Day 3 - St. Guilhem & Snow

Poor Alex flew halfway around the world to escape snow, and then we went and hiked in it!

We visited St. Guilhem in September, when Cathie and Dan were visiting from Santa Cruz. It was much different this time! The streets were empty, and there was snow on the mountains.

Unfortunately, we all forgot our cameras! These pictures are from our previous visit to St. Guilhem and Dado’s iPhone.

Our original goal was to take the hike to the ruins above St. Guilhem. However, when we arrived, it was raining. So, we started with a quick look at the church and a warm lunch.

After lunch, it was still sprinkling a bit, but we were determined. We set out for the hike above St. Guilhem. Cold but beautiful!

The truly thrill-packed part of Day 3 was the drive home to Bouzigues. I drove Julie’s rental car during their stay (a cute little Ford Fiesta) with Alex riding shotgun, and Dado drove the rest of the gang in our Kangoo.

Well, when we left St. Guilhem, I had to put Julie and Dado in charge of the GPS. The lighter in the rental car was dead, so it wouldn’t charge the GPS.

Oh my goodness! The GPS (or Dado and Julie) had us turn the wrong way leaving St. Guilhem. Since this tiny village is in the mountains, on a tiny road in the middle of nowhere, this was not a good thing. After about 10 kilometers, Dado stopped to do a sanity check with me on our direction. Unfortunately, I said, “Well, if the GPS is leading us this way, it must be okay.”

We ended up high in the mountains, in the snow!! Max and Josey were thrilled. I, on the other hand, was driving completely white-knuckled. I have never driven in slippery snow before, and doing it the first time in a tiny compact car was not my idea of fun.

We stopped to let the kids play in the snow for a few minutes at the top of the mountain and did some re-grouping. Yes, we finally did make it home that day, but it was a very, very long drive.

Dinner was uneventful until Dado poured Absinthe for Grom and Julie to try. Woohoo! I don’t think either of them will be in a big hurry to try that again.

Here are some pictures of St. Guilhem from our September visit.

And I almost forgot . . . Alex and I bought adorable matching rings! Sterling silver with a square garnet in the center. Isn't that cute? :)

Love to all!