Disclaimer: These next few blogs are probably gonna be a bit heavy on the photo end. And by heavy I mean heavier than my usual heaviness. My reasoning is that Provence is just too beautiful to not let you see it. That would be selfish. It has nothing to do with the fact that the more photos I post the less text I have to write. Nothing at all.
And now, I give you Provence: Day Two.
To recap, day one consisted of the four of us (yes, my eighty three year old Granny included) frolicking in the ever so warm provincial sun. The hussy temptress.
Day Two began the the shedding of one (ok, maybe two) tears. Gone was the warm Mediterranean warmth and in its place was a cold northern wind. Back to our hats, gloves, scarves, and coats we went. Bah. We may not have been singing, but the blue skies at least kept a spring in our step.
ONE LAST THOUGHT ON AVIGNON:
Avignon was just as beautiful in the day light as it was at night. It is one of those towns that screams “Explore Me!" as you walk through the winding roads. (this would explain the strange impulse to scream “Yes, Please!!" on several occasions. Thank goodness for reticence)
These are the old Avignon city walls. Dating back to medieval times, there are 39 towers built along the walls to defend the town (here you can see two)
Palais des Papes in the daytime.
The market.
THE COUNTRYSIDE:
Provence is famous for its lavender and sunflower fields, olive groves, grape vineyards and beautiful landscapes. I’ve been told that it is a remarkable sight in the spring and summer: rolling fields of purple, yellow, and green. But we we came in mid December. Nevertheless, I found the countryside to be beautiful and surprisingly colorful.
LES BAUX-DE-PROVENCE
How can I describe Les Baux? To begin with, we came here because my sister-in-law’s friend had recommended that we check it out. I had been too busy planning the rest of the trip to research what we were coming to see, so when we drove up to it I think everyone was a bit shocked. Built into the rock on a plateau on the top of a mountain is the remnants of an old fortress and city.
Some facts:
- The city is only 2/3 of a mile long (almost a km) and 3/4 of the town are flanked my sheer cliff.
- During Medievil times the town thrived. It has 6,000 inhabitants and had a strong independent attitude (big shocker there. These people are living on the top of a mountain) and rebellious spirit.
- This feudal home once belonged to the Grimaldi family (sound familiar? The Grimaldis are still in power today, only now they control a country we now call Monaco)
- In 1632 King Louis XIII had had enough of the troublemakers, brought in the army and demolished the town, leaving it abandoned until rediscover in the 19th century.
In the valley below the original city, is the small village that makes up the remainder of La Baux.
Believe it or not, this is a hotel we found. Two of the rooms are built into a cave! You can see the window in the middle left of the frame.
This is the entrance into the Cathedrale d’Images, a cavern that the town has converted into a sound and light show. They project images onto all the surfaces. We’ve been told that it’s amazing, but when we arrived the show was on Australia, and these Aussies would rather spend our time and money on all things French instead. But I’d recommend stopping by if you’re ever in the neighborhood.
THE LANDSCAPE BETWEEN LES BAUX-DE-PROVENCE AND ST. REMY
On the corners of the property lines are these stones: they mark who the olive groves or grape vineyards belong to.
ST. REMY
St. Remy was probably one of my least favorite towns that we visited during our trip. Though it was beautiful, I felt like it lacked a bit of the paunch that the the others held. Nevertheless, the town has a ton of history.
The first remnants of civilization found in this town date back to the Iron Age. There are several well preserved Roman ruins that can be seen just outside of the town. (see above for one example)
One of St. Remy’s greatest claim to fames is that Van Gogh lived here for a time. Van Gogh loved Provence and often painted images of the area. While he lived in St. Remy (he was checked into a psychiatric clinic that is still active) he painted about 150 canvases, most notably The Starry Night and Wheat Field with Cypress. There is a Van Vogh walking tour that shows quite a few locations that inspired Van Gogh’s art.
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