Voyages around France: A bridge....a really old bridge.

On Friday after most of the day studying French I decided it was time to get out of the house and take a roadtrip before the sun set for the day. It had been an extremely windy day but I decided to brave the elements and see if I could find something interesting to point my camera at. With Alicia and Rudy acting as my co-pilots we headed out for the small villages of Lacoste and Bonnieux which are only about a 20 minute drive from the house.

I knew there was and old Roman bridge in the area north of Bonnieux so that was my destination of choice. As it turns out I had driven by this bridge a few times before but had never looked in the direction where it stands. Named Pont Julien this stone arch bridge was completed in 3 BC and served as one of the main links from Italy to Spain and parts of what is now France. The blocks of limestone for the span had to be cut precisely as no mortar was used when built.
Pont Julien was open to regular vehicle traffic until a new bridge was completed in 2005. Not many bridges can boast being used for 2000 years and one must admit....those Romans sure knew how to build things to last.

Pont Julien

After admiring this Roman architecture we pointed the car in the direction of the village of Lacoste. Since daylight was fading fast there wasn't alot of leisure time, but I knew I wanted to get some photos of Bonnieux which sits on the opposite side of the valley from Lacoste. These 2 villages are both perched on hilltops separated by a valley below, seemingly staring at each other as they have for hundreds of years.

After getting a few professional grade photos (Ha!) it was back in the car, a drive down into the valley and then the ascent into Bonnieux. By the time we arrived the sun had pretty much given up for the day so not many photo opportunities but still some nice views for us.

Today we decided to venture eastward into the French Alps which is about a 2 plus hour drive. The sites were spectacular and the weather was....well, COLD! As we climbed in elevation we started seeing more of that white stuff on the ground and even some falling from the sky. Cars meeting us on the highway going in the opposite direction were covered in snow which gave us a hint of things to come. I will share more about our trip today as well as some photos sometime next week.