Entrevaux, Geology Plus, Climbing Mt. Everest,

Off to Entrevaux

Editor's Note: I'm trying some new software for editing my photos for this post. Are the photos better/worse/same? Put your comment in the comment section. THANKS -jj

Today's adventure started with a 1.5 hour train ride. But first we had to figure out where the train station was located. The train was NOT a public train, it was a private company that operates a couple of trains to smaller towns. Luckily there was a street market nearby and we asked for directions.

We found the station and boarded the train with plenty of time to spare. The train was only 2 cars long.

Here are a few shots from the train ride... we followed a river for most of the way.

As we left Nice, we passed by the football stadium where are they hosting some of the Euro Cup games. If you look closely you might see some guys from Northern Ireland :-)

Perched Cities Galore

We must have passed a dozen perched cities along the way... tiny medieval towns built on the top of hills/mountains. Here are a few of them...

Here is one of the towns along the way...

Geology 101

I'm no geologist, but we passed some pretty cool geological formations. You can really see the plates that were thrust upwards and deformed. Check these out...

After 90 minutes of awesome views, we arrived in Entrevaux. Let's first start out with a few facts (Wiki):

Entrevaux was founded in the 11th century on the rocky spur in an angle of the river; the oldest recorded name is Interrivos and dates from 1040.
The citadel was built at the top of a 1,000 ft peak. It served to the protect the city below.
Between 1481 and 1487 it became a part of France.
In 1536, Entrevaux fell to the troops of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, betrayed by its lord Jacques Glandeves; half the population was massacred. The remaining population staged an uprising, cutting the throat of the governor, and offered the town to the French Dauphin, King François I.

Here is the city with the citadel in the background.

You have to cross a drawbridge to enter the town.

Here is the drawbridge... guarded by some tough ombres :-)

Here are some shots from the town...

You can see the citadel in the background.

Climbing Mt Everest :-)

So we decided to go to the top and visit the citadel. Unfortunately there was no elevator to the top :-( so we had to walk. So the ascent begins...

There are 20 of these walls along the path to the top. In the olden days each of these would have a thick wooden door. So if you wanted to attack the citadel, you would have to breakdown 20 doors!