Our original booking was simply a return flight from Bristol to Marseille out on the 14 May and back 4 weeks later on 11 June. Unfortunately for the first time in my life I suffered severe breathlessness and had to cancel he outward flight. Luckily it was soon cured by a minimum dose of a diuretic Spironolactone causing my body weight to drop 7kg in 8 days as excess fluid on my lung was rapidly eliminated. Finding myself fit again and confident I booked a further outward flight from Bristol for 4 June reducing the break to exactly one week which we spent entirely in the Roman town of Arles, foregoing the original attempt to tour from one place to the next in our usual style.
Sat 4 June We arrived in Marseille to find French Rail with others in the midst of a strike over a government proposed reform which stymied our intention to gt from the airport via a shuttle service to nearby Vitrolles station. We eventually paid 150 Euros for a taxi to Arles a figure greater than the cost of our Bristol Marseille flight which itself was far more expensive than the original 14 May fare as it now coincided with half term holiday in British schools.
Nevertheless it turned out to be an excellent choice for we thoroughly enjoyed the break at the Hotel Acacias the nearest hotel to the rail and regional bus stations but unlike them just within the old Roman wall. We had booked the first three nights but soon decided to spend the whole week there.
Within minutes of checking in we were eating our first evening meal in La Mama a Pizzeria Restaurant serving Italian food nearby within sight of the amphitheatre and soon in lively friendly discussion with a couple of English men on the next table. One retired the other still working as pianist for pupils at Ballet Rambert, a top ballet school in London, initially with a strong modern dance image now covering traditional ballet as well.
We talked of Provence (they strongly preferred lively Nimes to quiet Arles) and politics the top issue being the forthcoming EU referendum of course. (Within two weeks I would be out on the streets of Swansea West in a Green Remain T-shirt canvassing for Stronger In a cross party organisation.) Also holiday style for they hired flats via accommodation websites in the same way as hotels, and ate out and cooked on alternate nights. We never ran into them again but it set the holiday off to a fine start.
The wonderful amphitheatre was the first stop the following morning Sunday 5 June and for a small increase over the entry fee we bought a Pass giving entirely free entry to six other locations in Arles, fabulous for the huge interest of the locations, all worth revisiting another year, let alone the saving in cost unmatched later by passes at Nimes and Avignon.
We got down to the Boulevard des Lices in time to see the end of the huge Saturday street market. Climbing through the park on the way back we passed the ruins of the Roman Theatre though we did not know what it was at the time.
The other daily attraction were walks along the river Rhone accessed with meters of leaving the hotel. We soon discovered that one or two huge river cruise boats tied up overnight close to the site of the original Roman boat-bridge. Some boats had large numbers of new looking cycles on board for town use.
No doubt tourists were a fair proportion of the people on the streets but they were mostly in couples often from our age group and only imposing except at the Van Gogh exhibition centre. Some doubtless British already lived in France but were enjoying a holiday. Some came from the cruise boats which offered journeys from Lyon down the Rhone via Orange, Avignon, Arles, Camargue, Marseille. Every night several younger cyclists checked into our hotel they were often brits touring the area in small groups on holiday from work.
Every morning a small tour party from the boats passed through the Roman city wall passed our hotel on a guided sight seeing expedition but others stayed on board playing games for instance with giant chess sets.
6 June Vincent van Gogh arrived in Arles in 1888 for 15 months in the most productive period of his life with over 300 works. A walk around town is recommended to encompass the sites of nine of his most celebrated paintings
Le Jardin de l'hopital d'Arles
Terrace de Cafe le Soir
L'escalier du pont de Trinquetaille
Le Pont de Trinquetaille
La Nuit Etoilee sur le Rhone
La Maison Jaune (he lived in this house for artists but it was destroyed by bombing 1944)
Les Arenes d'Arles (a crowd at the amphitheatre)
L'Entree du Jardin Public a Arles
Les Alyscamps, l'Autumne
The Foundation Vincent van Gogh was first opened in 2014 was undoubtedly the most popular tourist attraction in Arles. At the time it held an exhibition of 30 original paintings by van Gogh, largely on loan from other art galleries plus an exhibition of works the British artist Glenn Brown. We are unlikely to visit this Foundation again for unfortunately little remains in our memory beyond a couple of well known self portraits by Van Gogh, the crowd and the queuing for tickets.
