5:40am is a crazy time to get up but the lure of chocolate had us motivated and salivating at the same time. The train dropped us
off at Sourges at 7:36am... but sadly the chocolate factory was on the road to Chateauneuf du Pape and this meant a 5km walk along the country roads of Provence. Thank goodness it was early as this meant the sun was not too hot! We arrived at our destination at 8:30am well before the workers arrived to open up
at 9am. We saw a video on how chocolate is made, right from the planting of the trees in Ghana. It is a major industry for the country and a very labour intensive process. We sampled some truffles and checked out the small museum and shop. Sadly UPS had broken the hot chocolate machine and instead we had hot chocolate by buying some and eating it throughout the day in the sun. Unfortunately we can't bring any home because it is so hot over here we had to eat all of it... made for a yummy lunch! Shane - it is amazing and better than cadbury and does not contain palm oil! We walked back to the Sourges train station and caught the 11:53am train to Orange. Orange is a small city in Provence
that went all out to prove that they were Roman. It contains the only remaining amphitheatre in Europe (and one of three left in the world). It is magnificent to say the least. The stage wall is 37 metres high, 103 metres wide and there are seats for 10,000 people. At the height of the Roman empire it was used for performances more than 100 days in a year -until the Christians deemed stage shows to be 'indulgent' and called an end to performances on this magnificent stage, as part of the fall of the Roman lifestyle. It was then later sacked, burnt, lived in, used as barracks, then as a jail -
before finally being protected and restored in the 19th century. The visit lasted longer than perhaps strictly required -because we spent extended periods absorbing the magnificence of it from the safety of the shade. Do you like the
photo of Shona and her new glasses bought in Orange? We then made a quick visit to the museum across the road which features the remains of the Roman cadastre (BCL -you would really really struggle to read these old records!) before heading over to the Arc de Triomphe as suggested. Sadly it was completely covered by scaffolding which kinda ruined the experience -however it was interesting to watch the
experts working on it's preservation. More cold drinks were bought, more fountains were splashed over our feet and necks -and Mike bought his orange in Orange. The train back home was speedy and we finally managed to connect to the internet to touch base with the outside world. By the way -we thought that the thermometer on the pharmacy was broken because it always read 35 degrees regardless of what time we looked at it. We came home today and it read 38 degrees... so it's not broken -this place is just melting!
off at Sourges at 7:36am... but sadly the chocolate factory was on the road to Chateauneuf du Pape and this meant a 5km walk along the country roads of Provence. Thank goodness it was early as this meant the sun was not too hot! We arrived at our destination at 8:30am well before the workers arrived to open up 
at 9am. We saw a video on how chocolate is made, right from the planting of the trees in Ghana. It is a major industry for the country and a very labour intensive process. We sampled some truffles and checked out the small museum and shop. Sadly UPS had broken the hot chocolate machine and instead we had hot chocolate by buying some and eating it throughout the day in the sun. Unfortunately we can't bring any home because it is so hot over here we had to eat all of it... made for a yummy lunch! Shane - it is amazing and better than cadbury and does not contain palm oil! We walked back to the Sourges train station and caught the 11:53am train to Orange. Orange is a small city in Provence 
that went all out to prove that they were Roman. It contains the only remaining amphitheatre in Europe (and one of three left in the world). It is magnificent to say the least. The stage wall is 37 metres high, 103 metres wide and there are seats for 10,000 people. At the height of the Roman empire it was used for performances more than 100 days in a year -until the Christians deemed stage shows to be 'indulgent' and called an end to performances on this magnificent stage, as part of the fall of the Roman lifestyle. It was then later sacked, burnt, lived in, used as barracks, then as a jail -
before finally being protected and restored in the 19th century. The visit lasted longer than perhaps strictly required -because we spent extended periods absorbing the magnificence of it from the safety of the shade. Do you like the 
photo of Shona and her new glasses bought in Orange? We then made a quick visit to the museum across the road which features the remains of the Roman cadastre (BCL -you would really really struggle to read these old records!) before heading over to the Arc de Triomphe as suggested. Sadly it was completely covered by scaffolding which kinda ruined the experience -however it was interesting to watch the 
experts working on it's preservation. More cold drinks were bought, more fountains were splashed over our feet and necks -and Mike bought his orange in Orange. The train back home was speedy and we finally managed to connect to the internet to touch base with the outside world. By the way -we thought that the thermometer on the pharmacy was broken because it always read 35 degrees regardless of what time we looked at it. We came home today and it read 38 degrees... so it's not broken -this place is just melting!
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Ah ha - but Cadbury will not contain palm oil for long - they have caved to pressure and are reverting to the old recipe! I'm confused - isn't the arc de triomph in Paris - are you guys lost?
ReplyDeleteThat's great to hear! The new resealable packaging can stay though please :o)
ReplyDeleteVery good question -however "Arc de Triomph" in french simply means 'The Triumphal Arch', of which there were many throughout the Roman empire. They were built to glorify Roman conquests and were all very similar to create uniformity within the new colonies of Rome (and to quell old nationalist feelings). The one in Paris is simply the best known!
A slight clarification - that wasn't me in the previous comment (yes it was A if you couldn't tell!). At first I was wondering if the sleep deprivation had got so bad I'd forgotten reading and commenting - but of course that just isn't possible as your blog is AWESOME! I often read it while having my evening cuppa while A looks after the girls. It's fantastic getting transported to another place for a few peaceful minutes so thanks heaps!!
ReplyDeleteYum - chocolate! You seem instinctively drawn to food features all along the way. Have you gained weight now you have shaken off the bout of tummy bugs?
ReplyDeleteFair question Dad -but the 1 hour walk each way to the factory probably burnt off a lot of the calories... and it's so hot here that eating big meals is far from our minds! For an example -have a look at our next blog to see what we had for lunch!
ReplyDelete