The Journey West to see Les Baux de Provence, Arles, Avignon, Gordes and Digne les Bains

Les Baux de Provence, Arles, Avignon and Digne les Bains

Les Baux de Provence village

Question :  Wayne and MA! How come you decided to go to the village of Les Baux de Provence?  Answer:  It is listed in almost every “Beautiful Villages of Provence” book that there is.  So off we went, also on to the old Roman town of Arles, overnighting in the city of Avignon where we saw the Palace of the Pope, seat of the Roman Catholic Church in the 14^th Century.  

Next day we went on to Gordes, also a beautiful village.  I photographed it two years ago from the road but this time we went on in. We also wanted to go to Rousillion, another beautiful village in the book but it was market day and we could not find a place to park.  Instead, we drove to Digne les Bains.  That’s a mouthful so I just call it “Ding”.  

This all started out last Wednesday for two days. With Nola on board, the three of us set out, starting on the Auto Route A-8.  A few kilometers out of Nice we came to a large toll booth and got our toll road ticket which we would insert at the exit toll booth and pay the indicated fee.

View from Les Baux

We have a regular favorite road stop on the A-8 with a restaurant, WiFi, store, and bakery so we rolled in there, also buying sandwiches for later.

We found our exit to Les Baux and drove up to the pay station.  I put the ticket in the machine which told me I owed 11 Euros but it wouldn't take cash or any of our credit cards, even though we had previously used Amex successfully! Very frustrating when you have a line of French drivers behind you! I finally had to push the help button and an attendant came over.  We paid cash and he let us out.  

Arles Amphi-theater 

From the highway, Les Baux de Provence looks like a rock outcropping on a hill. It is actually built right into the rocks with a chateau at the of the hill.  The village has been rebuilt with many different shops and art galleries.   We walked around window shopping before lunch and then found a great outdoor cafe. Just like on ships, we usually don't miss meals!

From there we went on to Arles and later on to Avignon where we would spend the night.

Arles has an interesting history.  It was a major 1st Century Roman city large enough for it’s own Amphitheater, which looks much like the Coliseum in Rome. It held 20,000 spectators who witnessed gladiator fights, chariot races and eventually Christians being put to death.  Today, it’s used for bullfighting with young men attempting to remove a ring from a bull’s horn instead of killing it with sword or spear. Arles is also famous as the home to Vincent Van Gogh in 1888.  It is where he painted some of his most memorable paintings, The Starry Night and The Sower.

At the amphitheater we found one of these little “tourists” trains that takes you around the city for an hour.  It was just about right for us so we all paid our fare and took the tour. 

Van Gogh's painting on left and how it looks today.

The guide showed us where Van Gogh painted the Café at Night.  He said that Van Gogh’s house the German bombs destroyed it in WW2.   

  

Main street in Avignon

From Arles, the GPS took us right to the hotel in Avignon that MA had booked the day before through Hotels.Com.  Parking was no problem but looking at the place from the outside gave me a moment's pause; it didn't look too inviting. Anyhow we checked inside, the owner showed us our room and there we discovered a beautiful inside garden.  MA had picked another winner!  The room was clean, beds comfortable, breakfast 8 Euros. She nailed it! She does this on Hotels.Com and reads all the reviews before deciding on places to stay. Works every time. She also writes reviews for them!

Palace of the Popes: Avignon 1309-1375

We waited for the sun to go down there in Avignon and then headed out toward Palace of the Popes which is lit up beautifully at night.   It is huge and has beautiful Roman-Renaissance.architecture.   

It was cold and windy that night, so we ooh'd and awe'd for a while and then started back to our little hotel.  Nola paid for our parking and gave me the paid ticket to insert at the exit so the barrier b would open.  Except in our case! Nothing happened!  I backed up and tried another lane.  Nothing! Finally MA got out of the car, gave the bar a little push, and voila, off we went!     I had her get back in the car and we got out of there before anyone noticed.  I’m wondering how many times is this going to happen to us on this trip.We drove back to the hotel and had our sandwiches for supper.

Bastion and Wall around Avignon

Entrance to Palace of the Popes

Village of Gordes, bathed in early morning light.

Next morning we drove on to  Gordes, a village that sits on top of a hill with a gorgeous view of the Vacluse valley below.  It was cold and windy here too, so Nola and MA went shopping and had some coffee while I walked around and took some photos.  