Except a large setting in one room of around 30 deliberately nondescript group of models of women sitting cross legged with their faces hidden with grey cloth. Joan thought at the time that it was in memory of the 276 schoolgirls recently kidnapped by Boko Haram in Nigeria.
Not far away was the impressive partially restored Roman Les Thermes de Constantin with baths of violently different temperature from very hot to cold.
7 June Enthused by the baths we took further use of our free Pass firstly to visit the interesting collection in the Musee Reattu. Originally the old rather dour building was owned by the Knights Templar of L'Ordre de Malte. It was converted to an art museum and named after the famous arlesien painter born in 1760 Jacques Reattu, a soldier who won the grand prix de peinture in Paris in 1790 and finished residing and painting in Arles, there are several works by him and his uncle Antoine Raspal.
The attraction of the museum lies in highly focussed niche varieties. It houses a unique collection of art a lot of which has been donated by people who were born or worked in Arles. There is for example modern sculplture
There are 57 originals by Picasso mostly early works including a portrait of his mother
ranging to glimpses of his later style
One room is devoted to the latest donation a complete collection of illustrations of dress designs by the famous arlesien Courtier Christian Lacroix who worked in Paris from 1987.
By now we had enough of feeling exhausted and started to take several hour of siesta in our room. Just in time before closure we used our pass to gain over hurried entrance to the cloisters of the Eglise Saint-Trophime, the church in the spacious main square at the heart of the modern town.
8 June A couple of days earlier we had booked a 4 hour trip for 48E each (the alternative was 3 hours) to the Camargue by 4 wheel drive through the Tourist office from where we set off with a Japanese couple the man having been a fellow studying International Law at Cambridge. It was well worth while the woman driver had lived all her life on the Camargue except for a spell with a foreign National Park. She was very interesting and made frequent stops to give us information about the lifestyle and in particular the agriculture and responded to questions so Joan for instance found that she had gone to school on horse back.
It was news to me that it was a rice growing area and was renowned for its black rice. This last winter had been so mild that a species of bird had stayed rather than migrated to North Africa with the consequence that much mosquito larva than usual had been eaten. Being an especially vulnerable target I had no trouble this week - though I was to pay for it on returning in September!!
The local horses are born brown but over five years change to the white colour associated with this region.
Cattle are bred for meat but some bulls are bred for bullfighting, the lighter local type are black and in the Camargue type of bull fight the bull is not wounded or killed but the brave bull fighters attempt to place trophies on their necks.
The heavier brown bulls are of a Spanish bred and they figure in the normal contest to death. Both forms of fighting can for instance be seen in the Amphitheatre at Arles.
The heavyist bulls of all are of Portuguese stock, brown and white in colour, are also the most docile and yet they are used to control the stock in the fields to lead the herd from one pasture to another.
We made a halfway stop at the coast at Les Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer. The story is that three women crossed the sea from Egypt in an open boat and the black handmaiden became a saint.
What I do remember from past holidays in the region were the flocks of flamingos. From this storks nesting on top of an electricity pole so the wires have been rerouted.
9 June visit to the wonderful new Musee departmental Arles built to house a long wooden Roman boat raised from the bottom of the Rhone. A restoration project that out rivals by centuries our Mary Rose.
10 June Our final free pass entry was the Roman burial ground of Alyscamps, the tree lined avenue feature in one of Van Gogh's masterpieces. We made a last try the underground channels under the town hall but refused the payment thus saving it for a future Pass.
Earlier that day we had primed by a area activity newspaper we checked out a venue promising a free flamenco concert that evening (I think the venue was la maison de age). Confirmed we had reached the correct location and decided to spend our final night there among official looking buildings near the post office. It was a great decision clearly this was a local flamenco dance club performing a 'play' under the supervision of the professional flamenco teacher. the standard was high and was a fine way to end a short but very successful short holiday.
