France is expensive, especially Paris. It would be expensive even if the Euro and the dollar were on par. A 4 ounce glass of wine costs 6 to 10 Euros; $9 to $15.
Hotels in the historic areas are small, often up 3 flights of stairs, without elevators. Modern hotel rooms at reasonable rates are available just outside the main historic districts and often have little kitchens. Our rooms in Paris were tiny, the toilets were down the hall, and the second time we stayed there, the shower was on another floor. Our hotel room in Chablis looked like a B&B. But it was on the third floor. No elevator. The staircase was a narrow circular staircase with a loose banister. Our hotel 1 mile outside the historic center of Avignon was a French chain, Citea. It had a small kitchenette, 2 desks, a good view, a full modern bathroom, lots of closet space, and not much character. It cost 60% of the room in Paris and 75% of the room in Chablis.
There apparently is no equivalent to OSHA. It is possible to touch the cables that raise the elevator on the Eiffel Tower. Look at the staircase to the clock tower in Roussillon. How would you like to be the one that winds that clock? In the US great efforts are taken to protect us from ourselves. Maybe the French are just smarter and wouldn’t touch the cables.
If you get frustrated when things are unfamiliar then travel to Europe isn’t for you. Doors open in different directions. Handles on everything work differently. Things don’t come with directions.
As a woman, you haven’t experienced grossness until you have used a pisserie.
France is clean. We saw very little litter. But graffiti was everywhere. It appears to be a real problem.
Traffic was crazy in Paris but it is in D.C. as well. Let the cabbies do the driving.
France is not friendly to the mobility challenged. Cobblestones, curbs, blocks of granite, and 2000 years of building materials do not make for smooth sidewalks. The library/art gallery in Nimes had 5 floors. The elevator only went to 2 of them. The parking garage there had 3 levels . There was an escalator from the top level to the surface. This was typical.
I don’t think there is a French paradox. That’s the belief that the French eat high fat foods but are still slim because they drink red wine. The average population wasn’t slender, just average. There were few obese people but there were some, and they were French. What I have observed is that portions are small compared to the US. Rich sauces just nap the main food; they don’t provide a swimming pool. Three of 4 parties seated near us our final evening at the nice restaurant were drinking water. Only one couple drank wine. The average glass of wine is smaller than in the US, probably 4 ounces. Food is expensive in the city. People in the country looked well fed to me. But everyone had a garden and fruit trees. French people walk a lot. It’s easier to take the subway than to maintain a car. Subways are 2 to 5 flights of stairs underground. Few have escalators or elevators.
All churches are on top of hills. The biggest churches are on top of the highest hills.
Walking downhill isn't easier than walking uphill.
I still wonder if I would have gotten brains or calf cheeks if I had ordered the calf head for dinner.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Photos of Roussillon
Picture 1: Roussillon town square in front of the town hall.
Picture 2: Roussillon clock tower. Note the small black staircase to the right ofthe tower that goes to the door to the tower.
Picture 3: Ochre cliffs at the edge of town
Picture 4: I can't believe I climbed the whole thing.
Picture 5: The village of Gordes.
Back to Paris
Photo 1: Oh no, the Louvre is closed on Tuesdays.Photo 2: This is the elevator shaft at the Hotel Monpensier. An oak box rides up and down it. Inside it looks like a scaled down version of Superman's phone booth. It holds one person and one roll around suitcase. Since we were on the 2nd floor (3rd in the US) and had lots of luggage we used it.
Tuesday morning, Sept 22, we turned our little Twingo over to Avis and boarded the TGV train to Paris. Nonstop less than 3 hours later we were at the Gare Lyon station in Paris. By 1 pm we were back at the Hotel Montpensier.
We decided to spend the afternoon at the Louvre, just a block and half away. Turns out it is closed on Tuesday so we wondered around the Tuilleries Gardens and went back to the room. We had a nice dinner at a nearby brasserie and went to bed early. We had to leave for the airport at 7:30 am Wednesday morning.
