Les Baux-De-Provence – France’s Answer to Neuschweinstein

Our next stop is Les Baux-De-Provence, which is a small village built into an incredible scene of bauxite hills. On top of the town is an area called the Chateau, which is the ruins of an 11 century fortress that was inhabited by the Lords of Baux – called the race of eagles. The fortress is built in this arid rocky area on the top of a hill that gives way to sweeping views of the valleys below. The climbs were extremely steep and the stairs were original and therefore dangerous. At one point, some French man started babbling at me and seeing my blank look of idocy changed to English to inform me I was wearing the wrong shoes for the climb. This I was made extremely aware of because I had already slipped three times, thinking each time I was going to fall and crack my head. The Lords of Baux and their minions would apparently wait for invaders to climb up toward the heights of the fortress and then, as they scrambled desperately for a foothold, push them off into the valley. I thought that their craftsmanship would surely have been more than adequate protection from anyone with my klutziness.