Van Gogh - worth a look

Click here to see a video of part of the Van Gogh presentation at Carrieres de Lumineres - a video is worth 1000 of my words

Tour de France...

...in more ways than one!

Set off for Sault this morning to see some of the lavender fields that are still in bloom - the lower down the country the earlier the season finishes and at this time of the year the remaining fields still to be harvested are around Sault, which is approximately 90 kms north of Aix En-Provence.

I’m not sure what setting is on the GPS because she (we have a female voice on our one at the moment) took us along some very dodgy roads to get there, in some cases the road barely allowed traffic to go two ways and on other roads while the speed limit was 90 at times I felt we couldn’t go any faster than 45-50 safely.

Sault is (another) hilltop village and presented a nice picture as we approached

Parking was found just before the town and we walked in to find that it was their market day the streets narrow as they were were made even narrower by the rows of stalls set up - as we sat having lunch they stalls started to be dismantled though it would be some time before they would all be packed away.

As for the purpose of the drive - the lavender fields? Looking down from the town to the plains below the purple uncut lavender filled a few fields however as it was late in the season the colour wasn’t as we had seen in photos 

It appears from things around town that the Tour de France went through Sault this year as there was the following painted on the ground at the highest point of the main road 

and given the number of cyclists on the road and in town it looks like post the event the boys and girls are trying to emulate the (drugged up) athletes.

On the way out of town en route to Bonnieux a(nother) ancient hillside village we passed other lavender fields

We  arrived in Bonnieux mid afternoon to find it very very quiet as if it was siesta time so apart from having a coffee we ambled around the steep streets taking it all in.

We were intrigued by the following sign however 

We wonder how much she/he costs and how long you can rent her/him for!

Returned to Aix via some more challenging roads.

Kms driven today: 195

The Second Half

We arrived at Les-Baux-De-Provence around 2.30 parked the car and jumped in the queue to enter Carrieres De Lumieres which from the length of the queue and the time waiting to gain entry (about 60 minutes) is obviously a place worth visiting.

We were fortunate to strike a conversation with an Italian gent and his father who were on there summer holiday from Turin which passed the time.

CDL is simply stunning. It is a “art gallery” carved into one of the many rocky hills that dominate this area. Inside the gallery there is 7000 sq metres of walls and central columns onto which was projected some of the works of Van Gogh - so imagine you are standing inside a giant cave and all around you on the walls are these stunning wall to ceiling paintings and in the back ground is music complementing the scenes in front of you - as said it is stunning and an easy way to get a dose of culture.

After that visit we walked to the village of Les-Baux itself (bauxite is named after Les-Baux-De-Provence) which is one of those old French villages built atop of the highest hill in the area and it too was stunning.

On the highest point is obviously the “Castle” and the view out over the lowlands which appear to include many olive groves is panoramic.

Around 7.15 we arrived at the restaurant where many months ago we had booked a meal which is located in a town nearby, Paradou, for a “traditional” French meal.

The apertiser was Foie Gras terrine, a main of Bresse Chicken, a huge cheeseboard, a rich French dessert from a choice of around 6, coffee and all the wine you could drink throughout the meal.

The waiters were welcoming, the service acceptable and the evening made more interesting by the fact that we struck conversation with an English couple who had built their holiday home in the area and spent around 3 months each year in France.

As for the meal let’s say the quality did not live up to the cost of the dinner, however going by the crowd there it is very popular (The English couple have eaten there numerous times) and has a good online reputation.

A slightly stressful drive back home had us in the apartment by 11.15 pm and concluded a very enjoyable and full day

Kms driven today: 145

A day of two halves!

From 8.30 to early afternoon it was market day here in Aix En-Provence so like the many locals and other tourists we took to the streets to have a poke around.

We have been to numerous markets in Europe however this may well be the largest we have visited as it started in a square (Place du Verdun) in the old town, continued down a side street (Rue Thiers) and then all the way down Cours Mirabeau, a distance I estimate in total to be around 600m with stalls circling Verdun, singularly in the rue but on both sides of Cours M.

It was set out so that the fresh fruit and veggie stalls were in one area and the artisan products in another, there being numerous clothing stalls (mainly for women), and stalls for jewellery, local soaps, linen, ceramics, shoes and bags, hats, spices, cheeses etc. In fact a woman could arrive naked and buy all she needed to present herself at the local theatre looking very tidy and at a relatively economic cost.

