June 27 Last Post

We are en route home to Canada and Thunder Bay today.  No pictures but a final entry in the blog.  It's been a great trip and worth every dime and minute of it.  For those that have read any part of the blog, thanks for your interest in our self-indulgence. 

Au revoir France, et á bientôt.

Final Mileage on Car (we got it new)

June 26 Last Day in France

Well today is our last full day in France, I can not believe how fast the time has passed, we have had such a great time, we have seen so many amazing thing, done so many things, and met such wonderful people.  We are going to miss many things about France, the wine, the cheese, and the sunshine, we have 30 straight days of it.  We look forward to returning to family, friends and our life in Thunder Bay.  We spent our last day in France beach hopping, and it was a perfect way to finish our time.  I have included some of my favourite pictures, please enjoy.

June 24 Hike in the Calanques

With only a couple more days to go in our trip we decided to stay fairly local and do one last hike near Cassis.  The plan was to hike from Cassis into three calanques (inlets), have a swim at the third one then hike back.  The first calanque, Port Miou, was a mooring place for many boats and a former quarry.  The second one, Port Pin, had a small beach area with many sunbathers.  The third one, Calanque d'en Vau, which we had seen in our cruise boat into the calanques, had been described to us by several people as their favourite and a good place for swimming.  It was a long climb uphill to a great lookout over the calanque, but the downhill scramble to the calanque was pretty steep and high, so we decided not to go down to it, but rather take another loop around the edges of these last two calanques. 

Calanque de Port Miou (43°12'41.6"N, 5°31'18.4"E)

Calanque de Port Pin (43°12'14.1"N, 5°30'38.4"E)

Cindy starting down the steep trail into Calanque d'en Vau (43°12'23.3"N, 5°30'05.4"E)

Belvedere over Calanque d'en Vau (43°12'14.1"N, 5°29'55.2"E)

Plage de Bestouan in Cassis (43°12'45.7"N, 5°31'50.5"E)

June 23 Monaco

It's just over a two hour drive from here to Monaco, so why not. We figured if Monaco wasn't too interesting we could drive into neighbouring Nice or nearby Cannes.  Didn't have to.  Monaco was worth the drive.  The old part of town around the palace is very beautiful and well maintained.  We made it in time to watch the changing of the guards at the palace then went to the harbour to see how the 1% live, and it looks pretty good.  I have never seen so much wealth, Rolls Royces, Ferraris, the biggest yachts I have ever seen, Cartier, and a lot of people who thought they were somebody, and probably were; we just didn't recognize them.  We also popped over to have a look at the famous Monte Carlo casino, and of course the road where the famous Formula 1 race is held each year.

Changing of the Guard at the palace (43°43'51.5"N, 7°25'13.8"E)

Rue de Millo (43°43'59.4"N, 7°25'16.6"E)

Rolls and Yachts (43°44'12.7"N, 7°25'23.4"E)

Monte Carlo (43°44'22.6"N, 7°25'37.7"E)

June 22 Gorge de Verdon

So little time left and so many things left to do.  We had such a great time canoeing to the Pont du Gard, we thought maybe we should do some more. We drove up to the lower gorge of the Verdon River and rented a canoe.  This part of the river is dammed for drinking water purposes making a flatwater route through the gorge.  We paddled about 8 km downstream to a lake then, after a swim, paddled back and Cindy has the blisters to prove it.  As always in Provence the sun was shining so there were quite a few others on the water, mainly in kayaks and electric powered boats (no fuel powered boats allowed). One more interesting thing, did you know that you can paddle a canoe topless wearing only a thong (no, not Cindy), pictures sent on request.  Here's a couple of shots from the canoeing.

(43°42'06.2"N, 6°01'05.8"E)

(43°41'37.4"N, 6°01'58.0"E)

June 20 Île de Porquerolles

Île de Porquerolles is a small island in the Mediterranean southeast of Aix that you reach by a 15 minute passenger ferry from La Tour Fondue.  The only motorized vehicles on the island are service vehicles, and the best way to get around is by velo or pieds.  We decided to hike into the hills along trails on the south side of the island on the way to the western beaches.  After about 5 km of hiking and viewing dramatic cliff side vistas, we reached Plage du Grand Langoustier.  There were beaches closer to the village ferry landing point, but they are also more populated.  We also got more of a sense of earning the reward by taking the road less travelled (and more rugged). The bonus to this was that aside from a good work out, we had some amazing views, and when we did reach the beach, the water felt great.  The particular crescent of sand we chose to swim at, had no one else on it when we started, although 2 or three other couples eventually discovered the seclusion as well.  We had a picnic, soaked up some sun, enjoyed the water, then hiked back to town.  In town we tried the local (island produced) rosé wine then took the ferry back to the mainland and had an unexpectedly scenic ride home.  Another perfect day.