The plane flights were the only really disagreeable part of the trip. We weren't sure we would get on the plane in Paris. There was some sort of game going on with boarding passes. We made it and left for Chicage at 11:30. Why Chicago? Who knows. But we had a 6 hour layover there. Two hours of that was taken up with walking the mile out of the international terminal to customs, going through customs, and rechecking our bags. Then the plane was an hour late leaving.
We finally arrived home at 1:15am Thursday, Sept 24, 2009
The Luberon and Peter Mayle’s Provence
Picture 1: Along the Sorgue River. We aite lunch just to the left of the bridge.
Picture 2: One of the water wheels on a stream of the Sorgue.
Picture 3: Inside the cathedral at Sorgue
Picture 4: Vineyards everywhere ready to be harvested.
Picture 4: Vineyards everywhere ready to be harvested.
On Monday, Sept 21, our final day in Provence, we headed east to a pretty, but touristy, town called L’Isle-sur-le-Sorgue and then on to the Luberon region. The Luberon has become a destination for the French wealthy and other expats looking for the bucolic life style. But they have kept a low key presence. Agriculture is still the primary focus of the locals, except for a few touristy spots. That's where we were headed. All of the towns we visited could be overrun with tourists in the summer, but we seemed to have missed the largest crowds.
L’Isle (Island on the Sorgue) sits in the middle of the Sorgue River. Channels of the river meander through this little town turning 10 water wheels that used to grind flour, and driving medieval textile, silk and woolen mills. Water wheels have been in operation at L’Isle since the 1200’s. Some we saw could be that old judging by the moss. This town was the source of the colorful Provencal fabric still popular today. The original patterns came from India. Right now the town’s main occupation seems to be scenic restaurants perched on the riverbank. We ate lunch here, making sure we ate between the magic hours of 12 and 2. Tourism and the antique trade are also thriving.
The town’s 12th century church, Notre-Dame des Anges, has a very gilded Baroque interior. I read this was typical of Louis XIV, the Sun King, period churches.
Our next stop was at the Lavender Museum in Coustellet 6 miles to the southeast. This museum houses the Chateau du Bois lavender farms collection of antique lavender stills and other processing equipment. Lots of polished brass and silver coils on display. This was a good place to learn about the different types of lavender and how each is used. This is a major crop in the Luberon. The bushes grow at an altitude between 900 and 1300 feet on the rocky soil of the area. They grow wild as well as being farmed commercially. Bloom time is June and July.
Peter Mayle, author of A Year in Provence, lives about 10 minutes to the southeast of Coustellet in the village of Ménerbes. We didn’t stop and say hello.
Instead we headed for the ochre village of Roussillon 10 miles further northeast. It was supposed to be a 15 minute drive. Ha. The village perches atop a 30 mile long seam of ochre bearing rock. Mining the ochre was the village’s major industry until WWII. Ochre is used to make a pigment for paints and glazes, and in wallpaper and linoleum. Roussillon’s deposit is the largest in the world but other sources exist in Italy and the U.S.
This is one steep town. Visitor parking is outside the town, downhill. The town accomplishes the miracle of having you climb into town, climb all over town, never going downhill until that final, steep climb back. But it is certainly the most colorful town I have ever seen. The residents have used a lot of ochre to “ochre” wash their buildings, as well as paints of similar colors.
The cliffs on either side of town dramatically display the varying shades of the mineral.
Heading back home we had to drive through the hill town village of Gordes. It perches on its mountain top with narrow, steep winding streets that no other car than the Renault Twingo we rented could navigate without causing the passenger, me, to have a heart attack. We had been navigating with GPS. We bought and downloaded the French maps before we left, taking our GPS with us. It had been doing a superb job in the past few days but now it decided it wanted to see the countryside. We saw only side roads, tiny towns and steep mountain roads until it finally returned us to civilization a few miles from our hotel. I guess it didn’t like the direct route we had taken earlier.
