sunny Provence

This weekend, as well as Friday, I had the wonderful fortune of taking a trip to Provence. Provence was actually most of what I saw in France the first time around so there were a few places I had been (such as Aix en Provence and Cassis - not to be confused with the fruit) but on this visit we were very much tourists and so we went to quite a few places.

The Place Wilson fountain in all its glory.

The first on our list was Orange which we visited first because it is often called the gateway into Provence. It is perhaps best known for it's ampitheatre which was built in Gallo-Roman times and is one of only three Roman theaters that still has its wall. The ampitheatre was absolutely massive  and I can imagine that seeing anything there would be pretty incredible. Orange actually holds a summer opera festival each year and though there wasn't any opera when we were there, I did spot some postcards with pictures from the festival and it looked quite impressive and memorable. Apart from the huge scale of the ampitheatre Orange and the rest of Provence was quite hot and surprisingly windy. There were several moments as we moved across the steps of the ampitheatre that I felt like I was on a White Mountain ridge on a very windy day.

The seven of us from UNH in Baux-de-Provence. From left to right:
Me, Kendra, Sean, Nick, Amy, Michelle and Kayla.

After the amitheatre we had lunch and then traveled to the town of Baux-de-Provence. On the way to the town our driver mentioned that during our journey we would pass Mont Ventoux which has been (and will be) a legendary climb in the Tour de France. I think that I was probably the only one on the bus to perk up about this but sadly while I was aware we would be passing the mountain didn't quite see which one it was. Baux-de-Provence itself sits on top of a rocky hill with a castle built into the side of it. We didn't visit the castle because admission was quite expensive but we did wander throughout the town which is largely made of stone and is half built of stone and half coming out of the hill. The building of castles and other medieval buildings has always impressed me but to build a castle out of a mountain is something else entirely. Overall the effect was that the village was extremely picturesque and though some flowers were in bloom I can imagine that in a month or two it will be quite breathtaking.

Wind chimes in Baux-de-Provence

From Baux-de-Provence we proceeded to Uzes which was where our hotel was located for both Friday and Saturday night. We didn't actually see anything in Uzes because our hotel was removed from the village but we did enjoy a meal at the restaurant. Staying in Uzes was quite different than our other trips where we stayed at hotels and then went into town and ate dinner in little groups. Due to the fact that we were all together it was quite nice to talk to some other CIEF students and play games with them afterwards without worrying about getting back to the hotel on time.

A shot of a street in Baux-en-Provence

The next day we set out to Arles. Stephane concentrated on the Gallo-Roman history of Arles but I was personally interested on its painter inhabitant: Vincent Van Gogh. After really falling in love with his paintings at the Musée d’Orsay and after reading a fictional book surrounding the last year of his life my curiosity was piqued. Sadly I cannot say I learned anything about his stay in Arles but I can definitely understand how the colors of the buildings in Arles and the many flowers in bloom (including glissine also known as wisteria) was an inspiration for him.

We, strangely enough, had the majority of our time free and so for lunch we found the massive open-air market and bought ourself a little picnic in the park. I must say that having seen a few farmers markets in New England none of them will ever compare to the French markets which seem to go on forever and ever and sell everything from charcuterie, vegetables and spices to straw-hats and cotton clothing. The market in Arles was particularly huge, easily beating Les Halles in Dijon.

The streets of Arles with an out of shot ampitheatre to the right.

After Arles we headed towards la Camargue and the Mediterranean. In Nice I had touched my feet in the same sea but thanks to an actual sandy beach I was able to go in up to my knees. With the sun beating down on our backs and my sunburn-susceptible shoulders (which came out of the weekend with color but not a burn!) it was rather refreshing. Less surprising for those of us from New Hampshire was that the Mediterranean in April was still warmer than (or a similar temperature to) the Atlantic in June or July. Camargue itself is actually a region of Provence, with Arles as its unofficial capital, but we personally visited Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer which I may or may not have visited during my first visit to France four years ago.

Apart from a lovely view of the sea, the town and the region are famous for the horses - the Camargue- which are local to the region. The horses in particular are grey, sturdy and traditionally used for cattle work. From Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer we traveled to Aigues-Mortes (dead waters) which is a medeival city surrounded by walls that still enclose the city today. The walls themselves are six-meters thick and were designed to be impregnable and seeing as how they still stand in excellent condition day, I gather this worked. I am relatively sure that the name of the town comes from the fact that it was at one time a major salt port and therefore near places where many things could not grow because of the salt.

The apply named Place de Vincent Van Gogh in Arles.

From Aigues-Mortes we traveled to Nimes one of the largest cities in Provence and also filled with Gallo-Roman remains including its ampitheatre, the Maison de Carée (a Roman temple) and the Jardins de la Fontaine which were built around roman ruins. Interestingly the symbol of Nimes is a crocodile linked with a palm tree. I still prefer the Dijonaise chouette (owl). Nimes was mostly a town for our dinner. We ended up being slightly in a rush and didn't end up savoring our meal as much as I (and the others) would have liked but it was still good and the warm night air was an excellent treat.

The next and final day we started with a trip to Pont du Gard, a huge aqueduct bridge which was constructed to bring water to Nimes. Like building castles into mountains, the construction of bridges is something I find mind boggling particularly when arches are involved. Pont du Gard was, before this visit to Provence, my primary thought when it came to the south of France simply because it is so iconic but now I think it's been replaced with the beautifully colored buildings, the tiled roofs and of course the heat.

For some strange reason an unfurled French flag is a somewhat rare site in
France. I think this may be due to regional pride being stronger than
national pride.

Our last visit in Provence was to Avignon. The city is quite well known for the famous Pont d'Avignon, for its theater festival in the summer and also for the period in history where it was the home of the papacy. My personal knowledge of religion and history begins with the Protestant Revolution so I won't get too into detail about how Avignon connects with the history of the Catholic Church but at one point in the 14th century Pope Clement V moved the papacy to Avignon. The popes stayed in Avignon until 1377 when they returned to the Vatican. At this same time there was also a schism in the papacy and there were as a result two popes, one in Italy and one in France. It's slightly confusing and not a subject I'm terribly interested in but because of this Avignon has a rich history and a huge Palais des Popes as well as many beautiful houses constructed for Bishops.

Pont du Gard

We had a guided tour of the Palais des Popes and then afterwards we had time to ourselves. Sunday felt very hot though I don't think it was any warmer than Friday or Saturday. Nevertheless I think we were all tired from either the heat or staying up late the night before and were quite exhausted by the time we left the city and started our 6 hour bus ride (including stops) back to Dijon.

All in all Provence was a real treat and I'm still in disbelief that in less than a week I'll be back in the Mediterranean this time in Italy!

Students playing in the river before Pont du Gard