11 June Catch one of the 50% trains still running through the strike to Vitrolles station, and hence by bus shuttle navette to catch the plane home.
Memorable food light Libyan lunches from Dune and an even better one with just two tables each only two chairs on quiet street. Excellent value Italian food from Comedie on the Boulevard des Lices near main bus stop with excellent choice and quiet in the evening. Les Filles de 16, Apsara Chinese restaurant run by Vietnamese family near hotel just off Place Voltaire. Very Disappointed with Bistro connected to a of French Micheline Cook. Avoid El Paseo.
RETURN VISIT TO PROVENCE 1-19 SEPTEMBER 2016
In memory of our fine visit to Arles in June and of our original intention to spend nearly 4 weeks exploring Provence we decided to again fly by Easyjet from Bristol - Marseille returning on their last flight of the year on 17 September. The 1st was selected for outbound rather than a couple of days earlier thinking it prudent to avoid our Bank Holiday.
Leaving home at 2am that morning intent on following Joan's well researched route swapping the section through the city of Bristol for minor roads just to the south which looked OK on the map. Needless to say we all but got lost in the dark lonely B roads, fooled by the one and only road sign we saw to Bristol airport, which would have diverted us through through village of Flax Bourton, the birthplace of my grandad, which our planned route just avoided. We discovered why 'they' wanted traffic to avoid this intende rout for it was very narrow with long sections of one way traffic, troublesome even in the depths night.
Luckily the trains were running normally though there was strike action affecting Air Control, but without thinking I jumped on the first bus to Vitrolles just as it was leaving, which turned out not to have been the shuttle but a regular service bus and didn't go passed the station. So we ended up at a bus stop in the centre of Vitrolles town grappling with my French in an attempt to establish which bus to take, not for a while understanding the reply thinking it Spanish because it began with an el (L..) !! An hour or so later the same bus driver with the same number going on a long circular route headed for (rather than from) the airport dropped us off at the station. Half an hour later we were on a train to Arles where we had booked just three nights with the intention of then heading by train for Nimes. Over confidence gets you no where fast!
BRIEF REMINDERS , SEPTEMBER 2016 - Blog to follow
1- 3 Sept ARLES, in Acacias Hotel as in June pre-booked from UK. Paid 251.40 euros for 3 nights including breakfast (7.50x 6) then booked room for 16 Sept our last night
Good eating at Apsara (Chinese Vietnamese), Le Criquet, Dune meal 14 euro light lunch only 9 euro,
1 Sept early arrival looked for favorite restaurant for light lunch - failed lunch eventually stopped at Les Rencontres 34 rue du docteur, place de la Republique for coffee near the main square but stayed to eat lunch of goats cheese patees 62 euros total and retired to bed for a good night's sleep
2 Sept Ate dinner at Apsara the Chinese taster menu for two again and frozen ice cream in a beignet.
Les Rencontres de la Photographie, 40 themed exhibitions all Arles in September, pass 31euro each. We went to location 17 for Nothing but Blue Skies including a film of short clips from other films reacting to NY 9/11, and to location 23 Magasin Electrique one of many buildings in Parc des Ateliers to see 'The Jungle' photos of the Amazon and its people, 'Maginot Line' today, and Laia Abril 'Misogyny - On Abortion' very moving case by case study of rejection across the world.
Learned of Jazz Festival at St Remy 14, 15 16 September
Learned of Feria du Riz, weekend 9/10/11 Sept celebrations starting from 10am to 7:30pm including bullfights in arena between 53 and 244 euro per person for both days on 10 &11th. Then following weekend 16/17/18 Sept. On 16th at 7pm the Ambassadrice du Riz arrives by boat on Rhone at Quai Saint-Pierre on other side of river in Trinqetaille and procession goes to church service.
4-8 Sept NIMES by train for new reservation at Ibis Budget Hotel excellent choice in very modern development including Carrefores south of La Gare and Gare Regionale buses, walk through Gare local town buses and the 5 min walk along new Boulevard to the amphitheatre the beginning of the compact old town.All bus routes colour coded on maps and each associated with a letter of the alphabet
4 Sept arrived by train from Arles the day Gard broke its previous Temperature record probably 35C+ and walked exhausted into and around the old town. Dinner in Place off rue L'Etoile menu good value for 46euro I tried Toro stewed for first time as recommended in June by our guide round the Camargue.
