First, anyone who ever finds themselves in southern France HAS to go to St. Guilhem.... It is the cutest French village (I think it was actually voted Prettiest French Village) and I think 600,000 visitors per year would agree with me that this is straight out of Beauty and the Beast!
The town is in a valley. The history of St. Guilhelm is that people kept trying to build a bridge over this one point in the river but the devil kept destroying them. So, one day St. Guilhem says to the devil, I'll build a bridge and you can keep the first soul that crosses the bridge as long as you don't break it. The devil agrees and St. Guilhem builds the bridge. On the day it's finished, the devil arrives to collect his soul. So St. Guilhem picks up a bone and throws it across the bridge and a dog chases after it. The devil gets mad because he has been cheated out of a soul and leaves. The bridge still stands and is called Le Pont de Diable.Other fun facts: all of the original doors were round. Anything square was made during the Renaissance. Also, in the main square there is a statue of Marienne (Liberty). The tour guide noted that she is facing in a very deliberate way -- away from the church. At the time when it was built, the church was the law and Liberty was for the people's law, not the church's.
Next we went into the church and cloisters. Note: these are not the real cloisters. The real cloisters are actually in Manhattan! The tour guide was very impressed (maybe even jealous) that I had been to the real ones.
After the tour we had a really nice lunch. I had pizza with tomato sauce, emmental cheese, goat cheese, honey, and walnuts. DELICIOUS!!
Then we went on a really nice walk towards the mountains. We didn't have enough time to climb it but got some great views of the valley and of the ruins at the top. Another legend says that there was a giant who lived in the castle at the top of the mountain. St. Guilhem vanquished him by pushing him out of the window.Next we went to the caves (and I snuck in a nap on the way) and I had no idea what to expect. First we get in and there are some really cool stalactites and stalagmites and other formations.
And then we wiggled through some very small spaces when all of a sudden... BAM! The cave opens up into this HUGE cavern. And I mean, it felt like we walked through a tiny tunnel and into a cathedral. But we weren't at the bottom, we came out at the top. To get an idea of how big this space is, try to find the stair cases and hand railings in the picture below.
Some other cool formations: The Virgin Mary and Baby Jesus and the Pipe Organ.
It was absolutely incredible, but maybe not the best for those with fears of tight spaces or heights!
Unfortunately, Sunday was less fun because I have so many finals on Mon-Wed... Fun. My final schedule is all kinds of weird: This week is most of my finals. Next two weeks are spring break. Week after that finishes up finals. Week after that is designated "finals week" ... and I will already be done with finals.
Oh well! I guess I'll just have to go to the beach for a week :)
Stay tuned for... Where in the world is Carmen Sandiago? Paris? Prague? Berlin? Munich?
For more pictures, click on our friend from lunch (because Shanelle kept feeding her her stew!):
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