Saint Paul de Vence (Finalement!!)

Jon and I have been trying to go to Saint Paul de Vence for the past 3 weekends with Fabiola and Niko, but the weather has just been awful.  Well yesterday, the sun was out all day long, and after getting there, we realized exactly why going on a rainy day would be a waste of time.

First though, let me say that it was a surprise that we even made it there.  Jon went to bed the night before with a stomach ache, and woke up feeling even worse.  Our plans were to leave at 3, and he pretty much slept until I made him get up and start getting ready at 2:30, despite asking him numerous times if he wanted me to tell them than we’d have to postpone because he wasn’t feeling well.  I thought I was stubborn.

Once we got there, his stomach ache slowly started to become less unbearable, but then he started to develop a terrible headache.  Definitely no fun.

Anyway, Saint Paul de Vence is a beautifully preserved medieval village perched in the mountains, a few miles from the sea.  It was simply breath taking.  The views up there are worth the trip alone, but its refreshing to see a village that old so well kept.  It is very small, and didn’t take long to meander through its stone streets, but it was very enjoyable.

There isn’t much to actually do there, just a few restaurants, but it is full of art galleries.  We mostly just peaked through the windows, given the unlikelihood that any of us could afford to buy any art that day, and stuck to enjoying the architecture and views.  We did however, go into a store that specializes in olive oils, and I got to sample some of their fruit vinegars.  Fabiola and Niko got a little sample kit with three types, and should I make it there again, I might do the same.  They were delicious.

Once we got home, Jon’s headache was so bad he could hardly stand up, or focus his eyes on anything.  I had to try and explain to our host family that he had a terrible headache that was making him feel nauseous, a concept that was apparently difficult to grasp in French culture (Jerome kept saying “A stomach ache and a headache are two different things” and Marie-France insisted “Eating when you have a headache helps”).  Either way, he definitely picked the wrong day to bail on dinner, because it was Marie-France’s birthday, but considering the fact that he never has a problem eating anything she makes, I’m sure she understood he really wasn’t feeling well.

This morning, he still wasn’t feeling well, and insisted I go on to class without him.  I didn’t want to leave him here alone, considering the fact that he was too achy to bother getting up for anything, but he kept saying “Its okay, we’re learning stuff we don’t know now, one of us has to go.”  So, despite my attempts, I went on to class without him.  Which proved to be pointless anyway because we didn’t learn anything today that she couldn’t have just explained in a few sentences to us the next day.  Oh well.

As for the rest of the day, he’s still not feeling 100% (though better, so thats a start), so I doubt we’ll be doing much.  I do need to do some toiletry shopping and get stuff to make sangria this week, but that will be an easy trip to the store.

Ciao!