A Day in Avignon

Firstly I need to apologise once again - this part of our trip we took many photos. Unfortunately, I did a very silly thing with the collection and somehow deleted them on our laptop. These are from the web.

Our time in Provence was coming to an end and so was our stay in our lovely little cottage in Saint Remy. We decided to visit Avignon before leaving as we missed it on our 2006 trip.
The man that we leased our Citroen from invited us back to leave the car with him while we visited Avignon. The gates to enter the city were near his garage. What a nice man he is.


Walking through the gate, we entered Avignon - We were excited.

 As we walked through the main gates we passed cafes and bars while people were enjoying the morning sunshine. Naturally our destination was to the Palais du Papes or the Palace of the Popes.
The history of how the Popes came to Avignon in the 1300s intrigued me. Its no secret that the Romans spent some time bringing their culture, architecture and religion to France. The Popes fled Rome during a period of unrest and brought the Papal Court to Avignon. Their reign lasted from 1309 to 1377 before returning to Rome.

I loved their theatre - imagine seeing an opera (or a rock band) within this marvelous building.
The two seated sculptures either side of the entrance intrigued me.

We entered the Palais du Papes at the Champeaux gate. You feel as if you have entered an impregnable fortress rather than a religious building. Within there is a feeling of emptiness - there is very little furniture or signs of the opulent riches of the the Popes' existence many centuries gone ago.
Still, you did get a feeling of the way they lived a life of luxury. Quite in contrast to the Cathars in the Languedoc region only kilometres away. More about them in a later post.

From the Avignon Tourism website

Avignon is famous as it is the city to which the Popes fled when leaving the corruption of Rome in the 14th century. The palace they built, 'Le Palais des Papes,' or the palace of popes, is the world's largest Gothic edifice. It was largely emptied over the centuries, and its vast stone rooms are filled with little more than old frescoes, but it is still an imposing building. The Ramparts themselves were erected to keep the plague and invaders out during the turbulent middle ages, when Avignon belonged to the papacy and not the French crown.

Avignon has been continuously inhabited since the stone age, when troglodytes built in caves in the Rocher des Dames, a massive outcropping of rock rising over the banks of the Rhone. The Romans had a presence in Avignon, though the walls they built lie buried somewhere under the modern streets. Then, in medieval times, the town grew to an important centre of communication and trade. The stone bridge spanning the Rhone was one of only three between the Mediterranean and Lyon. It was undoubtedly for its strategic location and ease of travel that it was chosen by the papacy as home within the then kingdom of Provence.

Le Pont Saint-Benezet is a ruined bridge not far from the Palais des Papes. The bridge was built in the Middle Ages. The legend of the bridge's building is that a local shepherd, Benezet (a dialect form of Benedict) was inspired by angels to build a bridge. When his appeals to the town authorities proved fruitless, he picked up a vast block of stone and hurled it into the river, to be the bridge's foundation stone. Convinced by this demonstration of divine will, the bridge was swiftly built. The poor shepherd boy was canonised, and his chapel remains on the surviving portion of the bridge.


The well-known song "Sur Le Pont D'Avignon (on the bridge at Avignon) refers to the bridge. The bridge itself is far too narrow for dancing or festivals - the original text of the song was "Sous (under) Le pont d'Avignon", referring to the festivals and entertainments staged on the île de la Barthelasse.

Sue actually rang her brother John in Australia while standing on the Pont and sang those very lyrics to him while I hid somewhere so as not to be seen while she did this.
Just a bit of an exaggeration, Leon. I smsed him one line and he sent me back the next one, all the way through the song. Probably more in the nature of a competition. It was great! Although, yeah, he did hide.
 Avignon was a great experience and I'm so sad our photos were lost. But!!!!! there is a great website that our regular blog commenter, Nadege introduced me to. It's called Avignon in photos and is to the right on our sidebar. She takes very creative pics and worth looking at regularly.
http://Avignon-in-photos.blogspot.com/

Pont du Gard

We haven't posted a Wednesdays in France for a few weeks - Why did I hear you say?
Well, yes there is an excuse - I've lost a heap of photos. Don't know how it all happened, so I'll use some from the internet. Later in this particular trip, the photos will return.