L’Isle (Island on the Sorgue) sits in the middle of the Sorgue River. Channels of the river meander through this little town turning 10 water wheels that used to grind flour, and driving medieval textile, silk and woolen mills. Water wheels have been in operation at L’Isle since the 1200’s. Some we saw could be that old judging by the moss. This town was the source of the colorful Provencal fabric still popular today. The original patterns came from India. Right now the town’s main occupation seems to be scenic restaurants perched on the riverbank. We ate lunch here, making sure we ate between the magic hours of 12 and 2. Tourism and the antique trade are also thriving.
The town’s 12th century church, Notre-Dame des Anges, has a very gilded Baroque interior. I read this was typical of Louis XIV, the Sun King, period churches.
Our next stop was at the Lavender Museum in Coustellet 6 miles to the southeast. This museum houses the Chateau du Bois lavender farms collection of antique lavender stills and other processing equipment. Lots of polished brass and silver coils on display. This was a good place to learn about the different types of lavender and how each is used. This is a major crop in the Luberon. The bushes grow at an altitude between 900 and 1300 feet on the rocky soil of the area. They grow wild as well as being farmed commercially. Bloom time is June and July.
Peter Mayle, author of A Year in Provence, lives about 10 minutes to the southeast of Coustellet in the village of Ménerbes. We didn’t stop and say hello.
Instead we headed for the ochre village of Roussillon 10 miles further northeast. It was supposed to be a 15 minute drive. Ha. The village perches atop a 30 mile long seam of ochre bearing rock. Mining the ochre was the village’s major industry until WWII. Ochre is used to make a pigment for paints and glazes, and in wallpaper and linoleum. Roussillon’s deposit is the largest in the world but other sources exist in Italy and the U.S.
This is one steep town. Visitor parking is outside the town, downhill. The town accomplishes the miracle of having you climb into town, climb all over town, never going downhill until that final, steep climb back. But it is certainly the most colorful town I have ever seen. The residents have used a lot of ochre to “ochre” wash their buildings, as well as paints of similar colors.
The cliffs on either side of town dramatically display the varying shades of the mineral.
Heading back home we had to drive through the hill town village of Gordes. It perches on its mountain top with narrow, steep winding streets that no other car than the Renault Twingo we rented could navigate without causing the passenger, me, to have a heart attack. We had been navigating with GPS. We bought and downloaded the French maps before we left, taking our GPS with us. It had been doing a superb job in the past few days but now it decided it wanted to see the countryside. We saw only side roads, tiny towns and steep mountain roads until it finally returned us to civilization a few miles from our hotel. I guess it didn’t like the direct route we had taken earlier.
Pictures of Rousillon and Gordes will be in the next post.
Avignon
Picture 1: The walls of the old city
Picture 2: Palace of the Popes. I couldn't get the whole building in the photograph
Picture 3: The formal dining hall in the Palace of the Popes
Picture 4: St. Bénezet Bridge seen from Parc des Rochers des Doms
Avignon was the second largest city we visited. There are 90,000 or so people in Avignon and about 300,000 in the metropolitan area. It was settled in Celtic times and became the first Roman province west of the Alps. It qualifies for a six flags franchise since it belonged to the Romans, the Goths, Burgundy, Arles, the Saracens, the Franks, the Holy Roman Empire, the Papacy, several local counts, Sicily, France (twice), and was also an independent republic. I probably missed a few owners. It sits on the left (east bank of the Rhone River.
But we were here to see the Palace of the Popes. From 1309 to 1377 Avignon was the seat of the Papacy, instead of Rome. This building, five stories tall and the size of a football field, was built between 1335 and 1364, on a rock spur. Its walls are 17-18 feet thick. The popes had enemies. Seven popes resided in the Palace followed by two anti-popes. The building is now a museum.
We took a tour train of the city first which gave us a perspective of the fortifications. Then it was on to the line to enter the Palace. Just like Disneyland but the line moved faster. For some reason the tour was free that day. Here, as in other places, a hand held speaker with an English language description of the rooms was available. It took us 3 hours to go through the part of Palace open to the public. I don’t think we got out of the southern wing. At one time the place was ornately painted and furnished with tapestries and wall hangings. Traces of some of the paintings still exist.
