I can officially say that I have now seen what’s south of Paris. We got back very late last night from our week in Viverols. Just as John had promised it was the perfect place for delicious food, great walks, and tons of sun bathing with its peaceful atmosphere.
We were welcomed with open arms and great food from the start. I must say I never thought I could eat so much in one week! And though I may not have been adventurous enough to try the cheese I did enjoy a delicious frog dinner! If only I was told that cheese tasted like chicken...
I suppose you can tell I enjoyed myself because I have some 300 plus pictures to show for a few days. Papie and Mamie, John’s grandparents, live on the top of the hill near the castle (Chateau de Viverols). I can’t describe it perfectly, I don’t even think the pictures do it justice but the town is amazing. It’s one of the towns where you can see history and character no matter which way you turn. Almost every morning we took a walk down to the town square: home of the bakery, the Boucher, grocery store and church. Some days we picked out desserts and some days we picked up bags for Mamie that she had at the grocery store.
For a small town I feel like there was plenty to do. Each day there was a different afternoon outing. We visited the castle, which is being renovated by the new owner during his spare time. Mamie led a hike where we ate raspberries fresh off the vines! We went on a historical tour of the town. We visited the Musee Louis Terrasse, who built really amazing wooden miniatures. By the time he was six he had already carved a miniature pair of clogs out of wood. I don’t think I was trusted with a knife at six! We went to the cemetery where found a Morel family stone. We visited Montpelloux, an inactive volcano turned into a quarry turned into tourist site. We even attempted to get into the Mausoleum near the cemetery to see the Granet family tombs... the story goes that when Hector Granet’s parents died he buried them in glass coffins filled with alcohol to preserve their bodies. When he died he was put in a similar coffin except one of them was pierced and all the alcohol spilled, leaving the body to go to dust. No one knows which coffin was pierced but the Granet family still rests in the Mausoleum, which is now sealed up and closed for visitors.
We spent our evenings playing games. It was great because there were four grandkids visiting: John and Daphne and their cousins Alexis and Johan as well as Johan’s girlfriend and me. Between the six of us we kept ourselves laughing with Risk, Uno, Belote and Briscol. We lucked out because while there Viverols was having its festival, carnival and all! Friday and Saturday night we went down to the town square to check out the carnival. We also got to see a lantern parade on Friday night and a costume parade on Sunday before we left.
I can’t forget the kitten! We noticed a kitten who, we were told, was 8 days old hanging out in the street crying. John and I couldn’t bear thinking he was hungry and ran to get him milk and bread. The kitten was so cute we named him Louis (or Louise if he turned out to be a she). Oscar almost came home with a brother but not to worry we left Louis with his brother and mother in Viverols.
The week went by so quickly. I can’t believe we leave for Aix en Provence in a few hours! I’m excited for our next adventure but am still sad the week is over. I cannot thank John’s family enough for being so welcoming and friendly to me. Between Daphne and Alexis I caught almost everything that was going on! And Papie and Mamie are such generous people... thank you for sharing your slice of Viverols with me.
Make sure to browse through our pictures from Viverols!
Pictures from the Castle are here!
Click here to see pictures of the town Viverols!
Click here to see Viverol's Festival
Monpelloux: the Volcano/Quarry/Tourist Site
Frog Night: Yes... there is proof I ate frogs!
I love your pictures! I hope you are still having fun and everything is going well for you!
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