by way of the TGV, France's high speed train
system. Bob didn't believe we were moving at
almost 200 mph until he saw how we were passing
cars on the adjacent "autoroutes'' where the speed
limit is 81 mph.
making reservations when the owner of the restaurant came out and said
"Do you want to have some fun?" "Sure!" we replied. "I'm going to Pont du
Gard. Do you want to come along? I'll have you back by 7:30," he
promised. He was attending a wine tasting at the Pont du Gard so we
hopped in his car and joined him and his assistant. Quite a few tastes
later he brought us back. He was spitting out. We weren't.
fights, the Maison Carrée where we watched a 3D movie about the city,
and after a walk through the Jardins de la Fontaine, purchase of fabric to
recover our sofa, and enjoying the men playing boules, Bob climbed the
The Tour Magne, a tower built by the Romans in the first century A.D.
hill from the train station past the arena and looking for our hotel, a very pleasant tourist addressed me in French. I responded with
"Je ne parle pas le français", the one phrase I learned in a hurry. She asked "Parle vous l'anglais". Whew. She was a tourist on a
river cruise in town for the day and offered her map as they were about to depart. As she was leaving she added "And by the way,
your English is excellent."
he enjoyed so much, we went back Sunday so that he could have it again for lunch!
One surprise was the sound of bagpipes playing "Amazing Grace". The instrument
is slightly smaller than traditional, but the sound is very similar.
In Arles, we toured the ancient Roman arena which is also still used for bull fights,
the ruins of the Roman theater and Roman baths, and the museum outside the city
walls. We also walked through the Alyscamps, a large Roman necropolis that Van
Gogh and Gauguin both painted. Double click on the cafe and the necropolis
pictures to see Van Gogh's version.
Arles in the Saint
Trophimus cathedral and
cloister. The doorway of
Saint Trophimus is
considered one of the
finest examples of
Romanesque sculpture.
and other objects of
Van Gogh's talent. I
liked the gargoyles.
for the train a very dapper French gentleman said "Bon
chapeau! Très bon chapeau!" Never underestimate
the power of a pretty hat.
Avignon was the largest of our three towns in Provence.
From 1309 until 1377 it was the seat of the Papacy
instead of Rome. We toured the Palais des Papes as
well as the adjacent cathedral, Notre Dame des Doms.
We wended our way through the narrow market streets
and checked out the Pont d'Avignon. With the Mistral [a
cold wind originating in Switzerland and blowing down
the Rhone Valley] starting up, the skies were blue but
the wind was strong and cold. No worse than Chicago
but still strong and cold! On Wednesday, Bob crossed
the Rhone to see the castle and an interesting
monastery in Villeneuve-lès-Avignon. I elected to
browse the Avignon shops. We both enjoyed the
beautiful Italian Renaissance art in the Petit Palais
[almost as impressive as the Vatican Museum or the
Uffizi in Florence. I'm not a big fan but most of the
paintings were happy, not saints in the process of
martyrdom. One more late evening train ride brought
us back to Paris for our return home on Thursday,
March 22.
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