5 Sept Took bus B41(about all we learned from disinterested service in tourist office on Sunday) passing a 10 min walk from the entrance to famous Pont du Gard acquaduct. Distance about like Swansea Cardiff for normal bus fare of 1.5 euro incredibly the same as buses around town for 1 hour.
6 Sept
Visited Mason Carree, roman Temple but the offering was an interesting film of the history of Nimes in Roman times.
Got into conversation at the very end of dinner at Madelaine? with a woman British resident of Nimes for 20 years with a male friend visiting from UK, and another resident this time a British Nurse here for 8 years with her local dark skinned boy friend. From them we learned the place to be on Thursday nights was the Imperator Hotel for jazz, the last concert of the season was to be the following night at 7pm
7 Sept
Jardin de la Fontaine by local bus. Lovely garden full of statues with Temple of Diane and I walked up the hill to the Tour Magne to use my Nimes Pass which was the initial symbol of the important Roman town, important because the town supplied an army of 500 who helped in the conquest of Gaule and Egypt and the leader was well paid for his victories over a long period, 15 years? Lovely lunch help yourself buffet selection in the garden being our choice
Disappointing evening meal at Tapas restaurant on L'Etoile Street
8 Sept Lunched next to Tapas restaurant of previous night, excellent lunchtime menu in evening sells Tapas but French style with menu in French.
Used final location on our Nimes Pass on the amphitheatre.
New Orleans Jazz free in garden of hotel with huge audience finishing with a dozen musicians two of almost all instruments at the end presumably an amalgam of two bands. Ending at midnight walked home through streets full of young people, start of university year?
9-13 Sept AVIGNON for 5 nights in Ibis Central Gare Hotel
Excellent enthusiastic introduction at tourist office by confessed amateur de Jazz and musique in general. Gave us two heavily marked street maps and invited us to two free jazz concerts and gave precise directions to location which we didn't follow well enough.
9 & 10 Sept Looking for jazz found nook with space for dancing and long tables in street. Dinner two nights at La Manutention outside the UTOPIA cinema for 50 and 53 euros with 2 excellent plates and 3 beers, I ate Tatare de Bouef on both occasions (just a stones throw away from Theatre Doms and an modern arts organisation called INOUI (the final I had two dots above) - if only we had inquired!). On first night jazz barely audible went back next night intending just a couple of beers but stayed for dinner when I should have asked on location of jazz which had not then even started.
10 Sept Walked to Pont d'Avignon crossed river by free ferry and had pleasant lunch at restaurant before crossing back by the road bridge
Sunday 11 Sept
Another day walked city route recommended by tourist office and spent time at the medieval celebration on Place des Carmes the local church and cloisters
12 Sept by bus from Gare Regional to L'Isle Sur La Sorgue and enjoyed fine walk along river best finest meal of whole trip for lunch Gambas plus excellent pear based desert then spent afternoon and Villa Datris exposition of modern sculpture. Previous leader in industry with no less than 15 small water wheels providing the power.
Add dinner menu de jour at cafe ... Argent? on eating area on top of main boulevard just below Popes Palace choice Magret de Canard or entrecote steam both went for duck asked for medium next day went for saignante.
13 Sept Intended to go to Le Musee du Petit Palace for finest art collection in town but found it was closed on tuesdays Went to Angladon but was disappointed.
