river to Tarascon to tour a famous chateau called the Chateau de Tarascon.  It was large, cold and drafty and there were no elevators.  Still, we got some good pictures:

     The chateau was the site of some amazing historical events.  At one time, Napoleon imprisoned Joan of Arc in one of the towers as punishment for impersonating George Washington during the French and Indian war.  She only got out because she dressed up like Charlemagne and picked the lock.  We got to see a replica of the actual hairpin she used!

That Last Part Was a Joke -- Fooled Ya!