We missed both Nimes and the Pont du Gard on our 2006 visit to the the South of France. Firstly I was wary of driving the car in the big cities and secondly, we were on a schedule to arrive in Saint Chinian.

Painting by Hubert Robert 1787

Not this time. I was a lot braver in the car and we had this whole week to float to wherever we wanted.
Pont du Gard was most definitely on the list as was Uzes and Orange. We had no idea at the time that the Pont du Gard, a Roman aqueduct covered a distance of 50 kms from Uzes to Nimes. When you consider in what time frame it was built, you find as you walk towards this amazing structure, you ask yourself - how can this be?
Initially you arrive at the entry gates and park your car a little distance from the Pont du Gard passing firstly through the souvenir stores, cafes and the museum. The museum is well worth the time to discover its history.

Wikipedia
The Pont du Gard is a notable ancient Roman aqueduct bridge that crosses the Gard River in southern France. It is part of a 50 km (31 mi) long aqueduct that runs between Uzès and Nîmes in the South of France. It is located in Vers-Pont-du-Gard near Remoulins, in the Gard département. The aqueduct was constructed by the Romans in the 1st century AD and was added to UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites in 1985. It is the highest of all Roman aqueduct bridges and is the best preserved after the Aqueduct of Segovia.

I remember as we walked towards the Pont du Gard, we passed an olive tree with some age on it. We heard a couple say, "I've eaten olives from the tree before, I don't like them." Hmmmmm!!!!
We love them - yes but not from the tree.

The Pont du Gard has graffitti - this graffitti is chisled into the rock during the 1700s by students of architecture. I took photos of this but alas, I can't find them any longer.

We left the Pont du Gard, totally enthralled before driving to Uzes for lunch. The old city is a feeling of calm. One could imagine market day here. It was slightly balmy while a cloud of drizzle fell. We had lunch, one that looked great but Sue being the culinary snob that she is (hope she doesn't read this) thought it was average.
I don't remember what I ate but I do remember the ambiance of the area. Not a great amount of people about and sometimes I wonder whether we have some influence on that.



Eventually we found ouselves travelling to Orange to see the Roman Amphitheatre. How many of these structures litter Europe. We've seen similar structures in Autun, Lyon, and Arles. What did the Romans ever do for us, I remember that line from "the Life of Brian", do you?  Monty Python at it's best.


Our week was coming to an end in Saint Remy de Provence before we travelled back to the Languedoc.

The Luberon - Bonnieux & Lourmarin

We wanted to see Gordes in the Luberon, but we didn’t – it happens that way sometimes. You go out with an initial plan in mind and it changes, for no reason in particular.
The adventure continues in a different direction and the experience is just as enchanting – most times.
This was one of those enchanting experiences. As for Gordes, we’ll never know.



From Bonnieux on a clear day, I believe you can see Mt Ventoux. The town of Sault is one way to the summit that in the past, Tour de France riders climbed the giant of Provence.



The day started out by leaving St Remy in the direction of Gordes, via L’Isle sur la Sorgue. We were told that there was a market there but we couldn’t find it and drove round in circles until we became bored and decided to move onto Gordes. As we drove down the motorway for no other reason than liking the sound of a village called Bonnieux, we turned right rather than left to Bonnieux.

As we neared Bonnieux the first impression was of the chapel on the lower slopes below the village, its steeple prominent on the horizon.



The church just below the cafe in Bonnieux and in the background is the hilltop village of Lacoste and the ruins of the Marquis de Sade's castle. He also lived in another castle in Paris. It was the donjon of Vincennes.

