4th June (Juin)
Just as well we enjoy train travel. We caught the first connection at 10:26am to Monterosso, and eventually arrived in Nice at 4:30pm after 2 other changes. On the way to the station at Manarola we bought a bottle of lemonchello, after Libby had tasted some last night at our host’s house. The train follows the coast the whole way and it was interesting to observe the Italian and then French Riviera from this relaxed viewing angle. Amazing, the opulence of both houses and craft on the water, the only break you get is when the train plunges back into another tunnel. It’s been a long day but we’re in France. Bonjour! As we are only in Nice for one night we chose a hotel just 3 mins walk from central station. We dropped off the luggage and went walking to the ‘centre historique’ to see the sights and get a feel for Nice, love the architecture - rooflines and balconies that remind me of Paris in ‘86. They have managed to preserve a lot of open space in the city and we found the traffic very easy to negotiate. Walked for about half an hour along the esplanade watching others strutting their stuff along this strip of beach. Nothing like our beaches and I feel a little sorry for them that they need rigid paths and platforms overlaid on the pebbles to designate who sits where and how much space you can have under your colour-coded umbrella. But no one else here seems to mind and it is great to see so many people of all ages out enjoying the fresh air and sunshine.
We ate in the old centre and then made our way home, dodging a downpour by catching a tram. The food was beautiful at the restaurant but here on our first night in France and we’ve ordered Tuscan Lamb with garlic and rosemary. Our maitre de suggested a red wine to go with the lamb and it was perfect. Time to try and sleep in our dank, noisy, stuffy hotel room. Can't really complain as the price is right and location fabulous.
5th June
We slept well but Eric has woken with the grippe (a cold). We walked back to the old centre as today is flower and fresh produce market day, hoping to find a chemist open along the way. The stalls at the market were laden with fabulous looking produce and although we are travelling again today we couldn’t resist a bag of both figs and pistachios before wandering back to the hotel to collect our bags and then head to the station in plenty of time for the train to Aix en Provence.
We left Nice in more heavy rain and enjoyed the beautiful smooth ride on the TGV (very fast train) passing by coast, vineyards and mountains. Only one small hiccough was when at Cannes we were questioned about the seats we were occupying. I thought I had been very clever to find the carriage with seats 41 and 42 but it turns out we should have noted that the carriage number was supposed to be 7 not 15 (every carriage has seats 41 and 42). At the next station we alighted with all our bags and had to run/hobble along the platform to find the correct one before it took off again. The station at Aix is a 15 min bus trip out of town and then we found a taxi, as it is drizzling, to take us to our apartment doorstep. How delightful it is! Our hosts Christina and Edouard met us there and showed us how everything works, explained where to find the baker, butcher and supermarket (all just in our street) and suggested what we should see and do in the next week. We made a quick visit to the shops before 6pm closing (being Sunday) and then made ourselves at home in our cosy new home. Eric is so excited to find the kitchen has a vegetable peeler and sharp knives. I'm more excited by the rooftop terrace. Neither of us is too thrilled about the steps up to the mezzanine bed.
6th June
Although rain is predicted until tomorrow we have enjoyed a sunny day. Made the most of the morning by walking to the fresh produce market and collecting our supplies for the rest of the day. After returning home to leave them we orientated ourselves around the rest of the old town centre. Enjoyed walking under the shade of massive plain trees that line all the major thoroughfares, many of the streets are just one way traffic or malls so very easy to navigate on foot. Our apartment is on a mall with only delivery vehicles allowed.
The city is graced with a number of fountains that date back to the 17th century and many grand buildings. We’ve investigated bus and train networks and considered hire car options to explore beyond the city in the coming week. Right next door is a specialty tea shoppe so we ducked in there on the way home for a cuppa and left with some Earl Grey Fleurs Bleu to enjoy in the coming weeks. We enjoyed the late afternoon sunshine on our rooftop terrace with a few local specialties from this morning’s market including olives, cheese and crusty bread before moving inside for a simple leek soup dinner. Bon appétit!
7th June
Started the day completing some necessities like banking, travel bookings and I’ve completed a job application! Everyone keep your fingers crossed that I have a job in 2012. Ventured out and the first stop was the Musee Granet just around the corner. One of France’s best regional museums, it‘s permanent collection spans 14th to 20th century works. The sculpture hall alone was really interesting and the English interpretation service excellent. From here we followed the Cezanne Walk to see some of the best examples of architecture in town and then wandered the gardens of the 17th century Lenfant Pavillion before arriving at the ancient roman baths - Thermes Sextius . Since we are now at the far edge of the old town centre, as far away as possible from our apartment, we decided the best thing to do was find a shady corner spot in one of the many squares and enjoy a refreshment. Turns out the one we chose is one of the oldest with a roman column in its fountain and the old corn exchange building gracing one of its sides.