Bus from just inside city walls to Villeneuve lez Avignon visit to the Jardins de Saint Andre, did not visit the fort itself but enjoyed gardens and the buffet picnic lunch provided with three full jars one off pork patee, the others of aubergine patee and Tapenade of olives/anchovies/gerkins with lots of gorgeous small tomatoes in a wide variety of colours
Dinner as yesterday main just 9 euro each plus beers for unchanged menu du jour, Joan stuck to duck again I went for the entrecote both menu of day as yesterday. Both very good value
14 & 15 Sept SAINT REMY de PROVENCE
Le Castelet des Alpilles Hotel bill 196 euros for room only
14 Sept First stop Tourist Office got map and confirmed direction to hotel and bought ticket for Jazz concert first night of three day weekend
Lunched on Tapas one of Serano Ham the other of Crevettes
Walked to Glanum along Avenue Van Gogh
15 Sept Ate excellent breakfast of Tartines and coffee
Withdrew 250 euros from Nationwide by ATM (all other cash 1200 euro from La Banque Postale)
Went to Museum L'Hotel de Sade, associated with Glanum discoveries
Walked to Alpillium where the Jazz concert would be held and back took nearly 100 mins in heat
Eat Tapas again for light lunch Serano Ham and Cheese 4 types
Rapid evening meal of Exotic Salad (excellent) 40.80 euros with beer and cafe at Bistrot des Alpilles the nearest we could find to Apillium and then walked in around 40 mins
Jazz concert, two sessions lasting from 8.30 to near midnight with outdoor break, walk home in 35minutes
16 Sept ARLES
Acacias Hotel for one night with breakfast 81.80 euro
Eat well for 14 euro each
17 Sept rail Arles-Vitrolles and then RETURN FLIGHT
Sat 4 June We arrived in Marseille to find French Rail with others in the midst of a strike over a government proposed reform which stymied our intention to gt from the airport via a shuttle service to nearby Vitrolles station. We eventually paid 150 Euros for a taxi to Arles a figure greater than the cost of our Bristol Marseille flight which itself was far more expensive than the original 14 May fare as it now coincided with half term holiday in British schools.
Nevertheless it turned out to be an excellent choice for we thoroughly enjoyed the break at the Hotel Acacias the nearest hotel to the rail and regional bus stations but unlike them just within the old Roman wall. We had booked the first three nights but soon decided to spend the whole week there.
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| View from bedroom window of town wall and the river Rhone |
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| The Ceremonial Well a few yards south of hotel Acacias, trees on left mark Place Voltaire |
We talked of Provence (they strongly preferred lively Nimes to quiet Arles) and politics the top issue being the forthcoming EU referendum of course. (Within two weeks I would be out on the streets of Swansea West in a Green Remain T-shirt canvassing for Stronger In a cross party organisation.) Also holiday style for they hired flats via accommodation websites in the same way as hotels, and ate out and cooked on alternate nights. We never ran into them again but it set the holiday off to a fine start.
The wonderful amphitheatre was the first stop the following morning Sunday 5 June and for a small increase over the entry fee we bought a Pass giving entirely free entry to six other locations in Arles, fabulous for the huge interest of the locations, all worth revisiting another year, let alone the saving in cost unmatched later by passes at Nimes and Avignon.
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| Arles Amphitheatre a few days later at sunset |
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| Ground floor without ceiling allowing the storey aove to be in daylight |
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| View across amphitheatre and the churches beyond |
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| An Arles Street viewed from Amphitheatre |
| Sunday street Market in Arles |
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| Ruins of Roman Theatre in Arles being restored |
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| River Rhone, far right our Hotel block, far left stanchion for Boat-Bridge, No large river cruisers |
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| Figure Heads on shore where Boat-Bridge once existed |
Every morning a small tour party from the boats passed through the Roman city wall passed our hotel on a guided sight seeing expedition but others stayed on board playing games for instance with giant chess sets.
6 June Vincent van Gogh arrived in Arles in 1888 for 15 months in the most productive period of his life with over 300 works. A walk around town is recommended to encompass the sites of nine of his most celebrated paintings
Le Jardin de l'hopital d'Arles
Terrace de Cafe le Soir
L'escalier du pont de Trinquetaille
Le Pont de Trinquetaille
La Nuit Etoilee sur le Rhone
La Maison Jaune (he lived in this house for artists but it was destroyed by bombing 1944)
Les Arenes d'Arles (a crowd at the amphitheatre)
L'Entree du Jardin Public a Arles
Les Alyscamps, l'Autumne
The Foundation Vincent van Gogh was first opened in 2014 was undoubtedly the most popular tourist attraction in Arles. At the time it held an exhibition of 30 original paintings by van Gogh, largely on loan from other art galleries plus an exhibition of works the British artist Glenn Brown. We are unlikely to visit this Foundation again for unfortunately little remains in our memory beyond a couple of well known self portraits by Van Gogh, the crowd and the queuing for tickets.