Sue suffers from RA so I occasionally will drive into a village, drop her off at a café and park the car below. Usually I’m hopeful that she will have an espresso or a glass of wine waiting for me on my return. Being close to midday, we enjoyed a snack and a glass of wine by the roadside. The outside area overhung the steep incline overlooking the Luberon valley. The church steeple was just below us and as we looked across the valley with a clear blue sky above us, and we could see the hilltop village of Lacoste. The ruined castle was once the home of the Marquis de Sade.
Bonnieux was also featured in parts of the movie “A Good Year” starring Australian actor Russell Crowe which was based on Peter Mayle’s book of the same name.


Did you see the movie - with scenes of the Luberon, Gordes and Bonnieux.



Here's the trailer for the movie.

After lunch I returned to the car and drove back to pick up Sue, then we drove back through the village exiting from the other side to discover our next adventure.
It turned up in the form of Lourmarin, a village set on the lower levels of the Luberon. Lourmarin had a peaceful but a very touristy atmosphere about it. The village had a really nice feel, with cafes, restaurants and crafty type shops. As you walked to the lower part of the village, an Abbey and Chateau appears. The Chateau had been extensively restored and today is both a learning centre and residents to the arts with concerts being a feature.

The village of Lourmarin was on the floor of the valley with a much flatter terrain. More people were about enjoying the craft and antique shops, cafes and restaurants.



But it was a village where you could still find your own quiet spot.



The Chateau of Lourmarin



According to the legend, Lourmarin was dug by a dragon in a gorge. The famous writers, Henri Bosco, the troubadour of Luberon and Albert Camus were seduced by this village and made it their final abode.

There’s so much to see in the Luberon and I’m sure that even a week couldn’t do it justice and we only took a day trip. We missed Gordes, Lacoste and the many little villages set in the hills – hopefully one day there will be a next time.

Returning to our villa in St Remy we had dinner, a bottle of local wine (as we do) and then we wandered up into the square on the balmy Provence night to have coffee and an after dinner liqueur (that knocked our socks off) at our regular café. That night we had a little chat with the waitress and made a connection – nice.

It was a very good day.

St Remy de Provence and the Ancient Town of Glanum

Staying in St Remy was a luxury - it was relaxing and gave us a chance to feel part of the village.
The café near the square would become our local resting spot at the end of each day. As mentioned previously, St Remy had a population of around 11,000 and was the perfect sized village in our opinion. It suited the style of holiday village that we like. People are friendly to you as you become more a part of their day, especially when every morning you wander up to buy your baguette and croissants for breakfast. We had a Boulanger across the road from our villa.
St Remy also had some good local historical sights and close to many in the outlining areas. A week gave us the opportunity to travel each day sightseeing but the two most interesting places were at our doorstep.
GLANUM
It was my morning ride that I passed these two amazing structures to the right of me. I had to stop to take a photo and as I read the description I discovered that to the other side of the road was the ancient town of Glanum. Only two kilometres out of St Remy and set in a small valley, the town was only discovered in the 1920s. I raced home for breakfast and to tell Sue of “my” discovery. There would be more of these discoveries on my morning rides that I would share with Sue later.

Glanum was situated at the opening of a small gorge with a spring feeding water through the town. The spring served many purposes for the inhabitants. It gave life to the town and it was dedicated to the god “Glan”.



The ancient Gallo-Roman town of Glanum with the Alpilles range on the horizon.




Looking down the valley from where the spring brought life to Glanum.



This map give a similar view from the picture above.

From Wikipedia - (It describes Glanum much better than I can)The city, founded by Celto-Ligurians and subsequently Hellenised as Glanon, was already old when it became a Romanised settlement in the first century BC; a shrine to the Celtic god Glanis (glann, "shining"), who was associated with a local healing spring, had been erected on the site in the fourth century BC. The Romans adopted the shrine and the divinity, naming the town after Glanis, and also adopted a triad of local mother-gods, similar to the Matres, whom they termed the Glanicae. The gods Epona, Mercury and Rosmerta were also represented there. The Augustan age saw the city elevated to the status of colonia, and many monumental buildings were erected, including an enlarged forum, baths, a triumphal arch, and various temples (some of which were erected by Augustus' general and son-in-law Agrippa).


