DavidandBevTravel.com

Monday, October 13, 2008

Again today we woke to an overcast day and rain was threatening. Yesterday and today were terrible days for photography. Despite the forecast, we drove to Arles to poke around the old city. At one time Arles was the capital of the three Gauls — Spain, Britain and France. Originally Arles was a Greek site that the Romans expanded into a “little Rome”. Its location on the banks of the Rhône River made it a strategic port with its shipyards, baths, racetrack, amphitheatre, and arena (which is the location for a gun battle in the movie Ronin, which David has watched roughly 30,000 times.) Arles has one of the most impressive surviving Roman monuments, the arena (coliseum) which could seat 20,000. At present, it is undergoing a massive renovation and restoration, and still features bull fights and other festival events.

After a quick spin around Arles, we looked for a spot to dine in the Place du Forum. This square has the yellow-walled restaurant that Van Gogh made famous in one of his paintings, Café de Soir. We didn’t choose to have lunch at the Van Gogh Café, as we were not enticed by specials such as the “ear burger,” but dined right next to it at Restaurant L’Ardoise. After a delightful lunch, we strolled around a bit more, headed for the car which was parked outside the walls of the city, and went back to Eygalières.

Sunday, October 12, 2008

We woke with very overcast clouds and little hope for sun. Today we visited the old citadel of Les Baux which is always enjoyable. The views are spectacular and their shops and galleries always fun to browse. We stopped in at the always popular candy store, then onto the Musée des Santons. “Santon” in Provençal means “a little saint”. These wooden statues first appeared in the 13^th century in the churches of Rome. The Santons are statuettes used for making of the manger, and the nativity. When the French Revolution and the period of Terror banned all religious symbols in public places, the church mangers were all destroyed.  The first Santons were made in Marseille where Provencal families could express their devotion more discretely in their homes.

Almost time to have lunch but Darren and Anne continued the climb up to see the Château, while David and I picked a spot to dine. We found a casual little courtyard restaurant and waited for an hour or so until they were finished, and then had a pleasant lunch. As we were finishing up, the skies finally turned blue.

After lunch, we walked down through the old village of Les Baux, got our car, and stopped in for a quick visit with our friends, Christine and Philippe at Riboto-de-Taven. We had a lively conversation, laughs and a great cup of coffee.

Once home, I roasted chicken, vegetables and potatoes and made a mixed green salad. Everyone turned in early.