Except a large setting in one room of around 30 deliberately nondescript group of models of women sitting cross legged with their faces hidden with grey cloth. Joan thought at the time that it was in memory of the 276 schoolgirls recently kidnapped by Boko Haram in Nigeria.
Not far away was the impressive partially restored Roman Les Thermes de Constantin with baths of violently different temperature from very hot to cold.
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| Les Thermes, Roman Baths |
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| Les Thermes de Constantin viewed from street |
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| Arles, Typical Colourful Street Scene in area |
7 June Enthused by the baths we took further use of our free Pass firstly to visit the interesting collection in the Musee Reattu. Originally the old rather dour building was owned by the Knights Templar of L'Ordre de Malte. It was converted to an art museum and named after the famous arlesien painter born in 1760 Jacques Reattu, a soldier who won the grand prix de peinture in Paris in 1790 and finished residing and painting in Arles, there are several works by him and his uncle Antoine Raspal.
The attraction of the museum lies in highly focussed niche varieties. It houses a unique collection of art a lot of which has been donated by people who were born or worked in Arles. There is for example modern sculplture
There are 57 originals by Picasso mostly early works including a portrait of his mother
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| Picasso's Mother |
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| PICASSO |
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| PICASSO |
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| Dress designs by Courtier Christian Lacroix |
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| EGLISE SAINT-TROPHIME |
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| CLOISTERS OF SAINT-TROPHIME |
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| Japanese Couple on 4WD tour |
The local horses are born brown but over five years change to the white colour associated with this region.
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| Camargue is famous for its white horses |
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| Black Camargue Bulls |
The heavyist bulls of all are of Portuguese stock, brown and white in colour, are also the most docile and yet they are used to control the stock in the fields to lead the herd from one pasture to another.
We made a halfway stop at the coast at Les Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer. The story is that three women crossed the sea from Egypt in an open boat and the black handmaiden became a saint.
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| Church Window to celebrate their arrival |
What I do remember from past holidays in the region were the flocks of flamingos. From this storks nesting on top of an electricity pole so the wires have been rerouted.
9 June visit to the wonderful new Musee departmental Arles built to house a long wooden Roman boat raised from the bottom of the Rhone. A restoration project that out rivals by centuries our Mary Rose.
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| Musee departmental Arles |
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| The Roman boat carrying a load of original stone cargo |
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| A model of the Roman Boat-Bridge |
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| A Reminder of the Size of the Roman Sea Routes |
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| Alycamps Roman burial ground |
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| Amateur Flamenco 'Drama' by local group |
Memorable food light Libyan lunches from Dune and an even better one with just two tables each only two chairs on quiet street. Excellent value Italian food from Comedie on the Boulevard des Lices near main bus stop with excellent choice and quiet in the evening. Les Filles de 16, Apsara Chinese restaurant run by Vietnamese family near hotel just off Place Voltaire. Very Disappointed with Bistro connected to a of French Micheline Cook. Avoid El Paseo.
RETURN VISIT TO PROVENCE 1-19 SEPTEMBER 2016
In memory of our fine visit to Arles in June and of our original intention to spend nearly 4 weeks exploring Provence we decided to again fly by Easyjet from Bristol - Marseille returning on their last flight of the year on 17 September. The 1st was selected for outbound rather than a couple of days earlier thinking it prudent to avoid our Bank Holiday.
Leaving home at 2am that morning intent on following Joan's well researched route swapping the section through the city of Bristol for minor roads just to the south which looked OK on the map. Needless to say we all but got lost in the dark lonely B roads, fooled by the one and only road sign we saw to Bristol airport, which would have diverted us through through village of Flax Bourton, the birthplace of my grandad, which our planned route just avoided. We discovered why 'they' wanted traffic to avoid this intende rout for it was very narrow with long sections of one way traffic, troublesome even in the depths night.