Glanum was destroyed by the Alamanni in 260 and was subsequently abandoned, its inhabitants moving a few miles north into the plain to found a city that later was named Saint-Rémy-de-Provence. Glanum was not excavated until 1921, but has since become one of the most important Roman excavations in France.

Up until 1921, the town had been covered by silt and was actually covered by an olive grove. During Van Gogh’s time in St Remy (another story for later) he painted many olive trees and olive groves. One may have been on the very site of Glanum.

One in particular shows the outline of the Alpilles mountain range with a distinguishing feature that can be seen today as you stand where Vincent painted the scene.


Olive Grove painted by Van Gogh - I stood at this very spot and could see the same scene or the Alpilles range on the horizon.
I wondered if this was the spot where some of Glanum was lying below the Olive Grove.



Glanum will always be a highlight of our stay in St Remy.

Footnote - Unfortunately, I've lost several of our photos of our time in St Remy and have used ones on the web to illustrate our time there.

St Remy de Provence

We weren't in a hurry to leave for St Remy, Arles was like an old friend that required a longer goodbye. She still had a lot to reveal to us but the market was calling us and we needed to add some of its delights to the boot of our Citroen for our week in St Remy. As we walked the stalls of the market, my eyes were drawn to some of the architecture nearby. You can see the early Roman influence, the protectional fortifications of the city walls and then the more recent memorials to the soldiers and local residents that sacrificed their lives in WWII.
How fortunate are we to be born in Australia where our major conflicts were outside our boundaries. Our young men fought for King and Motherland elsewhere to seek adventure and to see the world.


St Remy lies north of Arles and east of Tarascon.
The Apilles mountains surround the town on the outskirts.



We arrived at St Remy and this cafe became our regular stopping off point most days. Occasionally  we would walk up from our villa after dinner to absorb the local atmosphere in the square with an espresso and a liqueur on the balmy nights. How good is that?

It was about mid-day when we finally arrived back at the car with our shopping bags full of produce. The drive to St Remy was easy and we were ahead of time giving us an opportunity to become familiar with our surroundings for the next week. We needed a vino and so we found a cafe/bar in the local square. A place that we would be come more familiar with over the next week. We rang Josianne, the lady whom would be our landlady. We also found our villa and I'm sure I saw Josianne or her husband Louis driving by in their Renault, or was it a Citroen van.


Sue looks from her kitchen window.



Looking down the street where we stayed.

 As you opened the door, you needed to carefully look up the street before

actually walking onto the street.

 St Remy attracted our attention as a place to stay due to its interesting history. It was where Van Gogh spent a year (1889-90) at the St Paul de Mausole Hospital. He produced up to 150 paintings, many of which you can see reproductions around the village at the points where he painted them.

Nostradamus was born in St Remy in 1503 - there is a small fountain and a bust of his image tucked away within the small streets in the old village.



Van Gogh spent his latter years at St Remy producing a major part of his most famous work here.



Starry Night by Vincent.



St Remy was the early home of Nostradamus - this portrait painted by his son.



The Nostradamus fountain.



St Remy has a few of the ancient Ports or entrances still existing.



Another feature we were to be amazed by was the Roman ruins of Glanum which were unearthed as recently as 1921. The settlement dates back before the first century BC.

With a population of 11,000, it was just the size that made the place comfortable. Not too small and certainly not too big. In a few days you became familiar with your surroundings.



Parts of Glanum that were always visible - the actual settlement is across the road in a lower lying area and wasn't discovered until 1921.

Eventually we met Josianne at the appointed time outside the villa. She was so full of life and enthusiasm to meet us. She showed us around the villa with a sense of pride and explained how things worked. Before leaving us to relax, she invited us to join her and her husband for drinks a few days on.

The small courtyard was a wonderful spot to end our days with a glass of wine.

It offered a windless area as the warm Provence sun was setting.

How could I not add a picture of a bike?

I found this hanging on a wall in a small lane way of St Remy.

