Month: May 2026

You find these all over France, and I’ve read they were ordered by Napoleon to provide shade for marching troops – but I’ve also read that this is an urban legend – so I guess this is still a big mystery for me to clear up one day!

The Via Tolosana goes through the sleepy Provence town of Saint-Gilles-du-Gard – but at one time, it was the fourth major stop on the Via Tolosana pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela in Spain.

The entire village is filled with hidden and not-so-hidden references to this route!

You can see the Arles Amphitheater in the background. Very interestingly, the fountain is dry – they shut off the water. One wonders if this is due to global warming?