Kath’s Dad was coming over for a conference and we went down to pick him up from Nice airport and then drop him off in Montpelier in the far south of France. Part of the deal included him lugging over most of our ski gear so we were probably the only car in the South of France with skis on the roof. We headed out of Milan straight from Italian class and picked him up around 3pm at Nice airport. We then drove around the coast for a while admiring the blue waters and pebbly beaches. Running short of time we then cut across directly to Aix-en-Provence. We found our hotel and then headed out for dinner. Parking proved a hassle but we were eventually wondering the streets on a warm evening. The town itself is great – there are many wide, tree lined boulevards and lots of people were out enjoying the evening.
The next morning we headed back into town to grab a post-breakfast snack and look around. It was a sunny morning and the streets were full of life as the regular Saturday morning market served up fresh produce as well as a street handicrafts and antiques. We stocked up on fruit, cheese and bread for lunch and then headed west through Provence.
We traveled towards Arles through a series of hilltop towns Bonnieaux, Lacostes and Menerbes – picturesque walled towns that overlooked the green valleys below. The area has many vineyards but while we had seen plenty of vines in other parts of France the olive groves, warm sun and dusty, white soil gave it a very different feel.
We arrived in Arles early afternoon and found our hotel to be well situated – just inside the city walls and right on the Rhone River. We headed off into town and found the tourist centre. We purchased the Van Gogh map and proceeded to spend a pleasant afternoon wandering the town looking at his paintings. The town had erected reproductions of his paintings at the spots were he had painted them in the 1880’s. I like his paintings and after having seen several of them in Musee d’Orsay in Paris it was great to see the scenes in real life. A lot has changed in some areas but in others there was much to recognise. Also Arles was an important Roman town and has several impressive ruins. These include an ampitheatre for 20 000 and a theatre for 10 000 both of which are still used today.
The next day we set off early and dropped John at his hotel in Montpellier. Kath and I then started the long drive home to Milan. It took us about 7 hours but the Clio is very comfortable to drive and it didn’t seem quite that long. Stopping for an excellent gelato in Turin helped break the drive also.
<< Home