Cindy on the trail (42°59'42.6"N, 6°10'58.8"E)

View from trail northward (42°59'39.3"N, 6°11'10.2"E)

View southwestward from trail (42°59'45.8"N, 6°10'44.2"E)

Plage du Grand Langoustier (43°00'07.2"N, 6°10'09.2"E)

June 18 Arles

As we have mentioned in an earlier post, there are many Roman ruins in this part of the world, and you could spend many days trying to see them all.  You read posts about which ones are "must see" and there are varying opinions on each site.  We decided to try out Arles, because aside from Roman sites, there are many other things to see.  Arles has a great deal where you pay 9 € for a passport, and you can pick any four sites and one museum, we chose the Théâtre Antique, Amphithéâtre Cryptoportiques du Forum and the cloister of Saint Trophime church.  Arles is also known for the 18 months Van Gogh spent here painting, but we did not focus on this.  We also walked out to the Musee Departmental Arles Antique which is supposed to be a very good museum on Roman antiquities; however, it was closed on Tuesday.  This is a risk in visiting anywhere in France: there is no rhyme or reason to the random days of the week chosen for tourist venues to be closed, even when, like Arles, a very significant proportion of the economy is dependent on it.

The amphitheatre dating from about 90 AD is still in use for bullfighting and other events, having been extensively rehabilitated over the last 150 or so years. Walking through the inner circle with its rock walls and dirt floor, you can almost imagine gladiators and lions, and the things that have occurred over the years.  

Amphithéâtre  (43°40'37.7"N, 4°37'49.2"E)

Amphithéâtre (43°40'38.4"N, 4°37'51.9"E)

The Théâtre Antique is also Roman, dating from the first century BC, and it too is being used for concerts and theatrical purposes. 

Théâtre Antique (43°40'35.4"N, 4°37'45.7"E)

One of the most interesting things was the Cryptoportiques du Forum, which we had read nothing about and had no expectations for.  You walk into the Hôtel de Ville (town hall), walk down some stairs and go below present day Arles and suddenly before you is this amazing gallery, dating from about 25 BC,  built as a base for the forum.  We were walking below present day Arles.  On this hot day we appreciated the cool subterranean air down there.  A small portion of the former walls of the forum are still visible in the Place du Forum where it was incorporated in the walls of a current building.

Cryptoportiques (43°40'36.3"N, 4°37'38.9"E)

This guy was playing Gypsy Kings music at the entrance to the cloisters.  He was very good.  The Gypsy Kings are from and live in Arles.  As luck would have it, they are doing a concert there on June 27, the day we leave France next week, otherwise we would definitely have gone.

Here we are  on the roof of the cloisters with the tower of St Trophime in the background.

June 17 Les Saints-Maries-de-la-Mer

We thought we would get another day in at the beach, so we packed up the sun screen and the picnic lunch and headed back to Beauduc for a planned day of sun and sand.  When we arrived there was definitely sand, and because of the strong winds (which weren't evident when we left), much of the sand was airborne such that it was like a full body exfoliation treatment by sandblasting.  After looking at a few spots along Beauduc, we packed up and started to drive around the Carmaque, which is the delta of the Rhone River with lots of shallow ponds full of flamingoes.  We ended up in the community of Les Saints-Maries-de-la-Mer.

Les Saints might sound like an odd name, being in the plural, but according to legend it refers to three saints named Mary: Mary Magdalene, Mary Salome and Mary Jacobe; who along with other early Christians are said to have landed here after being set adrift without oars or sails.  With them was a black slave, Sara, who also sainted.  While the others departed from here, the latter two Marys and Sara remained here and their bodies are said to be buried in the oratory of the church.  Sara is significant to thousands of Gypsies who come here every May to honour her.  It is a pretty little tourist town with a beautiful church and lots of clean beach front. So we got to spend time on this beach where the on-shore wind didn't create a sand storm (43°27'07.3"N, 4°26'02.3"E). 

June 16 L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue and the Luberon

Sunday is a big market day in L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue  (43°55'10.5"N, 5°03'06.2"E) with a large section of antiques that interested Cindy so we headed up there for part of the day.  From what we could tell, the entire old part of the town becomes a continuous open air market with fruits, vegetables, meats, fish, charcuterie, cheese, clothes, etc. etc. as well as the antiques.  This town is not an island, despite its name, but rather branches of the Sorgue River go around and through the old town. 

 (43°55'13.0"N, 5°03'20.3"E)

After L'Isle we drove through part of the Luberon to check out some of the famous hill towns:  Gordes, Roussillon, Lacoste and Bonnieux.  These are some of the villages mentioned in Peter Mayle's A Year in Provence.

Gordes (43°54'29.1"N, 5°11'52.6"E)

Roussillon  (43°54'05.7"N, 5°17'42.8"E)

Near Gordes is an old village in which the buildings were constructed of dry stones, called bories.  They were apparently in habited into the 19th century.

