In July 2000, during my first European Tour with my Mom, I visited the Provence and Cote d'Azur including Nice, Montelimar, Nimes, Avignon and drove through fields and fields of poppies and lavender. This time, it was too late in the season for poppies and lavender (they cut them in August), but we'd definitely see grapes in the vineyards. So we started driving south on Friday 9/3, first to Grenoble and from there, we took N85, La Route Napoleon to the south of France. The route is named after Napoleon because he took this route (from south to north) in 1815 when he escaped Elba and headed to Paris.
It was a merveilleux trip - we saw a different part of the Alps, the gorges du Verdon (the Grand Canyon of France), the Mediterranean Sea, quaint villages, vineyards with heavy bunches of grapes on them, Roman ruins, a papal palace, and felt inspired by the charms of Arles and the Provence.
Some favorite photos/experiences of the trip:
Moustiers-Saint-Marie. One of the most beautiful little French towns I've ever seen. It is set high in the mountains - do you see the white star strung between the 2 rock faces? We walked up to the chapel pretty quickly but much more slowly down- the stone stairs have been treaded on so many times over the years that they are slippery, esp. wearing 10 year old Tevas with no tread on them!
It was a beautiful drive up to the Gorges du Verdon...considered to be the Grand Canyon of France. This picture shows the calm waters of the river Verdon - as you can see there were many tourists on canoes, pedal boats, etc in the blue/green waters. In Castellane, the waters are a little bit more rapid and from there, you can sign up for rafting, canyoning, water hiking trips.
This view of the Vieux Port in Marseille is taken from the Parc du Pharo. Marseille is a mix of old and new. It's either the 2nd or 3rd largest city in France after Paris and Lyon. And more than my town and Geneva, it is a huge melting pot of peoples from North Africa, Turkey, Portugal, Spain.
A view of the islands from the Boulevard Cornich John F Kennedy. It was about a 40 minute walk from our hotel in the Vieux Port - we were there searching for Le Rhul, a restaurant that specializes in bouillabaise, a famous seafood stew dish from Marseille. At Le Rhul, they serve the broth first with a large basket of crusty bread and a huge bowl of rouille (aoli with lots of saffron) and then the fish which was pretty fresh. At 48Euros a person (with a minimum of 2 people ordering it), it was the most expensive meal we've had in France since we arrived. It was fresh and good, but sadly it didn't live up to my expectations.
Avignon's Papal Palace and the Pont d'Avignon. Love the playful elephant sculpture.
And I couldn't resist visiting Arles to see my first Roman ruins - this amphitheater was built in 90AD and seats 20,000 people. The ancients came here to view chariot races and gladiator games, most of them gory and where gladiators fought to the death. Now it's occasionally used for corridas (bull fights where the bulls are not killed at the end).
When Van Gogh lived in Arles from 1888 to 1889, he painted a few masterpieces..including The Café Terrace on the Place du Forum, Arles, at Night. Well, the picture below is of the same cafe, now named Cafe Van Gogh and we ate dinner one night across from it. What you don't see is the many tourists taking snapshots of it while the diners are trying to eat and avoid the flashes in their eyes. What's your favorite Van Gogh painting? For R, it's The Starry Night which is housed at MOMA. Personally, it's hard for me to choose. I love his play of colors, the texture, the dimensions, and his organic way of painting. A life cut too short at 37.
Very nice pics! I would like to visit some time.. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Shu Dan! The South of France is very beautiful - but if you come, come before September, before the lavender fields are harvested.
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