I finally had an opportunity now to unpack my bike for the first time and reassemble it for my first ride. Either walking or riding a bike gives the best way to explore your surroundings. I prefer the bike and as you ride, you take in the smells, sounds and the local atmosphere that you can't experience in the car.

This would be our home for the next week - what would St Remy and the surrounding areas of Provence offer us? Visit next Wednesday.



Avignon and Arles

The TGV trip to Avignon this time was uneventful. We were on time with the short walk across the street to Gare de Lyon. We had seats in a quiet carriage which allowed us to enjoy some reading between glances out the window. The scenery changed as were travelled at 300 kph towards our return to the familiar south of France.


How comfortable is the TGV - such an easy way to travel between regional cities of France.
Why the Australian Government can't get their future vision together
and introduce this form of travel is beyond me!
It's a bit like their procrastination with fibre optic broadband.


Looming to the left of us was the giant of the south, Mount Ventoux and a little further on as we drew close to our destination was the Rhone snaking itself toward Arles.

The TGV slowed to the speed of a normal train as it arrived at Avignon and I was getting excited with the prospect of picking up our leased Citroen C4 from Jose. We met Jose under more stressful conditions in 2006. Jose is a very relaxed person. I would say not much fazes him. He drove us from the station into Avignon to pick up the C4. I filled the tank with Gazol and asked where was the best place to park when we return to spend a day in Avignon, “Why right here at my garage,” said Jose, “We are just opposite the city walls and the entrance.” What a generous man!
We waved goodbye as we left for a night in Arles.

For us, Arles was once again a stopping off point to somewhere else. In 2006 it was the overnight stay for Saint Chinian in the Languedoc, this time a stopover before our week in Saint Remy. Both Saint Remy and Arles claim ownership of Van Gogh.





We stayed a night in Arles at the Hotel Constantin just outside the old historic part of town.

 From the Arles website http://www.arles-guide.com/
The first recorded inhabitation in Arles was by Greek-Phoenicians in the 6th century BC - the town was originally called Theline. In the 1st century BC the region came under the legislation of the Romans. And it was in 102 BC, that Gaius Marius started to construct the Fossae Marianae, a canal that ran parallel to the river Rhône from Arelate (Roman Arles) to the sea. During this period Arles became one of the most prosperous towns in France through its trade as a commercial port.

We stayed at Hotel Constantin on Boulevard Craponne just outside the old town, only a short walk away from the morning market. We selected the hotel mainly due to free parking and the low cost. The hotel served its purpose very well (for one night) and the owners of the hotel were most helpful and assisted us with our bags. They were chatty and charming although the room was a bit like us – tired and a little ruffled around the edges.

The attraction of Arles to us is partly Van Gogh’s history and in particular the eight weeks that Gauguin stayed here with him. I actually preferred Gauguin’s work to Van Gogh’s and he certainly was more successful than Vincent during his own lifetime.

The Roman-Gallo ruins and the slow running Rhone beside Arles make it a must-see town with its small twisting streets. On our previous visit, we'd seen the Roman Amphitheatre and the Arena but decided another look was worth the effort. What we hadn't seen and we just happened to stumbled upon it, was the Museon Arlaten on Rue de la Republique.
It was established in 1896 by Frederick Mistral, Nobel prize winner in 1904. The museum is built around the most amazing remains of a Roman Forum and the main building has rooms displaying the life of the traditional folk people in Provence and specifically in and around Arles.


Statue of Frederick Mistral Nobel Prize Winner 1904 and the man who established Museon Arlaten.



Looking down upon the remains of a Roman Forum within Museon Arlaten.



A better view of the two eras of buildings.

Many of the Roman relics and statues are on display at the Museum.



Believed to be a life size bust of an aging Julius Caesar - it was discovered in the river bed of the Rhone among many other Roman artifacts and is now housed within one of the Arles Museums



Another place that fascinated us was a building no more that 50 metres from our hotel. It was deserted, overgrown with shrubs and trees. The roof was full of holes and it looked like the occasional homeless person may have taken refuge there. We were told that Arles has very little in the way of finances to restore and preserve its many treasures and this building on of those that had been neglected. It sits just outside the old town on Place Jose Reyes which is no more than a car park beside the building.

