PROVENCE, FRANCE

Friday, October 8, 2010.

Driving to Nice, today.  Plan is to take the highway to near St. Tropez, visit there, and then the coastal road to Nice.  We got to St. Tropez, walked around a bit, oogled the mega-yachts (which make it so that you can’t see the water from your café, but good people watching…).  Sat at a café and had lunch.  And yes, a bottle of Rose.

Then we started driving on the coastal road.  Pretty enough, but even before we hit Cannes, we were done with the coastal road.  Back on the highway to Nice.  Arrived in Nice, and our hotel was easy to find as it was on the Promanade de Anglais (at the end, near the old city).  Check in, and because my hubby travels too much and uses Starwood a lot, we got an upgraded room at Le Meridien Nice.  OMG!  We have this great room with this huge bed…bigger than our king at home…on the top floor with a huge balcony with lounge chairs and a partial view of the sea.  The bed faces out the floor to ceiling windows/doors which run along the whole side of the room.  I’m a person that likes it pitch black to sleep in, but I had to leave the curtains open all night to see the view over the city towards the airport and sea (besides, we were higher up than anybody, so privacy wasn’t an issue).

Strolled outside

 

Thursday, October 7, 2010

We drove to Cassis today.  It is a cute little port town on the Mediterranean Sea.  For once, we just had takeout paninis and no wine at lunch!  Reason?  Cuz after lunch we hiked to the Calanques close to Cassis.  We got to the second one before turning around…it was about an hour there, and the hike was probably harder than when we hiked in the Cinque Terre in 2007, as the stones were loose and slippery (they’re limestone), vs. dirt and rocks.  The Cinque Terre was a longer hike, though, and we were dead the next day (did the whole 5 towns in one day…). 

Anyway, the water was beautiful, and some people were actually swimming in it.  Temps were in the mid 70s, but remember the wind?  Not swimming myself, thank you…but did get my feet in long enough to get this picture…

Afterwards, we didn’t have time to go back to Aix to clean up and change before dinner, so a quick splash of water and a change of clothes and off to Marseille we went to meet an old aupair of ours,  Anne, and her boyfriend.  Michael and I walked around a little bit before meeting Anne, and weren’t that impressed with the city.  It did have not 1, but 2 Chinese/Thai/Vietnamese places within 3 blocks, and a bunch of African and Middle Eastern type restaurants.  Apparently Marseille has a large immigrant population.  Anne joked that the second language in Marseille is French…Anyway,  I had been dying to have bouillabaisse where it originated, so Anne found us a restaurant that made it.  Very good, but they didn’t debone the fish very well…Michael got us a good bottle of Cotes du Rhone, though.

It was great seeing Anne, and her boyfriend is really nice.  He obviously cares for her a great deal, and seems to have a great head on his shoulders.  He is currently in the French Navy, working on Nuclear Submarines.  He is hoping to take that experience and work in the nuclear medicine field when he retires….he’s got a ways to go, though, as he is only 25.  Anne also told us that the car we were given at the rental place (Dacia)  is a dump.  Worse than Renault.  Sure feels like it is going to fall apart at any minute, but it is getting us around.  We were supposed to get a VW Golf or similar…

On the drive back to Aix, the highway is closed and we are re-routed.  Great.  I have NO idea where we are, nor where we are going.  Oh, and at this point, I am really tired of the lack of street signs in cities.   And don’t say get a GPS…Anne had one and got lost.  I at least was able to get us there using google maps and my trusty map.  Anyway,*IF* street signs exist, they are on the corner of a building, and not on every corner.  My neck has been contorted is so many different directions trying to find out what damn street we are on!  So we have been getting honked at quite a bit cuz we have no earthly idea where we are.  Now, because of the highway being closed, we are lost and I have no idea where!  Luckily, we end up in Aix, and from there we just keep going round and round in various traffic circles until we see a street sign that we want to take.  Then to the next traffic circle to go around it a few times till we figure out where we want to go…kinda like Laurel and Hardy.  I’m liking these traffic circles for that.  Oh, and the day we got to Aix, we ended up driving through what I am pretty sure is a pedestrian only section…WHERE ARE THE EFFING STREET SIGNS???  And google maps is zero help.  For example…left on Avenue X, slight right to stay on Avenue X…then right on Avenue Y.  So I’m looking for the street to bear right…nope…and of course, since there is no street signs, we are lost, and missed the turn for Avenue Y.  After 6 days, I have finally figured out that when google maps says slight right, it means ignore google maps and go straight!  Google maps puts way too many details in their directions.  Whatever happened to stay on Ave. X for z miles to a right on Ave. Y?  Simple.  We did finally make it home. 

In France’s defense, Italy is the same way (with the street signs on buildings…).

