A Week in Provence

[james]

We had a great trip to Provence for spring break, and would recommend it very highly to brick oven owners, bread bakers and folks who enjoy history -- all of which describe me. We stayed in the west side of the province, staying in a village between Arles and Avignon. The medieval and Roman culture is fun, and what makes it all great is the food. The olive oil and wine are excellent (though not as good as Tuscan oil and Chianti ), and there are olive trees, vineyards and mills everywhere, plus large numbers of wood-fired ovens and unbelievable bread. Every tiny village seems to have at least 4-5 really good restaurants, 2-3 excellent outdoor bars and 4-5 boulongerie. The pizza isn't very good, but the range of food is great. We found the people to be warm and very welcoming, and everything is kid-friendly -- and it is definitely less chaotic than Italy.

On previous trips we've stayed on the east side of the province, which has access to the port towns, including Marseille, San Tropez, Canne, Nice, and the incredilby rich Monaco and Monte Carlo. If you want to see a bunch of Ferraris and Bentleys all at once, that's the place for you. The province is large and it is difficult to get from one side to the other as a day trip.

Arles has a good Roman Amphitheater, and Nime has a very good Aquaduct -- we've now seen amphitheaters in Arle, Frejus, Taragona, Verona, Rome and Pompeii (and one not yet excavated south of Toledo). I really enjoy Roman history. There is also a medieval castle with a number of working war catapults. I was thinking of posting a video -- it's very cool, though it reminds you of how much creative energy we have always put into war. But the kids loved it.

I took a bunch of photos, which I will post around the forum. And now it's back to work.
James

[dmun]

This is me on top of the Arena in Arles, in 1987.

[carioca]

Salut les gars!

This is me, circa 1960, on a rock at Les Beaux de Provence (I believe - but those with local knowledge please correct me!)... I was staying at Aix-en-Provence with an artisan family making lamps from raphia straw, drank horrendous amounts of red and caroused with les copains throughout the nights, roaming the streets and chanting at full blast "aie aie aie l'afrique du nord, OAS les assassins!" Don't know how i survived this, with all the colons returned from Algeria...

Dmun, good place that arena: I watched a bullfight there arund that time!

A bientot,

Carioca