Just another interesting doorway in the many streets of Arles.

We decided dinner at a restaurant was what we needed and we booked in at the same place where we ate two years ago on Rue Doct Fanton. Back then it was a balmy Provence night and we ate al fresco. This time we ate inside, as it was a little cooler and wet.

Before moving on to Saint Remy de la Provence, Sue needed to stock up on some produce for our stay in the Villa that would be our home for the next week.

After the market it was time for a leisurely drive to Saint Remy less than an hour away. We were looking forward to finding our new home for the next week and also meeting our hosts, Josianne and Louie.

Next Wednesday starts our adventure of a week in Saint Remy.

ARRIVAL in PARIS

Flying Singapore this time we arrived at CDG and although we had less luggage this time, well clothes that is, I had a bike bag with my bike broken down into its most basic form. That's the way it would stay until we reached Saint Remy de Provence.

Returning to Paris had a familiar feeling - while waiting for Paris Transit to pick us up, this time we knew the drill. We weren't fazed by things that didn't happen as expected - we went with the flow and enjoyed the journey.

On arriving at our hotel, we were too early to take our room so we stored our luggage at the hotel and then decided to walk to the nearest cafe to absorb the Parisian lifestyle that we had come to appreciate two years ago.
As I write this, my mind takes me back to sitting in an outside table with Sue having our Petit dejeuner. Ahhh, we are back in Paris.
People were on the way to work. Overcoats, scarves and umbrellas tucked under arms. Bicycle commuters, cars, taxis, motorcycles and scooters buzzing by our cafe table as we sat in the crisp spring morning. The city was alive and here we were when thirty hours ago we stepped on a plane in Melbourne.

Blue Train Restaurant - why didn't we blow our Euros on a meal here before we left for Provence.

Across the road was Gare de Lyon and this time there would be no mistakes. We surveyed the station which brought back vivid memories of missing our train due to a late taxi arrival. We were told that there was an excellent restaurant (Blue Train) within the station but we were too tired and decided on a snack before putting our head on the pillow.


Paris in Spring - Sue enjoys a chilly but sunny spring morning at the Jardin des Plantes.



Jardin des Plantes is in the 5th Arrondissement on the left bank of the Seine - it covers 28 acres.



The Museum of National History stands at the end as people promenade in the gardens.



There were still a few late bloomers within the gardens - this tree is yet to enjoy spring.

 The next morning we wanted to just wander the streets and renew acquaintances with Paris. Leaving our hotel we took Boulevard Diderot and crossed the Pont d' Austerlitz to Jardin des Plantes. The gardens were our agenda - it was spring and the plants were beginning to bloom. We'd enjoyed Luxembourg Gardens on our previous visit in the autumn of 2006. These gardens were different but just as enjoyable, we must have spent a few hours there.


Hotel de Sens

From there we took a walk back across the Seine to the Marais, a bit of a favourite of ours. It was our first visit to Hotel de Sens, not our last. We've been back to say hello. It's one of the buildings that escaped Baron Hausmann's "New Paris".
Interesting Facts: from http://goparis.about.com/od/sightsattractions/ss/MaraisTour_2.htm
* Built between 1475 and 1519, the medieval residence originally housed the archbishops of Sens, the order of bishops that Paris belonged to during the middle ages.
* The mixed architectural styles visible in the Hôtel de Sens show the transition that occured between medieval and Renaissance styles over the course of the hôtel's construction.
* Henri IV's ex-wife, Queen Margot, took up residence in 1605. Known for her eccentricity and lavish tastes, Queen Margot pursued many love affairs here. She is even rumored to have collected the hair of her lovers to fashion wigs from them.

What is Paris without visiting Notre Dame?



Two nights in Paris and the TGV takes us to Avignon to pick up our leased Citroen C4,
an upgrade from our C3 in 2006. We even renewed acquaintances with Jose who met us on the previous trip. More about Jose next week.



More next Wednesday - A night in Arles