Entrevaux

After days spent on the coast we decided to mix it up a bit and head to the mountains.  We didn't want to spend too long in the car so we chose a destination that wasn't too far from Nice and that was Entrevaux.  None of us had ever heard of the village or had any idea what to expect.  However it looked unique and that was good enough for us.  The forecast was for rain and just hoped it was a light rain instead of a downpour.  The drive up was wet and cloudy, but I felt like the clouds just added to the effect of the mountains we were seeing.  It's hard to get really good pictures through the windshield as you're driving through a canyon, but I tried.  

When we pulled into the village we could just see through the clouds, the citadel that was our destination perched high on the hill.  It looked rather formidable up there and I just hoped the walk up was more mild that our walk up to Eze.  

As we parked the car and started walking towards the village I felt like I was in a medieval film.  Everything about the architecture screamed medieval times.  I half expected a knight to come trotting across the bridge on horseback.  

Inside the lower village it was completely empty.  True, it was raining, but we didn't really see anyone.  We saw hints of people, laundry hanging out a window, window boxes with flowers.  We also saw lots of evidence that more people used to live there, boarded up windows, broken front doors, and empty apartments.  It was actually rather bizarre.  Because the streets were empty it felt like the plague had just come through and wiped out the population. 

 We wandered through the streets looking for a cafe that was open and managed to find the only one in the entire city that was serving food.  We huddled under the umbrellas on the patio as we enjoyed our burgers (which were delicious with camembert cheese).  We sat and waited for the rain to let up as we knew that the rest of our explorations were going to be completely exposed.  Ultimately we decided to just brave the rain and go up to the citadel any way.  Leesa had brought one umbrella, we tried keeping Daxton under it as much as possible but that was easier said than done.  

Kelton and McKenzie were incredibly creative and found two empty pizza boxes on the way which they used to protect themselves...at least until the cardboard completely fell apart.  

The trail wasn't steep and it was an easy walk.  

We found a ton of large snails that were worth stopping to admire.  

Up at the top we found the citadel.  Honestly I couldn't tell you much about the purpose of the structure since the few signs were strictly in French.  We found guard rooms, a chapel, prison cells, defense mechanisms, and even a garden up top.  It was kind of a free-for-all as we explored and it was nice just letting the kids run free.  

An aerial view from one of the informational posters.  I kind of like it better in the rain. 

The views from the top were expansive even with the cloud cover.  However we were pretty wet and cold and ready to go home. 

 It was a quick walk back down the mountainside and back to the car where we stripped off our soggy jackets and the kids wet shoes.  We had one last adventure in the car when McKenzie found a cricket in her seat.  All the kids went a little crazy before Bruce saved the day by catching it and tossing it outside.  Whew!  Glad we survived that one!