It took us around 2 hours to get through the market as many stalls were given a good examination - the market repeats on a Thursday and Saturday so whatever we missed will be seen on one of those two days!

This afternoon we are on the road to Les Baux-de-Provence for a touch of culture by visiting Carrieres de Lumineres and in February we booked a restaurant in Paradou for our evening meal tonight, a restaurant well recommended on Facebook and one where you are served whatever they are cooking that day - should/could be fun.

As Paradou is 70kms from here and the meal is not until 8pm it will be a late night for us, so part two of the day will be posted later!

VC or VFC

A trip today to Plage Sainte-Croix a beach on the Mediterranean near Martigues after going to the local supermarket to buy a couple of beach towels.

The drive down was uninspiring as it was on motorways surrounded by the typical rocky terrain in this part of the country. The beach itself was also uninspiring, not a patch on Takapuna or even Waiake - perhaps it warranted a D.

Though it was ordinary the locals didn’t think so as they had come to sunbath in big numbers  - note the emphasis on sunbath because not many were swimming, paddling yes, swimming no.

It soon became clear why they only paddled and that was because the water was very cold, in fact very f’ing cold and I swear if I had my glasses on I would have been able to see the ice cubes in it. Nevertheless we were brave and went in swimming for about 15 minutes before the chill encouraged us to get out - with the air temperature being 28 degrees it did not take long to dry off!

After lunch at a beach kiosk we then set the GPS for Martigues village which was around 10 kms away. If one looks on Google earth you get the idea of how the waterways flow through the town and while it has the reference to Venice in its nickname it isn’t the real thing, nice and all as it is.

Following a leisurely drive back to Aix we relaxed in the apartment for a while before venturing out for a meal.

Kms driven today: 103

There were a couple of foxes paws today...

...or faux pas (if you prefer the French).

Firstly we listened to the tourist office girl who told us that there was a daily fruit and veggie market so we went to buy some produce for a self-prepared meal tonight but having walked to the other end of town we find that the market is only on a Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday - not to worry as we could then go to the supermarket after lunch.

FP number 2 was waiting to go the supermarket after lunch as when we went out again around 1.00pm we found that the supermarket (and nearly all the shops) had closed at 12.30 today being a Sunday.

Plan C was put in place which was to eat out however as we ambled through the old town there was a 7-11 type shop open so we brought some (ordinary looking) veggies and some chicken so we are reverting to plan A.

If you have a sweet tooth you may like a piece of the local nougat which is sold from street stalls and shops

Or perhaps a piece of Pain d’epices, again sold from a street stall - the “cake” is slow cooked for 8 hours and then cut into various sized pieces and sold by the weight. It is a cakey consistency and flavoured with ginger and various other fruits or nuts e.g. apricot There were plenty of sightseers in and around the centre and particularly in the old town where we spent some time looking at the numerous fountains, eye catching buildings and squares.

The chefs overlooking the Cours Mirabeau 

Mid afternoon we returned to the apartment for a coffee (& I used the break to write this blog) and on the way back passed under the array of colourful umbrellas ☂ partially covering a square.

Tomorrow we have planned to drive to Martigues, nicknamed Provencale Venice, for a swim in the Mediterranean at one of the numerous beaches in the area, probably Plage Sainte-Croix.

An edit for yesterday’s blog - our host told us that there are 300 restaurants in the area however Trip Advisor ranks over 800!

Having read numerous reports both published in NZ and online and watched game highlights I’m now convinced that the NRL is a corrupt organisation and do not want the Warriors in the playoffs!

Kms driven today 0

The “Dark Zone”

At breakfast this morning we met a German family who like us were heading to Aix-En Provence and they were eager to get on the road before the “Dark Zone” which sweeps down from the north on a summer Saturday and particularly when it is a long weekend as it is we are told this weekend (but what for, we don’t know).

As we endeavoured to clarify what this zone was it turned out to be the swarm of traffic heading south, we assume mid morning, as families start their holidays or head to the south compounded by the fact that the changeover day for holiday homes is typically a Saturday as it is today.