Two rooms were very large. One, the cathedral, was expected. But the other was the formal dining room. As most tours do, we were guided out through the boutique. But before that was a “degustation” room where you could buy a glass of vine from the vineyards owned by the popes. These vineyards were across the Rhone in the small town of Chateauneuf du Pape. Sound familiar? The popes had their summer homes there. We sampled and bought two bottles to bring home.
Lunch was next but once again it was after 2 and we had a hard time finding something to eat.
Not satisfied with all the walking and stair climbing we had done earlier we climbed the hill north of the Palace and the city cathedral, older than the Palace. On top the
parc des Rochers des Doms had a greatview of the city and St. Bénezet Bridge. Built in the late 1100’s, it was the only medieval bridge to cross the Rhone, a very significant river. It was partially desstroyed by floods several times but was rebuilt until an icy flood in 1668. Now it is a bridge to nowhere.
But we were here to see the Palace of the Popes. From 1309 to 1377 Avignon was the seat of the Papacy, instead of Rome. This building, five stories tall and the size of a football field, was built between 1335 and 1364, on a rock spur. Its walls are 17-18 feet thick. The popes had enemies. Seven popes resided in the Palace followed by two anti-popes. The building is now a museum.
We took a tour train of the city first which gave us a perspective of the fortifications. Then it was on to the line to enter the Palace. Just like Disneyland but the line moved faster. For some reason the tour was free that day. Here, as in other places, a hand held speaker with an English language description of the rooms was available. It took us 3 hours to go through the part of Palace open to the public. I don’t think we got out of the southern wing. At one time the place was ornately painted and furnished with tapestries and wall hangings. Traces of some of the paintings still exist.
Two rooms were very large. One, the cathedral, was expected. But the other was the formal dining room. As most tours do, we were guided out through the boutique. But before that was a “degustation” room where you could buy a glass of vine from the vineyards owned by the popes. These vineyards were across the Rhone in the small town of Chateauneuf du Pape. Sound familiar? The popes had their summer homes there. We sampled and bought two bottles to bring home.
Lunch was next but once again it was after 2 and we had a hard time finding something to eat.
Not satisfied with all the walking and stair climbing we had done earlier we climbed the hill north of the Palace and the city cathedral, older than the Palace. On top the
parc des Rochers des Doms had a greatview of the city and St. Bénezet Bridge. Built in the late 1100’s, it was the only medieval bridge to cross the Rhone, a very significant river. It was partially desstroyed by floods several times but was rebuilt until an icy flood in 1668. Now it is a bridge to nowhere.
There is so much more to see and do in Avignon but the afternoon was gone and we only had one day left in Provence. Tomorrow we would head to Peter Mayle's part of Provence.
In Search of Roman Ruins
Picture 1: The arena at Nimes with matador statue
Picture 2: Fans at the bull fight
Picture 3: One of the street bands after the bull fight.
Picture 4: The Maison Carrée, former Roman temple
Picture 5: The Pont du Gard, an aqueduct and bridge on the River Gardon
Picture 6: Close-up of the Pont du Gard
Picture 7: The Moulin restaurant at Pont du Gard with Uzes in the background.
Saturday, Sept 19 we headed for the city of Nimes, an hour’s drive to the southwest from Avignon. We were looking for Roman ruins and there were three in that city plus the famous Roman aqueduct, the Pont du Gard nearby.
The best known ruin in Nimes is the arena. It is an amphitheatre built around 100 A.D. and it is still in use. No touring of the arena that day. A bull fight was in progress. Two types of bullfights are held routinely. One was the Spanish style corrida where the bull is killed and the Provence style where bull and matador chase each other around the area. The Spanish style is only held 4 times a year and judging by the street party this was one of them. A street market, bands, and temporary bars and cafes crowded the closed off street.
