One Fine Day

CARCASSONNE, FRANCE (Aug. 13)—Funny that after going on and on about breakfast in yesterday’s blog entry, I missed it today because I woke up at 7 and we needed to roll exactly at 8! So no coffee, no nothing. I had my “breakfast” on the bus. It was M&Ms and peanuts that I picked out of a trail mix that a friend in the group gave me. I also had a Malo ball of chocolate that covered a round marshmallow perched on top of a cookie. I washed that down with some warm leftover Coca-Cola light from yesterday. As much as I needed the extra hour of sleep, I don’t plan to miss real breakfast again.

Turns out today is the birthday of the Rev. John Rybolt, C.M. We sang “Happy Birthday” to him on the bus.

Father Rybolt is so knowledgeable about Vincentian and French history. He tells great stories. Many of them are funny because of the way he describes things. For examples, see the video of him in the Aug. 7 blog entry about relics and the Aug. 12 entry about boiling Saint Thomas Aquinas’s body in red wine to get rid of the flesh and get down to the bones. He’s so matter of fact about everything.

Since we are on the bus right now, I asked a few other people for their examples of funny things that Father Rybolt has said during this trip. Lorne Henne suggests I write: “We’re told Father Rybolt turned 69 today, but we have no documentation.” I laughed because that is totally something that Father Rybolt would say.

We spent a lot of time on this motorcoach today. Hours and hours. It was nice of Father Rybolt and the Rev. Edward Udovic, C.M., our tour guides, to break up the drive today in segments. We detoured from the main road to visit Pont du Gard, the spectacular ancient Roman aqueduct. The Pont du Gard is on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

There’s really no connection to St. Vincent, said Father Rybolt. So why did we visit? It was on our route, and it’s an extraordinary example of quality Roman engineering. The Romans knew you needed to have water if you were going to have a city, he said.

A big group of us went all the way to the top, but we didn’t get to walk across from one side to the other. Travel tip: while you are still on ground level and before you climb all those stairs, make sure you purchase a ticket that allows you to walk across. You won't be able to purchase it once you get up there. Still, I was happy that we got to see it, and I think I managed to take some amazing pictures of it. I’ve posted one, so you can see for yourself how breathtaking it is:

We continued on to the town of Avignon. “Protected by its ramparts, the historic core of the city is a lively center for art and culture,” according to our itinerary. “For 68 years in the 14th century, it was the residence first of the seven French popes and then of three others once Pope Gregory XXI had returned to Rome.”

After a break for lunch, we had a recorded tour in English, of course, of the massive fortress-like Palace of the Popes. “The interior, with its generously proportioned halls, rooms, and passages, is an impressive sight in spite of the loss of furniture and decoration.”

It was impressive in that I can now brag that I’ve been to the Palace of the Popes, which is an awesome structure. But the tour was brutal, because the place is so huge.

At some point today, we caught our last glimpse of the Pyrenees through our bus windows. We also got a brief look at the Mediterranean Sea. Father Rybolt also noted that we would be passing the Tropic of Cancer.

We just pulled up in front of our hotel in Lyon. After we check in, we’re meeting up for dinner. I’m sure it’ll be another fine meal.