Eager also to miss the zone we quickly packed up and said our goodbyes to our hosts and headed off. Did we see the Dark Zone? Well we certainly got held up in stop go traffic at various times of the trip, the traffic was very heavy in both directions....

I know that doesn’t look heavy 

...and the time taken to get through the toll booth on the motorway was the best part of 15-20 minutes 

On European motorways every 50 or so kms there are “truck stops” where you can fill up with petrol, at inflated prices it must be said, have a picnic or go to a cafe/restaurant/bakery/shop selling products of the area - we stopped at 2 on the way down and the second being around lunchtime was the largest and busiest of any we have stopped at on any trip.This is only a small portion of it looking back to the entry - they have attendants to direct traffic to parking areas and generally keep things moving.

Having eaten we continued on to Aix, put the car in a car park and had a brief look around the central area - at first look it seems to have a very modern and busy centre, a main rue with all the major banks on one side and a lot of the 300 restaurants in town on the other as well as the most modern looking Apple store I have seenWe then went to find our accommodation and we have scored a good one here, being an apartment with all the modcons and a lovely balcony & within 3 minutes walk of the centre.

Kms driven today: 205

Everyone is talking about...

...the Jones Girl Canicule!

When we were picked up from the airport by the Peugeot rep he was quick to tell us that yesterday was 47 degrees in the area - I’m not sure we felt it as 47 but it sure as hell was hot.

After taking ownership of our chocolate 3008 which we will have for the next 7 weeks we set the GPS for Valence and gingerly set off

On the way down the car temperature gauge was reading mid 30s and the aircon was asked to work overtime. After 2 stops we arrived at Bourg-les-Valence mid afternoon and found our way to our B&B for our overnight stay.

Trying to converse with our hosts was a challenge as they (a reasonably elderly couple) had next to very little English so we called on all of our school learnt French and managed to work our way through the conversation which had numerous references to the Canicule.

We then drove into Valence itself and walked around the shops mainly in the old town all the time endeavouring to stay in the shade and if necessary inside a shop to take advantage of the air con. The town is nice without being startling and was rather sparsely populated due I suspect to the temperature 

Late in the afternoon we returned to the B&B and revived in their outside pool before returning to town for a meal

Kms driven today: 265

Big Mac Index Valence $7.04

Canicule - Heatwave 

Omission corrected

A couple of days ago we came across the most delightful of book stores situated in the old town, a secondhand bookshop in fact selling very old books. The layout of the shop was eye catching, even from across the road and one of the external front walls was in fact shelves of books - it looked for all the world like a picture/painting rather than real life.        

This morning we got off the bus outside the UN building in Geneva and was taken with the three legged chair that dominates the square in front of the grounds which are the subject of very tight security. The chair symbolises the atrocities where people have lost a limb by walking on a land mine

It is a very powerful symbol

Behind the security fence is the actual UN offices which are at the end of the flags of each country- the NZ flag was clearly visible being around five back on the right hand side.

In the general area are also the offices of UNESCO and the WTO (and I am sure others such as the WHO, though we didn’t see them). We continued on down through Parc Baton to the lake edge and walked around the foreshore passed some exceptionally nice old “homes” before catching the water bus (free with our card) across to the other side. Again the panorama was dominated by Le Jet D’Eau. By the time we alighted and started the walk back to the central area the temperature had risen significantly and it was not too long before we were kicking our heels in the water, off what they regard as a beach.













Early in the afternoon we caught another bus to Veyrier-Douane which is right on the outskirts of Geneva so much so that when we had walked about 100 metres we were actually in France. There was an abandoned Customs post at that point as we walked to find the cable car to go up to the lookout at Mont Salève.

It was confusing as mentally I was still in Switzerland yet physically we were in France and of course the price for the cable car was denominated in Euro whereas I had a pocketful of CHF and so there was some debate with the ticket office over what we were being charged until the penny (centime in fact) dropped.

The view out over Geneva was a little hazy but worth the effort.

That bloody jet of water again!

We finished the day back downtown in a few shops, followed by a meal and then the bus home.

Tomorrow we pick up our Peugeot and start the driving part of our holiday, with a first overnight stop at Valence, 220kms or so down the road.

Q. Why in countries where English is not the native language are nearly every song you hear played one in the English language?

BigMac index for Geneva is $NZD9.85