Luckily the trains were running normally though there was strike action affecting Air Control, but without thinking I jumped on the first bus to Vitrolles just as it was leaving, which turned out not to have been the shuttle but a regular service bus and didn't go passed the station. So we ended up at a bus stop in the centre of Vitrolles town grappling with my French in an attempt to establish which bus to take, not for a while understanding the reply thinking it Spanish because it began with an el (L..) !! An hour or so later the same bus driver with the same number going on a long circular route headed for (rather than from) the airport dropped us off at the station. Half an hour later we were on a train to Arles where we had booked just three nights with the intention of then heading by train for Nimes. Over confidence gets you no where fast!
BRIEF REMINDERS , SEPTEMBER 2016 - Blog to follow
1- 3 Sept ARLES, in Acacias Hotel as in June pre-booked from UK. Paid 251.40 euros for 3 nights including breakfast (7.50x 6) then booked room for 16 Sept our last night
Good eating at Apsara (Chinese Vietnamese), Le Criquet, Dune meal 14 euro light lunch only 9 euro,
1 Sept early arrival looked for favorite restaurant for light lunch - failed lunch eventually stopped at Les Rencontres 34 rue du docteur, place de la Republique for coffee near the main square but stayed to eat lunch of goats cheese patees 62 euros total and retired to bed for a good night's sleep
2 Sept Ate dinner at Apsara the Chinese taster menu for two again and frozen ice cream in a beignet.
Les Rencontres de la Photographie, 40 themed exhibitions all Arles in September, pass 31euro each. We went to location 17 for Nothing but Blue Skies including a film of short clips from other films reacting to NY 9/11, and to location 23 Magasin Electrique one of many buildings in Parc des Ateliers to see 'The Jungle' photos of the Amazon and its people, 'Maginot Line' today, and Laia Abril 'Misogyny - On Abortion' very moving case by case study of rejection across the world.
Learned of Jazz Festival at St Remy 14, 15 16 September
Learned of Feria du Riz, weekend 9/10/11 Sept celebrations starting from 10am to 7:30pm including bullfights in arena between 53 and 244 euro per person for both days on 10 &11th. Then following weekend 16/17/18 Sept. On 16th at 7pm the Ambassadrice du Riz arrives by boat on Rhone at Quai Saint-Pierre on other side of river in Trinqetaille and procession goes to church service.
4-8 Sept NIMES by train for new reservation at Ibis Budget Hotel excellent choice in very modern development including Carrefores south of La Gare and Gare Regionale buses, walk through Gare local town buses and the 5 min walk along new Boulevard to the amphitheatre the beginning of the compact old town.All bus routes colour coded on maps and each associated with a letter of the alphabet
4 Sept arrived by train from Arles the day Gard broke its previous Temperature record probably 35C+ and walked exhausted into and around the old town. Dinner in Place off rue L'Etoile menu good value for 46euro I tried Toro stewed for first time as recommended in June by our guide round the Camargue.
5 Sept Took bus B41(about all we learned from disinterested service in tourist office on Sunday) passing a 10 min walk from the entrance to famous Pont du Gard acquaduct. Distance about like Swansea Cardiff for normal bus fare of 1.5 euro incredibly the same as buses around town for 1 hour.
6 Sept
Visited Mason Carree, roman Temple but the offering was an interesting film of the history of Nimes in Roman times.
Got into conversation at the very end of dinner at Madelaine? with a woman British resident of Nimes for 20 years with a male friend visiting from UK, and another resident this time a British Nurse here for 8 years with her local dark skinned boy friend. From them we learned the place to be on Thursday nights was the Imperator Hotel for jazz, the last concert of the season was to be the following night at 7pm
7 Sept
Jardin de la Fontaine by local bus. Lovely garden full of statues with Temple of Diane and I walked up the hill to the Tour Magne to use my Nimes Pass which was the initial symbol of the important Roman town, important because the town supplied an army of 500 who helped in the conquest of Gaule and Egypt and the leader was well paid for his victories over a long period, 15 years? Lovely lunch help yourself buffet selection in the garden being our choice
Disappointing evening meal at Tapas restaurant on L'Etoile Street
8 Sept Lunched next to Tapas restaurant of previous night, excellent lunchtime menu in evening sells Tapas but French style with menu in French.
