Slideshow above can be seen as an album here.
We spent a week in Provence with Ariana and her friend Mat, who flew in from Los Angeles. The three Bostonians arrived in Marseille for two nights there, and Mat was supposed to fly in the first afternoon, but his connection in Munich got cancelled so he was delayed 30 hours, arriving our second evening, poor fellow.
The first day we headed up to the little seaside town of Cassis, which has Calanques to the West, which are deep cuts in the rock from an ice age. They’re sort of like fjords. We took one of the boat trips to see these from the water, very pretty and impressive. Ariana did her magic entertaining the little kids on the boat as we awaited our departure. We then took a drive around the scenic cliffs to the East of Cassis. One of these is the tallest cliff in France that goes directly into the water. On the way back we stopped at the Basilica of Notre-Dame-of-la-Garde in Marseille which is atop the hill and besides being beautiful itself also affords great views of the city and Chateau D’if in the harbor.
The next day we drove to Aix-en-Provence to explore and get lunch. It’s a very tony town, and there was a street market on the main boulevard. Plus high-end shops, including some spectacular patisseries.
From Aix we headed over to Avignon, where we spent three nights, doing day trips from there. Our hotel there was pretty basic, but the location was ideal, with a free electric bus into the center of the walled town. Plus on-site parking, which made the day trips easier. We had a wonderful dinner at Le Vintage restaurant followed by a nice walk past the Palais des Papes. Avignon was the Pope’s seat in the 1300s, with seven Popes living there instead of in Rome (and for some of that time there were two Popes, with one in Rome and an “antipope” in Avignon). From there we went up the hill to catch the sunset at the Rhone overlook where we could see what remains of the legendary Pont d’Avignon.
The following day we headed over to visit the Abbaye Notre-Dame de Sénanque and its renowned lavender fields. On the way we passed by the incredibly picturesque village of Gordes. The abbey and the lavender fields are indeed as spectacular as advertised. We also spotted a hummingbird hawk-moth in the fields, an amazing little beastie. The drive back to Avignon through the hills again afforded wonderful views and amazing rock formations.
Our second day trip from Avignon took us to Châteauneuf-du-Pape, where we had lunch and then a very informative wine tasting at Les Cave St. Charles. We tasted two white wines and four reds, each different from the others, and our guide told us about the region and how each vineyard had a different take on production style. We then drove by the château itself, which sits at the very top of the hill and affords vitas of the valley and the snow-capped mountain beyond. Then back to Avignon for our third and last night there.
We had several wonderful meals in Avignon, as well as stopping by the Beer District, where we tased a couple of the local craft brews. The first night’s restaurant was Le Vintage, with classic southern French food. the next evening we ate at the Crêperie des Papes, and or our final meal we hit up the supermarket (sadly, Les Halles in Avignon was closed by the time we got back from Chateauneuf du Pape) for bread, cheese, and charcuteries which we ate in our hotel room accompanied by the wines we’d brought back from the tasting.
From Avignon we headed to Arles via Pont du Gard, where there is a 2000 year old Roman aqueduct, which was well worth the visit. In Arles we stayed at a hotel in an old building whose interior had been recently remodeled and had the most amusing elevator. This was right in the center, very near the Roman amphitheater. We had a great dinner sitting outdoors at L O à la bouche. While we were eating we noticed a large contingent of people in antique costumes walking past toward the arena and the proprietor told us that there was a pageant beginning there soon, so we headed up to take a peek. Indeed there it was, with perhaps a hundred performers and their horses, quite the spectacle!
On our last full day we went down to Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer the oceanside town in the Camargue, which is apparently where many US cowboys came from back in the 19th century. The weather was less than cooperative, the only time on this vacation: windy and a bit rainy. We had a great seafood lunch at La Fabrique Des Sens and then visited the Sanctuaire des Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, the church dedicated to the sainted women who escaped from Egypt and landed in Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer. One of the three is the only black saint. The church is small, but you can climb to the top which again has nice views. And if you’re lucky you avoid the Romani scammers who hang out in front.
After our visit there we headed back to Marseille airport and enjoyed a quiet dinner at the airport Hilton, where we stayed since Mat had an early morning departure back to LA. The remaining three of us took a brief trip down to Martigues, which is a picturesque little town with canals and colorful boats. Then back to the airport for our return trip to Boston via Paris. All in all a wonderful visit!