Today we drove to Arles and walked in the footsteps of Van Gogh seeing the places where he painted many famous works. Awesome! I have so much more for this day but I can't seem to add it right now. When we have wifi again I will update this day for all of you and add back pictures. Here is the entry:
Another beautiful day in France! We started the day with a little breakfast tentside and then hit the road to Arles. Arles is the town where Vincent Van Gogh lived for 15 months and produced over 300 paintings. It is also where he cut his ear off and entered a series of mental hospitals. The town literature talks more about how enchanting Van Gogh found the light than the deterioration of his health.
There is a walk through town that visits the locations that he painted 9 of his more famous pieces. We walked through town and enjoyed the incredible Roman ruins, the locations of the paintings (marked with pictures of the painting) and the ambiance of a small Provence city. The ruins there are remarkable as well bath houses, aqueducts, an amphitheater and an arena. Both the amphitheater and arena are still used for musical performances today. Actually, the arena was also used as a fortress during the middle ages and the entire town was located inside it!
Bob was thrilled to pick up a fresh baguette in Arles and it was so fabulous that before we finished our tour the bread was half finished. We also stopped for a fresh crepe with nutella. Delicious!
Further down the road we made a few wrong turns and ended up on a country road. Crystal said, “This probably ends in someone’s front yard”. We laughed and said that was silly, apparently this is something that happens in Texas. And France. It ended at a beautiful farm – in someone’s front yard!
Back on the right road we drove to the coast in St. Raphael for our first views of the Mediterranean. The water was so clear and blue I understand why this region is called Cote d’Azur (Blue Coast). The cliffs are steep and long sets of winding stairs lead down to tiny secluded beaches. At the top of each cliff is a small restaurant to buy sandwiches, beer and ice cream.
North of the coast stretch some of the most beautiful red rock out-croppings covered in scrubby trees and sage. It is as if New Mexico dreamed of water and one day the ocean just showed up. The photos I have seen of this area are always the coast – not inland – and I continue to find this countryside stunning.
We drove through bustling Cannes and saw the enormous theater (right on the water) and the crowds of people wandering the narrow streets. This might be a good time to mention that this entire drive was along the beach and yes, women are often topless here. However, I must tell you that many of them would be doing us a service by leaving their tops on. And the men might consider a little more fabric as well. But, this is the culture here so what can I say?
We drove on through Antibes to our campsite, which is very nice and very quiet. The last place was plagued with middle school camp groups but here we are one of a few early vacationers in this area. We walked the 500m to the beach and set up on the beach of smooth round stones.
The beach rocks are what I think is technically “gravel” sized and not uncomfortable to sit on. We enjoyed swimming in the Mediterranean where I found the water VERY warm. Of course that is coming from someone who is now very accustomed to swimming in Lake Erie at this time of the year. NOT very warm.
It was a lovely swim, refreshed and salty we walked on the beach and looked down the coast at Antibes to the west and Nice, Monaco and Italy to the east. We cleaned up and hit the town for dinner.
Antibes was the city that opposed Nice at one time – it was the edge of France and Nice was in Italy. Accordingly there is a large defensive fort here. It is also a city once inhabited by Picasso and Chegal. There are museums here dedicated to them, in particular there is an enormous number of Picassos.
We wandered through town and found a meal in Place du Nacionale, a little like a town square. The restaurants set up tables in the square and we enjoyed a wonderful meal there complete with accordions playing in the background. Bob had seafood lasagna, Crystal had curry mussels and I had a lovely pizza with fresh tomato, eggplant and herbs.
We are back at camp now and enjoying the evening on the grass outside our tents. Tomorrow we may head to Genoa to get a jump on our trip to Florence.
1 comment:
Would I be too much of a crude if I asked for some pictures of the beaches?
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