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

 Up early and off to visit some hill towns in the Luberon region of Provence.   First stop is Village des Bories outside of Gordes.  This is a whole village of stone huts like the one we saw the other day.  People actually lived in them up until the 18^th century.  It is believed that this particular village was inhabited from the 16^th – 18^th century.  The only thing holding up the stone roofs is stones.  They had to lay the stones in a certain way to make sure the roof didn’t cave in.  Genius.

Then to Gordes, where we walked around the cute little town and got some coffee.

Then we drove to Rousillon, where we had lunch overlooking the valley.  Across the valley one can see the red clay that gives the town its color (houses are various shades of red, with blue shutters, quite pretty).  Another bottle of Rose…

Then we drove to Aix, stopping along the way at Pont St. Julien, a bridge constructed from 27 BC to 14 AD and still used until 2005 for vehicular traffic!  A new bridge is now used, but the old bridge is still used for bikers and hikers. 

Arriving in Aix, we check into our hotel and then go out to explore the city.  Very pretty city, it is a university town.  We stop at a café on a square and get a ½ carafe of rose…Michael has his one and only conference call here, then off to stroll the city and find a place for dinner. 

We ended up at an Italian place.  We were the only ones in it for a long time.  Another note to self…don’t eat at places that are empty.  They are empty for a reason…nothing that a bottle of Chianti can’t fix, though…

Tuesday, October 5, 2010:  Avignon & Les Baux

 Drove to Avignon today.   We managed to get there in time to take the walking tour given by the Tourist Information Center.  It also included the Pope’s Palace, and was 11 Euros a piece.  There were only 5 other people with us, which I liked.  I try to usually get private tours as I find that I don’t get much out of group tours.  I especially only get private tours when we are traveling with the kids.  This one was good for its price, and since it is off season, the group was small.  We saw this original marble carving depicting the Passion of Christ by     in (church name).  A copy was later installed in the Pope's Palace.

 The burial place of St. Benezet in (church name).  Story goes that in the late 12th century, God spoke to the shepherd, Benezet, and told him to build a bridge over the Rhone River.  No one had ever done this before and certainly didn't want to believe 14 year old kid.  So Benezet picked up a huge boulder by himself and started building.  Before long, the townspeople joined in and the bridge was built.  It was the only bridge crossing the Rhone in the Middle Ages.  Unfortunately, at the time, the Rhone flooded a lot, causing the bridge to be damaged and have to be rebuilt again and again until 1688 when an icy flood took most of it out.  It was never rebuilt.  It inspired a very famous (in France, at least) nursery rhyme about pont d'Avignon.  You can visit it and walk across it (for a fee...we chose not to).

 

 City hall (from the 1800s)

Cool clock tower on top of city hall.  We all wondered if the boy and girl went around (like some coo-coo clocks).  Nope.  Apparently, the girl used to ring the gong, but she didn't for us.  :-(

After the tour, we did a walk suggested by my buddy Rick, and then tried to find a place for lunch.   Michael really wanted to be in the thick of the action, so we did like tourists and ate at one of the eateries in the Plaza outside the Pope’s Palace.    Late again, and the waiter…well…let’s see…I would describe him as what most Americans…wrongly, by the way…think of as “French.”  Not pleasant at all, definitely no plat du jour, and when I asked for a panini, he told me “non possible.”  Salad or sandwich that didn’t need to be cooked.  I was able to get carpaccio and frites…Michael got spaghetti pesto…don’t know why he was able to get that, and don’t frites need to be cooked?  Also, said that there were no half bottles of Rose…so we got a full bottle…and saw people after us getting half bottles…oh, well, a bottle of vino makes everything better!

Left there and went to Les Baux, a ruined Medieval Castle up on a Rock.  Very cool.  So I go in, trying to follow the tour, and Michael, like Pavlov’s dog, heads straight for the Medieval Weapons of Mass Destruction…um, what about this church we just passed???  Various sizes of catapults (all with different names, but basically all throwing a rock or rocks some distance at the enemy), some of which took 20 people to operate, and some of which the women operated!  Yeah for us!  Oh, and a battering ram…

So the story goes that Les Baux

Then back for a nap and dinner.

PROVENCE, FRANCE

Monday, October 4, 2010:  Chateauneuf-du-Pape and Cotes du Rhone  

Raining today.  After breakfast we go in the car and drove to Chateneuf du Pape.  Went through the mildly informative Museum of Wine, then went up to the ruined castle to park and walk down into town where there was supposed to be a large (collaborative) tasting room.  We never did find it, or if it was where we think it was, it was closed.  Walking from the castle (on top of the hill) to the town I thought I was gonna get blown over!  The wind was so bad!  Then came the driving rain on top of it and we ducked into a church to wait the driving rain out.  Of course, we left the umbrella in the car…

CdP castle ruins

Gorgeous views

We ducked into a place to dry off and taste some wine.  Good enough, so we bought a bottle with plans to drink it while we are here.  (Not sure when, though). 