We had a great time walking into local shops and using charades and our appalling French to get the produce Eric needed for dinner. There is a cheese shop in our street that only sells cheese, a butcher who sells rabbit, duck, terrines de canard and all sorts of wonderful food, Eric is in heaven. At the Italian shop to got anchovies for the Provencal sauce. Amazing food here! We made our way home moving through shopping areas that moved from quite kitsch to ultra swanky boutique, there’s something for everyone here.
Once again Eric is cooking dinner; Provencal Chicken with olives, anchovy and tomato accompanied by sautéed mushrooms. He’s a little frustrated by the induction hotplates but managing to fill the place with delightful fragrances. Did I mention my excursion to the wine store to get a bottle of white wine for the sauteed mushrooms? Because it is available just across the street I left without the keys. Down many flights of stairs, each older than any building in Australia by at least 200 yrs, as soon as I heard the street door click shut behind me I knew I’d made a a mistake. I bought the wine and then there was nothing for it but to wait patiently outside the lolly shop directly across from our kitchen window and wait until Eric missed me. It didn’t take too long for the window on the 5th floor to open and an enquiring face to appear wondering why I was waiting there. Just as well it was still warm and sunny even after 7pm. The dinner was well worth the wait and the evening finished off with a delightful lemoncello from Cinque Terra, you just can’t leave there without a bottle. The good news is they also sell it in the Italian shop in our street! (Only here it is called lemoncino).
8th June
Took a train to Marseille and connection on to Arles: more Roman ruins Eric is interested in. But when we arrive there is a bus just about to depart for the Canargue, a wetland in the Rhone Delta of recognised importance and so we jump on. South of Arles you enter an area that seems heavily influenced by Spain; white stucco and clay tile buildings, black bulls grazing in the fields and small white horses, tended by cowboys in big hats, saddled-up awaiting the next busload of riders to arrive. They have bull fighting and the running of the bulls in this region. The land is very flat with an abundance of wetlands interspersed with rice paddies and grain fields, sunflowers, orchards and even a few vineyards. We were delighted to see our first sighting of flamingos in the wild. The bus terminated at Les Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer on the coast and we got off trying to establish when the next bus returned to Arles. No comprende! I told you there was a Spanish influence.
To our dismay there is not a return bus for 4 hrs and that gets us back too late for connections home. Eric seethes with frustration and I look for a place to have lunch and contemplate the next move. We end up in a cafe that specializes, not surprisingly, in Paella and Sangria and decide there is nothing for it but to take a taxi back to Arles. My God, what will that cost? And is there one? Fortunately yes, there is a taxi service and it turns out not to be as expensive as one might think. Well anyway, that’s the way you’ve got to look at it from our current position.
Back in Arles we have time to scoot around the Roman ruins so at last Eric is a little more cheerful. Caesar gave this colony to the veterans of his legions so it had a real Golden Age. They created amphitheatres, forums and theatres – such high culture so far from home. We contemplated what Australians would construct if they conquered a foreign land. AFL grounds? We finish the walk with a stretch of the Rhone River just short of the station, remarkable to think this waterway begins at the base of a glacier in Switzerland.
The day is not a complete loss. We make out connections back to Marseille and home to Aix without further drama. Even found a rosemary plant I could take a few slips from for tonight’s dinner (all be it very slyly outside a florist shop).
9th June
When we got the message, late last night from Laurie, to call home ASAP we knew the news would not be good. Early this morning we were told that Eric’s Mum had passed away. Although this was not really unexpected, and Eric had already considered that it may well happen while we were away, you are never really ready to lose someone who has been there since the day you were born. We spent the early morning in a reflective mood and then headed to the tourist office to book tickets on a tour bus for the Luberon district tomorrow, so as not to repeat the mistakes of yesterday. On the way we walked through the market in Cours Mirabeau and what could make the day turn from bad to disastrous? Eric has just visited the autobank to withdraw cash and now he has had his wallet stolen. After some panic stricken moments and time spent retracing our steps we got home and began the process of cancelling cards. As it happens Christine, our host, visited while we were home and had by chance bought a bunch of flowers with her. That brought me undone and between the both of us we shared more tears as her Mum has died quite recently too. She explained that normally Aix is quite safe but this weekend there is a Sud Cote (South Coast) Festival and that brings all the gypsies to town – hence the Romanian children who make a pest of themselves at the markets. They were so good we didn‘t even see them. Funny, I’d had my pickpocket radar on full alert in Italy but here I had relaxed and Eric is naturally pretty preoccupied today. We spent a long afternoon at the French Police station making a report. At one stage there were 7 officers all intrigued with our plight, but not one of them could speak English and our French is not good at the best of times, let alone under this stress. We had to go back home to retrieve our passports and when we returned to the poste de police there was English-speaking help on hand. And the day ends on a more positive note; even though my cards are attached to the same accounts they are not cancelled so we can still access money. That’s better than when it happened in 1985, but that’s another story. No pics today.