Used final location on our Nimes Pass on the amphitheatre.
New Orleans Jazz free in garden of hotel with huge audience finishing with a dozen musicians two of almost all instruments at the end presumably an amalgam of two bands. Ending at midnight walked home through streets full of young people, start of university year?
9-13 Sept AVIGNON for 5 nights in Ibis Central Gare Hotel
Excellent enthusiastic introduction at tourist office by confessed amateur de Jazz and musique in general. Gave us two heavily marked street maps and invited us to two free jazz concerts and gave precise directions to location which we didn't follow well enough.
9 & 10 Sept Looking for jazz found nook with space for dancing and long tables in street. Dinner two nights at La Manutention outside the UTOPIA cinema for 50 and 53 euros with 2 excellent plates and 3 beers, I ate Tatare de Bouef on both occasions (just a stones throw away from Theatre Doms and an modern arts organisation called INOUI (the final I had two dots above) - if only we had inquired!). On first night jazz barely audible went back next night intending just a couple of beers but stayed for dinner when I should have asked on location of jazz which had not then even started.
10 Sept Walked to Pont d'Avignon crossed river by free ferry and had pleasant lunch at restaurant before crossing back by the road bridge
Sunday 11 Sept
Another day walked city route recommended by tourist office and spent time at the medieval celebration on Place des Carmes the local church and cloisters
12 Sept by bus from Gare Regional to L'Isle Sur La Sorgue and enjoyed fine walk along river best finest meal of whole trip for lunch Gambas plus excellent pear based desert then spent afternoon and Villa Datris exposition of modern sculpture. Previous leader in industry with no less than 15 small water wheels providing the power.
Add dinner menu de jour at cafe ... Argent? on eating area on top of main boulevard just below Popes Palace choice Magret de Canard or entrecote steam both went for duck asked for medium next day went for saignante.
13 Sept Intended to go to Le Musee du Petit Palace for finest art collection in town but found it was closed on tuesdays Went to Angladon but was disappointed.
Bus from just inside city walls to Villeneuve lez Avignon visit to the Jardins de Saint Andre, did not visit the fort itself but enjoyed gardens and the buffet picnic lunch provided with three full jars one off pork patee, the others of aubergine patee and Tapenade of olives/anchovies/gerkins with lots of gorgeous small tomatoes in a wide variety of colours
Dinner as yesterday main just 9 euro each plus beers for unchanged menu du jour, Joan stuck to duck again I went for the entrecote both menu of day as yesterday. Both very good value
14 & 15 Sept SAINT REMY de PROVENCE
Le Castelet des Alpilles Hotel bill 196 euros for room only
14 Sept First stop Tourist Office got map and confirmed direction to hotel and bought ticket for Jazz concert first night of three day weekend
Lunched on Tapas one of Serano Ham the other of Crevettes
Walked to Glanum along Avenue Van Gogh
15 Sept Ate excellent breakfast of Tartines and coffee
Withdrew 250 euros from Nationwide by ATM (all other cash 1200 euro from La Banque Postale)
Went to Museum L'Hotel de Sade, associated with Glanum discoveries
Walked to Alpillium where the Jazz concert would be held and back took nearly 100 mins in heat
Eat Tapas again for light lunch Serano Ham and Cheese 4 types
Rapid evening meal of Exotic Salad (excellent) 40.80 euros with beer and cafe at Bistrot des Alpilles the nearest we could find to Apillium and then walked in around 40 mins
Jazz concert, two sessions lasting from 8.30 to near midnight with outdoor break, walk home in 35minutes
16 Sept ARLES
Acacias Hotel for one night with breakfast 81.80 euro
Eat well for 14 euro each
17 Sept rail Arles-Vitrolles and then RETURN FLIGHT
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