Other Roman ruins in use included the Maison Carrée. Also built in the 1st C, it was originally a temple but to whom is still debated. It has served as a stable, town hall, monastery church temple, and currently, a tourist center showing a 3D film on Nimes.
The temple of Diana is a well preserved ruin. Rumor has it the building was a library, not a temple but I guess goddess draw more visitors. It is located in the back side of the Fountain Gardens, which date to Celtic times when a sacred spring existed here. The Romans absorbed the Celtic deity into their own pantheon and have existed happily ever since.
Fleeing the increasingly boisterous crowd we headed to Uzès, a small town on a hill top (of course) about 15 miles due north. The mission: lunch. This is where we couldn’t find a restaurant serving lunch after 2 pm and ended up eating what the French call bruschetta. See the post, Eating in France.
Finally feed, we headed to the Pont du Gard. This aqueduct is perfectly preserved. Most of the aqueduct is on or below ground but at the Pont du Gard it crosses a canyon a massive bridge.
Then it was back to the east 15 miles to our very modern hotel. Tomorrow we would explore Avignon.
Picture 2: Fans at the bull fight
Picture 3: One of the street bands after the bull fight.
Picture 4: The Maison Carrée, former Roman temple
Picture 5: The Pont du Gard, an aqueduct and bridge on the River Gardon
Picture 6: Close-up of the Pont du Gard
Picture 7: The Moulin restaurant at Pont du Gard with Uzes in the background.
Saturday, Sept 19 we headed for the city of Nimes, an hour’s drive to the southwest from Avignon. We were looking for Roman ruins and there were three in that city plus the famous Roman aqueduct, the Pont du Gard nearby.
The best known ruin in Nimes is the arena. It is an amphitheatre built around 100 A.D. and it is still in use. No touring of the arena that day. A bull fight was in progress. Two types of bullfights are held routinely. One was the Spanish style corrida where the bull is killed and the Provence style where bull and matador chase each other around the area. The Spanish style is only held 4 times a year and judging by the street party this was one of them. A street market, bands, and temporary bars and cafes crowded the closed off street.
Other Roman ruins in use included the Maison Carrée. Also built in the 1st C, it was originally a temple but to whom is still debated. It has served as a stable, town hall, monastery church temple, and currently, a tourist center showing a 3D film on Nimes.
The temple of Diana is a well preserved ruin. Rumor has it the building was a library, not a temple but I guess goddess draw more visitors. It is located in the back side of the Fountain Gardens, which date to Celtic times when a sacred spring existed here. The Romans absorbed the Celtic deity into their own pantheon and have existed happily ever since.
Fleeing the increasingly boisterous crowd we headed to Uzès, a small town on a hill top (of course) about 15 miles due north. The mission: lunch. This is where we couldn’t find a restaurant serving lunch after 2 pm and ended up eating what the French call bruschetta. See the post, Eating in France.
Finally feed, we headed to the Pont du Gard. This aqueduct is perfectly preserved. Most of the aqueduct is on or below ground but at the Pont du Gard it crosses a canyon a massive bridge.
Then it was back to the east 15 miles to our very modern hotel. Tomorrow we would explore Avignon.
Carpentras and the Cote-du-Rhone villages
Picture 1: Carpentras street on market day with Mike in the middle.
Picture 2: A rainy day market
Picture 3: Lavander is a major product of north west and north central Provence
Picture 4: Old chateau near Vauqueyras. Many of these have been rehabed and turned into winery tasting rooms and caves.
On Sept 18th, our first full day in Provence we decided to head north east and see some of the villages on what travel guru Rick Steves calls the Côtes du Rhone Wine Trail. But first we headed to the town of Carpentras about 20 miles to the northeast because it was Friday and Friday was market day in Carpentras. Carpentras has been a market town since before the Roman conquest. In the late fall it is the center of the truffle market in France. The weather wasn’t cooperating. A stormy, squally, thunderstorm laden weather system had moved in for the day.
