The Citadel and More

"Gloriously perched on a rock, with its bastions deployed both in the South and the North, with its covered walkway where the colors of the Sisteron flag float in the almost everpresent wind, it fascinates the traveller passing through the Durance Vale, makes him take a break, and beckons him to visit this fortress which stands across the valley as a barrier." 

If this were all we had glimpsed,

Our Lady of the Castle Chapel

I would still proclaim that the pamphlet did not mislead with its opening statement as quoted above.  But this was not all. 

Exploring the Citadel in Sisteron, France, was one of the highlights of our trip last month.  Upon entering, we made our way past the First and the Second military enclosures. Then we took a short break to listen to some of the history of the Citadel (According to "the pamphlet," on March 5, 1815, Napoleon is worried by the Citadel on his way back from the Isle of Elba.  Short of gunpowder, its twenty guns let the Emperor and his 1200 soldiers go by.) while Bear ran from knight to knight and Patrick snapped a few shots, including the one of the chapel ... our ultimate goal. 

Next, we climbed some stairs up through what was once used as a Cistern, installed in the 16th century to collect the rain water.  This picture shows our return trip through the Cistern!

While we took in all the different views along the way,

our ultimate goal kept calling us upward.

As we topped these stairs, we found ourselves on the Upper Rampart built in the 13th century.  The view did not disappoint.

The pamphlet states (and clarifies for its English readers!), "One hundred fifty kilometers (90 miles) of the French countryside unfold from one end of the skyline to the other..."

Traveling along the rampart, the children climbed a few more stairs up into the Keep and found the Keep Bakery and the Bell.

Finally, Our Lady of the Castle Chapel, originally built in the 15th century, restored around 1935 and equipped with stained-glass windows...

After a morning of exploration, we headed down into the town for a much-needed glace/gelato/eis/ice cream.  This magnificent view was like the cherry on top!