10th June
Today we took a tour into the Luberon which is 3 mountain ranges and the valley that lies between. It is recognised for its cultural heritage as well as the fabulous primary produce and since 1977 the whole 600sq kms has been declared a National Park. Once St Tropez was the place to have your European Getaway but these days the Luberon is attracting movie stars, artists, designers etc, who are buying up chateaux for weekenders. We drove through wheat fields, vineyards, olive groves and almond trees before the first stop at Louramin where a very popular market was being held. Like many of the villages, the township is dominated by a castle and has characteristic narrow winding streets, today filled with colourful street stalls of every kind.
On the next leg we passed the first lavender fields I’ve seen in the region, I’ve been expecting them ever since we arrived. And once we saw one, we saw hundreds. Here also are the 3 kinds of oak trees that have the fungus locally called ‘black diamonds’. Last season truffles sold for 1000 Euro for just 1 kg. The next stop was Roussillon, once famous for its ochre mines this industry is now topped but the cliffs and pits remain a remarkable reminder. Every building in the village is painted in the range of ochre options, and why wouldn’t you? Not only are they warm and rich but everything would end up stained this colour palette anyway.
Our tour then took us to the Romanesque style Cistercian Abbey of Silvacane founded in the 12th century. This valley was a very remote part of the world when the monks first established the abbey and took their vows in solitude, poverty, chastity, manual labour etc. These days tourists troop through 7 days a week, much to the Abbott’s chagrin apparently, but the money comes in handy for restorations.
Our final stop was at the village of Gordes. This has been declared the most beautiful village in France and is famous for its drystone wall construction. We had the chance to walk into an original one-room, one door building that is completely constructed by the drystone method, even the roof. No supporting structures at all, just stones placed much like an igloo made of iceblocks. Its amazing that it has stood here all that time. Even the modern homes being constructed on the outskirts of this village are finishing their exterior walls with a drystone veneer to keep with the theme.
We finally returned to Aix for our last night in our very comfy apartment before leaving for Montpellier.
11th June
We started the day packing and getting ready to leave our compact but cosy apartment in Aix. While we have loved it, we will not miss the climb up and down to the bed. Our hosts arrived with croissants (chocolate if you don’t mind) for morning tea and home-made olive tapenade for us to take with us. We managed an interesting discussion about French cuisine. So much of their diet is rich in carbohydrates, sugars and fats; bread, chocolate, olive oil, cheese, processed meats, desserts heavy on cream and butter, yet the population are not overweight. It seems the secret is to only eat a little. But how to do that with all the specialty chocolate shops, cookie shops, lolly shops, icecream shops, bakers..........? One interesting titbit we learnt was that when you serve garlic, the French always offer a roasted coffee bean to chew on to remove bad breath. Christine and Edouard are a lovely couple and it was good to catch up again. I’d like to think we will keep in touch as they would love to bring their three children out to Australia for a year, sometime. We would like to help make that possible. All too soon we had to leave for the station on foot, dragging our ever increasingly heavy luggage (burnt off a few of those croissant kgs).
We caught the train back to Marseille, this is our third time here and we know where everything is now. We had time for a coffee before the connection to Montpellier, just a 2 hr journey. Wow! We are delighted with this choice. The city centre has no cars so just trams and buses and lots of people out on the streets as we walk for five minutes to the New Hotel du Midi located in a more than one hundred-year old Haussmann-style building. After checking in to this recently refurbished old hotel with sweeping marble staircases, gorgeous original leadlight, mosaic tile floors and intricate ironwork we head out for a late lunch. Plenty of choice in the adjoining Place de la Comedie which features the beautiful Fontaine des Trois Grâces.
From there we took the 2 hr walk around the historic centre of town. I thought it was going to take much longer as it was hard to drag Eric away from the Women’s Beach Volleyball competition taking place in the city square. I had to entice him with the possibility of seeing more Roman Ruins! By contrast he didn’t take much convincing to proceed past the cultural display from Portugal. So much going on, wedding parties walking through town, Kurdish protesters, another rally we couldn’t make out the purpose of...... But once I got him past the volleyball, and I bought one more pair of shoes at the market, we made pretty good time.
We are delighted to have spent the afternoon here; Montpellier is gorgeous with lots of green spaces with big plain trees and gardens, fountains and monuments, pedestrian malls and action in the streets. After dinner we were entertained by some fabulous acrobatic/wrap dancing buskers and we made another detour to the beach volleyball – just to see if the men were playing but again it was the women in skimpy outfits!
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