Just pronounce it, "ding" and you'll be ok

We elected to drive to Digne les Bains, “ding” for short.  It was a long drive there but we made it at about 2:30, just as the cafes and restaurants were closing for lunch. We walked about a block down and a kindly cafe owner said he would serve us lunch as long as grilled ham and cheese sandwiches with fries and salad were OK. After lunch we hit the road for Vence, driving through the mountains of the lower French Alps and through the city of Grasse. On the way we came upon a field of sunflowers that were still upright and beautiful as ever. I just had to stop and take a few pics. All in all we had a great trip and are ready for another adventure!

I found a large sunflower field still in bloom!

A French Bakery - Boulangerie- visited daily by residents

Entrance to Vence, the Old Town 

                                        Our apartment is located in Vence.

Typical French Fruit Veggie Market

Standard mode of transportation in France

Entrance to the village of LeBroc

Provence ceramics, very colorful

A street in Vence

Bar sur Loup

Typical of a Provence church bell tower with exposed wrought iron frame 

Every village has a fountain, usually flowing with cold water.

Just down the road from us is St Paul de Vence

Shopping at a French Grocery Store, E.LECLERC

Good morning travel blog friends!  I thought I would describe what it's like staying in France with something simple, like going to the grocery store. It's expensive eating out no matter if you're here in Vence, France or Houston, Texas, but more so here. So we went shopping at our local grocery store, 

E.Leclerc.

The first thing I wanted to do is to learn how to pronounce it.  I looked at the store name and called it "e lek lerk".  Of course that's not right, so here it is! 

Forget the pronouncing the first "E"...that one doesn't count and you rarely pronounce the last letter in French words.  So the last "C" is silent.  It's pronounced, "Le Clair".  The next time you're in France and you see one of these grocery stores tell them, "Oh, there's "Le Clair, let's get some groceries".  Before going shopping make sure you bring your own tote bags because if you don't you have to buy theirs.

This store used to make you get a ticket to park in their parking lot and you got a token at the register to get out.  They did away with that. 

So Mary Alice and I parked in the lot and the first thing we did was get a basket. You need a 1 Euro coin, to put into the cart's chain lock and then it's yours for the shopping trip.  This assures you will return the cart to get your Euro back, kind of like ALDI stores at home. By the way, Nola and Randy taught us all these things 3 years ago when we first decided to stay in an apartment with a kitchen.

Getting a shopping cart

Cured Sausages

Orange juices

The store is laid out like most American grocery stores: fresh foods, deli, meats, drinks, soaps, etc.  There's even a cured sausage isle. That's big in France.

Machine weighs and spits out the price tag

Our first stop is the fresh fruit section where I bought a melon, some apples and peaches. You pick your fruit, bag it and then you weigh it and put the price sticker on the bag.  The scale is divided into fruits or vegetables (legumes).   So far the store still provides these thin plastic bags for free but I expect any day they may start charging for these too.

Beware! Horse meat on sale!

On this trip we wanted some ground beef for spaghetti and some patties for another meal. Beware! Beef here  is expensive compared to Texas. We're used to buying a nice steak for about $8 or roast for about $20.  You also have to watch out that you don't buy horse meat.  That's right, horse meat.  It's labeled "CHEVAL." I can't imagine eating this but some people do.

A $50 beef (bouef)  roast

If you like soft drinks you better like one of these choices: Pepsi, Coke, and Nola's favorite, Naragina (an orange soda).  The next time you're in Kroger take a look at the variety of soft drinks we have.  

I wanted some eggs so I got a half dozen brown ones.  I didn't see any other color or choice. There is a local market in Vence on Fridays and we can buy really fresh eggs from the "egg lady."  Six will do til then.

During all this, we ran into someone we know, the owner of the hotel we stayed at for a couple of days last year! I guess that makes us "natives", running into someone you know at the grocery store!

I found some honey butter last year that is so good on toast.  I got a jar which will last me for two weeks. We filled our basket and made our way to the cash register.  First things you put on the belt are your empty shopping bags so the clerk can check them if they want to, never seen them do that, but that's the protocol! (Another Nola tip!) You bag your own groceries  No problem, this was my first job when I was in high school at $1/hr.

We're almost done. Remember that 1 Euro coin in the basket, it's time to get it back.  You return the cart with the others, insert the locking chain and your coin pops out for another day.

So that's grocery shopping in France. It really makes me appreciate the super markets we have in the US, large, lots of variety, market driven, and customer friendly, that is if Dorothy Holland is checking you out. Friday is open air market day here in Vence, can't wait!  God bless Texas!