 

Then we walked across the street to a little Italian place and had lunch (late again, so no plat du jour) (another ½ bottle of vino…), not that we are lushes or anything ;-)

 Inside

Then we went off to Gigondas.  Very pretty town, stopped in a collaborative for a tasting and some coffee and a snack.  Bought a bottle that Michael thought had a pretty label (we have a collection of bottles we will never drink that are for trip remembrances (such as the Iron Horse Cuvee from the Disney Cruise Line).   This one will be added to that in our cellar.

 Michael liked how the bottle looked...

 Snack and some coffee...

Then we went off to another winery outside of Gigondas.  Bought 6 bottles at Domain de Mourchon.  Good & Cheap!!!

Leaving there we were supposed to go to another town, and I saw a sign that said Seguret 8.3 km.  I thought that would be shorter than going all the way back to the main road and then around again.   Note to self…don’t follow small signs in Provence.  They lead to dirt roads, which lead to smaller dirt roads with big rocks, which lead to roads that one is not quite sure really is a road...Okay, so we were a little scared, but the scenery was beautiful! 

Yes, there is a road along those vineyards...

Gorgeous!

 But what's with the blue tree???

We'll see more of the stone huts later on

This would be one of the better roads we went on...

 Pretty views from the village of Le Creset

Needless to say, after our little detour adventure, we were ready to head home.   Nap and then dinner at the Inn (they are called “Mas” in France).  In honor of our adventure (and the fact that we had been in CdP), we splurged on a bottle of Beaucastle.  Good, but still not ready.   Tannins needed more time.

PROVENCE, FRANCE

Sunday, October 3, 2010:  Arles

Checking with Rick

We got up, had breakfast (pretty decent breakfast here at Le Mas des Carassins), and drove to the town of Arles (pronounced Arl).  Nice town with lots of Roman Ruins.  Whenever I am in Europe, it always amazes me how old everything is.  It is so cool.  I love it.   We take a walk around town suggested by Rick Steves.  His guidebooks are very good in terms of describing things and suggesting walks (by him…or in this case, his workerbee who essentially wrote the book), but I find him quite opinionated.  However, I buy a bazillion guide books before we go somewhere, and most of the time while traveling, his books are my go to books.  They come out in the fall, and I will say that there were a few things that were closed (or changed names) since his 2010 Provence and the French Riviera came out last year.  I refer to him as “my buddy Rick,” as in “my buddy, Rick, says…”

Anyway,  we walked around town a bit, and found the St. Trophime Church.  The area above and around the church door is full of sculptured symbolism, starting with Jesus surrounded by the four evangelists (Matt, Mark, Luke & Jack...er John), and the 12 apostles below him.

I really like the chain gang on the way to hell.  Bummer for them.

Then we we saw the Theatre.  It is still in use today as evidenced by the stage and lighting and sound equipment.  Very cool.  I’d love to see a concert or play there! 

 

On the bleachers...

We walked around the Theatre, got lost, and had to jump down an old wall...

 Of course, this is the star of my show:

After this we had lunch outside the Roman Arena.  Turns out that you can’t get the plat du jour after about 1:15, and you must be done lunch by 2ish.  If not, no lunch.  So no plat for us but we did have wine (1/2 bottle of Rose) with lunch.  I’m wondering if this is going to be a habit? 

Then we went to the Roman Arena which is in much better condition than the Coliseum in Rome.  Smaller, though.  

I love Europe and its old buildings and cool squares!

 These were actual windows (and doors) used by people who moved into the arena and built houses in the middle ages up until the early 1800s.

Then we hopped in the car and drove about 20 minutes to the Pont du Gard, a huge Roman bridge/aqueduct.  I find it amazing how much engineering went into this feat.  Not just the building of the actual bridge, but the fact that they had to figure out the perfect slope for the aqueduct…too steep and the rushing water would erode the stone pipe carrying the water, not enough and the water would go stagnant, in addition to figuring out the best path for the water to take (turns out the best path for the source at Uzes was also the longest).   I’m convinced that these people were a lot smarter than we are now, considering all of the tools we have available to us now and that they were starting with no knowledge. 

 
There were a lot of people picnicking, and a lot of people with dogs.  I miss my Peekaboo and of course my kids.   It’s also a lot chillier here than I was expecting.  I was still (mostly) wearing shorts at home.  Temps in the low 70s, but with the wind, it is a bit nip.  Guess no swimming on this trip...but...no swimming under the bridge...if it had been warmer, I would have tested that...

 Gorgeous!

Drove back to St. Remy and had dinner at a place my buddy Rick suggested.  Except it was no longer called whatever it was in the book.  I thought dinner was better than the night before, but Michael loved his lamb stew the night before more.  Of course, there was another bottle of vino…

 Yummy!!!