Like most old towns Carpentras has a concentric center, with the church or cathedral in the middle, and a street system that looks like a broken spider web. Outside of this older section is a modern urbanized town. Total population is around 26,000. The market covered most of this old town. We parked near the river and followed the vendors along it, across into parallel streets and around in circles until we were thoroughly lost.
There is a long park along the river and the vendors here were serious. They had self contained RV like vehicles with opening or expandable sides that displayed an amazing variety of food, produce, and stuff. No one was crowded together here but in the narrow center streets the center span was cozy. They would give an American fire marshal nightmares.
After finding our way out of the maze we headed north for the villages that circle the Dentrelles de Montmirail mountain peaks. Our first stop was in Vacqueryas at the wine cave Les Vignerons de Caractere winery for lunch at a restuarant called L'Eloge. Apparently we had stumbled into a restuarant by a locally celebrated chef, Eric Balan. Lunch took two hours. It was the most pretentious meal we had in France. The name of the restaurant means praise or eulogy in English. The food was good, the wine excellent, the service SOOO slow. It was one of those places only the beautiful are expected to attend, or to work at. Tables were draped around with sheer curtains hiding the unpainted parts of the chocolate brown concrete floor. It was in the downstairs of the tasting room and appears to have held large fermentation tanks in the past. Many of the tables were on raised circular concrete pads. Here is the restaurant’s website: http://www.restaurant-leloge.fr/
We drove through the village of Gigondas, a designated wine region of its own, on to Sablet. A pretty village, but seemingly deserted. The rain was increasing so perhaps the locals were hiding behind their shuttered windows. The same was true of the next village, Seguret. This was a perched village, clinging to the hillside, much rockier and with less paint that Sablet.
We drove on to Vaison la Romaine, the northernmost town on the wine village tour. But the rain was increasing so instead of braving the steeper, downhill roads on the east side of the mountains we bagged it and headed back to our hotel outside of Avignon. These villages were the part of Provence I was looking forward to seeing the most. Too bad nature didn’t cooperate.
Like most old towns Carpentras has a concentric center, with the church or cathedral in the middle, and a street system that looks like a broken spider web. Outside of this older section is a modern urbanized town. Total population is around 26,000. The market covered most of this old town. We parked near the river and followed the vendors along it, across into parallel streets and around in circles until we were thoroughly lost.
There is a long park along the river and the vendors here were serious. They had self contained RV like vehicles with opening or expandable sides that displayed an amazing variety of food, produce, and stuff. No one was crowded together here but in the narrow center streets the center span was cozy. They would give an American fire marshal nightmares.
After finding our way out of the maze we headed north for the villages that circle the Dentrelles de Montmirail mountain peaks. Our first stop was in Vacqueryas at the wine cave Les Vignerons de Caractere winery for lunch at a restuarant called L'Eloge. Apparently we had stumbled into a restuarant by a locally celebrated chef, Eric Balan. Lunch took two hours. It was the most pretentious meal we had in France. The name of the restaurant means praise or eulogy in English. The food was good, the wine excellent, the service SOOO slow. It was one of those places only the beautiful are expected to attend, or to work at. Tables were draped around with sheer curtains hiding the unpainted parts of the chocolate brown concrete floor. It was in the downstairs of the tasting room and appears to have held large fermentation tanks in the past. Many of the tables were on raised circular concrete pads. Here is the restaurant’s website: http://www.restaurant-leloge.fr/
We drove through the village of Gigondas, a designated wine region of its own, on to Sablet. A pretty village, but seemingly deserted. The rain was increasing so perhaps the locals were hiding behind their shuttered windows. The same was true of the next village, Seguret. This was a perched village, clinging to the hillside, much rockier and with less paint that Sablet.
We drove on to Vaison la Romaine, the northernmost town on the wine village tour. But the rain was increasing so instead of braving the steeper, downhill roads on the east side of the mountains we bagged it and headed back to our hotel outside of Avignon. These villages were the part of Provence I was looking forward to seeing the most. Too bad nature didn’t cooperate.
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