Beaune by Car and Nice by Rail

Hotel Dieu

Beaune….Day 3

Wayne, how did you pick Beaune to visit from Lyon?  Mary Alice was looking for day trips from Lyon and found it.  What she didn’t know is that Beaune was also on my list of places to see in Burgundy (Fr: Bourgogne). To get there we rented a car at the train station.  Rental cars (99% of them) in France or Europe are stick shift and diesel.  Be prepared to dodge motor cycles, bikes, pedestrians, and buses.  You cannot survive without a GPS.  I have a Garmin Nuvi 255 with a Euro chip.  The chip needs to be updated.  For example it had me going the wrong way on a one-way, driving in a bus-only lane and turning where a street used to be.  Anyhow we made it out of Lyon and finally found the A-6, the Auto-Route to Beaune.  We were there in two hours.

Beaune is a very, very old city, dating from the 15th Century.  It is located about 40 km from Dijon with a population of 23,000.  It sits in the middle of the Burgundy wine area. 

The early settlers of Beaune built a huge wall which encircles the town.  

It has bastions and parapets which are still there today.  Beaune is famous for a medieval hospital named Hotel-Dieu des Hospices Civils de Beaune, built in 1443. 

We arrived and after visiting the tourist office for a map and directions, we parked on the north side of the village and began our walking tour of the Vielle Ville. Nola says when visiting French villages, always ask for the "old town". That's where all the history is along with the best sidewalk cafes. Most of the streets are cobblestone so I kept reminding the ladies to “watch where you’re walking.” They did!

We found Hotel-Dieu des Hospices Civils,  bought tickets and went inside.  The first thing that impresses you is the construction of the building.  It is beautiful architecture and materials.  The roof is yellow with black and red checker board. The interior is also beautiful. There are wards with beds all made up with white sheets and red blankets, stacked head to toe for the patients and a visitor's chair by each bed.  The hospital was built for the poor.  Nurses were from the local convent who cared for the sick, fed them and provided a place for them to recover.

Recreated medieval kitchen

We walked around window shopping and for lunch settled on Le Cafe Carnot - Cafe - Brasserie - Pizzeria. MA and Nola read every item on the menu, settling on individual pizza's which turned out to be enough for two!  I had the usual: salad, ground beef and french fries. The French really know how to do fries!

What's for lunch?

Drive back to Lyon was uneventful except for one Houston-like traffic jam caused by construction sites - we felt right at home!

Packed for the Saturday train ride (4 hours) to Nice. I wrote most of this blog on the train.  We picked up our rental car (upgraded to a Mercedes, don't know how that happened!) Drove the 30 minutes from Nice to Vence which is our base of "operations" for everything else we'll be doing.

It's now Sunday morning, woke up to a serious rain storm which has since subsided and cooled off the temperature at least for today.  One our way out to find a Super Marker and later will hook up with our friends Michel and Chantal.  Later (A bientot!)  

Lyon by Bus, Annecy by Train

On our way to Lyon by TGV

Lyon....Day 1

Our trip to France really started once we got to Lyon, the 3^rd largest city in France after Paris and Marseilles. The city is laid out in three sections, the center a peninsula formed by the Rhone River on the east (the newer section, primarily business, known as “Lyon Part Dieu” and the Saone River on the west (the older section).  Lyon began as a Roman town and is the capital of what was then called “Gaul”. It is known as the gastronomic capital of France, also the birthplace of cinema, subsequently hijacked by Hollywood

Place Bellecour: large square in Lyon

We started out by taking a local bus (2 Euros) from our Hotel to Place Bellecour Square, the largest one in Lyon. The focal point there is a statue of King Louis XIV, presumably erected prior to the Revolution. I think he lost his head?  

King Louis XIV

Nola and MA and the Hop-On, Hop-Off

We love seeing a city from a hop-on-hop-off bus. You get earphones and a running commentary on the things you are seeing and you can pick where you want to get on and visit, then hop on the next bus that comes around (about every hour.) This is called Le Grand Tour.  It was 16 Euros with the senior discount.  On board, I took my favorite seat on top and in the front so I could take some photos.  The bus is equipped with an interpretive guide. You just plug in your issued earphone and listen in any of 6 languages. I chose English since Texan was not available.

One of thePainted Walls of Lyon

On the tour we passed a site of one of the “painted walls,” with an entire side of a building painted with figures from Lyon’s history.  They are life size and at first glance look like real people. As the bus neared the old city we got off and walked the cobblestone streets until the aroma coming from the cafes announced “lunch-time”.  We then “hopped on” and continued around the city going up to the Basilica Notre Dame de Fourviere. It is an imposing structure that locals say looks like an upside down elephant.  We didn’t have the time to stop and go inside, so I just got some passing photos.  It is a beautiful church.

Basilica Notre Dame de Fourviere

As it turned out we had gotten on the last bus and so we ended up back at Place Bellecour. It was about 6PM.  We decided to “cab it” back to our hotel. Only for one problem: we neglected to write down the address for the cab driver. We knew we were in the suburbs to the south but it took a consultation among three cabbies and their Smart-Phones to figure things out for us!

