Provence, France

This is a tale of two bridges in Provence.

French families were still on holiday in France so we avoided the coast of Provence. Instead we drove through delightful rural countryside with olive groves, lavender fields, deep valleys, goats and sheep grazing in fields enclosed by rock walls or hedges.

And we saw two amazing bridges separated by 2000 years of technology.

The first one was the Millau  viaduct designed by British architect, Norman Foster. It's ranked as one of the great engineering achievements and is the tallest bridge in the world. We didn't drive on it because of the toll and you can't actually see it if you're on it.

Millau Viaduct, a toll bridge.

The second bridge we saw was the Pont du Gard, a Roman aquaduct bridge near Nimes and the highest of all the aquaduct bridges. It's an awe-inspiring structure. We also enjoyed the museum that explains how it was constructed.

Pont du Gard aquaduct

Gourdon, one of the many perched villages we saw, and probaably the most well-known.

Pencil cypress amongst the vines.
Van Gogh lived near here and drew inspiration from this landscape.

Moving from the Mid-Pyrenees and Provence towards the French Alps.