While trying to buy gelato, I realized that my credit card was gone. Thinking back, the only place that I had used a credit card, was at lunch. I called up the French restaurant, and while we were only able to communicate by the phone equivalent of hand gestures, they indicated to me that they have a credit card. I couldn't figure out if it was mine, but it was worth checking out. Miles went with Jeremy to the beach while I went across town to the restaurant. As luck would have it, it was indeed my credit card.
We had not been on the beach til this point, and had not gone close enough to inspect it. Miles had asked if he could play in the sand, before heading off with Jeremy, and I had said yet. When I reached them on the beach, I discovered that it was not a sand beach, but a rock beach, with beautiful, clear water and very gentle, barely waves.
Apparently, Miles had befriended a nearby couple that did not know English well. They were trying to help him skip rocks in the ocean. I sat next to Jeremy while he played with a tripod and his camera. This included hanging the camera upside down on it and keeping the lens open for long periods of time to capture more light. Meanwhile, Miles hung out with the couple and continued to throw rocks. It was fun to watch him interact with them. He has quite an ability to befriend strangers, and apparently this included non English speaking ones.
The next day, we decided to head out to Avis rental cars earlier than we had planned. We went next door to the rental agency and were greeted by a sign that explained that they were closed and to go to the train station instead. This was a 25 minute walk. We were told by the receptionist that we were supposed to have been contacted, and she left a message for other workers, but that no one had done so. We would be called by the manager to discuss possible compensation. This never happened.
Jeremy decided that the two and a half hour route was too boring, and so decided to take us on the scenic route, travelling through the park to the town with our hotel rather than taking the highways. I was the driver and he was the navigator.
We stopped about halfway, at a lone restaurant, that also served as a hotel and bar. Miles had pork, which seems to be his "go to" dish on European vacations, while I had simple chicken. Miles and I tried a dessert that we saw a nearby table try, called a profiterole. It was a scoop of vanilla ice cream, surrounded on both sides by a pastry that was drizzled with chocolate, with whipped cream on the side. I should have taken a picture, but somehow I didn't.
Luckily, my stomach settled down for the next part of our driving journey, which had many stopover areas for pictures of the view. Before we hit the majority of views, however, we came across a bridge going over a stream. The stream was a hotspot for people who wanted to lay by the rocks near it or go for a walk in the water. Miles bravely crossed right through the stream, which had very cold water. He also skipped rocks across it, a newly resurfaced curiosity of his.
Here are some of my favorite views:
A little while later we arrived at our destination, Moustiers Sainte-Marie. We are staying at an 8 room hotel, with an owner that barely understands a handful of English. Miles has his own bed around the corner from my bed. It is down the hill from town. Before departing, I asked the owner for suggestions for a small walk. He did not understand, so I indicated "short" with my hands and a walk by using my fingers to make a walking motion. He took a map and highlighted a route up to a chapel on the mountainside.
We soon found out that this map was grossly out of scale. Roads that looked long were traversed in two seconds. The small windy trail up towards the chapel, through a nearby grotto took thirty minutes of scaling the side of the mountain! What kind of ridiculous map did he give us!?
After we made it to the chapel, we took the shorter route back down and into the center of town.
We found a small, quirky Italian restaurant, had a late dinner, and then walked back to our hotel. Miles is asleep and I hope soon to be. Tomorrow will be our primary day of hiking.
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