Along the River Saone, Silk manufacturing houses

Old Prison on the Canal

Annecy....Day 2

The next day we were headed by train (2 hours) for a day trip to Annecy. We wouldn’t have known about this charming “Ville” except for Mary Alice’s son, Jim, who had said it was the “most beautiful” place he’d ever seen. Jim works for a Geneva based software provider called, RSD and that’s where they have a lot of business meetings.  Not bad, Jim!

We got our train tickets no problem. So with some time to kill, we breakfasted at Starbucks, very crowded I might add, but we found a table anyway.  From where we sat we could see the “big board’ listing the trains, destinations, the times of departure and which platform they leave from.

If you come to France, you will see a trio of French soldiers patrolling the train stations, presumably the airports too.  We’ve also seen them at places with tourists like the Eifel Tower in Paris.  They dress in battle fatigues, bullet proof vests and carry submachine guns and radios. Such are the ways in today’s world. (Sorry I wasn't about to take their picture!)

Annecy is in the north of the French Alps and is known as the “Venice of Savoie”. It sits on a huge lake by the same name.  The medieval town is built around a 14^th Century Chateau.  The old part (la Vielle Ville) is dissected by small canals and streams.  Jimmy was right.  The area, the mountains surrounding the lake are perhaps the most beautiful I have ever seen. The water is absolutely crystal clear.  The brochures describe the color as azure, a deep blue.  Being so beautiful it draws a lot of tourist and there were a lot of them there with us.

We strolled through the old cobblestone streets and found one of the large canals with a sidewalk. It took us to the old prison, Palais de I’Isle, which dates back to the 12^th century. It is one of the most photographed places in Annecy. 

We walked over to the harbor hoping to find a boat tour the lake.  None of the tours allowed us time to get back and catch our 3: 45 train back to Lyon.  So we had lunch at Le Taverne de Meitre Kanter, one of the many sidewalk cafes.  MA and Nola decided to have a local dish, fondue, a pot of hot cheese over a flame. The waiter brought us some bread squares and two long forks.  The bread is dipped in the hot cheese.  Two was all I wanted and I had my burger, salad and fries.   After lunch we walked over to the park next to the canal and enjoyed the cool shade of the large trees.  The weather has been warm in Lyon and also in Annecy so the park was a reprieve from the bright sunshine.

We walked back to the train station and caught the 3:50 train back to Lyon arriving in plenty of time before dark and elected to find a bus back to our hotel.  The first step was to get back to the main square, Place Bellecour, which we did.  Then we found where the No. 15 bus picks up passengers and we were back at our hotel for a third of the cost of a cab.  Friday we were bound for Beaune, a medieval town in the heart of Burgundy. I’ll pick up our adventures on the next blog!

* Written on the TGV train from Lyon to Nice, a three hour ride

Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

Our last day of the cruise was spent in Victoria, British Columbia, one of many beautiful cities we have visited.  The ship docked at the port in late afternoon on Friday.  We had to be aboard by 10 pm or get left behind.

The shuttle bus stop took us on a short ride into Victoria's harbor.  The large building in the first photo (with the dome) is the parliament building for British Columbia.  It has over 3,000 lights that come on after night, seen here.

The weekend in Victoria was the "Duce" convention and "The Busker" fair.  The "Duce" is the duce-coup get-together so the city was filled with more than 200 vintage 30's, 40's and 50's automobiles from all over the world.  A "busker" is another name for street performers: musician, actor, juggler, human statues, etc. There were a lot of them.  Our favorite is Dave Harris, a one-man band.  We've heard him before and he is really fun to watch.  Here is a link to a You Tube video someone made of his performance.

http://www.youtube.com/user/DslimHarris

We walked around enjoying various acts and then caught the shuttle bus back. We finished up with our bags and color coded them "purple" for an 8 am disembarkation.  The next morning they'll be waiting dockside in the "purple" section!  Want a suggestion for cruise traveling?  Never use a black suitcase because 85% of the suitcase are black. The "black baggage" section is very big and very busy!

Check out the back seat driver!

We were up early on Saturday morning and off the ship by 8:15.  We found our airport transportation and got there by 10 am. Good thing too! The lines were long.  The flight was uneventful to Houston. That's always a good thing too!

The Empress Hotel, Victoria, BC, built in 1910, is a Victorian landmark.

Home sweet Home! Thank you, Susan Lipkin, for taking such sweet good care of Tanner.  I'm sure he missed sneaking up top on the bed with you!