Village des Bories  (43°54'26.3"N, 5°10'48.4"E)



June 15 Wine Tour and Tasting

Jim went on a tour of two châteaux today, one in Coteau-d'Aix-en-Provence (Château Vignelaure) and one in the Côtes du Luberon (Château Dorgonne).  The tour was led by Marie-Noëlle, who knows this wine region well.  Some photos from the tour below.  The most notable part of it was when we entered the lower cellar where the wine was developing in the oak barrels, the aroma was immediately reminiscent of my Nonna's basement where there were always oak barrels of wine.  It's amazing how a smell can transport you back ~40 years.  While I toured and tasted wine, Cindy covered the shopping in Aix.


Marie-Noëlle explaining the vines (43°45'25.9"N, 5°36'06.6"E)

Chateau Vignelaure cellar -bedrock exposed (43°36'46.0"N, 5°41'25.9"E)

Chateau Vignelaure cellar

June 14 Vaison-la-Romaine

Best deal in France. 

There are so many Roman ruins in this area we thought we should check some out.  We went to a town called Vaison-la-Romaine, about one and half hours north of Aix.  It is a pretty little town, and as usual we headed for the tourist information office, picked up our map of the city, and because the ruins were right across the street (the town is built on top of them) we decided to check them out first. We payed 8 € each for admission to two extensive archeological sites that included audio guides, which were good for the entire town.  In addition to the Roman ruins (two very large excavated sites,  plus an amphitheatre - still in use), this community also has a very interesting medieval section and cathedral, all with audio guide explanations.  We also saw an active archaeological excavation elsewhere in town.  Essentially, the current town is built over the Roman town.

The audio guides provided some detailed explanations of features and symbolism of the cathedral and attached cloisters, the roman bridge, the medieval town and it's crowning chateau.  Then we meandered back through the little shops, did a little shopping had an ice cream and enjoyed the sun.  Enjoy the pictures.

Roman Ruins (44°14'32.4"N, 5°04'25.5"E)

Roman Bridge and "New" Town (44°14'20.2"N, 5°04'26.1"E)

Shopping (44°14'21.1"N, 5°04'29.5"E)

Mason's Marks (11th C) in Cathedral de St Quenin (44°14'30.0"N, 5°04'08.0"E)

Chateau and Medievel Townsite below it (44°14'34.9"N, 5°04'09.5"E)

June 12 Pont du Gard

Sous le pont!  We've wanted to go canoeing ever since we were unable to canoe on the Dordogne River back in May.  The travel books mentioned that the best way to see the Pont du Gard was from the water beneath it so we rented canoes from Canoë Collias, upstream on the Gard River, a model they describe as the Canadia - it has a general shape of a Canadian canoe but with formed plastic seating, comfortable and virtually indestructible.  We spent the next three hours leisurely paddling down the river, stopping for a picnic lunch and swimming in places.  The first views you get of the Pont du Gard are quite exciting.  It was built almost 2000 years ago, in 19 BC, by Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, the son-in-law of Augustus.  A road bridge was added in 1743, and was used until 1996.  It is always amazing when you see these structures how they survive the test of time, and in this case river floods.  After canoeing we stopped to pick up cherries and melons, it is the season here, and I believe they will never taste the same when we return home.  Another perfect day in France.

Departure at Collias (43°57'17.5"N, 4°29'03.1"E)

Pont du Gard  (43°56'50.7"N, 4°32'06.2"E)

June 11 Calanque de Sugiton

Another epic hike.  In this part of France there seems to be mountains everywhere, so a simple hike turns into an epic hike.  The hikes we have been on have had the most amazing views, and when you are done there is a real sense of  accomplishment.  In a posting from last week we showed a few pictures of the calanques from a boat tour out of Cassis.  Well this hike took us into visit one of those calanques, Sugiton.  A calanque is just an inlet and there are many along the shore from Marseille to Cassis.  Sugiton is one of the most popular, because it is easy to hike to and the swimming is fine.  It is also in the backyard of the Luminy Campus of the Aix-Marseille University Faculty of Sciences bringing many young hking and sunbathing by the calanque shore.  Along the hike in, there is an a awesome panoramic lookout (belvedere) which allows you to take in the incredible beauty of the coast line.  We did go for a swim once we made it down to the shoreline (the last several hundred metres of the hike are a bit precipitous) but the water was freezing (bone numbingly) cold, yet oddly refreshing.  When Cindy dove in the water for the second time a young man said "Madame, vous avez une bonne attitude".

Going out to the belvedere (43°12'59.9"N, 5°26'43.0"E)

At the belvedere (43°12'50.4"N, 5°26'52.6"E)

Calanque Morgiou from the belvedere, west of Sugiton  (43°12'50.4"N, 5°26'52.6"E)

Kayakers at Calanque Pierre Tombé, east of Sugiton  (43°12'31.0"N, 5°27'23.4"E)

MerCindy at Sugiton  (43°12'43.2"N, 5°27'14.7"E)