Saturday morning we ventured on a road trip to see the largest archeological Roman site in France.
"Vaison la Romaine" is a medieval city with two separate towns, upper and lower.
In the later half of the 12th Century the town was plundered on orders by the Count of Toulouse due to a disagreement with the Bishop.
Eventually the inhabitants abandoned the medieval town that was situated near the Cathedral and the Palace.
They sought protection high above on the rocks of the river's left bank near the Count's Castle.
Some buildings were erected in the valley alongside the Roman Bridge in 16th and 17th centuries.
In the 19th century the people migrated towards the lower town on the site of the Gallo Roman city.
We arrived early in the morning, parked in the first available lot which was near the "Notre-Dame De Nazareth" Cathedral so this was our starting point for touring the sites.
The Cathedral built in the 11th century is said to be "the most eloquent monument of the medieval and Christian town".
There are many older artifacts in the Church and architectural blocks that were re-used for the foundations.
The Cathedral Cloister dating from the 11th and 12th centuries ...
I don't know if you can see the old Roman blocks that the Church is built on ...
The Roman site of "La Villasse".
The Puymin Roman site.
A little lunch ... today Italian in France.
Smoked salmon penne ...
Salmon with lemon citrus sauce ...
Monsieur Honey's dessert "Tiramisu" and only one spoon!
In the main square ...
Looking up to the "Upper Town" ...
Again this is a town that you could spend many hours being a tourist ... there is so much to see and tour!
We've been pushing ourselves a bit much, more than what we normally like to do.
The number of days remaining of our "French adventure" on the calendar are quickly disappearing with our return home coming soon!
It's time for a few chill out days!
Note: the historical information was obtained from brochures provided by the tourist office.
